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Voted for Nazi Party in Election
He felt very drawn to Hitler, due to his bold promises and his ability to bring a sense of national pride to Germany. This was greatly needed for the nation after its defeat in WWI and the harsh penalities imposed on them from the Treaty of Versailles. -
Joined German Army
One of many people that felt inspired to join the German military. He felt that Germany's military should be equal to that of France, even though that conocept violated the Treaty of versailles. -
Part of Invasion of Poland
Video about the invasion He was part of a tank crew. He met little resistance by the mostly cavalry Polish army. The invasion technique became known as "Blitzkreig." Hitler had convinced his people that Poland attacked first. -
Invasion of Denmark
Met very little resistance. The Danish king surrendered that day of the invasion, given that his country's neighbor, Norway, had already fallen to Germany. -
Invasion of Soviet Union
Video of invasion footage He was part of a crew operating one of over 3000 tanks. It was part of the largest invasion force in history. The codename was Operation Barbossa. The forced moved over 300 miles into Russia in just a few days. This decision violated the non-aggression pact. Hitler made the decision to invade partly because he felt that the Soviet invasion of Romania threatened his oil supply. -
Part of Battle of Stalingrad
Battle videoThe Battle of Stalingrad began in 1942 after much success in Russia for the Germans. Hitler wanted to take the oil fields of Caucusus, and he figured that he needed to get through Stalingrad in order to do it. Christoph was involved in a great deal of hand to hand combat. -
Germans Surender- sent to POW camp
Christoph's unit surrendered, against Hitler's orders. Christoph became one of the 91000 German soldiers to become POW. -
Start to get lessons in Russian Communism
Christoph was one of many POW's that received biweekly lessons in communism. Like most, he was too passionate about his beliefs in facism to be start beleiving in communist ideas. -
Soviet Union Defeats Germany- new assignment
Germany surrenderd. This was not the end for any of the German prisoners in Russia, including Christoph. He was one of 1000 German Pows sent to rebuild Velikye Luki, Russia's largest railway repair shop. They worked alongside some Russian citizens in this task. -
Poor Conditions Lead to Death
Like many POWs in Russia, Christoph met his demise before he ever left Russia. The Soviets liked to give fewer rations to those who were less productive. Although Christoph was originaly very motivated to work hard, he grew hopeless and less determined to work, which lead to him receiving less food, and that caused his death.
