After The Battle Magazine: Nordhausen

Karel Margry, After The Battle magazine no. 101, Battle of Britain International Ltd., London, England, 1998. Magazine article, illustrated, published in English.

Cover image © by Battle of Britain International Ltd., 1998.

As related in my review of Jean Paul Pallud's After The Battle magazine article First Manned Rocket Launch (issue no. 151), posted here on June 4, 2013, After The Battle is a quarterly military history specialist publication, committed to an extremely well researched and deeply absorbing "then and now" approach, and focused on the period of World War II. Moreover, After The Battle magazine's articles are abundantly illustrated, and the photos provided are expertly captioned. This is something I consider essential, but it is all too often lacking, even in dedicated special interest publications.

After The Battle no. 101 is one of the magazine's occasional issues to contain material regarding the German aerospace industry of the period. For anybody reasonably well versed in German history of the 20th century, the name Nordhausen will be inextricably linked to the abysmal existence of the Mittelwerk GmbH underground production facilities in the Kohnstein mountain and the associated Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp. The Mittelwerk facility was created with the aim to protect the manufacture of some of Germany's most advanced aerospace products - Fieseler Fi 103 missiles, A4 rockets, and Junkers jet engines - from Allied bombing campaigns. It was not least the bombardment of the Peenemünde rocket research centre on the shores of the Baltic Sea in August of 1943 that revealed how vulnerable Germany had become to air attacks as the war dragged on. Mittelbau-Dora, on the other hand, housed the inmates who were forced to construct both the concentration camp itself and the tunnel system of Mittelwerk.

The enormous Mittelwerk underground manufacturing plant and the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp are prime examples of the immeasurable ruthlessness applied by the National Socialist leadership in order to vainly attempt to avert an inevitable, self-inflicted, and utterly complete defeat. The associated cost in terms of human suffering was staggering and yet of no consideration whatsoever to the powers that be. In spite of such colossal and infinitely inhuman efforts, however, both the construction of the facilities and the actual mass production of rockets, missiles, and engines at Mittelwerk came too late in the war to still effect a perceptible impact - other than the indescribable human misery perpetrated at Mittelwerk and Mittelbau-Dora, that is.

Nordhausen is the main feature of After The Battle no. 101. It is a 42-page investigation into the wartime history and subsequent fate of the Mittelwerk and the Mittelbau-Dora, written by accomplished long-time After The Battle author Karel Margry. The article is presented in the typical After the Battle format, i.e., carefully researched text, illustrated by numerous black & white photos, many of them providing interesting comparisons between wartime scenes and the very same locations as they appeared at the time the article was written (1998). In addition, four colour photos relating to the topic can be found on the magazine's cover and in the centre-spread. The article also contains various maps to provide context with regard to geographic locations, underground production facilities, and concentration camp installations.

Moreover, the deeply captivating - and frequently intensely disturbing - photo content complements Margry's competent and comprehensive narrative enormously. The images provide views of the inside and outside of the Mittelwerk production facilities as well of the situation at Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp. The historic photos were taken both during the war and right after the cessation of hostilities, and the comparison with the modern day situation is often intriguing. Although much has been published about wartime Germany's underground manufacturing facilities in recent decades, images depicting the inner workings of these facilities are still somewhat rare, and Margry's Nordhausen provides a number of such extraordinary glimpses. Next to various details of the tunnel system itself, there are many shots of A4 and Fi 103 components at various assembly stages.

Perhaps most importantly, however, the article does not neglect to delve deeply into the topic of slave labour and the associated concentration camp installations, in text and pictures. This is an immensely crucial subject matter all too often willingly (and thus negligently and spinelessly) "overlooked" in uncounted otherwise competent specialist publications on the late-war German aerospace industry and its output. The construction of the camp and manufacturing plant at Nordhausen as well as the subsequent manufacturing operations resulted in a death toll of around 20,000 human beings. The rational, clean layout drawings of the camps thus stand in perverse contrast to what can only be described as drastic images depicting the fate of those unlucky enough to have been confined there.

The creation of much, if not all, of the most modern and fascinating German aerospace equipment at that stage of the war would have been impossible without the implementation of slave labour of the most barbarous kind. This is an irrevocable fact of greatest significance, and it apparently renders rather uncomfortable a number of authors specialised in the field. It is to Karel Margry's credit that he did not elect to cheaply skirt around the issue and that he instead addressed it frankly and yet without hyperbole or tendentiousness.

All back issues of After the Battle magazine, including the above reviewed issue no. 101, remain available through the publisher's website. More information regarding Mittelwerk and Mittelbau-Dora may be found in Yves Le Maner & André Sellier's remarkable Bilder aus Dora, reviewed elsewhere in this blog.

After The Battle Magazine: First Manned Rocket Launch

Jean Paul Pallud, After The Battle magazine no. 151, Battle of Britain International Ltd., Old Harlow, Essex, England, 2011. Magazine article, illustrated, published in English.

Cover image © by Battle of Britain International Ltd., 2011.

After The Battle is a military history magazine, specializing in an in-depth "then and now" approach to the topics covered. It is published quarterly by Battle of Britain International Ltd. in England, and its focus lies on World War II. I have been an avid reader of the magazine (and the same publisher's books) for over two decades, primarily because After the Battle is not afraid to publish lengthy and extremely comprehensive articles - something that has unfortunately become anachronistic for most publications in our day and age. The research applied in compiling the articles is immaculate, and the extensive photographic content is often stunning, not least due to the fascinating then and now comparisons.

Every so often, After The Battle publishes articles on topics relevant for those with an interest in German aviation and aerospace history of the period. Prime examples are, perhaps, The V-Weapons (ATB no. 6, 1974), The Peenemünde Rocket Centre (ATB no. 74, 1991), Nordhausen (ATB no. 101, 1998), or Dulag Luft (ATB no. 106, 1999). All back issues of the magazine remain available through the publisher's website.

First Manned Rocket Launch, Jean Paul Pallud's 20-page article in After The Battle no. 151, is a heavily illustrated account of the Bachem Ba 349 Natter rocket-powered point-defence interceptor program. The text of the article begins with a description of the state of the air war over Germany at the inception of the program. It then chronicles the development, construction, and testing of the Ba 349, Lothar Sieber's ill-fated first manned flight, and the effort to transport parts of Bachem's workforce and complete Ba 349 aircraft out of the reach of advancing enemy troops.

As is typical for After The Battle, Pallud's article is expertly researched and comprehensive, even if one takes into account that the publication of Brett Gooden's requisite milestone work on the Ba 349, Projekt Natter - Last Of The Wonder Weapons (Classic Publications, 2006) has set a very high standard. What makes Pallud's First Manned Rocket Launch particularly interesting, however, is the fact that the numerous historic black & white pictures are augmented by colour photos of the very same locations as they look today.

These current-day comparisons include, for example, the main production hall of the former Bachem plant (now used by Hymer, a motorhome manufacturer). This is significant, as the building was scheduled for demolition at the time the modern photographs were taken. Other comparisons include the Heuberg launch site of the first manned flight, the crash site of Lothar Sieber's Ba 349, the sites where the later, modified pole launch towers were erected, or the meadow in Sankt Leonhard, Austria, where dispersed Ba 349s were captured by US forces. Moreover, images of the excavation of the remaining wreckage of Ba 349 M23 (Sieber's aircraft) in 1998 are also included.

All in all, After The Battle no. 151 is quite indispensable for any serious student of German late-war high performance aircraft.