“I was Rommel’s Barber” – Interview with Helmut Thomasite, an Africa Corp. Tanker

“I was Rommel’s Barber”  Interview with Helmut Thomasite, an Africa Corp. Tanker by Mike Burnside and Rick Martin What did you do before the war? I was born in a very small town.  It was so small that there were only several people rich enough to be able to afford cars.  Most of us walked or rode horses or bicycles.  It was a strange experience because I learned to drive a tank before I ever learned how to drive a car.  When Hitler came to power, my parents had very bad feelings about him but he was so popular it was difficult to criticize him or his policies since everyone in town knew each other’s business.  When I was ten or so we had to join a civilian works organization which was like a very political form of the Boy Scouts in America.  Of course, it was controlled by the Nazi party.  It was also the stepping-stone for the Hitler Youth.  They recruited from that organization and, if you...

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