Real Men- German Propaganda Short about Paratrooper Training and Combat- February 1942 Full HD

“Real Men” (Ganze Männer) is a short propaganda film about the training and combat mission of German paratroopers. During WWII, Germany was the first country to use paratroopers on a larger scale; they were employed during the invasion of Denmark and the Low Countries in 1940. But their most famous operation was the invasion of Crete, where over 14,000 German paratroopers landed on the island and managed to conquer it in May/ June 1941 but suffered heavy losses. Paratroopers after 1941 were used as regular ground troops, mostly on focal points on the front that were under high pressure. Nevertheless, actual paradrop training was continued until early 1944. The following short shows scenes from Paratrooper training, exercise and combat footage from the landings on Crete. The title, “Real Men“ refers to the fact that, according to this propaganda short, only “real men“ can become paratroopers. This short was shown before propaganda newsreels and films in early 1942.