Comments by "David Himmelsbach" (@davidhimmelsbach557) on "TIKhistory" channel.

Additional points: 1) The off-gas condenses into motor fuel liquids at normal pressures and temperatures. 2) The off-gas would also contain NH3 in significant amounts. It is pretty easy to isolate -- and would be in extreme demand to make into nitric acid. 3) The off-gas would contain methane and ethane. Both would be cheap routes to hydrogen... and carbon black -- so necessary for tire production. 4) The hydrogen would be fed into the Haber process to make ammonia, or to upgrade motor fuels. ( Hydrogen is used in great amounts to sweep sulfur out of hydrocarbons. See: the Claus Process.) 5) Claus Process sulfur would be converted to sulfuric acid on a grand scale, as it is needed to drive the nitrating reaction forward. ( See: the manufacture of TNT; nitrocellulose; RDX, etc. ) The reason that the old process became viable for the Nazis: electric power production. When the original process was doped out (19th Century) there were no thermal-steam electric power plants. So the numbers were brutal. You ended up with staggering amounts of char that you couldn't 'unload' onto anybody... except at a ruinously low price. The Nazis had an unlimited need for electric power -- if for no other reason than alumina reduction to aluminum metal. What a power-pig that process is. &&& Blending the feed stock with wood chips and other biomass after pulverization figures to be a route to an ideal blend for coking. &&& The route to avgas might be by way of dissolving Bituminous coals in olefins/ alkanes under heat and pressure so as to lift aromatics into solution. These are famed for having amazing anti-knock values. This two-stage approach figures to be much more practical than anything the Nazis tried. It was one of the processes that the Carter administration was pushing in 1980. ( Coal to Liquids technology -- it foundered on cost. Once the price of OPEC crude tumbled, the numbers didn't work anymore.)
1
TIK, you missed it WRT the 29th Motorized. It had already been decided to maintain an elite mobile formation as a quasi-strategic reserve for 6th Army. The 29th was actually being, de facto, converted into another panzer division -- in the field. Requests for the real thing, a reinforcing panzer division, went no-where. If you look at the panzer corps committed, you notice that they are more than a tad light in panzer divisions. The 16th, in particular, is entirely pinned down at the land bridge. Repeated attempts to pull it entirely out of the line keep being frustrated by STAVKA. Stalin does not want that trouble maker going anywhere. By over-reinforcing the 29th the boys figured that they could fool both Berlin and Moscow. And it was the spoofing of the 29th that sealed the doom of 6th Army. EVERY single German account harps on this point. STAVKA gave the 29th a Fuhrer directive! They did so while Adolf was on his train racing from Bavaria back to his fighting HQ. It didn't take too long for the Krauts to realize that they'd been spoofed -- the timestamps told the story. Naval Enigmas were flown in by Manstein's request -- PDQ. It was then that he reverse-spoofed the Soviets during his counter-offensive. That's why it was so successful.
1
It's pronounced Foe Kay. Those crazy French/Belgians.
1
@ Marshall was picked by FDR for ONE over-riding reason: Congress LOVED him. Marshall could get Congress to authorize essentially unlimited funding based on his say-so. Congress didn't trust FDR further than they could spit in a hurricane. EVERY senior American officer believed in going straight at Germany ASAP. The British idea of indirection had no takers in the Pentagon. If the US Army actually had attacked Germany in late 42// early 43 she would've had the best tanks in the world -- and in quantity -- while Hitler's legions were still stuck deep in Russia. Unoccupied France just begged to be invaded. French-Canadians + Americans would've been entirely too much for the Nazis. Keep in mind, there are absolutely NO German troops in unoccupied France. The Canadian-American landing could've occurred right in the port! There would've been absolutely no need for landing craft. By the time the Germans reacted, the Americans could've landed a Canadian army, a British army and an army for themselves. The Germans stationed in France at this time were busted formations that had to take in new blood. Many were down to the nub, 5% of original strength. The moment a unit was back to full strength, Hitler sent it back east to fight and bleed. The great mobilization of the German war machine was still off in the future. It took Speer to pull it off. So much for 'insanity.'
1
Anyone trying to comprehend Japan's opening moves against the USN has to read: The Great Pacific War by Hector C. Bywater. ISBN 0-312-06364-4 (1925) Essentially the ENTIRE opening gambit sprung from this one fictive text. In this book of fiction (1925) Bywater called out most of the invasion beaches used by the Japanese. (!) The book was utterly prophetic -- in the extreme. Yamamoto simply adopted Bywater's script. This book also explains why LtG Short pushed all of his planes together and put them under extra special guard. He was also reacting to this book.
1
@helicongremory8480 The cargo ships of the period were ALL coal burners.
1
@Rohilla313 That reason was KIEV. He lost so many troops there that he issued a personal general order to his top brass to stay out of major cities. This sentiment is also why Adolf was not enthused about marching through Moscow. He'd read of Napoleon's debacle.
1
Marshall Alexsander Vasilevsky is my top pick. He's the primary Marshall behind Uranus. He was camera shy. So there were many occasions where Zhukov's name was substituted for Vasilevsky's. He sitting at Stalin's left hand in the Victory Photo, Zhukov is at Stalin's right hand. The missing Soviet corps headquarters were either broken up or promoted up to army status. It was quickly realized that staff officers would have to learn their roles on the job. Drastically simplifying the TO&E also became necessary. BTW, a lot of the new divisional commanders were hyper-promoted, having been mere majors, even captains, when Hitler invaded. The Germans had bagged entire armies. So the Reds were short on staff talent. Going over to mass production of a handful of successful designs was a boon to the Red army. BTW, the Big Secret of Uranus turned on spoofing and laying down land-lines for secure Soviet communications. In this, they largely imitated Guderian who also faked out both Hitler and the Western Allies. Neither party realized just how far Guderian had advanced until his feet were wet. (!!) Radio silence on the part of Soviet tankers was a HUGE part of Uranus. The German B'dienst teams had nothing to listen to but spoofed emissions. Dopy Paulus just sat still while the Russians bagged him. Idiot.
1
@JohnBurns -- incorrect. The British recently tested those radios. Yes, they still had such radios in their possession -- and they were taken by investigators to Salisbury plain -- in optimal conditions -- and it was soon discovered that they, the radios, NEVER had decent range -- PERIOD. With the best operators, in ideal weather, in ideal terrain with radios totally squared away -- they STILL could not transmit // receive much past 2.5 miles. This was broadcast by the BBC. They had a show that looked back, forensically, at many famous British battles. Time and time, again, they've discovered that the old historical version accepted for perhaps centuries is and was totally wrong. Famously, they discovered that the entire narrative about Agincourt was totally wrong. British long bows had NOTHING to do with Henry's success. The French actually just killed themselves. Strange, but true. The British Army simply did not test its radios for range -- certainly not First Airborne. On manuvers the boys never got that far apart... and these were tactical radios. Driven by batteries, they were power hogs, too. (All tube driven electronics just sucks down the juice, which is why the range was so limited. To get more range, they needed line power -- not batteries.)
1
Watch the BBC broadcast. It's up on YouTube. The British made it crystal clear that even when everything is PERFECT those radio sets can't reach past 2.5 miles... 3 miles is a real struggle. Comprehend THAT. But British Airborne needed WAY past 2.5 miles for their comm link. Telling us all that they can't even get to 2.5 miles is to just pile onto their misery. And the irony is: the Dutch could NOT talk the British into using their phone. Say, has any thought about using CODE to send messages? Then even if the Germans heard transmissions -- they'd still be lost. How stupid could the British be? This kind of decision belonged in the lap of Browning and Monty. No-one else could have the authority to rig up a code for MG. BTW, Monty always bypassed his army commanders. He expected them to handle the backroom// COO role. You'll note that they were virtually never caught on film, whereas Monty was the face of the British Army in Northwest Europe.
1
This post is totally non-responsive to my assertion that the adoption of a voice code for the Dutch telephone network would've been up to them and no-one else. It's an issue that only an army commander or army group commander could take the lead on. In the crush of events, neither man thought of using the telephone network right under the German's nose. One of the tricks used in North Africa was to use Hindustani. Many senior officers could speak Hindustani, which was all too much for the Germans.
1
Robin is under-stating Monty's technique. Monty had his own boys camped out at all relevant subordinate HQ. No they did not commute back and forth as Robin tells us, they stayed parked there. This was ultra evident during Monty's command days during the Bulge. He had liason officers at 1st Army and all of its Corps. These fellas were simply shadows of the relevant commanders. They were there SOLELY to observe and fink. One is reminded of Red Army political officers. The story with Monty was that he was a control freak -- but very forward looking. So he had excellent relations with every general officer to serve under him. Gavin though Monty was just terrific. The guys bitching about Monty always turned out to be his peers and above all his superiors. Even Ike found Monty to be a handful. FM Alexander found Monty difficult to work with, too. The fact is that Monty's ego was so vast that he would only issue orders -- he would not take orders. Monty spend weeks chaffing at the bit because Ike wouldn't let him have his way with the narrow thrust concept. MG proved just how wrong Monty was. The problem with the narrow thrust scheme is that the rest of the Western Front would then go quiet. That suited the Germans perfectly. Germany was falling apart with its infantry formations when in the defense. They were not competitive. Whereas Hitler could always scratch up a handful of elite formations to stymie the Allies... of which MG is the stand out example. Monty simply was not Monty for this battle. He had victory disease. Heck the entire Allied command had victory disease. Bradley went so far as to shut off artillery ammunition deliveries! Wow. THAT'S victory disease. Victory disease explains the behavior of ALL of the Allied generals. Gavin had it BIG TIME. Obviously, so did Browning. That's why they were so un-stressed about taking the bridge. The ONLY guy with his head on straight: Frost. He should've been running the division. He certainly had the track record for outstanding leadership and judgment.
1
Even THREE days would've made a difference. Yup. That's how THIN the front line started out. Most of the Germans that XXX Corps fought at the start line had just arrived -- in the last few days. A week prior the front line consisted of snipers and the occasional machine gun nest. That was it. Period. Amazing, no? The line was where it was because the British simply stopped, took a break, upon orders from on high. This is ANOTHER one of Monty's boners that no Brit wants to look at. There was no military utility in stopping. Patton would NEVER have stopped. The Son would've been behind British lines if they had merely proceeded normally. So, the ENTIRE launch line was where it was because Monty and Browning wanted it there. Shocking, but true. The GG were PISSED when MG opened up. Suddenly they had to really fight hard. Previously it had been a motor march!
1
Tedder, Alexander, yup you know better than them. Tedder and Ike BOTH deemed Monty a handful. EVERY American general wanted Monty sent upstairs so that Alexander could be brought up from the Med. Talk about EGO -- Monty had actually forgotten that FM Alexander EVEN EXISTED. Freddie had to remind him that Ike had a replacement in mind that Churchill would certainly fall in love with: FM Alexander -- a man who used to be Monty's BOSS. Yeah, he forgot about his own prior commander! That ends this discussion. Talk about an ego bigger than the planet. Who here reading could forget their prior boss, prior commander? He did!
1
@John Burns After Bulge, Ike pushed Monty to the curb. This explains why the British Army group was "pinched out" as they say when the Allied armies crossed the Rhine. Ike basically cut Monty off of American support... once he crossed the Rhine. From that point onward, Monty had to TOTALLY rely upon British logistics. He couldn't get out of first gear. The boobs south of him then proceeded to over-run Western Germany so fast that it alarmed Stalin. By the end, Monty had to ask Ike for the 82nd Airborne so that the Reds would not roll into Denmark. He got them. Gavin, the 'loser' jumped into his jeep and then rolled Northeast across Germany using nothing more than his side arm and an American flag, pennant mounted on his jeep. From time to time, he'd even have Germans saluting him! Being behind American lines was a dream come true for them. In his book "On to Berlin" he recounted how weird it was. For before he rolled, the British had led him to believe that intense resistance was to be faced. However, it was a cake-walk... a motor-march. By the end, Gavin had reached the Baltic... not Berlin! Heh. And, keep in mind, Gavin admired both Browning and Monty. Loved them in fact.
1
Ike had taken 9th Army away from Monty by the end. Gavin, a Monty-phile -- big time, specifically stated in his book that the release came from IKE. Monty HAD to go to Ike to get this division. Ike pinched 21st Army Group out of the Front. By the end of the war, not one British formation was there to shake hands with the Russians. This was deliberate. A snub, for sure. Seeing the lay of the (political) land, Monty accepted the TOTAL surrender of Nazi Germany in his 21st Army Group HQ on May 5th, 1945. When Ike heard the news, he flipped, ( off camera ) and informed Monty that the surrender could ONLY ever occur at SHAEF HQ. Please send your reps. Monty was not on hand, IIRC. Ike would also not appear in the ceremony. He deliberately stayed in the next room. He wanted to strangle the Germans, of course. Ike actually had a TERRIBLE temper. Marshall told him even a single additional outburst would be enough for him to be sent down in shame. Further, Ike was to NOT micro-manage subordinate commands. Upon the attempt, he'd also be sent packing. These General Orders from THE General explain what many Brits find inexplicable... Americans, too. The Ike they 'know' is Mr. genial. His military record says the opposite. One of the reasons that Marshall hated McArthur was that McArthur took a fulsome chit on Ike's 'military jacket.' As a result Ike was a mere Lt Col at the start of WWII. He was three stars in less than 12 months once Marshall was 'hip' to what McArthur had done. He'd lied... for years on end. Free-riding Ike's work as if it was his own. (!!!) Unforgivable. Any lesser rank would've been court martialed. But, McArthur was already a national hero. [ Likewise Johnny Carson, known to every American as Mr. fun guy was, in fact, too tightly wrapped and was routinely drunk as a skunk -- and Johnny was an ANGRY drunk. He really did need Ed McMahon to chill him down// double as a body guard. ] Lastly when Zhukov heard that Ike had taken the surrender he wigged out. The Germans HAD to perform the same ceremony for the Red Army. Each one of these German surrenders was total and complete across the board. Monty's ceremony has been Winston Smithed down the memory hole. Yet it was not a bit different than Ike's or Zhukov's. All of which proves that it takes three times as much effort to surrender as it takes to declare war. Heh. You MUST be kidding about the North Sea. The Russians were already on the North Sea and had been there for months and months. The issue was DENMARK. You're exposing how twisted your 'logic' can be. Not unreasonably, Monty wanted to be standing in place to shake hands with the Russians. Once it was obvious that this would never happen he dialled Ike and had the 82nd stand in for him. That must have been as much fun as gargling shards of glass. Well, at least on paper, the 82nd would count as a subordinate command to 21st Army Group. That had to count for something.
1
@John Burns You live in an alternate reality. Bradley slipped 9th Army into the merge between 21st Army Group and 12th Army Group. That was his political solution. The 9th Army was but an over-grown corps at that time. 1st Army consisted of 15 premier divisions. Marshall told Bradley that was his limit. Bradley, 12 AG commander was actually running 1st US Army at the exact same time. Hodges was nothing more than a go-fer and yes-man. Bradley routinely reached past Hodges to Gerow and Collins -- his twin favorites. Both reached 4 stars in the post war era, IIRC. (And Bradley 5 stars.) Upon Marshall's dictum, every new division to land went to Patton... until 3rd Army became a monster. Then Marshall told Bradley, what goes for Hodges goes for Patton: no more. Simpson was FORCED upon Bradley. He wanted Gerow. He had to eat crow and explain to Gerow that he was not in a position to dictate army commanders. Simpson came out of the National Guard, IIRC, was McNairs favorite. But whatever, Bradley came to fall in love with Simpson: who NEVER provided Bradley with any grief whatsoever. He was totally the opposite of both Hodges and Patton. Simpson was ALL business. Monty QUICKLY realized just how lucky he was. Simpson beat Hodges all to Hell. Further, the new American divisions were 'cleaned up' doctrinally. They'd been cross training with American veterans, only the best were given this assignment, and so small unit tactics late in the war, with totally virgin infantry divisions, were night-and-day better than what was seen in Normandy. And Monty was sitting in the catbird's-seat as they rolled in. One of them was the 104th. It was commanded by Terry Allen. He HATED Bradley. He couldn't have been HAPPIER than serving under Simpson and Monty. The 104th was an elite formation. Allen made it the sole and only night fighting infantry division in the USA. It pulled off miracles. Need I say it? Monty just loved that division. It was constantly used as an infantry spearhead. It moved faster than most armored divisions, BTW. The Germans were simply not at all prepared for night attacks. They'd just fall apart. Simpson would batter them by day -- and then unleash Allen's 104th after nightfall. That's all she wrote.
1
@JohnBurns Wow, what are you smoking? The Russians have been 'on the Baltic' all the way from Prussia, you moron. The reason Monty needed Gavin was to stop them from marching into Denmark, indeed, conquering that whole nation. The reason Ninth Army was removed from Monty was as a snub. It sure as hell surprised Monty. And he was NOT happy. Ninth Army was 90% of his attack power. The rest of 21st Army Group was bled out... intolerant of casualties of any kind. Six-years of bleeding was more than enough for those boys. In Bradley's autobiography he relishes this humiliation of Monty -- quite bragging about the ENTIRE Russian-American front being just that. Arriving after the surrender ceremony is NOT what Monty had in mind. He'd insulted Ike, Bradley, Patton and Hodges -- repeatedly. That had consequences. BTW, when NATO was founded, Ike and Monty were brought back into harness. Once Ike left the scene, Monty was straight out the door. Like hell he wanted to be around a superior that was his junior in the history books. Even so, Monty continued to run down American military acumen until he died. He didn't have a kind word for Alexander, either. (!!!) He dissed him as being basically a pretty boy, harmless enough as long as he followed (Monty's) instruction. What a pill.
1
@Roginaulds The Luftwaffe demonstrated to the Allies the first instance of a smart bomb. With them they sunk two Italian heavies that were sailing straight towards the Allies to surrender ship and crew. One bomb down the stack was enough for both ships to go under. The RN and USN knew about all of this. It was for THIS REASON that neither navy was at all interested in patrolling the Straits of Messina. None of this could be admitted during the war -- or for DECADES after the war. The Luftwaffe's smart bombs -- and their American equals -- were classified at the highest levels. ( The USAAF used smart bombs against the Bridge Over the River Kwai, BTW. The 509th Composite Bomb Group actually thought that THEY were being trained to drop smart bombs. They'd gotten wind of them. They didn't know a thing about the atomic bomb until they were on Tinian.) This Luftwaffe smart bomb technology had both navies totally freaked out. It's because of this Threat that both fleets stayed away from Luftwaffe bomber bases. They also put up CAP to beat the band. Neither navy would cruise ANYWHERE where they couldn't have CAP out their ears. When you understand this, then the entire Italian Campaign makes sense. The navies refused to sail up the Italian coast because to do so would invite smart bomb attacks -- especially at dawn or dusk. The Allies had no defense against smart bombs back then. They didn't even know how the bombs worked -- let alone how to jam them. This all took time. BTW, the Straits of Messina were a piece of cake compared to the English Channel. There's no comparison at all. Talk to a sailor. It's a common stunt for swimmers to make the transit. (~ 3 miles, mild sea)
1
@TheGame The X-bombs were considered a first-generation smart bomb because they could be adjusted right on down to the last second. The USAAF also crafted a similar beast -- and used it in the Pacific. [ The first USAF smart laser bombs also required a second aircraft to orbit, too. (1972) They were still termed Smart Bombs. ] The X-bombs were a total mystery at first. When a single X-bomb takes out a battleship, no-one was going to take any chances. The Allies were more than a little bit freaked out... as they had visions of X-bombs raining down from night skies over the English Channel next summer. This was the motivation for the absolute blanket of CAP that extended hundreds of miles to the east during the Normandy landings.
1
@TIK Venezuelan oil is AMERICAN oil as at that time ALL of its production came by way of American oil firms. ( Standard Oil of New Jersey -- later known as EXXON )
1
OKH failed to appreciate that Case Blue DEMANDED emphasis upon the rail net. Germany didn't have the gasoline to support a truck fleet with that much 'reach.' Even the Americans (1944-45) found that trucks can only take you so far. You must restore the rail net ASAP. The USA prioritized the rail link from Cherbourg to Paris, and even hauled British coal to Paris to get the train system back up and running, doing so with the Red Ball Express at one point. (!!) "After a month of demining and repairs by American and French engineers, the port, completely razed by the Germans and the bombing, welcomed the first Liberty ships and became, until the victory of 1945, the largest port in the world, with traffic double that of New York.[45] It was also the endpoint of the gasoline which crossed the English Channel via the underwater pipeline PLUTO (Pipe Line Under The Ocean), and the starting point of the Red Ball Express, truck transport circuit to Chartres." The German attempts at extending her Russian rail net were belated. The story is so embarrassing that you just about never read anything about it. It's notable that the Nazis had access to French rail resources that could've entirely changed the picture. They refused to use them... probably as a matter of policy. The massive Luftwaffe raids against Stalingrad were a triple crime: they consumed WAY too much fuel -- to no positive purpose. The raids destroyed the very assets that you'd think the Nazis would want for themselves. The raids provided the perfect terrain for the Soviet defense which would surely be a first class bitch. Lastly, they killed a lot of Russian civilians while providing absolutely no moral crisis for the larger Soviet Union. The avgas consumed by the raids should've been given over to Ju-52 flights so that Army Groups A & B could roll on at exploitation speed -- taking critical objectives via motor-march -- as compared to fighting. This last gambit was what made Barbarossa so astonishing. Army Group A was WAY TOO LARGE. 17th Army should've been reduced to a mountain corps, and given motorization -- say 2 mountain divisions and 1 jager division. The rest of that army should've been allocated to the main front -- 2nd Army in particular. A rump position west of the Kerch Strait would've sufficed. ( an infantry division or two being re-blooded ) 1st Panzer Army should've given up most of its panzers to 4th and 2nd Panzer Armies -- and received GDm, 3m and 29m in exchange. You just don't need that many tanks, just motorized infantry. The bigger 1st Panzer Army gets, the harder it is to fuel up. It's destined to spend most of its time punching air. That had to be obvious. All of these key decisions should've been made during the Halder era. He did more to advance the Allied cause than Adolf Hitler.
1
@Jeffy2n Yamamoto figured that the IJN had NINETY DAYS of oil sufficiency. Eighteen months would be to dream. Even today, Japan has a massive strategic oil reserve, and it only figures to last about seven months. Red China's current strategic reserve also will not last more than four months... if it's the sole source for crude oil.
1
In North Africa, the BIG screw-up was that the French system was a NARROW GAUGE railway. The US Army totally re-railed it. It was so proud that the shift of American full gauge locomotives from ship to shore became a propaganda release. This re-construction was stopped when the weather turned so muddy that things became impossible. The intention to build out towards the battle front evaporated when it was seen that Ford trucks were entirely viable and could step-up at a stroke. BTW, if you want to see a REAL screw-up -- visit Vietnam. LOOK magazine published a photo essay of the staggering waste in the American build-up. The photo spread was an eye-popper. The US Army had failed to construct any warehousing -- so virtually all supplies were left to sit in the tropical sun and rain. Losses were in orbit. The feeble fencing allowed many a local to establish his own retail establishment.
1
@Shasha I read that book forty-years ago. (So much is now forgotten.) It's such painful reading I don't know if I can bear to reread it.
1
Absolutely, yes. The vast bulk of 15th Army gear had to be left behind. 15th Army largely had to march back on foot... the Falaise pocket revisited... and had to cross major water barriers to do so. MG largely cut them off. The trickle attacks against 101st Airborne usually get scant treatment in any discussion of MG. How much of a side show can you possibly get? Even so, the Americans took more fatalities during MG than the British. (1st Airborne won the wounded and captured stats, though.) The working remains of 15th Army were destroyed by the Canadian 1st Army, during the clearing of the Scheldt. By December, Adolf had reconstituted a rump 15th Army and placed it immediately north of 6th Panzer Army. By that point, the primary army of France (June) had become a mere corps strength, so-called army.
1
@B A While amusing , the war was not going to stop for tolls. The usual toll was paid in blood , anyway.
1
@TIK... the General SS was the ORIGINAL SS organization. The Waffen SS was established only after Adolf was in power. It was the military wing of the SS that Hitler explicitly expected to use internally and externally against his foes. During the Third Reich, the General SS expanded like topsy. It's role was strictly internal. Within its ranks: the Gestapo and SD. (The Gestapo was Goring's creature. He surrendered it to Himmler for a quid pro quo before WWII got rolling. ) Today, if you Google General SS you end up getting absurd links to SS generals... Waffen SS generals... which is totally off track. The size of the General SS was staggering. It's where the factory goons were slotted. These guys patrolled the factory floors of Nazi Germany, hovering over forced labor -- not usually death camp labor. They numbered in the hundreds of thousands. You could've built armies in the field with this much manpower. Consequently, EVERY significant industrial enterprise was -- de facto -- folded into Himmler's empire. He even established a parallel economy. Like the Soviet's GUM department store, General SS men could obtain luxuries denied to the general populous. They ran SS 'PX stores' rather like Costco (irony alert) where everything was better. Himmler had a program to induce ALL technical talents into his General SS. Consequently, it was COMMON for the top brass within any industrial firm to wear the SS uniform -- being inducted -- but only on this or that ceremonial occasions. Von Baun was in the General SS, as was his boss. He only ever wore his major's uniform when he HAD to -- like visiting Dora -- twice. This is why Himmler and Hitler didn't even have to wait for formal hearings about industrial policy. EVERY corporation -- even privately held ones -- was on their leash. Famously, when Speer hauled the industrialists in for his first pow wow, every last one kissed his ring -- instantly. He promptly took control of ALL of their key policies. He forced upon them deals that they did not want to do, that they'd been resisting all along. Stuff like selling to their life-long business enemies and rivals. So much for Nazi Capitalism.
1