10 Extraordinary Acts of Compassion in Wartime - Listverse

4/1/2014
10 Extraordinary Acts Of Compassion In Wartime - Listverse
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HISTORY
10 Extraordinary Acts Of Compassion In

Wartime
MARC V. DECEMBER 19, 2013
Regular readers of Listverses sister site will already be familiar with the story of Henry
Tandey, a World War I British soldier who honorably decided not to fire on a wounded
enemy soldieronly for that soldier to turn out to be a young Adolf Hitler. But the tales
twist shouldnt be allowed to obscure just how noble Tandeys actions were. Compassion
is a quality that is usually hard to come by in times of war. Its even harder to show it to
the enemy. After all, how can you be kind to someone who might actively have tried to kill
you? Maybe thats why compassion is truly a quality we can all admire.
10
A Luftwaffe Ace Guided An American Bomber To Safety
Photo credit: Kogo
In December 1943, German ace pilot Hanz Stigler had every reason to shoot down the
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American B-17 bomber in front of him. Enemy forces had already killed his brother early in
the war and were now bombing German cities. Not only that, If Stigler took down this
particular bomber, he would round out his kill-score and secure the German equivalent of
the Medal of Honor.
As Stigler prepared to squeeze the trigger, he thought that it was strange that the bomber
wasnt firing back at him. Going for a closer look, he saw the gunner dead and most of the
crew wounded. The plane itself was riddled with bullets and struggling to stay aloft. In his
heart, Stigler knew he would be killing men in cold blood. Instead, he opted to do the
honorable thinghe signaled to the shocked American pilot and flew with the bomber to
prevent it being targeted by anti-aircraft fire.
Stigler escorted the plane until they reached the North Sea, where he broke off and
saluted his adversaries one last time. It was not until five decades later that the American
pilot, Charles Brown, successfully tracked down the man who saved him. The two men
became the best of friends, and as a show of thanks, Brown made Stigler the guest of
honor at a reunion he had planned with his crewmen. They showed Stigler a video of their
children and grandchildren, people who would not have lived were it not for his act of
compassion.
A Football Fan Saved A Soldiers Life
Mario Tonelli was just one of 72,000 men who took part in the infamous 1942 Bataan
Death March, in which the Japanese Army forced defeated Filipino-American forces to
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walk from their former bastion of Bataan to nearby concentration camps. During the dayslong march, thousands of prisoners fell by the wayside due to disease or injuries. They also
had to endure the brutal treatment of captors who beat, bayoneted, and shot those too
weak to trudge on.
Like his comrades, Tonelli was exhausted and on the verge of giving up, when he
encountered the unlikeliest source of inspiration. It all started when a Japanese soldier
took Tonellis class ring from him. Tonelli had been a college football star at Notre Dame
and wore that ring with him to the Philippines. Shortly afterwards, a Japanese officer came
up to the astonished Tonelli and handed him back his ring. He explained that he had
once been a student at the University of Southern California and had watched Tonellis
Notre Dame decisively beat his team in 1937. He knew how much that ring meant and he
just had to return it. That little incident gave Tonelli the hope he needed to survive the rest
of the warwhich he totally did.
A German Major Defied The SS
Karl Plagge knew that he was courting death at every turn by protecting Jews from the SS,
but he couldnt care less. An engineer by profession, Plagge joined the Nazi Party but later
left after he became disgusted with the groups racist ideology. After the war broke out, he
was assigned to head an army vehicle repair unit in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. In a
period marked by extermination campaigns conducted by the SS, Plagge moved quickly to
save as many Jews as possible.

Photo credit:
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Plagge conscripted as many Jewish men as he could and with a straight face told the SS
that they were all skilled mechanics (they werent). Miraculously, he also managed to
convince the SS to let them bring their wives and children into the camp, as their presence
could boost work production. Inside the camp, he treated his laborers well and often found
ways to undermine the ever-watchful SS. One of his most brazen moves came in 1944,
when the Germans found themselves being driven back by the Soviets. Plagge knew that
the SS would try to kill everyone at the camp before they evacuated, so he told his
workers:
You will be escorted during this evacuation by the SS which, as you know, is an
organization devoted to the protection of refugees. Thus, theres nothing to worry about
They got the hint and most managed to escape before the SS arrived the next day. For his
actions, Plagge was duly placed among the Righteous Among the Nations in 2004.
The Kaiser Allowed A British POW To Visit His Mother
Kaiser Wilhelm II was a man known more for an unpredictable temperament than a gentle
demeanor. However, he displayed an unusually high sense of compassion during World
War I, when he allowed an imprisoned British soldier to visit his ailing mother back home.
Captain Robert Campbell had been captured at the start of the war and was languishing in
a prison camp in Germany when he received word that his cancer-stricken mother was
dying. Campbell wrote and begged the Kaiser to let him see his mother one last time.
Photo credit:
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Incredibly, the Kaiser approved his request and gave Campbell permission to leaveon
the condition that he return to the prison camp once the visit was over. Campbell stayed
with his mother for a week and, like a true officer, kept his end of the bargain and dutifully
went back to the prison camp where he was detained until the end of the war. He did
once stage a failed escape bid, but only because he thought that it was also his obligation
to attempt it.
Rommel Sipped Tea With British Commandos
By all accounts German General Erwin Rommel was a professional soldier of the highest
caliber, who unfortunately happened to work for the wrong side. Admired by both his own
men and the enemy, Rommel refused to follow orders he deemed wrong, such as the
execution of enemy commandos caught behind the German lines.
Rommels professionalism was illustrated when he spared the lives of two British
commandos who were caught off the coast of France in 1944. The two men, Roy Wooldridge
and George Lane, had been surveying the mines around the area when they were caught
and detained by a German patrol. Although Rommel had every reason to execute them
(especially since British commandos had previously tried to assassinate him twice), he
once again defied protocoland even invited Lane to join him for tea and sandwiches.
Afterward, he had the pair transferred to an officers prison instead of handing them over
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to the Gestapo or SS (a sure death sentence). Lane later maintained that he wouldnt be
alive today were it not for that timely cup of tea with Rommel.
The Angel Of Marye Heights
The Battle of Fredericksburg was a one-sided Civil War encounter that left thousands of
Union troops dead or wounded after a failed attempt to overrun a firmly-entrenched
Confederate army. Wave after wave of Union soldiers were cut down as they tried in vain
to smash through a stone wall that protected the Confederates. The ground was soon
littered with the wounded, whose cries for help filled the air during lulls in the fighting.
Those cries reached the ears of teenage Confederate soldier Richard Kirkland, who begged
his general for permission to give water and aid to the injured.
After the general reluctantly agreed, Kirkland gathered several canteens of water and went
over the wall. In full view of both Union and Confederate troops, Kirkland gave water and
comfort to the wounded soldiers. Firing from both sides stopped and was soon replaced
by cheers and applause. Hostilities resumed whenever Kirkland went back over the wall
to get more supplies and stopped whenever he returned. The strange spectacle continued
well into the night, with Kirkland reaching most of the wounded. For his uncommon act of
compassion, both sides dubbed Kirkland The Angel Of Marye Heights.
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A U-Boat Sank An Allied Ship, Then Rescued Its Passengers
One of the strangest, yet most heart-warming, tales of human compassion in the midst of
war came from the infamous Laconia incident in September 1942an event in which a
German U-boat first sank a British transport ship, then rescued the survivors. The
commander of U-boat 156, Werner Hartenstein, spotted the ship in the South Atlantic and
gave orders to sink it. He was successfulthe Laconia was destroyed and more than half
of the 2,732 passengers perished along with the ship. Survivors either jumped into
lifeboats or into the shark-infested waters.
It was only then that Hartenstein noticed that aside from the British and Poles, there were
also Italian POWs as well as women and children among the survivors. He relayed the
predicament to his commanding officer, Admiral Karl Donitz, who immediately ordered two
nearby U-boats to help rescue the survivors. He also permitted Hartenstein to radio Allied
ships for assistance. The poignant moment was cut abruptly short when they were fired at
by a passing American plane, which falsely thought the U-boats were only rescuing their
own men. Nonetheless, 1,100 lives were saved thanks to the two mens sense of honor.
Hitler Helped His Jewish Former Commander
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Its hard to imagine Hitler saving a member of the race he had grown to hate so much. Yet
the Fuhrer did what we thought impossible and personally intervened to spare one Jewish
life. According to a letter written by SS chief Heinrich Himmler in 1940, Hitler had ordered
him and the authorities to spare Ernst Hess from being persecuted or deported. Hess
had been Hitlers commanding officer during the First World War and later worked as a
judge before being forced to relinquish his post in light of the Nazis rise to power. The
order (which was eventually revoked in 1942) and the fact that he was married to a nonJewish woman saved Hess from going to the death camps. He survived the war and died
at the ripe old age of 83. His oldest daughter Ursula said that her father used to describe
Hitler as an introvert who didnt make any friends in their unit. We wonder why.
A Japanese Pilot Protected A Parachuting Enemy
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Probably one of the last things you could expect from a Japanese soldier during the Second
World War was mercy. Yet in the closing days of the war, one Japanese pilot broke that
stereotype and showed his sense of honor by sparing a defenseless enemy. Corporal
Hideichi Kaiho and his fellow pilots had been engaged in a dogfight with American B-29s
over Tokyo in 1945. The Japanese managed to down one bomber and force its crew to bail.
One of the men, navigator Raymond Hap Halloran was parachuting at 3,500 feet when he
was spotted by Kaiho and two other Japanese planes. Halloran knew full well the Japanese
took no prisonersso he figured he might at as well wave at the three planes.
Miraculously, two of the planes went away, while the one flown by Kaiho continued to fly
around and protect him. Over five decades later, Halloran would meet and thank the man
who saved him that day. Kaiho later revealed that his commander encouraged him and his
fellow pilots to observe the real Bushido code (the one not corrupted by the Japanese
military), which espoused graciousness towards the enemy.
The Iranian Oscar Schindler
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Given the not-so-cordial relations between Israel and Iran today, its strange to remember
that an Iranian diplomat risked his neck to save thousands of Jews from the Nazis. AbdolHosein Sardari Qajar was the wartime Iranian envoy to Paris, where he worked tirelessly to
save French Jews with Iranian ancestry from persecution. He cleverly baffled the Nazis
with the theory that these Jews were no longer Semitic due to being fully assimilated
within the Aryan-Iranian culture. Debates about the theory gave Sardari the time he
needed to issue passports left and right.
It was only when non-Iranian Jews came to him for help that Sardari realized the extent of
the Nazi extermination program. Nevertheless, he continued to forge hundreds of passport
and gave them out to all Jews, regardless of ancestry. When the war was over, Sardari was
charged with distributing fake passports but was ultimately pardoned by the Shah of
Iran. He later stated that it was his obligation as a diplomat to help his citizens and as a
human to help the Jews.
Marc V. is always open for a conversation, so do drop him a line sometime.
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59 Comments
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Karmala
3 months ago
Great list. It's nice to know that in mans darkest hours, some people can still have a sense of
caring and compassion for their fellow man. Sadly, these people aren't as numerous as they
could be.
53
Reply Share
Arjan Hut
Karmala 3 months ago
I hear 70% of us have the compassion gene.

23
Reply Share
Karmala
Arjan Hut 3 months ago
It feels like only 10% have it activated. I think I've been Morrisised. Lol.
11/18
4/1/2014

It feels like only
10% have it activated. I think I've been Morrisised. Lol.
23
Reply Share
Arjan Hut
(-: I bet Morris has the gene :-)

9
Natasha
Reply Share
This doesn't have anything to do with the list and if it is too personal and
you don't want to answer, I understand. Is your avatar a picture of
yourself? If so, you look just like Jakob Dylan, who is one of my favorite
musical artists. :)
4
Reply Share
Arjan Hut
Natasha 3 months ago
It's me under the hat.

8
Natasha
Reply Share
You are a nice looking young man! It is uncanny, the resemblance. :)

4
Reply Share
Arjan Hut
Thanks. Now I'll have to ask my mother if she's ever met Bob Dylan :-)
10
Reply Share
The Ou7law
You are a handsome man Arjan

5
Reply Share
Arjan Hut
The Ou7law 3 months ago
Just a handsome picture.

3
Mom424
Reply Share
Mod
And he's humble too. ;)

2
Reply Share
C0gentman
Dude! *playfully slaps back*

1
Natasha
Reply Share
:D
3
Reply Share
Karmala
12/18
4/1/2014

Karmala
LOL. I too thought that when I first saw that picture.

(That he looks like Jacob Dylan)
4
Reply Share
Natasha
Doppelganger. That is so crazy but in the best way!
9
lbatfish
Reply Share
Perhaps the percentage will increase as new generations replace the old. Or so I'd like to
believe.
9
Reply Share
Karmala
lbatfish 3 months ago
I can only hope you're right :-)

3
Sahara
Reply Share
<sarcasm> Yeah, we sure should have more Hitler's in the world. </sarcasm>
4
Reply Share
Arjan Hut
3 months ago
All these rules, laws and orders that people have to break and ignore for the sake of showing
compassion ... a great list to jump-start another dark and rainy day.
12
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Hillyard
3 months ago
Very good list. It's nice to read about how some people can come through for their fellows in even
the worst circumstances. We need more lists like this.
6
Reply Share
patrick weidinger
Mod
3 months ago
Great list
5
Djole
Reply Share
3 months ago
Nice list to start another day.Good job.Frater pay this bloody man.
7
Reply Share
bobcollum
3 months ago
Another good list.

13/18
4/1/2014
Another good list.

4
Lisa
Reply Share
3 months ago
Wonderful list. Call me a sap but my eyes watered reading this

3
Reply Share
Chester
3 months ago
# 10 its Franz Stigler First Lieutenant, 45 kills. Pretty compassionate of him i probably would
have just lit him up under the circumstances.
3
Reply Share
elmofuddleputt
3 months ago
Great list. Kudos to the author.

3
Reply Share
PJM1108
3 months ago
The Christmas Truce should be on here

2
Reply Share
James Sora
3 months ago
"Standing armies shall in time be totally abolished." I sure hope Kant is right about perpetual
peace.
2
Reply Share
Don_cos
James Sora 3 months ago
Standing Armies are the only reason we have peace.

2
Reply Share
Hillyard
Don_cos 3 months ago
The Army isn't always standing, sometimes it sits.

4
Reply Share
Jub
Hillyard 3 months ago
Or lays down for a nap.

3
Rainer Spott
Reply Share
3 months ago
@#1 The author reviles a deep ignorance towards zionism. The behaviour of the Iranians are no
surprise at all taking into the account Islam values.
4
Reply Share
TruthBeTold
Rainer Spott 3 months ago
Islamic values?????????? Like beheading "infidels", treating women like slaves, arming
little kids, suicide/homicide bombers, burning churches. Yeah. we know all about those
"Islamic values". Take your anti-semitism where it is welcome. Oh, wait...this is Listverse
14/18
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"Islamic values". Take your anti-semitism where it is welcome. Oh, wait...this is Listverse
after all.
10
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Rainer Spott
TruthBeTold 3 months ago
Why would you call me an antisemite? Because I mentioned Zioninsm? Is a

goyim not allowed to use that word anymore?
To Muslim values: The jews are regarded when living under Islam as to be
protected (and exploited). They are not right believers, but they are not totally
infidels either.
Zionism, of course, change the picture a bit, now the Jews are 1st class and
Muslim 2nd and might lose one of the holy sites forever. Of course, they are
pissed off, indeed. (But that has little to do with race, as your calling out of
antisemitism marks, but with the ranking of faith. Any Jew converting to Islam will
be spared and saved.)
4
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Jonathantol
What? You really think the Jews want to destroy Muslim holy sites? Israel
keeps the sanctity of all religions in its territory, do no for one second think
we (Israel) want to destroy Muslim sites etc. If anything, you should blame
Islamists (I'm not saying all Islam) for destroying other religion's or
culture's holy sties or just important landmarks (look at what they do in
Africa, or how the Islamists act in the Middle-East towards non-Muslim
holy sites).
3
Andy West
Reply Share
I agree, f**cker barely mentions Bob Marley at all

2
Reply Share
Matt Harrold
3 months ago
Franz Stigler is who you meant. Hanz Stigler is a fictional character in Inglorious Basterds.
2
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Marc V.
Matt Harrold 3 months ago
Oh sorry for that. I happened to be watching the film while writing this. And his surname is
Stiglitz by the way. :)
5
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Atlas
Matt Harrold 3 months ago
Hugo Stiglitz?
3
Errkism
Reply Share
3 months ago
15/18
4/1/2014
Every single one of these people should be more famous than Justin Bieber. Fantastic list.
1
Reply Share
VikingBerserker
3 months ago
#4 was common until this particular event happened (The B-24 attacking them). After that it
became a rare.
Excellent list overall.
1
Reply Share
SamwiseGanja
3 months ago
Loved this list, always like to hear about people being good to each other rather than the other
way around
1
Reply Share
Rainer Spott
3 months ago
@#10 Moral Calamity

The German pilot seems to have acted with great chivalry. But that is wrong. The behaviour was
foolishness to say the best and shear treason to the worst. He never saw and never will see all
the lifes, the happy faces and friendship the might have been if he would have destroyed the
enemy plane so that it never could have gone on more bombing raids against German soldiers
and civilians alike. The destruction of enemy material was crucial, and the pilot failed, much the
Allies' and his own bliss. It would have been totally different if he had forced the bomber crew to
land at an German airfield and put the crew and plane into captivity.
2
Reply Share
eggomanic
Yeah.. you obviously missed the point of the list.

8
Reply Share
Don_cos
What about the lives that would have been lost if the bomber and crew were no longer
around to help defeat the Germans and end the war?
4
Reply Share
Rainer Spott
Don_cos 3 months ago
Exactly, or take into account that the German pilot might not only have shot down
the one bomber but a second and third, instead of waving good bye: all those
Germans soals that might have lived many years longer. In the end, there is little
good or bad in his act nor bravery. You can turn and twist the moral around as you
like.
4
Reply Share
Steve
The bomber and the fighter were the only planes in the area at the time.
The bombing raid was over and the crippled plane was trying to get back
16/18
4/1/2014

The bombing
raid was over and the crippled plane was trying to get back
to England. I forget the details as to why the fighter pilot was still around. I
believe he had made an emergency landing somewhere and had taken off
to get back to his own airfield.
The Stigler's initial attempts were to try to force the bomber pilot to fly to
neutral Sweden. He tried to get the bomber to turn but the Brown
misinterpreted his intentions.
In one of his first correspondences Brown told Stigler that he (the German)
would be pleased to know that the bomber never flew again to harm any
more of his countrymen. You are right though and the the Stigler had no
way of knowing that. He mentions wondering what had happened to the
Bomber and its crew but he could do nothing to find out lest his secret be
discovered.
Stigler was well aware of the consequence of what he had done and he
knew that if it were ever found out he would have likely been executed.
see more
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This comment was deleted.
Karmala
FuckHadeskabir 3 months ago
Go away. The dude isn't even around, get a life.

8
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This comment was deleted.
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4/1/2014

10 Extraordinary Acts Of Compassion In Wartime - Listverse

10 Extraordinary Acts Of Compassion In

A Luftwaffe Ace Guided An American Bomber To Safety

Photo credit: Kogo

10 Extraordinary Acts Of Compassion In Wartime - Listverse

A Football Fan Saved A Soldiers Life

10 Extraordinary Acts Of Compassion In Wartime - Listverse

A German Major Defied The SS

save as many Jews as possible.

10 Extraordinary Acts Of Compassion In Wartime - Listverse

The Kaiser Allowed A British POW To Visit His Mother

10 Extraordinary Acts Of Compassion In Wartime - Listverse

Rommel Sipped Tea With British Commandos

10 Extraordinary Acts Of Compassion In Wartime - Listverse

The Angel Of Marye Heights

10 Extraordinary Acts Of Compassion In Wartime - Listverse

A U-Boat Sank An Allied Ship, Then Rescued Its Passengers

Hitler Helped His Jewish Former Commander

10 Extraordinary Acts Of Compassion In Wartime - Listverse

A Japanese Pilot Protected A Parachuting Enemy

10 Extraordinary Acts Of Compassion In Wartime - Listverse

The Iranian Oscar Schindler

10 Extraordinary Acts Of Compassion In Wartime - Listverse

Marc V. is always open for a conversation, so do drop him a line sometime.

ENJOYED THIS LIST?

10 Extraordinary Acts Of Compassion In Wartime - Listverse

MORE GREAT LISTS

Top 10 Color Classical Reproductions

10 Fascinating Mythological Creatures Of The British Isles

10 Lesser-Known Iconic Photos of WWII

10 Extremely Bloody Executioners From History

Join the discussion

Karmala 3 months ago

I hear 70% of us have the compassion gene.

Arjan Hut 3 months ago

10 Extraordinary Acts Of Compassion In Wartime - Listverse

Karmala 3 months ago

(-: I bet Morris has the gene :-)

Arjan Hut 3 months ago

Natasha 3 months ago

It's me under the hat.

Arjan Hut 3 months ago

You are a nice looking young man! It is uncanny, the resemblance. :)

Natasha 3 months ago

Arjan Hut 3 months ago

You are a handsome man Arjan

The Ou7law 3 months ago

Just a handsome picture.

Arjan Hut 3 months ago

And he's humble too. ;)

Arjan Hut 2 months ago

Dude! *playfully slaps back*

Arjan Hut 3 months ago

10 Extraordinary Acts Of Compassion In Wartime - Listverse

LOL. I too thought that when I first saw that picture.

Karmala 3 months ago

Doppelganger. That is so crazy but in the best way!

Karmala 3 months ago

lbatfish 3 months ago

I can only hope you're right :-)

Karmala 3 months ago

Another good list.

10 Extraordinary Acts Of Compassion In Wartime - Listverse

Dude! playfully slaps back