Luftwaffe Bomber pilot offers apology

[TBH]

Decorated Luftwaffe Bomber pilot Willi Schludecker is to return to the city he bombed to make an apology in the annual remembrance service. He ruined dozens of buildings in Bath, Somerset, in April 1942 in his Dornier 217E-4. His dying wish is to make amends. "The war was madness. I realise now what I did and will come back to say sorry. I was afraid the British would be very angry but I find that now they are very gentle." Chris Kilminster, who lost relatives in the raid said it was a difficult decision to allow Schludecker to take part: "It took me a while to come to terms with the idea.Interesting story, if he wishes, by way of an apology, to make even the slightest of ammends for his part in the atrocities carried out in his country's name then good for him and I hope it eases his own concience a bit.
Mr Kilminster is allowing Schludecker to attend even if he can't forgive, good for him.

[Kevin Milkins]

Interesting story, if he wishes, by way of an apology, to make even the slightest of ammends for his part in the atrocities carried out in his country's name then good for him and I hope it eases his own concience a bit.
Mr Kilminster is allowing Schludecker to attend even if he can't forgive, good for him.

They say time is a good healer.
Perhaps some good may come of it.

[Sporran]

One must remember that Herr Schludecker was acting under military orders at the time he took part in the bombing of Bath. Just because he was ordered to do it doesn't mean he enjoyed it! The death and destruction he helped cause has obviously been on his conscience all these years. I say grant the old man his dying wish to make amends! Furthermore, there are two sides to every story. I lived in Germany for several years, and hadn't been aware of just how badly and extensively the Allies had bombed that country, till then. It brought tears to my eyes when I saw films and photographs of the death and destruction caused by the Allies. Millions of innocent civilians - men, women and children - were obliterated by the heavy bombings of German cities during the closing chapters of World War II. Yes, Britain was bombed too, but there were innocents killed on both sides, and we musn't forget that. War is an ugly thing, no matter which side you're on!

[northener]

I sincerely hope the gentlemans troubled concience is eased by his visit and words.

But, on a greater scale, I believe that the current fad of apologising for everything is ridiculous, unnecessary and somewhat demeaning for all those involved.

I would not expect, or welcome any apologies from any members of the Argentine military who I fought against. I would never offer any apologies to them either.
If anything, I'd buy them a pint and hope they would reciprocate.

Life goes on, get over it.
.

[percy toboggan]

This must have been on the poor mans mind for over sixty years.
Bath is a lovely place...or parts of it are...I didn't even know it had been blitzed...just shows you eh.

War is an ugly thing...perhaps the very ugliest of things...and I think Germany...as a nation now realises the winds of war it sowed, and the whirlwind it reaped was a sorry, shameful chapter in its history. Not for many of the honourable combatant individuals though..as Sporran points out the man was under orders... orders to mete out remote destruction... perhaps easier & less troubling to carry out than shoting innocents in the head.

If I had the honour of meeting this brave airman I would shake him by the hand....he sounds like a thoroughly decent man.

[Coggy]

My Dad always says the first bomb on the UK mainland fell on Caithness, somewhere near Loch of Hempriggs in early 1940.

[domino]

I feel that this man has set an example which many others should be proud to follow

[JAWS]

Apart from the fact that he himself feels the need to apologise I certainly do not feel anybody could claim the right to expect it of him.

If it eases any pain he himself feels then I hope it assists him by doing that. He was doing no more and no less than his duty to his Country in a time of war and as such, as far as I am concerned, he personally bears no guilt.

I feel sorry that he has been forced into a position where he obviously feels some burden of shame for things which were completely beyond his control.

That he has been made to feel obliged to apologise says more about the attitudes of modern society towards men like him than it does about any actions he, and countless thousands like him on all side, carried out.

[EDDIE]

Apart from the fact that he himself feels the need to apologise I certainly do not feel anybody could claim the right to expect it of him.

If it eases any pain he himself feels then I hope it assists him by doing that. He was doing no more and no less than his duty to his Country in a time of war and as such, as far as I am concerned, he personally bears no guilt.

I feel sorry that he has been forced into a position where he obviously feels some burden of shame for things which were completely beyond his control.

That he has been made to feel obliged to apologise says more about the attitudes of modern society towards men like him than it does about any actions he, and countless thousands like him on all side, carried out.

jaws you hit the nail on the head with this topic 100% correct

[percy toboggan]

[quote=JAWS;369714]I feel sorry that he has been forced into a position where he obviously feels some burden of shame for things which were completely beyond his control.

[quote]

They were not 'completely' out of his control...he was complicit..of course he was. This probably explains the enduring conscience and his quest for absolution. The events were beyond his say-so of course, and he had no way of stopping them...therefore to self-sacrifice himself by disobeying orders would in itself have been pointless. I think it is primarily his part in them that troubles him so. There is no escaping his burden...many who did likewise - on either side - will share it to a lesser or greater degree. It is to their credit that they still think of it...although I suspect such experiences will never depart ones head, no matter how long afterwards one survives.

The sadness here is not just the individuals sense of guilt but the overarching sense of futility sixty five years down the line.

[Boozeburglar]

I have friends that were in Gulf disaster part 1 who regret and are sorry for the whole thing.

Retrospect is a cruel irony for those who survive battle.

[percy toboggan]

I have friends that were in Gulf disaster part 1 who regret and are sorry for the whole thing.

Retrospect is a cruel irony for those who survive battle.

The statistics for suicides amongst survivors of battle are truly staggering.I'm not suggesting the fate might befall your friends...but truly the horrors of war etch deep , and are hard to compartmentalise, much less rationalise...I imagine ...for I speak as one with no experience of anything beyond a brief fist fight or a heated argument...fortunate indeed.