The German That Confronted His Nazi Dictator | Günther Rall's Incredible Story | Full Documentary

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Published 2022-05-23
Günther Rall, Germany's Last WW2 Ace. FULL DOCUMENTARY | Amazing Stories of WW2, in their own words.
You could say that history repeats itself. This wonderful documentary, filmed by our partners at Air2AirTV (air2airtv.com) is also masterfully narrated by Gary Sinise.

Günther Rall (10 March 1918 – 4 October 2009) was a highly decorated German military aviator, officer and General, whose military career spanned nearly forty years. Rall was the third most successful fighter pilot in aviation history, behind Gerhard Barkhorn, who is second, and Erich Hartmann, who is first.

Rall was born in Gaggenau, the German Empire, in March 1918. Rall grew up in the Weimar Republic. In 1933 the Nazi Party seized power and Rall, deciding upon a military career, joined the Wehrmacht in 1936 to train as an infantry soldier. Rall transferred to the Luftwaffe soon after and he qualified as a fighter pilot in 1938.

In September 1939 World War II began with the German invasion of Poland. Rall was assigned to Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) and flew combat patrols in the Phoney War period on the Western Front. Rall flew combat missions in the Battle of France and Battle of Britain, claiming one enemy aircraft destroyed in May 1940. Rall's wing sustained heavy casualties and the then-22 year old was appointed to Staffelkapitän (squadron leader). He then served in the Balkans Campaign in April and May 1941 without success.

In June 1941, JG 52 moved to the Eastern Front, where it remained from Operation Barbarossa until the end of the war. Rall claimed his first successes in the air defense of Romania. In November 1941, he was shot down, wounded and invalidated from flying for a year. At this time Rall had claimed 36 aerial victories. His achievements earned him the German Cross in Gold in December 1941.

Rall returned in August 1942 and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 3 September 1942 for 65 enemy aircraft shot down. By 22 October Rall had claimed 100 and received the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves. He reached 200 in late August 1943. On 12 September 1943 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, the second highest military award in Nazi Germany at the time of the presentation. By the end of 1943 Rall had achieved over 250, the second flier to do so after Walter Nowotny did in October 1943.

In April 1944 Rall left JG 52 and the Eastern Front. He was given command of II. Gruppe (2nd group) of Jagdgeschwader 11 and served in the Defense of the Reich where he was wounded for a third time. In November 1944 Rall was appointed as an instructor and flew captured Allied fighter aircraft in order to prepare instruction notes on their performance to German fighter pilots. Rall ended the war with an unsuccessful stint commanding Jagdgeschwader 300 (JG 300—300th Fighter Wing) near Salzburg, Austria, where he surrendered in May 1945.

Rall remained in a prisoner of war camp for a matter of weeks. Rall was approached by the Americans who were recruiting Luftwaffe pilots who had experience with the Messerschmitt Me 262 fighter.[104] He was transferred to Bovingdon near Hemel Hempstead, and then based at RAF Tangmere, where he met the RAF fighter pilot Robert Stanford Tuck, with whom he became close friends.

After his release, Rall settled back into civilian life working for Siemens & Halske as a salesman from July 1947 to May 1948. In 1948 he visited England again. Rall accompanied Hertha Rall and stayed in Grosvenor Square with Dr Paul Kaspar and Jewish acquaintances, whom she had helped to escape from the Nazis. Rall knew of Hertha's wartime Jewish connections and was concerned it would attract the attention of Nazi authorities. In 1943, Hertha was suspected of Jewish sympathies by the Gestapo, but no action was taken.

Of Nazi crimes, Rall acknowledged the pilots at the front knew of Nazi concentration camps but didn't know exactly what they were used for. When he first heard of Auschwitz and the Holocaust, initially he believed it to be propaganda. Rall could not believe that Germans would do such things. The criminal nature of the Nazi Party did not occur to Rall when Hitler came to power; "The fact that we did not explore the essence of the Nazi regime when it came to power is, of course, one of our great failings."

During World War II Rall was credited with the destruction of 275 enemy aircraft in 621 combat missions. He was shot down five times and wounded on three occasions. Rall claimed all of his victories in a Messerschmitt Bf 109, though he also flew the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 operationally. All but three of his claims were against Soviet opposition.

#ww2 #ace #documentary

All Comments (21)
  • I had the honour of meeting Günther Rall alongside Johnnie Johnson at an RAF Duxford airshow when I was in my teenage years. I do not recall much from that day, though I remember Rall being wonderfully kind and friendly to this inquisitive teenage boy. I felt really happy to see two former adversaries joking and laughing together. Günther Rall seemed to have a wonderful sense of humour and he was the most approachable of the few WWII aces I ever had the honour of meeting. I was too nervous a teen to ask too many questions, especially since asking about the war was not an option in my family growing up. I had one grandfather who served in the RAF on Lancasters and Sunderlands, whilst the other grandfather served in the Afrika Korps until his capture by the British in Tunisia, 1943. I was never allowed to ask questions before that day and I deeply regret not taking more time to get to know these rather wonderful old fighter aces before the chance was lost forever.
  • I had the privilidge of hearing General Rall speak in the late 1980s and got to shake his hand. He was a gentleman and great warrior.
  • @b.elzebub9252
    It's amazing to see one of the highest scoring aces of all time, a man of the calibre of Von Richthofen, sitting in a backyard somewhere giving an interview like that. He seems like such a normal guy.
  • Gunther Rall, a Knight of the Skies, a great pilot and a great man. I am truely please, enemies became friends.
  • @ual737ret
    Even though Gunther Rall was on the side of our enemy, he was a man of honor and integrity.
  • @tlhome7565
    Living herer in Germany you do not hear much at all of these great German pilots. This is a very awesome serie!! Thank you for the upload.
  • @nealbrune4304
    I knew Gunther Rall. in the late 70's. He was one hell of a guy. After things settled down from the war. He served as the chief of staff of the German Air Force. He was very competent and had a great zest for life. After things settled down from the war he came to the US to receive training in the F-104 Aircraft which were then being provided to the FRG Air Force. He joked about buzzing the tower in Arizona in an F-104 with the Iron Cross on the side and could see the shock on the Air Controller. He also gave me a picture of himself with the Iron cross emblem around his neck. I gave it to my Father in Law, a US Air Force pilot, who had flown bombers into Germany during the war. This was a common trait with German military after the war. They explained to me that they were not fans of Hitler. But their nation was at war and they accepted the responsibility to serve their country. But in the end, Germany has become one of our best allies in Europe.
  • @YZ250W1
    He was friends with Chuck Yeager years after the war. They had great respect for each other. Thanks for this!
  • "Everybody who is born in this country should feel blessed..." If only more people felt this way today. They don't know how lucky they have it in America- they don't know their own history. Many have bled and died for the USA, it makes me heartsick to see how little people appreciate the sacrifices made so that they could be free.
  • "I didn't want any part of scratches" almost made me spit out my coffee. That pilots humor..lol
  • @1369buddy
    When I hear Gary Sinices voice, I just want to salute a Flag. That a good feeling
  • Gary Sinise! as the Narrator! Thank You! I am from Austria, you know, the "other" Australia. Keep up the good work against World War 3! Spot on! This is how history must been told!
  • @dcarder3336
    Gary Sinise, you speak so clearly, easy to understand and you put true 'heart and soul' into your narration. Thank you!
  • Its the countries who are enemies not the warriors they all shared a tearable event in there lives it's only human that they become friends . Thank you all who are responsible for the time and effort for giveing me the acount of the lives of thease heros Germans and the allies !
  • @ryanclark852
    Put on mute at 1:43:47. I had it on volume 3 and fell asleep with the tv on (like a lil bit of background noise) and this freakin noise played. Let me tell you, I have never woken up with my heart racing and my blood pressure that high ever in my entire life. I can only imagine how many headphone users have gone deaf
  • Mr Rall is a true warrior he even laughs about his bravery like it’s nothing. Wheres your finger at dude?
  • This is a awesome documentary. Thank you ! My Grandpa was in this war on my fathers side US and my Grandpa was in this war in Germanys side. My mothers father . Aka Ompa! Lol ! ! Times, and people were so different as they are now. I wish I could go back in time to the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s .
  • @KC-UT4rmAZ
    One of the best documentaries I’ve ever watched. Plain and simple.
  • @PeakyBlinder
    I need to read that book, These guys deserve so much respect.