The letters found in the family archive offer us a unique glimpse into Helwig's life, allowing us to understand him in a way that goes beyond the critical assessments and opinions of military commanders. In contrast, Günther is portrayed solely through official documents created by the authorities. At the time of his sentencing, he had disciplinary penalties on his record for misappropriation and for disobeying an order from a superior, leading him to spend nine days in
a high-security prison. We also learn that his performance in his duties was notably poor, and his conduct received a low rating. In its sentencing remarks, the court even suggested that the artilleryman seemed somewhat “limited”. Was he perceived in this manner exclusively within the Navy? Could Günther's placement in juvenile detention—sometime after leaving music school unfinished but before his draft—have been for this reason? Regardless, it’s clear that there was
a tendency among his commanders to use stigmatising language. Günther spent half of his sentence serving on the front lines in the USSR, particularly in a penal field unit (Feldstrafgefangenen-Abteilung 8) at
a military prison (Wehrmachtsgefängnis) in Anklam4. In April 1943, he was transferred to an educational unit (31. Schiffs-Stamm-
-Abteilung) in Windau, which is now known as Windava in Latvia. A few months later, in August, he was moved to a penal and educational unit on Hel (Marinefeld-
sonderkompanie, formerly Kriegssonder-
abteilung Ost). He likely faced further punishments there, though the specifics remain unclear. By February 1944, he was sent to Stutthof.
Unfortunately, Günther's records from KL Stutthof, like those of Helwig, have been lost, making it impossible to reconstruct the specifics of their time in the camp. Though Günther was sentenced under paragraph 175, this did not classify him as a conventional prisoner5; he and Helwig had received a red triangle with the tip facing up a few months prior. In their case, the defining characteristic was “sabotage in the army” (Wehrdienst-
sabotage). While homosexual contacts could meet this criterion, they didn’t affect how ex-soldiers were categorised within the KL system. Prisoners categorised as “from the Wehrmacht” received the designation SAW (Sonderabteilung Wehrmacht, Sonderaktion Wehrmacht, or Schutzhaft: Aus [den Sonderabteilungen] der Wehrmacht). This label indicated that they had previously been in special, i.e., penal and educational, units; however, because they rejected the attempted “remedial” measures imposed on them, they ultimately ended up in a concentration camp. Most arrived at Stutthof from a special unit based on Hel. Regarded as “failures” within the German military, they faced unique harassment there and in the camp itself, as recounted by former Stutthof inmates: “There were »exercises« designed for former German sailors [...] sent to the camp for mutiny and for refusing to go to sea. These exercises were overseen by Blockführers [SS men responsible for prison blocks – note by P.C.]. They involved running in tight formation, falling, crawling, and performing jumping squats and were interspersed with mandatory marches, singing, etc. Beatings and kicks often accompanied the pace set verbally by the Blockführer. The duration of these exercises depended on how long the Blockführer could maintain his energy6.”
Günther and Helwig likely participated in many such ‘exercises,’ whether in a penal company or at Stutthof. It is known that Günther worked in one of the transport commandos at the camp, while Helwig was frequently hospitalised in the prisoners' infirmary, where he ultimately died in January 19447. The sailor's death deeply traumatised his loved ones, and the socio-political realities of the time prevented the family from openly remembering him. It was not until the 2000s that Katharina's sister and her son, Michael, began efforts to uncover the circumstances surrounding Helwig’s imprisonment in the concentration camp. As a result, I was able to contact Michael in 20168. I write more about his uncle in "Stutthof Muzeum Notebooks" (12 [22]), in the article titled “Disciplinary Punishment of Kriegsmarine Sailors in the Stutthof Concentration Camp – SAW Category Prisoners.” Using Helwig’s case and two other German sailors, I explore this lesser-known category of KL prisoners, which is not widely discussed in Polish historical literature. This study is the culmination of several years of research based on materials from Polish, German, and, to some extent, Austrian archives. Through extensive research and connections with the families of former sailors, I managed to shift the existing narrative and address a gap in the historiography of KL Stutthof. Sources show that the SAW category was assigned to at least 237 Germans and Austrians imprisoned in Stutthof, representing all three branches of the armed forces of the Nazi Reich.
Was Günther's experience a topic of discussion among his loved ones? What remained unspoken? What was shamefully swept under the rug? Despite having survived the war, did he possess the strength and courage to recount his tragedy? How did this ordeal shape his life? What thoughts occupied his mind in August 1948, when he returned from British captivity at just 25 years old? This was a time when the German people felt
a profound sense of defeat, leading to widespread blame directed at Wehrmacht soldiers for their country's losses. These questions must remain unanswered for now.
Eighty years after the Second World War, can we, as Poles, take a step back and reflect on the experiences of Germans and Austrians who participated in the aggressive war against Poland but ultimately stood against the Nazi regime, paying a steep price for their defiance? Does it matter what motivated their resistance? The will to survive? Social maladjustment? Political convictions? What significance do these narratives hold? Can the stories of Günther and Helwig provide insights into the challenges the modern world faces?
6
4 On the Wehrmacht soldiers punished for homosexual “fornication” in Anklam prison see, for example, H. Eberle, Anklamer Häftlinge: Menschen im Wehrmachtstrafvollzug, [in:] U. Baumann, H. Eberle, M. Koch, A. Wagner, Das Wehrmachtgefängnis Anklam 1939-1945, Schwerin 2021, pp. 97-150, here: pp. 121-124.
5 Cf. Paragraph 175 in the light of preserved documents of the Stutthof Concentration Camp, "Stutthof Muzeum Notebooks" 2017, no. 5 (15), pp. 11-32.