Episode Nine - "Why We Fight"

Easy Company Medic Eugene Roe: The Mini Series: Episode Nine - "Why We Fight"
Written by John Orloff and directed by David Frankel
About the concentration camps...




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Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Patric Miller (Pmiller) (207.189.147.136 - 207.189.147.136) on Monday, October 29, 2001 - 03:06 pm:

I have read much about the liberation of the concentration camps, but until this episode, have never seen the impact their discovery had on the liberating troops portrayed so clearly.

As in the entire series, this episode and its honest portrayal of all involved, sets the bar for any video or movie that will come after it. From the horror and indignation of everyone from the Ivy League educated to those who got their literature from the comic and serial books of the era, "Why We Fight" crossed all boundaries to bring home the gut-wrenching reality of mans inhumanity to man.

This series has changed my perspective on life as an American citizen. It makes me feel not only thankful to those who fought and died for our freedom, but unworthy of earning that right in my own life.

Incredible script, direction and acting. My sincere thanks to all who served, and all who are telling their story

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By T.G. (Turtlegirl) (152.163.207.54 - 152.163.207.54) on Monday, October 29, 2001 - 06:29 pm:

I taped this episode because I thought that I might want to see it again and I'm sure I will. It was amazing, especially the one scene when they arrive at the camp, with the guys' reactions and the prisoners' reactions. That was just unbelievable.
I can't wait until next week's episode, and the documentary. Looks good.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By TSanders (Theo51) (66.68.180.15 - 66.68.180.15) on Monday, October 29, 2001 - 09:11 pm:

Does anyone know if the guy in the sack with the girl was really one of the Easy Co. men, or just filler to lead into Spier's looting problem? I couldn't make out the name Spier's calls the man before entering the room.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By T.G. (Turtlegirl) (205.188.195.175 - 205.188.195.175) on Monday, October 29, 2001 - 09:31 pm:

I think, but I'm not sure, I saw that guy later in the episode, so I guess he's one of the Easy Co. guys, but I'm not exactly sure.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Katie (Katie) (141.155.7.218 - 141.155.7.218) on Wednesday, October 31, 2001 - 03:13 pm:

The guy in the sack is Janovec who was indeed a member of Easy Company. You see him later telling Nix and Vest that 300,000 German soldiers have surrendered and then reading the newspaper and telling Luz that "it seems the Germans are bad."

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Lana Luz Miller (Lana) (152.163.194.191 - 152.163.194.191) on Wednesday, October 31, 2001 - 05:18 pm:

I had no idea who that naked man was either until I picked up the book and looked for him. I was just glad that my father (Luz) wasn't the one who was caught in the sack! How embarrassing that would have been since I watched it with my mother! Anyway, poor Janovec is killed in an accident in Austria. One of many accidents that happened while they were there.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Ashleigh (Ashleigh) (152.163.204.201 - 152.163.204.201) on Monday, November 26, 2001 - 06:20 pm:

Hey everyone!! This is one of my favorite episodes. It was definitely emotional when they found the concentration camps. It looked awful. The acting done in this episode was also superb. The reaction and emotion was so real. It is ashame how a human being could do that to another human being. But on a happier note the men of Easy Company were definitely brave and heroic. At least in my eyes they were. I like the song they were singing to, "We ain't gonna jump no more!". My dad knew some of the words but not all of them. If anyone has all of the words please email me at Brattygurl5588@aol.com. Have a nice day everyone!!

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By emma scott (Hope_N_Glory) (195.92.168.171 - 195.92.168.171) on Monday, December 10, 2001 - 08:47 am:

/image ross mcall (liebgott)
Joe Liebgott (ross mcall0 When he discovers while translating for Maj Winters (damian lewis) that the people in the concentration camp are jewish.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By emma scott (Hope_N_Glory) (195.92.168.171 - 195.92.168.171) on Monday, December 10, 2001 - 08:55 am:

ok the post above this was meant 2 have a pic on it never mind ill get it up eventually

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By emma scott (Hope_N_Glory) (195.92.168.165 - 195.92.168.165) on Tuesday, December 11, 2001 - 06:00 am:

\image joesph liebgott (ross mcall) in episode 9 when he is translating for maj winters and he learns that the people in the concentration camp are jewish

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By robyn (Robyn) (64.231.9.172 - 64.231.9.172) on Saturday, December 22, 2001 - 03:15 pm:

Just wanted to add that I also really enjoyed Ross McCall as Joseph Leibgott. His character really evolved through the series. I hope Ross is also acknowledged for this role.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Chris Langlois (Chrisdfw) (12.239.86.117) on Friday, April 26, 2002 - 09:24 pm:

Dachau

Crematorium ovens at Dachau concentration camp

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Chase Prescott (Chasey666) (205.188.200.23) on Thursday, May 02, 2002 - 08:53 pm:

<i>The guy in the sack is Janovec who was indeed a member of Easy Company. You see him later telling Nix and Vest that 300,000 German soldiers have surrendered and then reading the newspaper and telling Luz that "it seems the Germans are bad."</i>

are you sure it was Janovec? I've read that it was Luz but i'm not positive

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Amy K Clark (Akclark) (170.160.9.3) on Thursday, June 06, 2002 - 03:27 pm:

Has anyone noticed the inconsistency in dates for this episode? Don't get me wrong...one of my favorite, though most difficult to watch, episodes of the series. But did you notice in the beginning, when Luz, Webster, et al are joined by Nixon (who informs them that the men are playing Beethoven, not Mozart) they show the date as April 11, 1945? Then it backtracks to one month earlier, when they found the camp at Landsberg, and finally jumps back to the original scene of the guys listening to music. Nixon announces that Hitler's dead. But Hitler married his mistress and then killed himself on April 30, 1945. Did time pass during the episode (after April 11) that I missed? Or did they get it wrong? If that's the case, I would hope that it be corrected...a series as brilliantly done as this can't afford such a noticeable error.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By irene vrinte (Gijoe) (62.251.0.22) on Friday, June 07, 2002 - 02:36 pm:

i agree with you and already noticed this mistake myself. is it something we don't get or is it REALLY an error? with such an accuracy seen in all the epi's, it is very strange they get something this fundamental wrong...?!
could hardly believe it myself when i saw it...

irene

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Amy K Clark (Akclark) (170.160.9.3) on Friday, June 07, 2002 - 02:45 pm:

Irene,
First off, thanks for responding! I thought I was going nuts. :) I've seen all the episodes at least 4 times, and when I watched 9 last, my jaw dropped when I actually looked at the date. I couldn't believe it!
It's been awhile since I've read the book, and I don't have a copy with me. Do you happen to remember when Easy set out for Thalem? They went to The Eagle's Nest right before V-E Day (which if I recall correctly is May 7, 1945). So we're essentially missing a few weeks in the miniseries.
Confusing...to say the least...
Amy

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By irene vrinte (Gijoe) (62.251.0.22) on Saturday, June 08, 2002 - 01:51 pm:

wow did you really see every epi 4 times? i only taped 8,9 and 10 (STUPID me) and i don't think we are gonna get a rerun before the release. which, by the way, i think is november 19 not november 5 but i could be wrong.
i've got a copy of the book right here and am looking it up.......
okay then it says on page 262 that easy saw its first concentrationcamp (Landsberg) on April 29. also it reached Berchtedgaden on May 4, i believe. VE-day indeed is May 7 1945, and you can see Nixon's pic in the book taken on the morning of May 8; DEFINATELY a HUGE hangover...;)
anyway, i can't find thalem anywhere in the book! in epi 9 we see a flashback to the concentrationcamp, and because you read in the book they first saw Landsberg on April 29, Nixon saying Hitler is dead could be right. they were in Thalem, sitting on the roof and watching the germans moving the clutter AFTER April 29.

i'm a little confused right now myself but i think it's not a mistake Nixon says Hitler is dead. he is. but the date at the beginning of the epi is just wrong. it says April 11 or 14 i forgot, but that can't be right since they only saw Landsberg at the 29th and it is a FLASHBACK. the date in the beginning of the epi should be May 2 or so, just before they went to Austria.

or did the makers of the series 'change' the date at which they encountered Landsberg?????!!
my guess is they've got the date wrong that begins the epi, where it says 'thalem, germany april 11' or something like it.

waaaaaaahhhhhhh i have no brain and am totally confused right now. i can't believe they've got it all wrong.....
i'll ask the people on the dreamworks talkbalk, they know everything :)

regards,
irene

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By irene vrinte (Gijoe) (62.251.0.22) on Saturday, June 08, 2002 - 02:00 pm:

okay then i opened a new thread about this subject
used some of your info hope you don't mind i think we'll get an answer here ;)

http://www.dreamworksfansite.com/talkback/forumdisplay.php?forumid=26

the thread is 'dates in epi 9?!'

hope this helps, regards
irene

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By irene vrinte (Gijoe) (131.174.244.2) on Monday, June 10, 2002 - 10:41 am:

ok here's the explaination
the writers of the series also make a comment

I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY GOT IT WRONG BUT THEY DID

http://www.dreamworksfansite.com/talkback/showthread.php?threadid=2324&pagenumber=3

hope this helps you out

irene

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Amy K Clark (Akclark) (170.160.9.3) on Monday, June 10, 2002 - 02:11 pm:

Irene,
My god, you rock! Thanks for all the information!
I can't believe they got it wrong. A series that PRIDES itself on its historical accuracy, and they get something like this wrong...I hope they'll fix it for when the series comes out on DVD.
I really feel for the writer, especially since he had it RIGHT in his script! Kinda makes him look bad, you know?
Yes, I've seen every episode at least 4 times. I have them all on tape, but am planning on purchasing the DVDs when they come out. I've gotten to the point where I can recite some of the lines! Sad, I know, but I'm hooked. When I become interested in something, I tend to jump in with both feet. That, and the beauty of watching the episodes over and over again is that you catch new details each time. I just watched 1 and 2 last night again, and hadn't realized how much Alton Moore (played by ???) shows up in the early and later episodes. Same with Tipper.
Anyway, thanks again for all that work. Here's hoping they change it!
Amy

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Amy K Clark (Akclark) (170.160.9.3) on Monday, June 10, 2002 - 04:13 pm:

A new book is out on Jewish soliders fighting in Hitler's army. It's a tough idea to digest, but fascinating when you think of it in terms of survival.
Here's an excerpt, highlighted on Dateline last night (6/9/02):

IN 1940, UNTEROFFIZIER Dieter Bergmann wrote to his Jewish grandmother, Elly Landsberg née Mockrauer:
Don’t you realize how much I’m with my whole being rooted in Germany. My life would be very sad without my homeland, without the wonderful German art, without the belief in Germany’s powerful past and the powerful future that awaits Germany. Do you think that I can tear that all out of my heart? . . . Don’t I also have an obligation to my parents, to my brother who showed his love to our Fatherland by dying a hero’s death on the [battlefield]?
Bergmann wrote this letter in defense of his grandmother attacking him for being a “Nazi.” He had passionately performed his military duty and felt loyal to Germany. His grandmother felt scared for his future and believed Bergmann was not living in reality. However, Bergmann hoped that his army service and behavior would prove his Germanness: “Someday, I want to be a German amongst Germans and no longer a second-class citizen only because my wonderful mother is Jewish.” The Mischlinge’s tragedy was that they could not accept that they were no longer 100 percent German. For Hitler, they were separate from the Volk. However, they believed that they were and would remain German regardless of what Hitler said or did. This conviction explains why most remained in Germany during the increasing severity of Nazi laws beginning in 1933, and then subsequent to the end of the war, in 1945. . .
Some tried to change their racial status by denying their Jewish relatives. . . . Field Marshal and State Secretary of Aviation Erhard Alfred Richard Oskar Milch’s “Aryanization” was the most famous case of a Mischling falsifying a father. In 1933, Frau Clara Milch went to her son-in-law, Fritz Heinrich Hermann, police president of Hagen and later SS general, and gave him an affidavit stating that her deceased uncle, Carl Braüer, rather than her Jewish husband, Anton Milch, had fathered her six children. After SA Colonel Theo Croneiss denounced Milch to Göring, Göring took Milch’s mother’s affidavit to Hitler. In 1935, Hitler accepted the mother’s testimony and instructed Göring to have Dr. Kurt Meyer, head of the Reich Office for Genealogy Research, complete the paperwork. On 7 August 1935, Göring wrote Meyer to change Milch’s father in his documents and issue him papers certifying his pure Aryan descent. After the war, according to one of Göring’s interrogators, John E. Dolibois, Göring was proud that he had helped “the half-Jew Milch” remain in “his Luftwaffe.” . . . . Milch became a powerful field marshal, who according to historian James Corum, “ran the Luftwaffe and was its most powerful figure per personnel and planning issues, production, and even strategy.” In addition, Milch had close contact with many of the Nazi elite, entertaining the likes of Himmler, Goebbels, Hess, and Blomberg at his home. Milch’s mother sacrificed her reputation as well as her husband’s to protect her children. Without her lie, Milch might have lost his career and, along with it, his ability to protect his youngest daughter, Helga, who had Down syndrome, from Hitler’s euthanasia program. Moreover, Milch’s mother’s affidavit allowed her daughter to remain married to her husband, an SS general. Milch’s mother’s actions typified how thousands of Aryan mothers attempted, some successfully, most unsuccessfully, to erase their children’s racial stigma.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This excerpt from “Hitler’s Jewish Soldiers: The Untold Story of Nazi Racial Laws and Men of Jewish Descent in the German Military” by Bryan Mark Rigg is used with permission. ©2002 by the University Press of Kansas.

If anyone beats me to reading it, or already has, let me know your thoughts!

Amy

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By irene vrinte (Gijoe) (131.174.244.2) on Tuesday, June 11, 2002 - 10:34 am:

hi amy

you're very welcome. i TOTALLY agree with you about the whole 'it just gets better every time'-bit of your story. the makers payed so much attention to getting every detail right (ok then apart from that ONE they missed), that every detail deserves to be noticed....haha!
and also when i read 'When I become interested in something, I tend to jump in with both feet'; that could be me saying that! i'm totally like that too :)
for example; i learned the song 'blood on the risers' by heart and even found a version of the song 'Oklahoma' GREAT i can sing it now with poor O'Keefe......haha.
i don't have a dvdplayer and since i'm an almost broke university student i'll have to save every penny to buy a player and then the dvd's when they come out....but i'm trying!

irene, Nijmegen

ps oh yeah about this jumping in it with both feet; i'm going to visit omaha beach this summer, am planning a trip to Bastogne in the holidays and i'd really like to bycicle (i know you don't do that much but here in Holland everyone bycicles everywhere......:)) Hell's Highway: i think i'm going to Eindhoven by train bringing my bike with me and then ride up north straight to Arnhem....GREAT IDEA HUH?

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Amy K Clark (Akclark) (170.160.9.3) on Tuesday, June 11, 2002 - 11:13 am:

Irene,
I'M SO JEALOUS. While past being a poor university student (graduated a few years ago), I'm not quite up enough on my finances to take a trip such as yours. That, and I'm also considerably farther away from Normandy than you are. :) Please, please, please be sure to post your pictures when you return.
I don't have a DVD player either, but am still planning on buying the set when it comes out, as I can always camp out at my parents' house or a friend's house to use their player. Lana Miller (George Luz's daughter) told me that there will be outtakes and possibly cut scenes on the DVDs, and I can't miss out on the opportunity to see those!
Amy

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By irene vrinte (Gijoe) (131.174.155.188) on Wednesday, June 12, 2002 - 01:48 pm:

neither can i! :)
i'll post my pictures for you!

irene

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By irene vrinte (Gijoe) (131.174.155.188) on Wednesday, June 12, 2002 - 02:53 pm:

by the way
i just found out that BoB is being broadcast on this Belgium tv station. unfortunately, i already missed the first 4 epi's and also it is in French....waaaahhhh and they synchronize (sp?) it too.....:( so it's all 'bonjour Luz' etc...
not funny but hey i'm going to tape it anyway and then i'll just put the sound off! :)
am delighted anyway and i can't wait untill Saturday and then i'll see Crossroads and Bastogne (2 epi's every saturday) for my second time!!!!!

i just thought i'd share my happiness with you...:)

irene, aka GI Joe ;)

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Amy K Clark (Akclark) (170.160.9.3) on Wednesday, June 12, 2002 - 03:59 pm:

Do you want us to type out the lines in English? That way you can read along while you watch the episodes on mute? ;) Just kidding.

Consider yourself lucky that you get to see it again! Of course, I can watch it whenever I want, but I suppose I'm just rubbing that in....:)

Enjoy!

Amy

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By irene vrinte (Gijoe) (131.174.244.2) on Thursday, June 13, 2002 - 11:34 am:

yes you are:(

nevermind i've got the recaps which are great and i also have the book and of course i saw it all before. so it won't be much of a problem. i've had 4 years of french classes in highschool so i would be ashamed of myself if i cannot at least follow it a BIT.
the lines typed out in english would be great, though :)

thanks i will enjoy it!

irene

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Jane Lindholm (Jlindholm) (204.48.169.252) on Tuesday, July 02, 2002 - 02:30 am:

why4

Luz, last of the red hot lovers

why6

John Janovec [Tom Hardy] committing a serious violation of the non-fraternization rule; he doesn't seem overly concerned

why7

Capt. Speirs inquires as to the location of his ill-gotten booty [check out his complete lack of interest on interrupting inflagre delecto]

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Jane Lindholm (Jlindholm) (204.48.169.252) on Tuesday, July 02, 2002 - 02:37 am:

why10

Nix tells Winters his early morning jump was interrupted by his plane taking a hit; most of the men died; he has the lousy job of writing the families.

why11

Winters is no longer in a jovial mood

why15

Nix sharing news from home [again it was Lt. Foley doing the current events thing]

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Jane Lindholm (Jlindholm) (204.48.169.252) on Tuesday, July 02, 2002 - 02:50 am:

why24

Nix sings along with the men despite his misery [the men are singing, 'Blood on the Risers', thanx, HBO Messboards]

why25

‘It seems the Germans are baaad!’ I love the face Luz is making [along with everything else he does]

why26

Joe Liebgott [Ross McCall] is surprised to hear David Kenyon Webster [Eion Bailey] hasn't completed his education

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Jane Lindholm (Jlindholm) (204.48.169.252) on Tuesday, July 02, 2002 - 03:03 am:

why33

Perco, Christenson, Sgt. Denver 'Bull' Randleman [Michael Cudlitz], Joe Liesnewski [Simon Schatzberger] and Luz make a horrifying discovery

why34

Sgt. Don Malarkey [Scott Grimes] and Edward 'Babe' Heffron [Robin Laing] note the numbers tattooed on the arms of the victims

why39

Web is so angry and frustrated, he doesn't care to speak in German anymore

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By irene vrinte (Gijoe) (131.174.244.2) on Tuesday, July 02, 2002 - 07:03 am:

once again Jane; great work! i love the pictures!!!!! i also like that scene in epi 9 where Perco is sprinting back to the village to find Winters and tell him about what they've found.....

irene

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Jane Lindholm (Jlindholm) (204.48.169.252) on Wednesday, July 03, 2002 - 01:32 am:

Irene,
Yes, that was a good one. Even though we already know what Perco has to report to Maj. Winter's, its still shocking and disgusting.

Gimme some time, I'll try to see if I can do a screen cap of that scene. I like it because it mentions Lt. Jack E. Foley's name, one of my faves. He wasn't represented enough in BOB, despite his having alot of input in the book. Check out what has been put up about him on,

Main Page>Easy Company>Jack E Foley

Thanks for the words of appreciation, Irene! I'm not done yet.

Jane

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Marigold Papa (Marigold) (202.57.38.253) on Thursday, July 04, 2002 - 10:03 am:

oh wow! I love those pics. :) i've been saving some pics i have seen in the net and those sure would add to my collection. Thanks Jane. ;)

Gold

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Jane Lindholm (Jlindholm) (204.48.169.252) on Thursday, July 04, 2002 - 12:46 pm:

Gold?
From PH? I'm the moderator at Easycompanygroup.

For more pics go to,

http://photos.yahoo.com/jlindholm2000

I am severely behind in redoing these, some dont have captions. Some are still grainly. But nonetheless Enjoy!

Jane

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By alan james o'reilly (Alanor) (62.254.64.5) on Saturday, July 27, 2002 - 02:18 pm:

From today's statements and going through the messages above, I felt I should put down some impressions that have been going round in my head since the series last year. Please bear with me. This site is often quite theraputic.

"Why We Fight"

The patrol - see above - starts off in a relaxed mood, for the vets's anyhow. O'Keefe is apprehensive, prompting Randleman to ask "Whad'ya so nervous about, O'Keefe? The folks could hear your heart pounding back in Arkansas". Perconte is saying to Luz "Hey, George, don't this remind ya a' Bastogne?" "Well," says Luz, "there's no snow, we got warm food in our bellies and the trees ain't ****** explodin'...but apart from that, yeah, I guess it does remind me a' Bastogne - Bull, smack 'im for me will ya?"

Typical GI banter, I guess...

Then they come to the clearing and behold the sight that extinguishes all the banter. It leaves the veterans speechless. It leaves the new man O'Keefe numb with shock. It sends Perconte haring back as if the devil was after him, to find the Major. When he does, he exclaims "Sir, we found somethin'!" Puzzled, Winters asks "What did you find, Frank?" Perconte, who has seen most of the horrors that war can throw up, is stuck for words. "I - I dunno, Sir..." he replies.

On arrival at the camp, the officers locate one inmate who seems more coherent than the rest. Winters summons Liebgott to relay questions and interpret. "What's this place for, Joe?" the Major asks. Liebgott struggles with the answer. "Unwanted?, outcasts?" he suggests. The Major asks "Are they criminals?" The inmate vehemently responds in the negative. "Nein! Nein!" he insists and adds words that Liebgott relays as "teachers, shop keepers, office workers, musicians...Juden, Juden.." Liebgott is struck personally by the last term - it sets up the grim sequel in Ep. 10, that affected Skinny Sisk for years afterwards (see his letter to Winters in the book).

The troops undertake to get food and provisions to the inmates and Colonel Sink arrives with the senior medical officer of the division, who has distressing news. The inmates will have to be kept confined until the army can get its medical teams in and assess their condition. In the meantime, they cannot be fed ordinary food. "It's a cryin' ass shame, Dick," Sink declares to Winters "but we gotta do it!" Winters relays the order to Liebgott, who is aghast. "Sir, we can't do that!" he protests. "We've got to, Joe," Winters replies sadly, "it's Colonel Sink's order".

Liebgott, good soldier, climbs onto the back of a lorry and shouts "Achtung! Achtung!" He delivers the message as best he can but the situation is impossible. Liebgott does what any decent young man would do in the circumstances. He slumps down onto the tray, lowers his head and bursts into tears.

That scene seemed to encapsulate the real difference between the soldiers from the western world and the regime that they fought against.

But this was not all. Later on, Winters soberly informs Nixon that "they're finding camps like this all over Germany..."

Camps, what camps? Camps for those who didn't "fit" into the TWO (Then World Order - Nazism had global aspirations).

Now we have the NWO (New World Order).

I begin to experience something of O'Keefe's nervousness...

Regards
Alan O'R

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Marigold Papa (Marigold) (203.170.2.67) on Sunday, July 28, 2002 - 12:43 am:

Bull said "Why are you so jumpy, O'keefe?"
O: "i'm not jumpy sir"
B:"we can hear your heart pounding...."
then Christenson said " Jesus Christ, give the kid a break Bull"
I think Luz said: "Yeah, it's a lot like Bastogne" and "Bull, smack him for me please?"
Sorry, just couldn't help remembering the lines, alan :)

Gold

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By irene vrinte (Gijoe) (62.251.0.23) on Sunday, July 28, 2002 - 03:16 am:

i'm still puzzled why winters couldn't let webster tell the prisoners that they had to get back in the camp. i mean why put poor Lieb through that if webster speaks german too? ok maybe his german was less good but if i was winters i would have tried anything to avoid Lieb from telling those people the horrible news...

but i guess this didn't really happen back then, did it? in that case i think the writers of the series should have thought of it. but ok, then we wouldn't all see ross mccall's great performance...:)

irene

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By alan james o'reilly (Alanor) (62.254.64.5) on Sunday, July 28, 2002 - 09:41 am:

Hi all

Thanks for your comments - a while since I saw the series and thus could only recall main thrust of the conversation.

Good point Irene. One could argue that Winters summoned Liebgott intially without knowledge that the inmates were Jewish. I don't recall where Webster was positioned following Sink's order to Winters, and I think Liebgott was still at Winters' elbow, so to speak. Also, Winters may have reasoned that Lieb had won the confidence of the inmates because he was the first to speak to them directly. A new interpreter may have aroused suspicion.

The discovery of the camp(s) gets very little space in the book and the scene in Ep. 9 is not described so I guess at the end of the day, it is the case that good drama is not always good history. Ross McCall's performance is no less effective for that, as is the drama of the entire scene.

P.S. Vol. 5 of Purnell's History of the Second World War, p 2158, shows that Czech citizen Rudolf Vrba escaped from Auschwitz in April 1944 and published a detailed report about the camps. Some articles, based on this, appeared in The Times and other British newspapers but no other serious action was taken. Vbra states "The transportations could have been stopped by pin-point bombing of the railways, gas-chambers, and crematoria by the Russians (who were nearest), the British or the Americans after the revelation of the facts. But they were not." Thus, allied soldiers were largely unprepared for the tragedy they encountered at Belsen, Sandbostel, Buchloe and elsewhere (BoB p 262-263) - but the book does leave us with this:

"The impact of seeing those people behind that fence left me saying, only to myself, 'Now I know why I am here!'" Major Richard Winters

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Jane Lindholm (Jlindholm) (204.48.169.252) on Sunday, July 28, 2002 - 02:26 pm:

Alan and others,
If you jump to Jack E. Foley's section, you can read an account by someone from 506th. Easy Company was not the first American unit to find the concentration camps.}

http://www.tircuit.com/bandofbrothers/messages/135/849.html?1025477063

Jane

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By irene vrinte (Gijoe) (62.251.0.23) on Saturday, August 03, 2002 - 05:49 am:

'One could argue that Winters summoned Liebgott intially without knowledge that the inmates were Jewish'
posted by alan

very true and a very reasonable explaination, thanks i didn't think of that!

irene

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Jos Vonk (Raptorrat) (80.126.1.14) on Monday, August 26, 2002 - 01:24 pm:

Hi,

One of the things I noticed was that no one told Liebgott why the inmates should go back in to the camp. I think that would have made a difference for him at least.

I'm not sure if easy was the first to see an concentration camp, But I do think that those kind of things were considered not important to tell the mere soldier in the field. so they would think that they were the first.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Jane Lindholm (Jlindholm) (66.214.69.217) on Monday, August 26, 2002 - 02:38 pm:

Jos,
I'm going to have to review this scene...but I do believe you are right!
Sounds like you do not own the book [yet]. The 'Easy Co. discovers 'Buchenwald' [sp]' part of the series is made up...the book only mentions the concentration camps.
Jack Foley says in his essay on the c. camps [look for this on Jack's page] that Easy was not the first group of GI's at an extermination camp...this portion of the mini series, I know he was not please with as it strays the most from the real day-to-day activities of Company E.
I've asked him to post here himself, as many fans have speculated on whether Joe Liebgott knew about the camps before Company E actually visited one [yes, he did], etc. Jack, is online, but he basically is not comfortable in the limelight.

I have mentioned to him his word would settle all the speculation, but alas, I have yet to see him post anywhere on the net. He's a shy fellow and very sweet...but do look for him at the Emmys and the HBO Emmy's post party...i'm going to :)
Jane

jef atcurraheehispeed

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By cias (Cias) (208.148.113.98) on Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 03:57 pm:

Foley' s thoughts are mentioned about the camp but were any other members of Easy asked about their feelings regarding the portrayal of the camp?

In regards to the mini-series, if one checks the book there are many instances of changes, sometimes just for the sake of change. We know Webster manned a machine gun covering the patrol in ep.8 and was not on the patrol.
All in all, I can' t believe that either the cast as an ensemble or individual members were not nominated for emmys amd especially Kamin' s music.
Gary

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Jane Lindholm (Jlindholm) (204.48.169.252) on Tuesday, August 27, 2002 - 08:37 pm:

<<All in all, I can' t believe that either the cast as an ensemble or individual members were not nominated for emmys amd especially Kamin' s music.
Gary >>

If you jump to the following page, you will see Chris’ [chrisdfw] answer to this. [The post is dated July 30]. Apparently, it was up to each of the actors to nominate themselves for an award.

Easy Medic Eugene Roe: The Mini Series: 2002 Emmy's

What I wonder is, ‘Did the BOB actors know about this?’ I’m sure David Schwimmer does as he has been nominated in the past. Most of the actors for the series are newcomers and what’s more this was an American production with a largely British cast who are not members of the ‘Screen Actors’ Guild’ [American actors’ union]. Would Damian Lewis or Dexter Fletcher [a well known performer in UK] know how the Emmys work?
Yes, this is a shame.
Jane

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Michael Wisotzkey (Afireinside) (24.171.105.61) on Friday, September 20, 2002 - 06:57 pm:

In Episode Nine - "Why We Fight", do you know the song the violinist are
playing?

They say it was Mozart but then Nixon comes out and says "Beethoven, thats
not Mozart...thats Beethoven."

Thanx,
Michael
iburninside@hotmail.com

Please send me your answers =)

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By cias (Cias) (208.148.113.144) on Friday, September 20, 2002 - 11:16 pm:

Michael
Except for The Dreaded Question about when the DVD is coming out the question on the music is one of the most FAQ. It' s been answered ad nauseum on several different sites. Do yourself and the show a favor, buy the cd. It' s on there and you can play it to your heart' s content.
I' ve even seen it at Wal-Mart.
Gary

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By irene vrinte (Gijoe) (62.251.0.24) on Saturday, September 21, 2002 - 04:50 am:

michael, i'm with gary! buy the CD NOW! :)

irene

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Iines (Iines) (195.197.127.8) on Sunday, November 10, 2002 - 03:27 pm:

I was so shocked when i saw those concentration camps in this episode. I didn't even know that there was anything like those. I just wonder, how anybody could do like this to others. What they were thinking!! I hope that camps weren't so horrible really. Some of those pictures of dead and starving people are so shocking that i usually just reel them over when i watch this episode. Luckily our heroes came to save them:)
That was really unthinking to put poor Liebgott to tell prisoners bad news:(

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Michael Wisotzkey (Afireinside) (24.171.108.16) on Sunday, November 10, 2002 - 11:06 pm:

Yeah. They were pretty rough. Nazi's were sick. Well most of them..half of them didnt have a chance. Once I read in a book about Hitler a German soldier got shot for saying this.

"Jesus was one man who died for thousands of men. With Hitler, thousands die for one man."

Good quote huh?

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Marc Brand (Marcfire) (194.138.137.11) on Monday, November 11, 2002 - 04:14 am:

Ines,

Unfortunatley the Camps were even more horrible than what was shown on BoB. Many of the prisoners never made it longer than a few hours in the Camps, because they were Gassed or Shot right away. This mostly happened to women and kids, anybody who could be usefull to the germans was kept alive a bit longer. There were lot's of awefull experiments with people too.

I'm from Holland and of the 140.000 jews who lived here in 1940, 36.000 made it through the war. In Poland it was even worse, 200.000 jews out of 3,3 million survived the massacre that the Germans started.

Let's just hope that this will never happen again, unfortunatley we all know the answer to this. It will happen again and it already has happend again recently. In Screbrenica 10.000 people were slaugthered in 1995 i believe.

Where will this world end?

Marc

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Iines (Iines) (195.197.127.169) on Monday, November 11, 2002 - 03:11 pm:

I can't ever understand why nazis did that:( Jewish were people like they. Or i dont know was that Hitler even a human. Where were his feelings?
Marc, do you know why they slaugtered those people in Screbrenica?

Iines

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Marc Brand (Marcfire) (194.138.137.11) on Tuesday, November 12, 2002 - 08:23 am:

Ines,

In the 90's the war in former Yugoslavia resulted in the massacre of thousands of muslims by the Bosnian Serbs. Screbrenica was supposed to be a safe haven for those people and they had to be protected by Dutch military. Unfortunately our soldiers were under equiped, under fed, not allowed to fire and they had no airsupport or support in anyway. In other words, they were helpless against the agressors over there. Around 5% of the Dutch soldiers who served there have committed suicide the past few years because they couldn't live with it anymore. Due to politics and all, they had to watch and were able to do nothing about it.

This is very sad, but it shows that the world has learned nothing and will probably learn nothing that will stop these horrible events in the future.

Marc

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By cias (Cias) (208.148.113.17) on Tuesday, November 12, 2002 - 09:51 am:

What seems strange is that with today' s instant
communication that leaders don' t know that sooner
or later there will be a reprisal. It seems that
nationalism, in some cases, and pan-religion are
rising. Although the Moslems are mad at the Jews,
they are still mad about the Crusades at which time the Christians were killing Moslems and Jews.
This is why some prople are turning away from religion,which talks about peace while its adherents commit atrocities in the name of the religion. Confusing and pitiful.
Gary

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By bregje van den boom (Bregje) (62.194.184.79) on Tuesday, November 12, 2002 - 01:42 pm:

they didn't only kill jews in the camps but also people who didn't agree with hitler (germans aswell).
they did terrible things such as:sterelising young girls in a brutal way
experiment on twins
and they even made soap out of human fat
and much more...
disgusting isn't it?

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Marc Brand (Marcfire) (194.138.137.11) on Wednesday, November 13, 2002 - 03:03 am:

Your right Bregje, (i like your name by the way)
the Germans killed lot's of other people too. From gay's, politicians, musicians, artists, gypsies, prisoners of war to civilians.

The experiments were awefull, they also tried to figure out how much food a prisoner would need to barely stay alive and still be able to do some work. Dr. Joseph Mengele was one of the sick bastard who initialized the experiments. He escaped to Argentina after the war. He was haunted by people like Simon Wiestenthal until he died of a hart atack.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Marigold Papa (Marigold) (203.170.2.87) on Wednesday, November 13, 2002 - 08:32 am:

Yes, i saw pictures (courtesy of some friends) of the children they were experimenting on and it was so disgusting. Poor children :( Those people who did that were really sick!

gold

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By cias (Cias) (208.148.113.109) on Wednesday, November 13, 2002 - 10:36 am:

The Nazis were so fanatic about killing the people
in the camps that trains needed for the war effort
were tied up taking people to the camps.
In 1958, we were in Jerusalem on Mt. Zion. There
was a small museum there named the "Chamber of
Destruction." I remember seeing the soap, ashes
from a crematorium and lamp shades made from male
torsos. Women coming in to view this and the other
things there would be crying or screaming. I imagined that some of them had survived the camps and those things brought back memories-bad ones.
It did not have the same effect on me. I was young and had not gone through the war in Europe
Except for the lamp shades, the items in an of themselves were innocuous. A bar of soap is a bar of soap. We who did not live through this cannot really believe what beasts the Nazis were, just as watching episode 7 doesn' t give us the full horror of having lived through that. Nor does going to Auschwitz today give one but an iota of what happened there-there' s nobody home.
Gary

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By bregje van den boom (Bregje) (62.194.184.79) on Wednesday, November 13, 2002 - 01:17 pm:

Hey irene , it's nice to have another person from nijmegen on this site

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By alan james o'reilly (Alanor) (62.254.64.5) on Wednesday, November 13, 2002 - 04:25 pm:

For an in depth perspective on persecution of 'gays' by the Nazi regime, I suggest "The Pink Swastika" by Scott Lively and Kevin Abrams, 4th edit., 2002, ISBN 0964760975. Visit www.abidingtruth.com.

The book documents how Hitler appointed homosexuals to key positions in his government. Hitler had murdered the homosexual Ernst Röhm, commander of the SA or ‘Storm Section’ in 1934 but that was because he feared the latter’s power. He also removed Fritsch, Commander-in-Chief of the Army in 1938, on a fictitious charge of homosexuality for the same reason. A contemporary source described Hitler's Nazis as "a gang of homosexuals, thugs and drunks...not 10% were sexually normal".

Once again, one is minded to be grateful for the deliverance to which Easy Company contributed so much.

Regards
Alan O'R

P.S. The highly respected General Colin Powell resigned from the Joint Chiefs of Staff over the issue that the then President Clinton was promoting at the time. As an old soldier, the General understood the real implications of this issue.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Steven F (Ziggy89) (24.184.77.96) on Wednesday, November 13, 2002 - 07:51 pm:

I went to the holocaust museum in Washington and they have special "privacy" wall over some disturbing items. Some people walk right past but i was drawn and saw a lampshade of human skin. the camps were harrendeous. they are far worst than show in BoB. ill try to post some pictures i have that arent that distrubing.

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Steven F (Ziggy89) (24.184.77.96) on Wednesday, November 13, 2002 - 07:59 pm:

I cannot figure out how to post pics.
Any body wants pics email me at Brisbane_2000@yahoo.com

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Derek D. Tircuit (Dtircuit) (68.11.131.123) on Wednesday, November 13, 2002 - 09:14 pm:

Steven, type this:

"\image{Text description}"

Without the quotes. Then, when you post your message, the site will ask you to "Browse" for your file. Click the browse button, and navigate to your pictures. Trust me, it'll work.

I hope you figure it out, I'd love to see more pics from everyone.

If all else fails, email the pics to me and I'll post them for you.

Adios,
Derek

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Steven F (Ziggy89) (24.184.77.96) on Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 04:33 pm:

Thanks il, post the pics soon

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Michael Wisotzkey (Afireinside) (24.171.107.160) on Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 06:18 pm:

Hurry!

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Michael Wisotzkey (Afireinside) (24.171.107.160) on Thursday, November 14, 2002 - 06:21 pm:

Post the disturbing ones too...
I want to see how bad your talking *wink

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of pageLink to this message   By Steven F (Ziggy89) (24.184.77.96) on Friday, November 15, 2002 - 10:07 pm:

Here are some pics
i dont want to post alot so il, put some on now and a little later
/image{Air pressure experiment}
/image{all bones}
/image{all dead :(}
i have a never bad one that u must email me for. i cant let people who dont want to see this be forced to.

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