Скачать или смотреть The British soldier who saved Hitler's Life

The British soldier who didn't kill Adolf Hitler
The soldier who spared Hitler's life
The British soldier who could have killed Hitler
Alleged encounter with Adolf Hitler and saving his life resulting in war
Fortunino Matania painting inspired by the accounts of Tandey's regiment, later appropriated by Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler
Although disputed, Tandey allegedly encountered Adolf Hitler at the French village of Marcoing on 28 September 1918, while Tandey was serving with the 5th Duke of Wellington's Regiment. That day, Tandey took part in a battle for which he would be awarded the VC for bravery. As the battle neared its end, a wounded German soldier wandered into Tandey's line of fire and he chose not to shoot. The German soldier saw him lower his rifle and nodded his thanks before wandering off. Although Tandey reputedly commonly spared wounded and disarmed German soldiers, the soldier from that day is dubiously claimed to have been Hitler.[16][17][18][19] Hitler, however, took his second leave from military service from 10 to 28 September 1918, indicating that he was still in Germany at the time.[20] Tandey was decorated with the VC in late 1919, after which reports of the ceremony circulated with a picture of Tandey carrying a wounded soldier during the First Battle of Ypres (1914), which Hitler may have become aware of.[18]
In 1923, the Green Howards Regiment commissioned a painting from Fortunino Matania, showing a soldier purported to be Tandey carrying a wounded man at the Kruiseke Crossroads (northwest of Menin) in 1914. The painting was made from a sketch, provided to Matania by the regiment, based on an event at that crossroads. A building shown behind Tandey in the painting belonged to the Van Den Broucke family, to whom the regiment presented a copy of the painting.[21]
In 1937, Hitler became aware of the Matania painting, a copy of it being owned by Dr. Otto Schwend, a member of Hitler's staff. Schwend had been a medical officer during the 1914 Battle of Ypres and in 1936 had been sent a copy of the painting by a Lieutenant Colonel Earle, whom Schwend had treated in a medical post at the Menin Crossroads; the pair stayed in touch after the war.[22] Schwend gave a large photograph of the painting to Hitler, who purportedly identified the soldier carrying the wounded man as Tandey from the photo of him in the 1918 newspaper.[23] Hitler's adjutant, Captain Fritz Wiedemann, wrote Schwend in response:
I beg to acknowledge your friendly gift which has been sent to Berlin through the good offices of Dr. Schwend. The Führer is naturally very interested in things connected with his own war experiences, and he was obviously moved when I showed him the photograph and explained the thought which you had in causing it to be sent to him. He was obviously moved when I showed him the picture. He has directed me to send you his best thanks for your friendly gift which is so rich in memories.
In 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain visited Hitler at the Berghof for talks that led to the Munich Agreement, noticed the painting and asked about it.[18] Hitler replied:
That man came so near to killing me that I thought I should never see Germany again; Providence saved me from such devilishly accurate fire as those English boys were aiming at us.
Hitler reputedly asked Chamberlain to give Tandey his best wishes and gratitude. Chamberlain promised to phone Tandey upon his return. Supposedly, the phone was answered by the nine-year-old William Whateley,[25] a relative of Tandey's wife Edith. The records related to the 1938 meeting at the Cadbury Research Centre (which holds copies of Chamberlain's papers and diaries) do not reference Tandey,[26][27] who at the time lived at 22 Cope Street, Coventry, and worked for the Triumph Motor Company. Neither that company nor British Telecommunications record a telephone line registered to Tandey's address in 1938.
Source: Wikipedia