Propaganda card

The card below is in fact the same card as shown elsewhere in this category, but in postcard format. What is remarkable about this card, however, is that it is signed by Oberst Bruno Bräuer, the commander of Fallschirmjäger Regiment 1. In some cases, these Willrich cards were signed by the person depicted on the card. Oberst Bruno Bräuer was awarded the Knight’s Cross on May 24, 1940, for his actions during May19440 in the Netherlands. He played a significant role in the battles in May 1940 in Dordrecht and Moerdijk. He was also the first paratrooper to jump out of an airplane on May 11, 1936, and the first to be awarded the Fallschirmschützenabzeichen. In 1938, he became the commander of the first parachute unit in the Luftwaffe. After the campaign in the Netherlands, he saw action again in the large scale paratrooper landings in Crete. He then became the commander in Crete in November 1942, where he actually had a friendly attitude towards the people of Crete. He even freed 100 prisoners on the island and became known as the most humane commander of Crete. In 1944, General Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller succeeded him, a general known for his cruelty. Meanwhile, Bräuer had become a Major General in the 9th Fallschirmjäger Division and fought in Ukraine and at the Seelöw Höhe near Berlin. His inexperienced troops mass-deserted, causing the lines to collapse. Bräuer suffered a nervous breakdown and was relieved of his command. After the war, Bräuer was prosecuted in Greece for crimes against the inhabitants of Crete. He was executed by firing squad at 5 o’clock on May 20, 1947. Historian Antony Beevor describes him as ‘a truly unfortunate man’ who was executed for crimes ‘committed under another general’¹.

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