646 points

"These are Kiel's ......," said a female soldier, pouring out the two dozen letters that had been sorted out and poured into the classified area of Kiel City.

"...... in Berlin", "I am the ...... of the Ruhr region", "...... in the Rhine", "...... in Frankfurt", "...... in Stuttgart"

Although the letter is very beautifully written, everyone knows that the names of those soldiers who have names and surnames, who have really fought bravely, and who have been recorded by everyone, will not be sent here.

The soldiers who printed the letters here were ordinary people who did not show anything special in battle.

They may have just stepped on a mine while walking and died, or they may have just climbed out of the trench and had their heads shattered by bullets.

Some died screaming in despair in field hospitals without firing a shot; Some people have been blown to nothing by shells when they shave.

In the most terrifying area created by mankind, any insignificant thing will cost the lives of front-line soldiers.

And upstairs in these workshops, there is another workshop that does the same thing. The working environment is better, and there is no dedicated space for random distribution of letters.

There, there was a group of women who also printed letters, and they were generally slightly older and appeared to be of higher quality.

They were also tapping on the typewriter keyboard in front of them, making a crisp clicking sound.

It's just that they are more attentive than the female soldiers downstairs, and the content of the letters is also covered with blank paper, and many details are added to it.

Because the soldier's death report placed in front of these female soldiers also has a lot of content written on it.

These soldiers were all awarded the Iron Cross, and they fought bravely on the real battlefield, or in the course of brave battles, gave their young lives.

"Oh my God, young, knight's Iron Cross?" Looking at the report of the casualties, a female soldier was in disbelief.

The soldier who died in battle, William, was a 23-year-old tanker. He destroyed 4 enemy tanks in the French campaign and 16 Soviet tanks on the Eastern Front, as well as 7 artillery pieces of various types.

The young tankman lost his life in the recent battle of Krupki, and in a few days it will be his 24th birthday.

He was still young, he was not married, but he was already an experienced tank commander.

It's just that in the midst of a tragic war, no one is spared. Two days earlier, he had died at his post, along with four of his subordinates.

A tank No. 4 was destroyed during the attack on the Krupuki flank, and William was not spared.

"Posthumously." Seeing that the female soldier stopped, the female officer in charge of the platoon of typists came over, looked at the death report of the young tank captain named William, and opened her mouth to explain.

Before he died, he only had the Iron Cross of the First Class, and it was because of his heroic death in battle that he was posthumously awarded a Knight's Iron Cross.

It's just that for Wilhelm's family on the outskirts of Berlin, a glorious medal can't be exchanged for a life that is irreplaceable for them.

"Write as well as you can, this is a great fighter." The female officer patted her subordinates on the shoulder and instructed.

"Understood, sir!" The female soldier nodded, and began to type on her keyboard.

"Dear Lady Jurter: Your son William? In the battle that began on the Eastern Front near Berenich, Jurt commanded his troops to fight valiantly, defeating more than twice as many enemy forces. ”

"In battle, he was brave and tenacious, leading his tanks to block the enemy's counterattack and repel the enemy who threatened the flank of our army."

"Unfortunately, in battle, your son William? Jurt was hit by enemy troops and died on the position. ”

"His heroism, tenacity, and sacrifice inspire us to keep going! The Führer personally awarded him the Knight's Iron Cross, the highest tribute to a warrior in the Empire! Long live the Führer! Long live the Third Reich! Walter? Feng? Marshal Brauchitsch......"

Every time a line of characters is typed, the typewriter automatically resets the paper to its original position with a crisp mechanical crashing sound.

The sound of "click, click, click......" kept repeating itself until the letter was finished.

Tearing off the blank paper full of words from the machine, the female soldier handed the typed letter to the commander next to her.

The chief typist in charge of several typists began to check the vocabulary on it to make sure there were no low-level typos.

The letters on the second floor are checked twice, which is another difference from those on the first floor.

Moreover, these letters were to be stamped with the personal seal of the commander-in-chief of the army, Field Marshal Brauchitsch, which was distinguished from the official seal.

The seal indicates that every such letter was issued by the General Headquarters of the German Army, and nominally by Commander-in-Chief Brauchitsch.

"Excellent! Go ahead. Nodding, the female officer walked into the office in the distance with the letter.

Originally, Germany did not allow female officers to serve in many departments, but after some discussion, the Führer changed this order.

Now, the skeleton unit of the SS allows female soldiers to serve, and performs secondary tasks such as guarding and guarding prisoners of war.

In addition, including radar troops, signal troops, medical corps, navy, ground crews...... Female soldiers were allowed to serve, which was a supplement to the lack of German soldiers.

In particular, female soldiers who served in the rear actively signed up because they could fill out a form to request to serve in their home area and could refuse to be transferred to other areas.

These female soldiers have a strong regional character, and of course they also embody many characteristics that are more suitable for certain jobs than men.

For example, in a shell factory where only women work, female soldiers can perform protection and vigilance duties without worrying about chaotic relationships between men and women.

The number of female soldiers serving in the rear bases is increasing, so much so that many institutions are showing a scene of prosperity and decline.

For example, the agency, which specializes in writing death notices for fallen soldiers, has hardly any men......

Except for some leaders who are responsible for decision-making, 90 percent of the work here is done by women, including writing, auditing, classification, and so on.

Of course, even the Führer, who opened the door to the taboo of women joining the army, emphasized that women are generally not allowed to appear at the front line. 10