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Welcome to all of you.
I hope you are enjoying our site and that you
find it informative. From time to time the question arises as to how and why we
chose to re-enact this particular German division. The real answer is one you
might not expect.
In 1975 when we first started WW 2
re-enacting in St. Louis, it became apparent that we needed to establish
separate axis and allied units in order to better co-ordinate and control our
events. During this time an incident occurred which had a great influence on my
decision. I had stopped by my parents house one evening and walked into
the living room. There in front of the television sat my dad with a very
disgusted look on his face. When I asked him what was wrong, he said
" Did you ever really look at this stupid program?". (He was watching
HOGAN'S HEROES). I asked what was wrong with it and he said" This program
and most of the movies nowadays make the Germans look stupid, inept and almost
likable!! That is not at all what the German soldiers were like when we
fought them in WW 2!( Dad was a WW 2 veteran with the 81st. Tank Bn. 5th Armored
Div.). These men were a tough, professional, and for the most part, a
ruthless bunch of soldiers, especially those SS Panzer troops! We lost a lot of
good men before we finally beat them and shows like this just aren't accurate! When people see them portrayed like a bunch of clowns, it
diminishes and demeans our sacrifices!".
With this as an incentive, I chose the 1 SS Panzer Division
as our re-enactment unit. After 30 years of portraying this elite German
Division, I truly believe we have done and will continue to do our part to
remind the public of what a tough enemy our soldiers had to defeat in order to
achieve Victory in WW 2.
Thanks for your time and interest.
Fritz Poddig