Did the Nazis threaten German soldiers families?

[john2]

I read somewhere quite awhile ago that German soldiers were told if they deserted or didn't fight well enough the nazis would kill their families back home. It's been awhile since I read this so unfortunately I don't have a source. Has anyone else heard of something like this?

[TheGamingrex]

Depending on the rank you held in the German military would depend on if their families would be harmed.High ranking soldiers were more than likely to treated harshly as well as their family if they knew about what happened but as far as I know an example of nothing happening would be the case of Otto Schimek when he refused to partake in orders by a superior.