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CM: Ne, ne -

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GPW: In front -

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IV: Okay!

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GPW: Hands in front?

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IV: I think it's a little bit (???)

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CM: Wunderbar, läuft.

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IV: Okay. Yeah, ah, you haven't been for the first time to Germany, I know, you've been several times -

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GPW: I've been several times, I used to live over here.

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IV: You used to live over here?

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GPW: When my Dad was stationed here, yes.

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IV: Ahja. How many years?

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GPW: Oh, he was stationed here, ah, two different commands.

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So I would come every summer for three months.

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IV: But that was a long time ago?

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GPW: Yeah, that was in highschool days. That was 30 years ago. I mean, college days.

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IV: Yeah. But also during the last years, you came several times to Grafenwöhr.

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GPW: I was in Grafenwöhr last year on a visit, just to meet the army people that are here.

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And I come over here on behalf of General Patton's family as I'm a Patton just to say thank you.

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Cause we appreciate all the soldiers that are in the army now.

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And that's why - one of the reason why I come, to say thank you to the soldiers.

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But today, I'm here to pay respects to - respect to the people both that aren't here and the ones that are here.

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IV: How did you get the idea to come here? To the concentration camp?

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GPW: I was invited by Anna and my cousin Helen Patton gave her my address.

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And she emailed me and I said "Of course I will, I would be honored to be here."

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My dad having been a prisoner of war, there's a lot of things in common but not the severity of the camps.

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IV: So what did you expect to find here and what is your impression now? Having a walk around...

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GPW: I'm real sad right now, to be honest, I -

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it's difficult for me to say what I, I didn't expect, I didn't expect -

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I didn't have any expectations except that I knew it was a very hard scene.

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And it is.

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And it's just.. to sort of imagine in my mind what went on from the Appell all the way down to the crematorium.

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Ah.. it's just, it's just overwhelming.

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I mean it's very sad for me right now.

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IV: Ah. Your grandfather was a famous general here during the wartime.

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He was here at the time where some of the concentration camps were liberated.

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So when he died, I think you've been five years old?

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GPW: I was five years old when he passed away, yes.

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IV: So you can remember he -

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GPW: I can remember him, oh yeah, very much so.

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But I know one thing is, he hated the Nazis.

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And I think the SS troopers were the top of the list..

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The man he had, who served under him, he motivated them to push forward.

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And this was a - the liberation of this camp and all the other camps were ahm,

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that was probably a pleasurable moment for General Patton to give somebody back their freedom.

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And there were a lot of people that got in his way and he did his job and he got here.

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IV: So when you've been a child, in your family, your grandfather, he told you about the things he experienced here in Germany during the war?

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GPW: My grandmother told me more, cause he died when I was five and ah..

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So my grandmother told me more about what he experienced.

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And then, I read a lot of his notes and memories and ahm.. his diaries.

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And.. he truthfully could not understand how anybody could - could have the morality to do what they did.

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From not only killing the ah, the Jewish people but the Jewish children.

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In the way he did it, that was -

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he would write home and just say "It's just horrific. What I see I can't believe."

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As you know, one of the camps he brought all of the citizens in from the town, he made them dig them up.

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And ah.. He didn't accept this at all as a punishment of any sort.

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He was not - he was a good man, he was very compassionate.

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And I think, that ahm..

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when he saw what he saw, well I understand, he vomitted to be honest at one point.

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He wrote that, that he did and this was..

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it was just.. the idea, the ideology of Hitler to be able to think he could eliminate a race.

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Ahm, I don't think General Patton even could conceive until he hit the first concentration camp.

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And then he saw what the man was doing.

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And that just angered him.

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And so.. his men and.. the men were the men that did the job, the men did the job but General Patton really, this really upset him.

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More than upset him.

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IV: Do you think that gave an influence how, to your family?

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GPW: Oh, yes.

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IV: To your father, maybe to you. The way you were living?

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GPW: Oh yeah. Ah, growing up as General Patton's grandson

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and then, as my dad who was also a prisoner of war by the Germans, he was (???) in Poland

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and then marched to Hammelburg. He did three death marches also.

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Had a tremendous influence on us.

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General Patton's influence on my father and my father on me, and ah..

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I was blessed to have that influence but it was difficult ah.. Life is difficult.

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But my life was easier because with ah.. what General Patton taught my dad, my dad taught me, so.

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Ahm.. good things pass on, I hope. I hope my kids have got..

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IV: So, your father also was in the military. Could it be also some kind of influence? To go to the army?

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GPW: No, my dad was in the army ah, when he met my mother.

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He graduated from West Point and ahm.

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General Patton commanded the ah, his daughter, Beatrice, who was my mom, have a date with his, the Corps Captain at West Point.

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And my father was the Corps Captain.

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So he had the date.

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And from then on, that was the only woman that he ever dated.

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And then he married her, but my dad was a West Pointer class of '31.

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And ahm, the influence in the military has always been in my family.

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Almost everyone of the grandchildren have served their country.

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Or served in some way.

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Now I have a cousin who serves in, as a nun, you know, she's serving through Christ, I guess you could say.

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So.. we've all been taught to serve.

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And it wasn't an easy road to hold growing up I guarantee you, there were a lot of rules and regulations.

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And General Patton's troops went through and they call him "Blood and Guts" and I understood those rules, so..

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There was a great influence.

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IV: And what's your opinion of Germany, growing up..

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Or did you have, had in your mind, what is this Germany, what is this for a country?

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GPW: Well I was taught to love Germany.

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My father - when he came home from prisoner of war camp, ah,

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he had no ill will or ill feelings towards the guards that he'd taken - that served him.

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And he just taught me that everybody has a job to do.

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But not a job like this concentration camp.

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That's not a job. That's just.. that's just vicious.

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And we were taught that these were bad but the Germans were great.

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We lived in Germany with my dad would send Christmas cards to the guards.

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That was a great relationship. He even drived German cars.

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So we very much love Germany.

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There's no ill feeling but.. after the war was over, we all understood, it wasn't the Germans.

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It was the Nazis that.. the really devoted Nazis, those SS people that had other names in our house.

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So ahm.. we loved Germany, it's beautiful.

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I wish America had some of the things you have, some of the beautiful green fields and you know, such a busy, busy place.

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That it -

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IV: Okay.

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GPW: Anything else?

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IV: No.

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GPW: I mean, I -