The Wereth Eleven

This is a film combining real footage, re-enactments, and interviews, about a little-known atrocity during World War II. At the outset of the Battle of the Bulge, the first American unit to come under fire was the all-black 333rd Field Armor Battalion. Overwhelmed by the Germans, the battalion was reduced to fighting hand to hand with knives, before finally surrendering. Those soldiers that could not stand were shot. The others were marched off.

Eleven prisoners escaped when an American plane strafed the march, while the other soldiers were sent to prison camp. The eleven reached a farmhouse in the town of Wereth, Belgium, where they were given food by a Belgium family. Unfortunately, they were found by the SS, and you can guess the rest.

A few historical notes, not mentioned in the film: 1.When the survivors of the battalion were on a train coming home, they were forced to stand in a rest room during the trip, even though one of the cars was completely empty. 2.The SS officer who ordered the massacres was sentenced to hang, but his sentence was commuted after serving about 10 years. He moved to France, where he was eventually killed in a house fire set accidentally on purpose.