Interview with Knight's Cross holder and Sturmgeschütz [assault gun] officer Eberhard 'Hardy' Schmalz, USA, 1998

[Above: Eberhard Schmalz.]

Thanks for agreeing to meet to talk to me; we have discussed your life during the Third Reich so I would like to take down some of your memories. What brought you to join the army?

Hardy: Well young man, I was a member of the Hitler Youth and they instill a deep respect for the military. We attended a parade in which the Panzer …