[Ruy Horta]

Hartmann bashing is popular nowadays.

I find it questionable that people like Rall, Backhorn, Krupinski, Steinhoff etc would have encouraged Hartmann to rejoin the post war Bundesluftwaffe, have supported his career (to the best of their ability) and have allowed him to lead the premier fighter squadron if his character was as flawed as some make out to believe.

These were all men of character, some stronger some weaker. The war was long, those that survived prolonged combat were good, smart and lucky.

What does enter in the whole "right or wrong" includes the cliques that were already established pre- during and to some extend post war. The spaniards, the fighters vs bombers, the east vs west, party vs "non-party" etcetera.

Some who were more popular were able to present and make sure their version of events became history as we know it, others who were less popular or less prolific in writing were often discredited.

With Hartmann the truth will likely be somewhere in the middle. Fact is that the Soviets held him long enough to give at least some credence to his wartime reputation on both sides of the line.

Hartmann might have looked like a Bube, but was probably tough as nails as a CO, marked by war and captivity he probably didn't mellow with age. Not an endearing character like Rall or Galland, but that doesn't mean that he was a fraud.

Hell, wonder how most of us would deal with prolonged and extensive combat, followed by c. 10 years as a POW under a system like Stalin's Soviet Union.

I'd love to see someone like Kurt Braatz take up the challenge. He's got extensive JG 52 material, that combined with the work by Barbas and Prien, might go a long way in re-establishing a picture of Erich Hartmann, regardless if he did or did not shoot down 352 aircraft.

...actually if it were proven that he shot down less than a third, that would still show that we arm chair generals have no right to judge these men of character who fought and survived a war we can't even start to imagine.