Author Topic: Tombstone of SS officer stolen from Normandy cemetery  (Read 519 times)

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rangerrebew

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Tombstone of SS officer stolen from Normandy cemetery
« on: July 29, 2015, 11:58:12 am »
Tombstone of SS officer stolen from Normandy cemetery


By AFP     15 hours ago in World .

 
The gravestone of a formidable Nazi SS tank commander has been stolen from a German cemetery in the small Normandy town of La Cambe, municipal sources said Tuesday.

"The tombstone will be replaced. Even if it was a German officer, we must respect the dead," La Cambe's mayor, Bernard Lenice, told AFP.

A German national from the area who preferred to remain anonymous identified the SS officer whose tombstone was stolen "a few days ago" as tank commander Michael Wittmann.

"It was a square tombstone bolted to the ground with his name engraved upon it, but without any other inscription," the source said, saying nothing on the stone indicated Wittmann's role in the SS.

The German said the grave attracted numerous visitors -- including Britons and Americans -- drawn by Wittman's reputation as having been one of the most daunting tank commanders in the German army.

The northwestern French region of Normandy was the theatre of fierce World War II battles between occupying Nazi forces and Allied armies that advanced eastward following the D-Day invasion.

The remains of soldiers from various countries involved in the fighting lie in graveyards across the area. The bodies of around 21,000 German soldiers are buried in La Cambe alone.

The theft of Wittmann's stone has been reported to local police officials for investigation.


Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/tombstone-of-ss-officer-stolen-from-normandy-cemetery/article/439582#ixzz3hHTTDZdW

Offline PzLdr

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Re: Tombstone of SS officer stolen from Normandy cemetery
« Reply #1 on: July 29, 2015, 12:29:59 pm »
Wittmann is ranked as one of, if not the, greatest tank commanders in history He's credited with some 137-147 enemy tanks, mostly between 1942 and August 8th, 1944, when he was killed in action against 8 British Shermans, including at least three "Fireflies" [17 pounder guns]. He also destroyed innumerable 'soft skinned' vehicles and artillery pieces. He is credited with the major part of the victory over the British 7th Armored 'Desert Rats' at Villers Bocage.

A veteran of the German Army, Wittmann joined the Waffen SS in 1936. He was the holder of the Knight's Cross, Iron Cross 1st and Second, and the Tank Assault Badge.
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