# Talk:Franz Kurowski

This article has been translated from De.wiki article Franz Kurowski, by user Kudpung (talk · contribs) and copyedited by K.e.coffman (talk · contribs). Some content was moved from Der Landser and HIAG, please see the history of these articles for attribution. 
Additional contributions are welcome. K.e.coffman (talk) 02:43, 13 March 2016 (UTC)

A German Catastrophe?: German Historians and the Allied Bombings, 1945-2010, p 173 & p 174, note. 8 total mentions of Kurowski.
K.e.coffman (talk) 23:40, 13 March 2016 (UTC)

Having read the Google excerpts of it and some of the Dutch original, Benda-Beckmann's book is probably essential reading for anyone doing in-depth research into Kurowski (and any similar writers). The video of the de Graaf interview also reveals much more to he native or near-native listener of German about Kurowski's character than sub-titles can convey.  Kurowsk's speech and mannerisms are not those of academia or serious researchers. --Kudpung กุดผึ้ง (talk) 02:05, 14 March 2016 (UTC)
Thank you again for your work on this. With the article at hand, I'm now able to find more English language sources on Kurowski. For example, he's mentioned in these two works:
Count Not the Dead: The Popular Image of the German Submarine, plus nine mentions for his pen name "Alman"; descriptions include "hackwork", "hagiography", "pulp-novelist", etc.
The War, One Great Adventure: The Writer and "Historian" Franz Kurowski (2018) Roman Töppel article on Kurowski. Flanker235 (talk) 15:01, 9 May 2020 (UTC)
Hitler's War in the East, 1941-1945: A Critical Assessment -- this one I actually have on hand
When I used to search just be Kurowski's name, all I was getting in Google books search were his own books. I will add these as time allows. K.e.coffman (talk) 05:22, 14 March 2016 (UTC)
The M.S. Wilhelm Gustloff in German Memory Culture: A Case Study on Competing Discourses, note on approved biography of Donitz. K.e.coffman (talk) 22:35, 18 March 2016 (UTC)

Parking this content here as it comes from fringe sources. It may be notable that he's being mentioned in the far right publications, but not sure if belongs in the article as is. It would be better if WP:RS discussed Kurowski's reception in such circles:

In 1984 Ostpreußenblatt (now the Preußische Allgemeine Zeitung, a right-wing publication) reviewed Kurowski's Luftbrücke Stalingrad: Die Tragödie der Luftwaffe und der 6. Armee ("Airlift Stalingrad: The tragedy of the Air Force and the 6th Army") published in the extreme right-wing publisher Kurt Vowinckel Verlag as: "Franz Kurowski [provides] a shocking, authentic report on the of the German Luftwaffe operation and the mass deaths of German soldiers in that Russian city. The downfall of the 6th army in Stalingrad was just as tragic as the desperate attempts to supply Stalingrad by air."
Germany's defeat: Revisionist historian Keith Stimely profiled Kurowski's book Bedingungslose Kapitulation: Inferno in Deutschland 1945 (Unconditional surrender: Inferno in Germany in 1945), published in 1983 by the extreme right Druffel-Verlag, in the historical revisionist Journal of Historical Review. The Journal is the publication of the Institute for Historical Review, the world's leading organization of Holocaust denial. He described the work as "general history [...] of the events surrounding the capitulation of Germany, including the aftermath of occupation, forced expulsion, reeducation, denazification, forced repatriation, and war crimes trials".

These sources do not appear to be used for citations:

S. Schreurs: Franz Kurowski. Ein Verzeichnis seiner Bücher. Dortmund 1973.
Autorenkreis Ruhr-Mark (Hrsg.): Franz Kurowski. 60 Lebensjahre, 30 Jahre Dämonie der schöpferischen Einfälle. 1983.
G. Holtz: Franz Kurowski. Schöpfer des Sachbuchs vom Kriege. Autorenkreis Ruhr-Mark, 1983.
Alois Klotzbücher (Hrsg.): Literarisches Leben in Dortmund. Vereinigung von Freunden der Stadt- und Landesbibliothek Dortmund, Dortmund 1984, S. 214 f., 226 f.
K.e.coffman (talk) 05:53, 15 March 2016 (UTC)

I decided to satisfy my curiosity and got Panzer Aces (Vol. I) from the library. Opening on a random page, I got:

The SS divisions disembarked east of Kharkov. Among the units was the the 13th Heavy Panzer Company of the 1st SS-Panzer Regiment under SS Captain Kling. [Editors note: this must be the regiment that I've frequently encountered red-linked in related articles]. 
"The place is called Merefa. Behind us is Kharkov. The Russians will attack here and then try to encircle Kharkov."
"Nonsense, sir!" Shouted SS Sergeant First Class Hoflinger, a section leader in Wittmann's unit.
SS Staff Sgt Georg Lotzsch, known to all as the "Panzer General", because he knew everything about the Tiger tank, shook his head.
"There aren't enough of us, comrades. We must have escorting infantry and ..."
"Get ready, captain!" the executive officer called from the company commander's Tiger.

"All right comrades, everyone stays where they are and halts the enemy. Meyer and his motorcycle troops are up ahead. If we take off, then he's had it!" 

You get the idea. The book contains no bibliography and no footnotes. There's no preface to explain what the material is based on. It reads like a novel, rather than a historical study. K.e.coffman (talk) 20:58, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

"Historical fiction", maybe? Kierzek (talk) 21:14, 17 June 2016 (UTC)

There are a bunch of uncited sources in the Bibliography, including Safrian, Lenhard, MacKenzie, PAZ (whatever that is), Neitzel, Raudvere et al, and both Zaloga books. On first glance a critical reader might think there was a bit of bibliography padding going on, but I'm sure that's not the case. If they aren't being used, I suggest putting them in a Further reading section if they are actually relevant to Kurowski, or delete them if not. I am a bit puzzled by this, as you have shown in your editing of other articles that it is your view that if sources aren't being used, they should be deleted. Cheers, Peacemaker67  (click to talk to me) 10:00, 13 December 2016 (UTC)

Thanks -- I removed the unused sources. K.e.coffman (talk) 23:02, 13 December 2016 (UTC)

I removed the list of gurus as they are not relevant to this chap. There is no analysis of how they are like Kurowski (or not), so it is just a pointy coatrack of names promoting Smelser and Davies perspective of them. Say what they say about Kurowski. The other names are out of scope. Peacemaker67  (click to talk to me) 00:05, 14 December 2016 (UTC)

I still consider this a bit COATRACKy, as two of the authors have been added back in without any explanation of why they are relevant to Kurowski. To me, they are out of scope for this article. Peacemaker67  (click to talk to me) 22:36, 21 December 2016 (UTC)

I stumbled across this article about Kurowski, and it may be of use, particularly over his pattern of falsification and misrepresentation. But I don't know much about Töppel and whether he's a reliable source - there are probably others better able to evaluate him. Parsecboy (talk) 17:53, 17 December 2019 (UTC)