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Wolfsangel: A German City on Trial, 1945-48

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On August 26, 1944, a small town in western Germany endured fifty-nine minutes of `strategic bombing' by the RAF which destroyed homes and businesses alike. The dead and wounded were civilians. A few hours later, the crew of a downed B-24 Liberator captured after a bombing raid on another town, was marched through the rubble of Russelsheim.
The citizens of Russelsheim, presuming that these eight young men were the `Canadians' who had destroyed their town, cursed and spat upon them at first. Then a middle-aged housewife screamed, "There are the terror flyers. Tear them to pieces! Beat them to death! They have destroyed our houses!" With those words, she threw a brick which ignited a riot which resulted in the death of the airmen. A year later, after the war was over, an American military court tried eleven Russelsheimers for war crimes and murder.
Augusto Nigro explores the horrors of war and the impact of unrelenting terror on ordinary citizens. He questions the morality that condones the bombing of towns and villages well beyond the lines of combat yet prosecutes and hangs people who kill those who bomb and terrorize. Are there any rules in all-out war, he asks?
WOLFSANGEL is an important book. Well-researched and thought out, it tells this little known story in simple, straight forward language that makes for easy reading while touching on the illusive nature of `right and wrong' in a world turned upside down by war. The unanswered questions of 1944 remain issues today as we face a `war on terrorism' by bombing towns and villages suspected of harboring those who terrorize us. It makes the head spin.

This is a brief story of a B-24 bomber crew that had to leave their plane after bombing an airport near Hannover, Germany. The nine members of the crew were captured by German military. After capture, eight of the members were being marched to a Stalig POW camp. They had to disembark their train because of damage to the railway lines from a RAF attack the previous night. This raid caused considerable damage to the nearby town of Russelsheim, home of the Adam Opel Werks, a munitions and auto plant. Most of the German civilians of this town were unharmed, although many of the slave laborers were killed in the RAF raid.

As they were marched through the town, they were set upon by the German civilians and six were killed. Most were stoned, beaten with hammers, 2 by 4s, and shovels. A local Nazi official shot four of them with his pistol, gang land style. Of course, when the American Army marched into this town, many forgot about this crime and said they had no part in it. The story reviews the trial and the execution of six of the murderers. Three others (two women) were later released after serving jail terms. These three had been condemned to death. Other civilians of this riot were also given jail terms.

The author tries to evoke some sympathy for the German civilians and refers to the bomber crews as Terror Fliers. Well, I wasn't taken in by this kind talk. What this pack of 150 civilians did was cold blooded murder. Justice was served by Leon Jaworski, latter of Watergate fame, who made sure the leaders of the pack got what they deserved--the hangman's noose. The people I feel sorry for were these poor men being stoned to death, or the slave laborers at the Adam Opel Werks. Those would be the people to feel sorry for. I give the author credit for writing about something that wasn't known. This book predates Flyboys, so the author should be credited with writings an interesting story.

I know the story rather well. My grandfather was William Adams. He was one of the crew members on the Wham Bam Thank You Mam. IN fact, he was the nose gunner on the downed-plane. Anyway, this book is accurate in some accounts but the author neglected to satisfy all omniscent accounts related to personal information. I'm aware that he couldn't understand every detail but he shouldn't have assumed and overlooked family data. My grandfather had two sons AND two daughters. I'm confused why he never questioned my grandmother about the incident. She knew my grandfather better than any other. SO, why couldn't he have talked and interrogated her? Sometimes personal information can help a person understand the story better and help to further promote precision. I am a great lover of historic events but when a personal association to my grandfather's past incident is addressed with inadequate data about his life, I'm offended. However, I am appreciative to the fact that another person spent time and was interested in this case. I commend the author for researching desire but hope that he will resort further into the field of personal information. There are some "typos" in the book that should be rechecked as well. I understand that it is impossible to complete anything perfect but alterations and revisions should be made to help "perfect" the completed novel.