German Ww2 Veteran Interview
His-103 This is my interview with Dr. Alfred Meckel and his World War II experience. He was born in 1924 when Germany was still in hard times due to the harsh sanctions from the rest of the world after World War 1. As a young boy at the age of 9 Hitler came to power. At such a young age he thought that Hitler would be the man who could lead Germany out of its tough economic hardships and bring them up to the rest of the world’s standards. It was not until several years into the war that he was more critical and found out that the regime was brutal and faced many problems with no human rights and oppression against others with different political and religious views. During the times when Hitler was in power, he started what was known as the Hitler Youth. It was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. It was made up of the Hitlerjugend for male youth ages 14–18; the younger boys' section Deutsches Jungvolk for ages 10–14; and the girls' section the League of German Girls. After going through several years of this camp, (which he compared to today’s version of the Boy Scouts with some military training) it was finally time for him to decide on a job in the German military ranks. He had heard from several of his older peers in the Hitler Youth that the pilots in the Luftwaffe were among the strongest and most skilled in the world.
Mr. Meckel said the Luftwaffe school was divided into several phases of training. The first step was going to the university in Germany to complete his 1 year of pre-requisites, the second phase being completion of basic training. The next step in the process was pilot school recruit, followed by the start of your actual pilot school. After his completion at the university in Berlin, he was shipped off to basic training. The train ride into training was the worst part of his basic training. He was given a uniform and was packed tightly into old cattle trains along with 48 other
Mr. Meckel said the Luftwaffe school was divided into several phases of training. The first step was going to the university in Germany to complete his 1 year of pre-requisites, the second phase being completion of basic training. The next step in the process was pilot school recruit, followed by the start of your actual pilot school. After his completion at the university in Berlin, he was shipped off to basic training. The train ride into training was the worst part of his basic training. He was given a uniform and was packed tightly into old cattle trains along with 48 other