The Madonna Of Stalingrad

This superior drawing is known as the "Madonna of Stalingrad".  It was drawn by Lt. Kurt Reuber, a doctor and a protestant pastor.  It measures 3' by 4', and is charcoal on the back of a Soviet map.  It reads, running down the left side, Christmas at the siege, Fortress Stalingrad, Light, Love, Life.  It was flown out by his battalion commander (why was an officer leaving, his place was with his men) on what Wikipedia says is the last flight out but I dispute that.  Could be, though.  Reuber died in a work camp.  He drew another before his death.  The original is on display at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial church in Berlin.

The Prisoner's Madonna.  Reuber.

The Germans starved their POW's to death, by policy.  The Russians then starved their German prisoners to death, by policy.  Of the 91,000 6th Army prisoners, 6000 would return home a decade later.
'The Eastern Front was the armies of two mass murderers of about the same strategic ability colliding'.
(Martin Cruz Smith).

Over a million men died during the course of the battle.

Most German soldiers were decent but they were all tarred by atrocities committed on Hitler's orders.  Collectively speaking, the Stalingrad survivors got what they deserved.  Of all the German generals in Russia, only Friedrich Paulus forbade the sonderkommandos to operate in his area.

Nice job, Adolf.  Now we have to look at this rotting concrete abomination.  Way to fucking go.  Great boots, but if I were the Russians I would ditch the goose step.  I mean, what's up with that?