Interview

Education in the Third Reich

Nov. 8, 2011

Wilhelm Kriessmann joins Carolyn to share his first-hand knowledge of German and National Socialist education policies and practices. Discussion ranges from the traditional levels of schooling in Germany and Austria to the additional N-S focus on instilling national pride and self-confidence, fitness, racial hygiene, and the "New Germany." The distinctions between the Napola schools, the Adolf Hitler Schools and Ordensburg elite schools is explained. 1hr.36min.

Image: German girls with their Hitler Jugend escorts and Japanese guides prepare to visit Japan. enlarge

Sculpture & Architecture in the Third Reich

November 1, 2011

Wilhelm Kriessmann, who saw action on the Eastern Front in WWII, discusses with Carolyn the very high achievements in these two branches of the arts, so much of which was wantonly destroyed by the Allies during and after the war. 1hour 5min

Right: Honor Court entrance to new Reichs Chancellery in Berlin designed by Albert Speer, with Arno Breker sculptures Die Partei and Die Wehrmacht reflects the strict classical style preferred for National Socialist architecture.

Painting and Music in the Third Reich

October 25, 2011

Wilhelm Kriessmann joins Carolyn Yeager for a discussion of the thriving and varied art and music life of National Socialist Germany. Dr. Kriessmann was in Austria during the 1930s, and stationed in Berlin from Dec. 1940 to March 1942, thus able to experience all of the culture that was available.

Image: Liepzig Symphony performance conducted by Wagnerian C. Muck, attended by Adolf Hitler

Polish air disaster at Katyn commemoration

April 12 , 2010

Dr. Wilhelm Kriessmann returns as Carolyn’s guest to discuss:

  • The crash of the airliner carrying Polish dignitaries to the Katyn commemoration
  • The causes of the start of the war between Poland and Germany
  • The murders at Katyn by the NVKD, and the wrongful blaming of Germany for the crime

51 min.

From RT, Oct. 2012: The investigation by the Interstate Aviation Committee revealed that in addition to the severe weather conditions, the pilots had been subjected to pressure by some of the high-ranking passengers onboard. Transcripts from the plane’s black box revealed the pilots were forced to land as soon as possible. The recording also showed that one official entered the cockpit many times throughout the flight, and that the Chief of the Air Force of Poland was present in the cockpit at the time of the crash.

Who started WWII?

August 23, 2010

Dr. Wilhelm Kriessmann returns as Carolyn’s guest to discuss the ideas and important data presented in Viktor Suvorov’s book, The Chief Culprit: Stalin’s Grand Design to Start WWII. Topics include:

  • Goal of Soviet Union was to communize Europe through Germany;
  • Offensive military build-up in USSR began in 1939;
  • Massive movement of Red Army troops and material to western border was completed in June 1941:
  • Operation Barbarossa narrowly beat a devastating attack from Soviet Union;
  • Who was behind Rudolf Hess’ peace mission to Britain?

 0 hour 48 min.

Detention Years - Camps Wolfsberg and Wetzelsdorf

June 28, 2010

Wolfsberg main gate
(click here to enlarge)
 

Auschwitz main gate
(click hereto enlarge)

Wilhelm Kriessmann answers Carolyn’s questions about Wolfsberg. Topics include:

  • Life as a detainee under the British at Wolfsberg is detailed; was it really worse at Auschwitz?
  • Dr. Kriessman’s report from Austria: Immigration top concern

Wilhelm Kriessmann - The War Years

June 14, 2010

Dr. Kriessmann gives his personal account of:
  • Life in Berlin as pilot for the general staff
  • Ninety-three bomber missions on the Eastern Front
  • How and why he was put in a British detention camp after returning home
  • Conditions and companions in Wolfsberg and Wetzelsdorf camps

Picture: Pen & ink drawing from 1946 by Dr. Kriessmann’s father: Inside the Wolfsberg British-run detention camp near Klagenfurt, where both were held after WWII. Click here to enlarge

0 hour 55 min.

Wilhelm Kriessmann's Memoir of 1925 to 1938

May 10, 2010

Carolyn talks with Dr. Kriessmann about his book When I was a Schoolteacher’s Boy, a chronicle of his youth in Feistritz im Rosental (Austria) during the turbulent years between the World Wars. Topics include:

  • A nationalist family
  • School fraternities and the Hitler Youth
  • The Austrian Anchluss, the culmination of hopes

0 hour 51 min.

Interview with Wilhelm L. Kriessmann

March 15, 2010

Carolyn talks with World War II Wehrmacht veteran and Luftwaffe bomber pilot Wilhelm Kriessmann (pictured right in 1940 enlarge) about the political climate in Austria during his youth in the 1920s and ’30s; then his wartime and post-war experiences. Kriessmann was incarcerated in the British concentration camp for political prisoners at Wolfsberg for nine months after his return to his family home in Sept. 1945; then for a further eight months at Camp Wetzelsdorf before being released in 1947 and continuing his education.

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Interviews

Interviews and discussions with Wilhelm Kriessmann conducted by Carolyn Yeager for "The Heretics' Hour" between March 2010 and November 2011.

Scrapbook

Pages from Willi's and Trude's scrapbooks, presented as PDF's so you can enlarge the pages for more detailed viewing of the photographs.

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