The topic of propaganda in the Third Reich continues to play a significant role in contemporary discussions. Interestingly, no military historian has yet dedicated an in-depth study to this subject. There are only detailed treatises on the topic of anti-Semitic incitement and propaganda. But what did the propaganda look like for the troops and the German population? What were the guidelines for war correspondents, and how much of that was implemented? Who censored the results, and what was the cooperation like between the Supreme Command of the Wehrmacht and the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda? Who were the war correspondents, and how involved were they in the final products shown in cinemas and newspapers? What happened when what was written, filmed, or photographed didn’t meet the desired expectations? Were there any guidelines at all? Were combat scenes staged? How risky was the job of a war correspondent, and where did the men find the motivation to continually risk their lives for photos and reports? This book addresses all of these questions and reveals that many of the claims made by post-war authors about the PK unit are completely unfounded.
The first part of the book provides an introduction to the PK and addresses many questions about propaganda that have never been asked before. The second part, which includes about 80% of the volume, describes the deployment of the Propaganda Company 666 in the Western Campaign. The correspondents of the company were assigned to the 12th Army and thus worked with the infantry divisions of the III Army Corps and Guderian's Panzer Corps. The book describes the battles of the divisions chronologically, incorporating photographs and reports from the war correspondents of PK 666. The reader follows Guderian's advance through the Ardennes, participates in the battles for Sedan and the Maas crossing, and advances with the Panzer divisions through Stonne, St. Quentin, Peronne, Abbeville, and Montreuil towards Boulogne and Calais on the English Channel. Finally, the battles for the heavily defended fortresses in these two port cities are depicted.
Afterward, the tanks march south, and together with the infantry divisions, they advance through the Aisne toward the Swiss border. The reader witnesses the battles along the Aisne, around Rethel, in Champagne, near Chalons, along the Rhein-Marne Canal, at St. Dizier, Chaumont, Langres, and Besancon. The battles of all the involved divisions are narrated using original documents, complemented by photographs and reports from the men of PK 666. A book like this has never been published before. The book names all the war correspondents of PK 666 and provides brief biographies of the men. Many of them later appeared in the public eye in completely different roles after the war. This book is the first concrete documentation of the history of a propaganda company.
