More than 66 years have passed since the end of the Great Patriotic War. During this time, much has been rethought, much has been criticized, and much has not yet been appreciated. There is no doubt about the feat of the Soviet people, who, at the cost of colossal losses, defended the independence of the country in which we now live.
In many respects, the roles of some military leaders, both on the part of the Red Army and on the part of the Wehrmacht, have not been defined. One of the most controversial personalities in the elite of the Hitlerite army is Friedrich Paulus. His career is a vivid example of how a person who came from a simple family can reach phenomenal heights.
As the author of the Barbarossa plan, Paulus warned Hitler against the capricious sentiments that the Soviet Union would be captured in a maximum of three months. According to him, the Russian frosts are quite capable of becoming a serious obstacle to the implementation of the set goals. This judgment has become one of the visionary ones. It is worth saying that during Paulus's participation in hostilities, he managed to cultivate in himself a kind of extraordinary premonition. This foreboding allowed him to always see a little further than both his associates and his opponents could see. However, whatever the gift of providence of Friedrich Paulus, he once let him down. And this mistake became fatal for Paulus. We are talking about the protracted Battle of Stalingrad, in which Paulus believed until the end that help from Germany would enable his 6th Army to get out of the "cauldron" and open the way for the Wehrmacht to the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea.
In the midst of the operation in Stalingrad, which was destroyed to the ground, Paulus began to understand that the days of the 6th Army were numbered, and this could only mean that the war was lost by Hitler. It was at the very moment when Soviet shells were exploding over the basement in which Paulus' headquarters was located, and absurdly bravura marches were broadcast from Germany on the radio, the commander finally realized that support from Berlin would continue to consist not in real actions, but in psychological processing him and his subordinate soldiers and officers. History knows an episode when Paulus, not believing that the Fuhrer knew about the plight of the 6th Army, sent an envoy to Berlin on a communications plane, who told "without embellishment" about the state of the Wehrmacht troops in Stalingrad. However, Hitler did not want to understand that Paulus and his soldiers were doomed. The Fuhrer even decided to encourage his general and awarded him the rank of field marshal.
After that, Paulus was finally convinced that he now has only two choices - suicide or captivity. And here for the first time the iron Paulus wavered. He was never able to commit suicide, and decided on humiliating for any general, and even more so a field marshal, capture. Someone calls it cowardice, someone pragmatism. But you need to understand the state of Paulus in order to hang on him the stigma of a traitor. However, many relatives of the soldiers and officers of the 6th Army who died at Stalingrad, until the end of Friedrich Paulus's life, could not forgive him for his act in January 1943.
The field marshal chose Soviet captivity and a few months later became a member of the SSS (Union of German Officers). As part of this association, Paulus tried to convey to the citizens of Germany that the continuation of the war was pointless and that peace should be made with the USSR, but most of the Germans perceived all his words as Soviet propaganda.
Paulus lived in the USSR until 1953, and then, after the death of Stalin, he was repatriated to the GDR. By the way, there are still many rumors about the content of the field marshal on the territory of the Union. According to some sources, he was fully supported by the state, had the opportunity to live with his wife Elena-Constance for a long time and even relax in the resorts of the Caucasus and Crimea. According to other information, Paulus was kept in a special apartment, which was, in fact, a prison with all the amenities without communication with the outside world. All witnesses of Paulus's stay in the USSR are unanimous that the field marshal did not feel any special need. Fresh food, expensive alcohol and even real cigars were delivered to his table. He had the opportunity to get acquainted with newspapers, however, only Soviet ones. Based on this, Paulus was hated by those in the Union who knew about his existence, and the majority of German citizens.
Having been at the pinnacle of success, Paulus at the last stage of his life became a stranger among his own and could not become his own among strangers. He sincerely believed that in 1943 he made the right choice, but few approved of this choice, even from his entourage. Undoubtedly, among his thoughts flashed through the one who said that in frosty Stalingrad, after the Germans in Berlin buried Paulus's empty coffin with gratitude and honors, it would have been better for him to really put a bullet in his temple. But history has already said a lot about the subjunctive mood, and it was pointless for Paulus to think about this immediately after his surrender.
Returning to Germany, Paulus lived there for less than four years. Surprisingly, Paulus was not even forbidden to sign his letters with the combination "Field Marshal". But the loyalty of the socialist authorities of the GDR was not supported by the people. Even Friedrich Paulus' own son, Alexander, could not come to terms with the fact that his father went against the oath.
So who is Friedrich Paulus: a calculating and pragmatic warrior or an ordinary coward? Everyone has their own answer to this question.
