MARRIED ONE MONTH

Robert Götz was typical of the young Luftwaffe airmen during the early years of the war. Confident yet fearful, he was wholeheartedly committed to what he believed to be the just cause of Germany. Politically and ideologically, too, he unwaveringly believed in that cause and felt sure that this great crusade would be won in a very short period, with Germany’s place in the world order fully restored.

Gradually, as losses mounted, as the war dragged on, and as failure followed upon failure, so Robert’s assured selfconfidence and conviction in the cause began to waver. Initially, he felt willing to give his life for what he believed to be a noble cause. Ultimately, so many had given their all. But Robert could

not see any end to it, and he despaired at the squandered opportunities, the failed operations and campaigns and the abysmal senior leadership. Once, despairingly quoting a popular saying, he wrote:

“Only the dead have seen the end of war.”

And, for many of Robert Götz’s comrades, the grim reaper had taken them all too soon to the Luftwaffe’s Valhalla where they saw ‘the end of war’. Among them was 25-year-old radio operator Feldwebel Wilhelm Letzgus (photo top left) also flying with I./KG55.

Wilhelm had been born on 22 March 1916 in Engstlatt, Germany, a child of the First World War, and he had enthusiastically enlisted in the armed forces prior to the outbreak of hostilities. During his service with the Luftwaffe, Wilhelm Letzgus had participated in numerous sorties over Britain and had been awarded the Iron Cross 1st and

2nd Class. His ideals, his enthusiasm for ‘the cause’, and his unwavering faith in Germany matched that of Robert Götz.

On 8 April 1941, he and his crew were shot down into the English Channel off Worthing during a sortie to bomb Greenock, Scotland. The entire crew were killed.

Wilhelm had married his bride, Berta Fuchs, exactly one month earlier on 8 March 1941. At the time of his death, Berta was pregnant with their only child who was born in November that year.