06-10-1944, 2nd volume, no. 24, Page 2
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cover / introduction

The Crimea is Free Again!

The Crimea
Führer‘s Headquarters, May 14 (D.N.B.). The Supreme Command of the Armed Forces announces:
On May 13, the last German-Romanian troops were transported from Crimea to the mainland.
Since November 1, 1943, the Bolsheviks had been storming our weak defense there with overwhelming superiority. It was only in April that it became necessary to withdraw our troops to a narrow defensive ring around Sevastopol. Even there, the further attempts of the Bolsheviks to break the ring and destroy the German forces with 29 infantry divisions, several artillery divisions, armored, and naval brigades failed, resulting in heavy, bloody losses for the enemy. Formations of fighter and bomber aircraft, as well as flying artillery, have excellently supported the troops in their defense, destroying 604 enemy aircraft, 196 tanks, and 113 pieces of artillery only in the period from April 8 to May 12. Units of the German and Romanian navy and merchant navy, as well as transport formations of the air force, have successfully brought back the combined troops engaged in the battle on the Crimea to the mainland in a unique operation, despite vigorous enemy resistance.

The faces of these six men do not leave a favorable impression of their personalities; that‘s quite true because they are portraits of six tormentors and executioners in Eupatoria who, during the terror in the Crimea after General Wrangel‘s defeat, have been responsible for tens of thousands of murders. Also, a reminder, now that the Germans will soon liberate the Crimea from the Soviets! – 17/10 41

With difficulty, it was obtained,
What joy it brought back then,
But today everything is turning against us,
And now the Crimea is free again.

Simferopol, Kerch, Eupatoria,
Perekop, and Sevastopol,
When Soviet Russia lost them, yes,
We certainly didn‘t find it amusing.

The German victory cries,
We felt sorry for them enough back then,
We did not yet knew back then,
What they had to face,

Although the arch was overstretched long ago,
And the Kraut did possess the Crimea,
He had bled and fought
Only for an empty delusion.

He dreamt of the oilwells
In the nearby Caucasus,
And thought the war was already won,
However, he was completely mistaken.

What was taken with difficulty,
Is given up again today,
The German victory dreams
Fall like stalks of grain before the scythe.

Post-Editing: Kurt Gerhard Funke