The 1 June Visit to Flanders - Hitler's Propaganda Pilgrimage

Chapter Two

Despite his unspectacular rank, for Adolf Hitler, his service in the Great War was a matter of pride which occupied a place of towering significance in his life. By his own account in Mein Kampf it defined him as a man. It was in Flanders that Hitler had won the Iron Cross 2^nd Class, an event which he described as the happiest day of his life. It was against this background that, despite all of the more pressing demands on his time, in June 1940, Hitler twice seized the opportunity to come back to Flanders and recapture the years he treasured. In the process he would, of course, make valuable political capital and shore up the myth that he was entitled to unconditional acceptance and pride of place in the informal ranks of the frontgemeinschaft.

On the first of those trips, on 1 June 1940, while the battle for France was still unfolding, Hitler and his entourage took a short flight to the Luftwaffe advance airfield at Evere. From here they mounted a fleet of six-wheeled Mercedes and drove in triumph through the deserted streets of Brussels. They then travelled on via Ghent to Ypres where they stopped in Kauwekijnstraat to view the Menin Gate.

The Menin Gate is the imposing monument to the 52,000 British war dead from this sector of the front who have no known grave. To this day the missing British soldiers are commemorated by a moving ceremony which takes place daily. When Hitler came to the town on 1 June 1940 the monument had been damaged by the recent fighting and there was, of course, no question of a ceremony in honour of the men of the British army. Hitler did pause respectfully to study the monument and was no doubt conscious of the fact that some of those men may well have been killed by the Bavarians of Hitler’s own Regiment, but the visit to Ypres was brief as the real object of his visit was calling him northwards.

From Ypres Hitler and his entourage moved on to the German War Cemetery at Langemark which was the main stop on his tour. Today the cemetery is very much the same as it was in 1940, an oasis of sombre and dignified tranquillity. However on the day Hitler made his heavily escorted trip to view the graves of his fallen comrades the Wehrmacht had laid on a guard of honour and as word went round every off-duty soldier in the area swarmed to the site in the hope of grabbing a glimpse of the Führer. The presence of a film crew and Hoffmann’s clicking cameras along with the jostling mob of sight-seeing landsers snapping away on their own cameras robbed the occasion of every shred of sombre dignity, but the publicity goals were achieved and the visit featured heavily in the June edition of Deutsche Wochenschau. In print the visit was prominently featured in the 13 June edition of the Nazi propaganda magazine Illustreiter Beobachter.

Escaping from the crush at Langemark Hitler and his entourage re-boarded their fleet of Mercedes armoured limousines and travelled south via Poperinge to Kemmel and ascended the local highpoint known as Kemmelberg (Kemmel Mountain). Here Hitler viewed the battlefields where his regiment had witnessed tough fighting on numerous occasions between 1914 and 1918 and map in hand was able to point out to his entourage the places where he had seen service.

Next day Hitler’s entourage came south to Vimy near Arras where the List regiment had fought in 1916 and into 1917. For the genuine members of the frontgemeinschaft the collective memory was that the fighting in the German frontline during the battle was relentless and bloody. Their Canadian opponents suffered terribly and today those losses are commemorated by the preserved trenches and memorials.

However on 2 June 1940 it was the German Führer who strutted in triumph through Vimy Ridge. Hitler was accompanied throughout his tour by Willhelm Keitel, Germany’s most senior Field Marshal. The irony can’t have been lost on Keitel that he was now subordinate to a man who had only ever held the rank of Gefreiter.

Hitler’s Surprise Visit to Flanders 1-2 June 1940

Hitler arrives at Evere airfield near Brussels. On the right of the Führer is the Commanding General of an Army Corps, General of the Infantry von Schwedler.

Generalfeldmarschall von Bock reports to Hitler, accompanied by Generalfeldmarschall von Brauchitsch.

The Führer is met by Generalfeldmarschall Kesselring. In the background, Generalfeldmarschall von Brauchitsch and Generalfeldmarschall von Bock.

In conversation with Senior General Strauss.

The Führer in conversation with Generalfeldmarschall von Kluge and Major-General Rommel, the Commander of the 7^th Panzer division.

Meeting a Special Officer of a propaganda company. Behind them, Generalfeldmarschall von Reichenau and Lieutenant-General Bodenschatz.

On the morning of 1 June 1940 Hitler’s entourage drive through Brussels passing the Tervurenlaan, the structure erected in the memory of King Leopold II in 1880.

During the flying visit the British Expeditionary Force was still fighting to maintain the Dunkirk perimeter. At the time this photograph was taken the nearest British unit was only 20 km distant.

The six-wheeled Mercedes type 770G-4 W31 was the vehicle favoured by Hitler, a fleet of these cars was placed at his disposal for the surprise visit to Flanders on 1 June 1940.

The Mercedes were guarded by SS men manning MG 34 machine guns. In this photograph, the column can be seen approaching the Brussels Palace of Justice.

A route was swiftly cleared through the bomb damaged towns of Flanders.

Senior General von Küchler of Army Group B makes a situation report to Hitler.

Keitel (centre) and Hitler have food for thought following Küchler’s report.

Hitler captured in light mood at lunchtime on 1 June in a wooded park near Melle some 10 km south east of Ghent.

Hitler prided himself on taking simple meals in the field with his soldiers. He eschewed elaborate or ostentatious meals and felt that the officers should share the hardships of the men.

Still with Küchler and his staff, the military business now attended to, Hitler enjoys his customary light mid-day meal.

Speeding through Ghent at around 2 p.m. on 1 June 1940, Hitler is greeted in customary fashion by the hastily assembled German soldiery.

The medieval fortifications of Flanders are now in German hands. In this photograph, the Gravensteen castle is skirted by the fast moving entourage.

In the village of Deinze Hitler’s entourage halted briefly to receive a situation report from Heinrich Himmler. Himmler is seen here hurrying towards Hitler’s car as it draws to a halt.

Hitler’s procession through Flanders is constantly recorded in stills by Hoffmann and on film by the men of the Propaganda Company (PK).

Hitler in ebullient mood arrives in Wevelgem for a conference with General von Reichenau.

It is now 3.00 p.m. and the entourage stops at the Headquarters of General von Reichenau.

The column presses on through Ypres watched by bemused townspeople.

A fleeting glimpse of Hitler seated in his favoured position of the front passenger seat.

Hitler and his entourage arriving in Kauwekijnstraat on the town side of the Menin Gate. This area has changed very little in the intervening years. To Hitler’s right is his SS adjutant Heinz Linge, standing in the car is adjutant Julius Schwab. The driver is Erich Kempka.

Hitler parked in Kauwekijnstraat. The time is approximately 4 p.m. on 1 June 1940.

Another photograph of Hitler as he dismounts from his Mercedes in Kauwekijnstraat.

As the entourage look on Hitler takes the first step towards the Menin Gate.

A dark day for the allies, Hitler and Jodl outside the Menin Gate.

A reverse shot of Hitler leading his entourage into the chamber of the Menin Gate. The monument was erected to the British soldiers with no known grave who fell in defence of Ypres.

Hitler stands in silent contemplation of the vast monument to the British dead. The figure with his back to the camera is General Jodl.

Hitler leading the way as the entourage passes under the Menin Gate. The battle damaged scroll of honour to the British dead can be seen behind his right shoulder.

Hitler emerging from the Menin Gate, the battle damage suffered by town can be observed in the buildings behind him.

With the main sightseeing stop over the column heads on towards Langemark Cemetary.

Hitler arrived at Langemark Cemetery at around 4:30 p.m. By this time word had spread and the site was mobbed by off-duty German troops.

Hitler progresses past the respectful soldiery, to his right is General Viktor von Schwedler.

Hitler made his way towards the granite blocks which mark the last resting place of the young men who fell in the 1914 battle which is known to the Germans as the kindermord.

Hitler framed by the entrance to the cemetery.

This image first appeared in Hoffmann’s book ‘Mit Hitler Im Westen’, and shows Hitler visiting the graves of German soldiers in Flanders. On Hitler’s right is General of the Infantry von Schwedler.

Hitler pausing in silent remembrance as originally featured in ‘Mit Hitler Im Westen’.

Hitler standing behind the low wall of the cemetery gazes across, what was then, a sea of black crosses. The rotund figure on the right is Hoffmann.

The reverse view reveals the field of crosses which once characterised the Langemark cemetary.

Once more the car is mobbed by admirers.

The enthusiastic men of the Wehrmacht press forward for the chance to touch the hand of their esteemed leader.

The column then moved on to Mount Kemmel by way of Poperinge.

An abandoned British heavy gun is quickly forgotten as the cars speed towards the Kemmelberg.

An excellent study of the fleet of open Mercedes which ferried Hitler and his entourage around on 1 and 2 June 1940.

Hitler and Keitel on the summit of Mount Kemmel. Both men had served in the Great War, Hitler as a runner and Keitel as an artillery officer.

The swastika is raised over Mount Kemmel.

The Supreme Commander surveys the old battlefield of Mount Kemmel. During his four years of service Hitler was a frequent visitor to the Ypres battlefield. His wartime service began in October 1914 near Gheluvelt and ended near Ypres in October 1918 when he was gassed by a British shell.

Hitler observes the distant landmarks indicated to him by von Schwedler.

The cafe at the summit of Mount Kemmel still exists and can be visited today.

Hitler spent the night of 1-2 June in the Chateau at Annapes.

On the morning of 2 June the column set off once more, this time the main attraction was the former battlefield on Vimy Ridge.

The Commanding General of an Army Corps, General of the Artillery Heitz, explains to the Führer the course of the fighting of the last days, also present is the Army Commander, Generalfeldmarschall von Kluge.

Early on the morning of 2 June 1940 Hitler was joined by von Kluge for the tour of the Vimy Ridge memorial and battlefield. The only change that has since taken place is the addition of a handrail to the small concrete over-bridge.

Hitler’s party inspect the magnificent Canadian monument on Vimy Ridge. The wooden structures behind were designed to protect the fragile statues from possible bomb damage.

Another image which appeared in ‘Mit Hitler Im Westen’. Here the entourage are seen passing the site of the old German front line.

Hitler points out some of the salient features of the battlefield. Hitler was very familiar with this terrain and was able to speak from personal experience.

Hitler leaving the Canadian monument at Vimy Ridge. He is flanked by Keitel and von Kluge.

Hitler congratulates Rommel on the achievements of his 7^th Panzer Division.

Next on Hitler’s agenda was a visit to the memorial on the nearby heights of Notre Dame de Lorette.

While Hitler and his entourage were parading round the former battlefields, the survivors of the recent battle for France were being marched into captivity.