Wilhelm Hoffman was one of the thousands of German soldiers who found themselves fighting at Stalingrad. He served in the 267th Infantry Regiment of the 94th Infantry Division. Homfan kept a diary which is partially preserved. Through its pages, the high morale, initially of the Germans, their hope for a short and victorious development of the battle, but also its gradual refutation can be seen.
29th July 1942: “Our captain tells us that the Russian troops are completely exhausted and cannot resist much longer. Reaching the Volga and capturing Stalingrad will not be too difficult for us."
7th August 1942: “Our company rushes forward like lightning. Today I wrote to Elsa. We will soon retaliate. We all feel that the end, Victory, is approaching".
24th August: "The whole city is burning. By order of our Führer the Luftawaffe set it on fire. This is exactly what the Russians needed to stop their resistance".
September 1st: “Do the Russians really intend to fight on the banks of the Volga? They will be insane…”
September 6th: "Irrational arrogance of the Russians..."
September 11th: "They are fanatics..."
September 13th: "... they are wild beasts..."
September 16th: "Barbarians... they are not men but demons..."
September 26th: "Barbarians use gangster methods..."
October 27th: "Russians are not people but a kind of iron fenced existence. They never strain and are not afraid of fire…”
October 28th: "Every (German) soldier considers himself a doomed man..."
The Battle of the Granary
Of particular interest are his entries on the Stalingrad granary conflict.
September 16th: “Our battalion along with tanks attacked the granary from which smoke and flames are coming out. The grain is burning. It seems that the Russians themselves set fire to them. Barbarism. The battalion suffered heavy losses.
“There are no more than 60 men left on each hill. The granary is not occupied by humans but by devils whom neither flames nor bullets can harm".
September 18th: "The fight continues inside the barn. The Russians in it are doomed. Our battalion commander told us that the commissars ordered these men to die there.
"If all the buildings of Stalingrad are defended like a granary, none of our soldiers will return Germany. I had a letter from Elsa today. He is waiting for me in the winner's homeland.
September 20th: "The battle for the granary still continues. The Russians are firing from all sides. We sit idle in our basement. No one can get out.
“Sergeant Nuske was killed as he found himself outside on a road. My poor friend, you had three children.
September 22nd: “Russian resistance in the granary was broken. Our troops are advancing towards the Volga. We counted about 40 Russian dead in the granary building.
"Half of them wore navy uniforms, they were old sea wolves. A prisoner was taken seriously injured and unable to do or say anything.
Hoffman's last entry is dated December 27th. He himself was killed in the final phase of the conflict or captured by the Soviets and died afterwards. However, he never returned to his home... as he had almost predicted.