Into the Motherland the Germany Army marched...

[youngsoldat.livejournal.com]

Erwin had spent enough time exploring the ship to discover the media library. At first he had spent so much time simply reading books he'd missed or reading new books he'd never seen or heard of before. That had taken time. Then, slowly, his curiosity had turned to visual media. At first he had been amazed and overawed by the pictures produced sixty years in his future - sharp color, focus. Amazing special effects. It all seemed so real to him. His attention had shifted again. His curiosity got the better of him. He began watching old newsreels - German, Russian, American, British - about the war. He'd never worked up the nerve to discover if what Robert had told him about the Jews as true. In a way, he didn't want to know.

Still, he'd eventually reached the end of the war. So he sat, stonefaced, as he watched Germany crumble. When he could, he watched the raw footage. When he couldn't, he watched newsreels. It was depressing in away - to learn how the war would've ended. How the Allies swept over France and the Russians raped and looted their way through Germany. How depressing.

He was watching one of the later German newsreels about Berlin. He sighed softly. Maybe he would never see his homeland again. Maybe that would be for the best. German divided into a communist state and an rump republic? Better then national death, he supposed. He flicked over to another reel of footage. The Battle of Kursk. He hadn't been there, but he'd heard about it. What an utter waste. He leaned forward, watching the black and white footage intently, remembering everything he'd ever done and all that he'd gone through.

Comments

[youngsoldat.livejournal.com]

Erwin blanked and glanced back at Rei. He frowned and then shrugged, leaning back in his seat as the black and white images flickered from the screen, "...I don't know much about the Brazilians. I could tell you more about the Russians then anything else."

[watchwith3hands.livejournal.com]

Rei shrugged. "Not many people are familiar with my country's involvement. Even though we were the only South American country to send troops over seas. Or that Getulio Vargas - no relation - would have joined the Axis if it weren't for pressure from the USA."

He could have gone on, but he actually resisted his urge to ramble for once. Mainly because he was studying Erwin. "...You were in the war, weren't you?"

[youngsoldat.livejournal.com]

"...yes, I was." He glanced at the screen, feeling a bit uncomfortable. He could already sense the impending uestions. "I fought for Germany."

[watchwith3hands.livejournal.com]

Rei propped his chin on his hand, and was for a good few moments. "I thought so," he eventually said. "When we met early, I noticed the gun and helmet. I'm not that knowledgeable in weapons, but I had a feeling I knew what time period it came from."

He took a deep breath. "Don't worry, I'm not going to judge you. I'd be a hypocrite if I did." He didn't elaborate, but his normal cheery persona was all but gone. He'd seen wars, and done some terrible things, all in the name of keeping the time line running smoothly. Who was he to judge?