Wereth 11 Massacre: Black U.S. Soldiers Captured and Killed by Nazis in WWII

The Wereth 11 massacre saw eleven Black American soldiers captured and killed by Nazi forces during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. The Second World War began on the 1st of September 1939 when Nazi Germany invaded Poland using Blitzkrieg tactics, which combined speed, armoured units, and air strikes. When Germany launched its surprise counteroffensive on the 16th of December 1944, in what would become the Battle of the Bulge, the battalion found itself dangerously exposed. German forces quickly overran the area, cutting off key routes and capturing surrounding villages. Amid the confusion and retreat, several members of the 333rd were either killed or taken prisoner. Eleven soldiers managed to escape the chaos and fled on foot through the snow-covered landscape, desperately seeking refuge. Their journey led them to the remote village of Wereth, a tiny settlement with just nine houses, located in the Eupen-Malmedy region. The area had been a German territory before World War One, and many locals still identified as German. Some even sympathized with the Nazi regime. But not Mathias Langer, the village mayor. When the exhausted and frostbitten American soldiers arrived at his door on the 17th of December 1944, Langer welcomed them in. His wife Maria offered food and coffee, and their children shared blankets...This episode is part of the series The Forgotten Massacres of Defenseless Soldiers in WWII.Watch the full documentary and explore hundreds of historical films at:WorldHistory.tv