Last German to die in WW1

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Peter H
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Last German to die in WW1

#1

Post by Peter H » 11 Sep 2004, 15:48

Is this true?The death of Leutnant H.G.Toma,Armistice Day 1918.

From Battleground World War 1,Jack Pearl.
Lieutnant Toma,a sensitive man,almost cried with joy when the Armistice bugles began to play.He was one of the first to disarm his men and surrender to the Americans.He rallied them on the parapets before the trenches and marched them across No-Man's Land to the American lines.Possibly Toma was too eager,possibly the doughboys in this sector had not heard the bugles..in any case when the Germans were half-way across the field,a machine gun opened fire on them.

Toma,hit superficially himself,watched in horror as his helpless men were mowed down.In an act of tragic despair and renunciation of the wretched world of men,Toma drew his pistol and shot himself in the head....Toma's tragic death ,it has been said,inspired the ending of Erich Maria Remarque's brilliant antiwar novel,All Quiet on the Western Front.

Gwynn Compton
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#2

Post by Gwynn Compton » 12 Sep 2004, 01:23

I thought it'd be rather difficult to pinpoint the last German to die in the Great War, especially given the state of the Imperial Army at the time, though it is certainly possible.

Gwynn


perseus
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Location: Netherlands

#3

Post by perseus » 15 Sep 2004, 21:02

I once read that the Allies kept shooting till 11 past 11 am on November 11 1918 exactly. Although the armistice was announced a couple of hours earlier, they wanted to give the Germans a little "treat" till the end.

As said it's hard to point out who was the last to die. Many veterans died shortly or long after the armistice, caused by wounds incurred during the Great War.

I also heard a story about a father and his son that had died after they picked up WW1 explosives in Verdun, about three years ago. I'm not sure if this is true, but undoubtly people have died of WW1 explosives in the past 90 years. (I know people are still dying from WW2 explosives and the Vietnam chemical warfare)

Yes, it's hard to point out who was the last to die :)

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