Wilhelm Gehlen was born in November 1934 in Viersen [Annotator's Note: Viersen, Germany]. He remembers growing up during World War 2. He remembered in 1939 a lot of political officials, including Adolf Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler], came to his hometown because a new school had opened, which Gehlen would attend. As a boy, he joined the Hitler Youth in 1940 and later joined the Jungvolk in 1941. When he began school, he remembered that one day all the crosses were removed and replaced with a picture of Adolf Hitler in the classrooms. He remembered as a young boy, his mother made him go to church several times a week. When he got home, his mother would quiz him on what he heard from the preacher that day. Gehlen began to prefer to go to church than do things for the Hitler Youth because a lot of the time it required hard labor. While in school, he learned aircraft identification, [Annotator's Note: Phone rings at 0:08:37.000 and tape cuts] and learned what to do when there is an air raid. He had 14 family members, including two young cousins, who died due to air raids. He and his brother would walk a mile home from school and jump in trenches if an airplane flew over them.

[Annotator's Note: Wilhelm Gehlen was a boy growing up in Viersen, Germany during World War 2.] Wilhelm Gehlen's father was a tram driver. In 1937 there was a decree that said every able-bodied man had to go into a labor service. His father was sent to Schneidemuhl, Germany for his labor service. His mother worked as a cook in a convent. Gehlen's father was later sent to the 16th Infantry Regiment when war began and was eventually trained on a Sturmgeschütz [Annotator's Note: a mobile assault gun or self-propelled artillery], which is an assault gun. He remembered he enjoyed receiving letters from his father while his was in Poland and reading the news about the progress of his father's unit. His father returned home during the winter of 1939 and 1940 after Germany defeated Poland but was called back in the spring to prepare from the war against France. His father's unit was eventually sent to Viersen, which was near the Netherlands' border. Gehlen remembered that there were troops everywhere, and everyone knew war would be coming any day. One morning, he woke up to the sound of engines turning on and troops heading west for the Netherlands border. His father later returned home for a short time after the defeat of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France, but then was sent to Russia where he was wounded. He was then sent to a hospital in Germany. He was eventually sent to a hospital not far from Viersen, and Gehlen and his family took a train to visit him. On the way, the rail was bombed, and they had to be rerouted. They eventually got to the hospital to visit his father. In late 1943, after his father healed, he became an instructor at a firing range and trained soldiers. His father was eventually sent to Holland and was captured by the British.

[Annotator's Note: Wilhelm Gehlen was a boy growing up in Viersen, Germany during World War 2.]. Wilhelm Gehlen recalled always hearing the enemy fire not far off from his town. He could hear tank fire during the Battle of Hurtgen Forest. They had artillery fire that hit his house, and not long after, the 102nd Infantry Division arrived in his town. After war, during peace time, it was a whole new world for him. He left school in 1949 and went to Cologne to train as an electrician until 1952 when he joined the Foreign Legion [Annotator's Note: French Foreign Legion]. Gehlen recalled the different ways propaganda was fed to the civilians during the war and how he could pick out facts from the different news reports in Germany. He also stated that he did not know about concentration camps but knew about labor camps because the government would threaten civilians if they listened to foreign radio. When the British occupied his town, the townspeople were forced to watch a film about the concentration camps.

[Annotator's Note: Wilhelm Gehlen was a boy growing up in Viersen, Germany during World War 2.]. Wilhelm Gehlen recalled the transitioning of living a life during war and now living a new life in peacetime. Prior to war, everything was rationed. Gehlen explained that if one wanted to by a broomstick they had to go to the townhall and request a certificate to purchase one. The civilians had to save up on coupons to get clothes and shoes. Many civilians would make their own shoes, or clogs, out of wood. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer pauses the interview to start new tape.] Gehlan was a runner and helper to an 88mm [Annotator's Note: 88mm multi-purpose artillery] and 20mm [Annotator's Note: Oerlikon 20mm automatic cannon] flak battery near his home during the war. [Annotator's Note: A phone rings in background at 0:56:37:000.] He had many jobs which included changing the barrel of the gun when it got overheated during heavy combat, bringing more ammunition to the gunner, and replacing the basket of empty shells. He recalled that his battery shot down at least seven planes.

[Annotator's Note: Wilhelm Gehlen was a boy growing up in Viersen, Germany during World War 2. He was in the Jungvolk helping the 88mm and 20mm antiaircraft batteries outside of his town.] Wilhelm Gehlen witnessed and experienced enemy fire throughout the war years. In the summer of 1944, he saw allied planes flying low above him. He ran into a ditch right before they fired upon him. They also dropped bombs a hundred yards from where he was hiding. He also recalled seeing a delayed action bomb while in town. He ran off before the bomb went off. Another time after a bombing raid, while Gehlen was in school, the teacher told the kids to go home. As the kids were released, they saw a bomb sitting outside the school. Many of the children stood around it to observe it, but Gehlen thought that was too dangerous and ran off. The bomb exploded killing several children and wounding others. Another time, Gehlen and his brother were about ready to go into town for a haircut when a bombing raid passed through. When it was all clear, they ran to town and saw that the barbershop was in ruins and people were pulling the dead from the rubble. Another close call was when he was with his younger brother and two allied planes came in flying low. Gehlen pushed his little brother into a bush and waved at the planes thinking this was it for him. The planes just flew past him. When the American infantry came through to take over his town, Gehlen's house was shot up with artillery fire but no one in his family was hurt or killed.

[Annotator's Note: Wilhelm Gehlen was a boy growing up in Viersen, Germany during World War 2. He was in the Jungvolk and helped man the 88mm and 20mm antiaircraft batteries set up outside of his town.] Wilhelm Gehlen explained how he got involved with the local battery. He was in the Hitler Youth and received military training and met the battery sergeant through his neighbor. The battery sergeant took an interest in Gehlen and asked him if he would like to be a messenger for the battery. Later, more duties were given to him. While in the local battery, he received more military training on how to fire certain German weapons including the Panzerfaust [Annotator's Note: literally "tank fist," the Panzerfaust is a shouler-fired, single shot anti-tank rocket]. Gehlen recalled his time in the Jungvolk with lots of marching and obeying orders in the beginning. They were required to go to parades, learn how to make a campfire, and find their way around in the woods. Later they were required to do guard duty and campfire ceased because they did not want planes to see the light. Gehlen recalled collecting Colorado beetles in exchange for candy. They were told that the Americans and British dropped the beetles to destroy the potato harvests. This was just one of many examples of propaganda in Germany. He also remembered that people would mark their houses to inform people where their air raid shelters were located just in case they needed help getting out after an air raid.

[Annotator's Note: Wilhelm Gehlen was a boy growing up in Viersen, Germany during World War 2. He was in the Jungvolk and helped the 88mm and 20mm antiaircraft batteries set up outside of his town.] Wilhelm Gehlen can recall the town being bombed three times. The worst attack was the last one. It was in the afternoon and he was about to go to town but saw planes coming over, so he ran home. As soon as he got to his house, he saw the planes drop several bombs over the town. After about 20 minutes, the air raid was over, he ran into town to see all the damage and check on family members. He recalled seeing many houses in rubble or on fire, other buildings were blown away, and the church was on fire. Gehlen explained that many of the older soldiers that were around did not want to help in the war effort and left it up to children ages ten to 14. He also recalled meeting the Americans for the first time while in Occupied Luxembourg with his mother visiting his grandfather. While he stayed at a hotel, he made dinner for the American soldiers. He was amazed by the food, coffee, and cigarettes available.

Annotator's Note: Wilhelm Gehlen was a boy growing up in Viersen, Germany during World War 2.] Wilhelm Gehlen witnessed some of the fighting during the Battle of the Bulge [Annotator's Note: Battle of the BUlge or German Ardennes Counter Offensive, 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945], mostly with fighter planes as they flew over the town he was in at the time. [Annotator's Note: The interview pauses the Interview to take a break.] He recalled when a V-1 [Annotator's Note: V-1 rocket bomb] fell onto a nearby hotel. Even though the German people were told they had secret weapons to fight the Allies, Gehlen admitted he had doubts about Germany winning the war just by witnessing the firepower of the Allies. German propaganda told local civilians that if the Americans win the war, they would "cut their heads off." They were told these lies so the people in power could motivate civilians to do something. Gehlen expresses his feelings about arresting elderly Germans today for their war crimes and believes they should not condemn them now that they are elderly. He recalled shaking hands with Adolf Hitler [Annotator's Note: German dictator Adolf Hitler] when he was a young boy. He can remember why Hitler was popular amongst the German people, because when he came into power, he gave everyone a job who did not have one. In 1937, when Hitler had his eyes on Czechoslovakia, Gehlen believes that was the descent of his popularity for most Germans. Gehlen also believes that the Treaty of Versailles after World War 1 was a cause for another world war.

[Annotator's Note: Wilhelm Gehlen was a boy growing up in Viersen, Germany during World War 2.]. Wilhelm Gehlen hopes that a war of the magnitude of World War 2 never happens again. Today, he speaks to children about his school time experience during World War 2. He likes to take it easy today and work for his church and go to local festivals. He also translates letters of various languages. After the war, he was in the Foreign Legion [Annotator's Note: The interviewee asks someone for a cup of tea and video cuts.] While he was in Dien Bien Phu in 1954, he was captured by the Vet Minh and sent to a prisoner of war camp at Lai Chau. He was eventually freed via prisoner exchange.