The “Bazooka” [Panzerfaust]

Every Soldier a P.A.K.
Have you ever seen a Panzerfaust?
The layman says: a piece of pipe with a double cone-shaped head, it can’t get any simpler! A man easily carries the weapon under his arm, quickly learns to operate it skillfully, and blasts a heavy tank to pieces with it. Then he reloads and takes on another tank! That’s exactly the weapon the Germans needed against the massive tank armies of the enemy! The inventor of the Panzerfaust recently explained how he came up with his design. For years, he studied the problem of how the mercenary soldiers defeated the heavily armored knight armies of the Middle Ages with their firearms, and he searched for the modern application of this ancient story. It was not uncommon for one man to destroy a heavy tank. However, this was done through a daring leap with an explosive charge onto or near the tank, requiring courage and exceptional skill. The Panzerfaust enables every ordinary soldier to be a “tank cracker” on his own. The Volkssturm men are equipped with this new weapon. In East Prussia, heavy Soviet tanks are being destroyed by Hitler Youth and veterans of World War I who had never before seen the enemy’s monster tanks. A war correspondent said, “The terror of the tanks in their hands has conquered the fear of tanks in their hearts.” A soldier put it this way: “With the Panzerfaust in hand, every Landser becomes his own heavy PAK” (anti-tank gun). One man against one or more tanks, that is the only way to defeat the red tank onslaught from the East. But it will succeed in this way too! That’s why the German grenadiers say, „Blessed be the Panzerfaust!“ – 26-1-45

The workers in the factories in Breslau are all equipped with a Panzerfaust and have been assured that they will be warned in time to resist the advancing Soviet tank spearheads. The Volkssturm is defending itself exceptionally well, as reported by German correspondents of the Swiss newspapers. The newspapers describe the behavior of the population as heroic. – 27-1-45

The Russian Army, like a hurricane,
Sweeps through the German regions,
Now be grateful, my dear,
The German Army is getting beaten.

The German path no longer leads
Like it once did beyond roses,
Dr. Goebbels is having a hard time,
Because Gleiwitz, Memel, Posen

And many other cities
Are already in Russian hands,
Many have had enough,
And ask: How will this end?

Stalin is like a surgeon,
We sees him operating,
We see him amputating Silesia, Brandenburg,
And Pomerania.

Limb after limb from the German Reich
Falls under Stalin’s knife today,
And Goebbels sings a new song:
Now you’re doing better:

Even if the Russian storm wind roars,
That cannot trouble you,
For now you have the Panzerfaust,
The Russians will whimper.

The Panzerfaust will certainly
Bring salvation to your army,
Make Germany empty of Russians again,
With it, you will succeed.

Through it, every one of you
Will transform into a cannon,
Stalin thought he could make it,
But he can’t do a thing.

Thanks to the Führer and to Speer,
You have the Panzerfaust,
The Russians have the Stalin tank,
And already saw themselves in spirit

In your capital, in Berlin,
But that’s out of the question,
The Panzerfaust will destroy him
And create a new situation.

With it, the German soldier
Destroys dozens of tanks,
So show the Russians the way out
And their journey through Germany

Won’t lead to the desired goal,
To break your necks,
The war will become child’s play,
I promise you that.

With Panzerfausts, it’s easy,
You will see soon,
The great turning point will be reached,
The Russians will come to a halt.

You have V-One, you have V-Two,
And other innovations,
But Germany did not remain free of Russians,
The Nazi Nibelungs,

they now bring the Panzerfaust
As the ultimate hit,
The German eagle is disheveled
And bald and thin,

The Reich is desolate and burned,
Now the Nazis push
The Panzerfaust into your hands,
Even though it’s useless.

And yet it corresponds to the taste
And feeling of most,
Because otherwise, you would crush this rabble
With your own fists.