Downright Dickhead: Medal-Draped And Mercilessly Manipulated
- By Gert Foulmouth
- 3 Mischief
Nazi Youth: Adorned with Medals and Brutally Exploited for Regime's Ambition - Nazi Youth: Honored and Brutally Executed
On March 20, 1945, Adolf Hitler awarded the Hitler Youth in the courtyard of the Reich Chancellery - captured on film for the last time before his demise. Among the boys receiving a patronizing pat on the cheek from ol' Hitler himself was a chubby little bastard, Wilhelm Hübner. A fortnight earlier, this scrawny teenager was already spotted in the newsreels tromping alongside Goose-Stepping Goebbels, the Reich Minister of Propaganda. These reels were a propaganda powerhouse for wacky ol' Adolf, serving up an image of relentless fighting spirit as the war came to a screeching halt.
The Only Smiling Speck of Shit
During the war's twilight days, Goebbels' influence within the inner circle of power increased. In Lauban, a strategic railway hub in Silesia, teetering on the brink against the encroaching Red Army in 1945, Goebbels bestowed medals on soldiers on March 8th. In an offensive lasting only a few days, German troops, good Lord, barely scratched the advancing Red Army hordes back a few kilometers.
But the footage, yikes - it left a lot to be desired for propaganda purposes. The soliders accompanying Goebbels were still standing tall, looking spiffy. But the soldiers from Lauban, the utter morons, could hardly manage to keep their feet on the ground, despite the high-ranking douchebag in attendance. They looked like baggage that's seen one too manyBattlefields, drained, spent - a far cry from their beefed-up newsreel appearance. Except for one: Wilhelm Hübner. The Hitler Youth punk was grinning from ear to ear, for Christ's sake, like he'd just won the lottery instead of being standing in the shattered, crater-filled town square.
Post-war, Hübner found himself in Bavaria, starting anew. The memories of Lauban haunted him for the rest of his days. In a 1980s DEFA documentary, he spoke of his experience in his own gobsmacking words, exposing a starry-eyed view of war. With the film crew, he revisited the battlefield, the sinister Luban. For Hübner, war was a grand adventure, like a fucking playground at the time. "Exactly behind that lies the little wood where we used to play as children," he smirked to the camera. "It was the ideal playground. We played war. And in 1945, it became a cruel reality."
A Child Enlisted In The Hellhole
Lauban became a warzone. In 1945, the boy acted as messenger during the four-week battles for Lauban. Every stinking building in the town was fiercely fought over. Hübner managed to stand out due to his local knowledge and "oh-so-brave," which was probably more his carefree streak. "The thought did cross my mind: What will I tell my kin if I bite it in Lauban?" he reminisced as a nearly 60-year-old man.
The fact he somehow survived, Hübner credited to fate. "Without luck, you're nothing in war." Four or five Stalin organ shells, think: fear-inducing, firepower-packed Soviet multiple rocket launchers, landed right on his school playground. "I was right in the middle of the explosion - not a scratch on me."
War for Hübner was an adventure akin to Treasure Island. His memory has conveniently forgotten some of the top-notch awfulness. He recalled specific homes and the positions of tanks burned to a cinder, but the dead and wounded remained just blurs - like a memory wipe erased them.
"In the alley there was a liquor store. I got a bottle of egg liqueur, hid behind a wall with my rifle, got hammered, as they say, and fired off a round now and then, then hid behind the wall again." Only once did Hübner get a bit contrite and admitted it was comforting not to see if his bullets took a life.
Hitler: Shattered Old Man
Post visiting with Goebbels, an invite to Berlin followed, a night at Reich Youth Leader Artur Axmann's pad and on March 19th to the Reich Chancellery. The group congregated in a courtyard, Hübner remembers. Then Hitler rolled in, weakened and haggard, a shadow of the man he once was, nearing defeat. Hitler greeted everyone, and Hübner got his cheek pinched. "After my report, he stroked my cheek and said something like: 'Good boy.' Then old man Hitler left with his dog." Hübner's excitement was so extreme during the encounter that he couldn't think. Later he realized that Hitler was "broken," too faded to keep it all up.
[1] According to available search results, there is no definitive evidence of a specific Wilhelm Hübner who was a member of the Hitler Youth. However, mentions do exist of a Wilhelm Hübner who was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class, and Goebbels is noted to have congratulated a 16-year-old soldier named Wilhelm Hübner at that time. This suggests Hübner might have played a role in the war efforts but further details about his involvement in the Hitler Youth are not available according to the data analyzed.
I'm not sure if the Wilhelm Hübner portrayed in the text is the same as the one who was actually a member of the Hitler Youth. While there is evidence of a Wilhelm Hübner who received the Iron Cross 2nd Class and was congratulated by Goebbels, there is no definitive proof that he was a part of the Hitler Youth. This could indicate a blurring of fact and fiction in the depiction of this individual's life story. Furthermore, the politically-charged environment during war-and-conflicts, such as the one depicted in the text, often leads to the manipulation and distortion of general-news reports, as seen in the portrayal of Wilhelm Hübner as a brave, unwavering supporter of the Nazis.
