Found this on a message board in the bowls of the internet and it brought a tear to my eye.
This is a photo of him walking to his death.
Jospeh Schultz was a German soldier on the Eastern Front. On the 20th of July 1941, he along with seven of his brothers in arms were sent out on what they thought to be a routine mission. After a short march they soon understood that they were on a quite different mission than what they were used to: Ahead of them, they saw fourteen captured local civilians who were blindfolded , positioned up against a wall. The 8 soldiers in Schultz platoon were halted 10-15 meters away, and an NCO ordered them to execute every one of the civilian. Seven of the soldiers took aim, and in the silence that followed you could only hear the sound of a rifle beeing dropped. Jospeh Schultz disobeyed a direct order, dropped his rifle and walked slowly towards the 14 civilians which only heard cautious footsteps in the grass infront of them. The young Schultz positioned himself together with the soon-to-be executed civilians, and choosed death instead of killing hopeless civilians. A few seconds later 14 civilians and 1 German soldier laid dead in the grass. He was executed by his own brothers in arms by order of the NCO.
There was no large-scale revolt or mutiny. Nobody was saved becasue of his actions. He didnt change anything. He refused to shoot the prisoners because he knew it was wrong, and he payed for it with his life. So the next time you have a drink, please make a toast to this man; I know I will.
