[Sandokan]

Fidel Castro Hired Nazi SS to Train Military, German Intel Documents Reveal
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2 ... ts-reveal/

Published October 15, 2012 / Fox News Latino

In 1962, then President of Cuba, Fidel Castro recruited two former Nazi SS soldiers to help train his military at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis, according to declassified documents released by Germany's secret intelligence agency, the BND (Bundesnachrichtendienst).

Castro invited four SS officers to Havana, where he offered them quadruple the average salary a German made at that time in exchange for their expertise. Two of the four accepted his offer, the documents, dated October 26, 1962, reveal.

The men served in Adolf Hitler's Waffen-SS, a force separate from the army and known as the armed wing of the Nazi party.
Castro's interest in Nazi military officials wasn't just limited to SS members, however, he was also trying to hire German paratroopers and technicians.

"Obviously the Cuban revolutionary military had no fear of any personal contact with those associated with nazism, so long as they served their objectives," Bodo Hechelhammer, historical investigations director at German foreign intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), said.

The documents, published online by German newspaper Die Welt , also reveal that Castro was in contact with two middle men with ties to Germany's extreme right in an attempt to buy 4,000 Belgian-made arms.

From their investigation, the BND secret agency concluded that Castro was trying to rid himself of his dependency on Soviet Union made arms.

The release of the German intelligence documents comes days after thousands of Robert F. Kennedy documents were made public by the CIA that revealed a mafia plan to kill Castro, and personal thoughts from Kennedy on the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis is Tuesday. The crisis began after the United States discovered Soviet Union nuclear missiles in Cuba. The discovery led to a tense 13-day standoff from October 16 to the 28th between President John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev.

The crisis ended when both presidents agreed to a secret deal.

The crisis was a pivotal moment in the Cold War, referred to as the closest the world had ever come to nuclear Armageddon.

This news would surprise the Liberals and Progressive that support and admire the Castroit regime, but it don’t surprise most Cubans. The released of German documents prove without a doubt the hire of Adolf Hitler's Waffen-SS officers and the efforts to hire German paratroopers and technicians.

[foxdemon]

I'm no fan of Casto but I have to point out in his defense that both the USA and the USSR grabbed as many Nazi engineers and scientists as they could after WWII. Forexample, the US rocket program was heavily dependant on ex-Nazi rocket scientists, as I understand it.

Is this a case of double standards?

[Quantum]

This news would surprise the Liberals and Progressive that support and admire the Castroit regime, but it don’t surprise most Cubans. The released of German documents prove without a doubt the hire of Adolf Hitler's Waffen-SS officers and the efforts to hire German paratroopers and technicians.

What is wrong with hiring former SS troops to train the Cuban military? How is this worse than hiring American or British troops? If you find yourself offended by this story, you shouldn't call yourself a right-winger and adopt some effete ideology.

[stalker]

I agree with the above posters.

There's plenty of things to criticize about Cuba, but Sandokan is a transparent partisan.

[oppose_obama]

The Cubans should have hired some german economists. The stagnation of the Cuban economy because of Fidel Castro is inexcuseable. But at least they have super cool cars from the 50s and free healthcare! Except if it's serious, then the dear leader high tails it out of there pretty quick.

[Section Leader]

So what?

The East German Army was originally mostly staffed by Waffen-SS veterans.

This is not news.

[Verv]

There is this sort of view that everyone who was associated with Nazism was some sort of nefarious Hollywoodian clown...

Sure, these gusy were at one point probably ideological believers in Nazism but more than this they were professional military men with great expertise in their field who have something to offer in that regards.

It's not like there was any threat of the SS guys turning uber-ideological and... What? Pulling a Nazi James Bond on all of Cuba or some shit?

[Social_Critic]

Castro must have been feeling a) scared and b) insecure to hire germans. I don't care if they were SS or whatever, but the Germans sure didn't know shit from shinola when it comes to stopping a US landing in Cuba. I can see them telling Castro goosestepping in circles:

"Jawhol, Mein Fuhrer!!, muss riesige bunker mit 205 mm kanone mit blick aufs meer zu bauen, Panzerdivisionen bereit aus einer Position tief im Binnenland reagieren! Heil Castro!!"

The answer, of course, was to wait for the US forces with trumpets and little american flags, and have 10 thousand women armed with steel trap vaginas. They would lure the US soldiers to bed, where they could use the steel traps to horrendous effects. The Americans would have run away with their hands between their legs.

[Canis_Lupus]

Actually old fella was in a quite good mood...:-)...Will gringos ever learn?

September 14, 1962

Ha ha ha! I just saw a headline in the Miami Herald this morning indicating that the gringos have begun to sign up the Miami worms for military service. They say they want some Spanish –speaking units. Now, I wonder what the hell they think they are going to do with Spanish-speaking soldiers. Obviously, they will be used to attack us, to invade our island, to act as interpreters. I can see gringos’ fantasy now: they invade; they conquer Havana; the exile worms stand with the American commanders and explain in Spanish that the good guys have arrived; that the gringos are here to save our country from communism; and that everything will be made just as beautiful and wonderful as it was in Cuba before our Revolution.

Boy, are all of them—gringos and worms—in for a surprise. If any of them survive the attacks on our beaches, they will get a rifle butt shoved down their throats. We will show them how revolutionaries fight. Then, “POP” will go their fantasy bubble.

Of course, the gringos will be humiliated and angry, just as they were when we kicked their ass at the Bay of Pigs. And of course, Kennedy will call in his Air Force and they will bomb us to smithereens. But before they destroy us, we will show Kennedy, Khrushchev and the world how true revolutionaries conduct themselves. We will show them the epitome of courage and equanimity. Let the invasion begin!

FC

[Social_Critic]

At the time I thought the name worm, gusano, was quite an honour. I was in Cuba, and I really hated Castro. We used to joke "when Castro dies, worms are going to eat him, and there's nothing he can do about it, unless he incinerates himself tied to a stake". It was pretty funny to us, but you got to have been there to sense it.

Now that Fidel is a vegetable, and he's going to die after somebody throws the switch on his machine, he's closer to becoming worm food. I think it's a good end for him, he must have realized his mind was going when it happened, and I sure hope he remembered the joke. The worms are going to eat him.

[Social_Critic]

At the time I thought the name worm, gusano, was quite an honour. I was in Cuba, and I really hated Castro. We used to joke "when Castro dies, worms are going to eat him, and there's nothing he can do about it, unless he incinerates himself tied to a stake". It was pretty funny to us, but you got to have been there to sense it.

Now that Fidel is a vegetable, and he's going to die after somebody throws the switch on his machine, he's closer to becoming worm food. I think it's a good end for him, he must have realized his mind was going when it happened, and I sure hope he remembered the joke. The worms are going to eat him.

[Maas]

This news would surprise the Liberals and Progressive that support and admire the Castroit regime, but it don’t surprise most Cubans. The released of German documents prove without a doubt the hire of Adolf Hitler's Waffen-SS officers and the efforts to hire German paratroopers and technicians.

2 words: operation paperclip

You thinking only "the bad guy" welcomed in "the bad guy" is just being pleasantly naive.

[The American Lion]

So what? We hired Nazis for our freaking rocket & space program.

[Social_Critic]

The American Lion is right. I don't think it's such a big issue if Castro hired former SS to train the army. He did much worse things, for example he brought in STASI and KGB experts to teach torture techniques to the Cuban secret police, the DSE. The bastards even worked out how to put Cuban prisoners naked inside freezers, and de-rated the temperature from the Stasi-KGB settings because we Cubans weren't so used to the cold.

[Smilin' Dave]

In addition to the Operation Paperclip etc. you might also consider that during the same time period a lot of South American nations were trying to snap up ex-Nazis/Germans for economic gain, to train their militaries etc. Former officers etc. were just one part of the 'surplus' that would be of interest to other nations after WWII. So by the standards of the region this would seem almost normal.

[Stormsmith]

I cannot think why Sandy has his knickers in a knot over this, unless he's a tad worried that the real reason is a little more complex

Cuba and Germany were polar opposites, politically. Left wing communists, tight with the Soviets, vs right wing Fascists. So Cuba hires a few of them, and learns from them how the enemies dealt with certain situations, and by extrapolation, they also learned how to contend with the enemy. Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. Clever.

[michael3]

I cannot think why Sandy has his knickers in a knot over this, unless he's a tad worried that the real reason is a little more complex

Cuba and Germany were polar opposites, politically. Left wing communists, tight with the Soviets, vs right wing Fascists. So Cuba hires a few of them, and learns from them how the enemies dealt with certain situations, and by extrapolation, they also learned how to contend with the enemy. Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. Clever.

Perhaps true, but I suggest that the reasons go even a little further than even you suggest. Marxist-Leninism is a totalitarian ideology, as is Hitler's National Socialism and also Fascism. Furthermore Castro must have had some leanings towards National Bolshevism or Fascism himself, as he is a great well-known admirer of Mussolini....Come to think of it, so was Vladimir Lenin. Castro wasn't a Communist himself before the revolution's success, and the Communist Party of Cuba was in the Batista government Castro overthrew...

Statists admire and use other Statists for military and other purposes, the scientific control and management of human beings. And, contrary to what some have expressed on this thread, these Waffen SS vets probably served Castro quite well.

[Social_Critic]

You are putting too much emphasis on dogma - if Castro did hire former SS, those Germans went over for the money. And Castro hired them because they were available. This is a simple business deal, and there was no dogma, no "keeping your enemy close", and none of the other baloney I've read above. Hell, I'm not even sure why I bother to read this thread.

[michael3]

You are putting too much emphasis on dogma - if Castro did hire former SS, those Germans went over for the money. And Castro hired them because they were available. This is a simple business deal, and there was no dogma, no "keeping your enemy close", and none of the other baloney I've read above. Hell, I'm not even sure why I bother to read this thread.

Could be right, but i'd like to think even with my ideological enemies, that there's more to it then the damned money. And the ideologies are closer than people on both 'sides' of the political spectrum wish to believe.

On the other hand, Statist ideologies always devolve into money grubbing and the enjoyment of violence, real or virtual, don't they?

[Social_Critic]

Michael, you are spot on regarding the ideologies. Some of our fellow PoFo members go ballistic when I point out the final end point of communism is fascism. But i don't think a few germans going ot train Cuban forces means those Germans thought Fidel was a-OK because he was a tyrant and someday the regime would evolve into a pretty good fascist dictatorship. I just don't see it happening that way. Those Germans were in it for the money, the same way a white Rhodesian friend of mine was flying choppers for Mobutu - that guy hated black Africans, but Mobutu paid well.

And sometimes you'll see people doing things you think they do for some reason, and it turns out to be a different reason altogether. I was in Venezuela and counseled PDVSA - I got paid a huge amount of money, but I also knew they were so stupid they weren't about to listen to me anyway. And to make matters even better, I used my position to recruit Venezuelan professionals and pulled them out of Venezuela to make sure PDVSA didn't have anybody left with brains to understand what the hell I was talking about.

So like Eminem said, you can't say anything about me, because I'm a lot worse than you think.