Malmedy Massacre

Missileer

Missileer

Active member
I was watching Battle of The Bulge, again, and heard one of the commentators mention that American character actor Charles Durning was one of the men who escaped to the woods when the Germans opened up on them with machine guns. I was surprised that this rotund, funny, and in my opinion, great actor, was a Ranger in WWII.

Durning served as a U.S. Army Ranger in World War II, during which he was awarded a Silver Star and three Purple Heart medals. As a 21-year-old infantryman, he was part of the first wave of men to land on Omaha Beach on D Day in the Normandy Invasion. One of his injuries took place in the Battle of the Bulge, where he was one of the few survivors of the infamous Malmédy massacre on American POWs. Durning is well-known for participating in various functions to honor American veterans. He has said he still suffers from nightmares about his war experiences.
 
I believe, if I recall correctly that the first shot was fired by a German pistol.
The movie portrays the popular western version of the massacre.
The court records from the nuremburg trial of Joachim Peiper make fascinating reading.
Without grabbing a book and recording it all word for word the massacre was a horrible accident.
 
I am not sure wether to call it an accident. Peiper was a battle seasoned SS officer who made a judgment-call. He was low on fuel, low on ammo and pushing forward hard. What to do with 125 POW's? There are accounts of POW shootings on both sides and the situation was "pretty grim" to say the least.
 
Peiper never ordered the massacre.
He wasn't at the crossroads when it happened but was many KMs further on fighting. I don't think he was even aware that it had taken place till some time later.
I think Dietrich may have given vague orders about not stopping for prisoners, Peiper may have added his own orders to that but I cannot recall off the top of my head.
The Germans did suffer casualties around Mlmedy and Stavelot due to partisan/ sniper action. My have been why they stopped to round up POWs and would expalin somewhat to the nervesnous of the German gaurds prior to the shooting taking place.
 
Many of these units had served on the Russian front where prisoners would be dealt with in a similar way.
 
Durning not at Malmedy

Charles Durning is indeed a great actor and served his country honorably during WWII, including his landing at Normandy on D-Day. But, he did NOT survive the Malmedy Massacre. My father was a Malmedy survivor and I have done extensive research into the massacre and its aftermath. Durning was simply not there. I don't know who first disseminated this falsehood, but for Mr. Durning not to set the record straight on his involvement in Malmedy is an insult to the victims and survivors of that horrendous day.
 
Everything I have read on the subject suggests Peiper wasn't even there. But someone ordered the executions. I wouldn't put it past Dietrich. He had a pretty nasty rep going back all the way to the Ernst Roehm murder. It was something Mohnke would be glad to do. The same with the thug Eike, but neither of these two were there. Le Enfield makes a good point. A lot of these guys were Ost Front vets and murder was an every day happening there. Malmedy is just like Authie and the Abby of Ardenne incidents when at least 134 Canadian prisoners were murdered. Being a prisoner, as horrible as it may be is still one of the fortunes of war. When an unarmed prisoner is murdered, the crime screams to heaven. But until someone has experienced the death of friends and the insanity of combat we will never know how we would act in similar circumstances. I would hope, I would have the dignity to stay my hand in spite of how enraged I was.
 
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