I am a soldier. I get orders. I execute them. - Dietrich von Choltitz

Ich habe den Feldmarschall von Manstein gefragt, ob er an der Aktion gegen Hitler teilnehmen würde. Manstein sitzt in einem Sessel und liest in der Bibel. Schnell, fast verlegen, legt er sie zur Seite und deckt sie mit Papieren zu.

I stood in front of him and I saw an old, stooped, bloated man with gray, slick hair, barely standing on his legs.

Even today, I can not say with certainty whether he himself believed in his words or whether he was knowingly deceiving those around him to urge him to keep to the end.