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Archive for the ‘Country – Germany’ Category

Exchange of Wounded POWs

22 Aug

[Crossposted from CharlesMcCain.com]

It seems odd that in the middle of total war between the Allies and Nazi Germany, that such formalities as exchanging badly wounded prisoners-of-war were not only negotiated but carried out. British Merchant Marine officer Peter Guy, cited in Convoy: Merchant Sailors At War 1939-1945 by P. Kaplan and J. Currie (4 stars), describes an exchange which occurred in the late December of 1944.

He is aboard the British merchant ship Arundel Castle and their destination is Goteborg, in neutral Sweden where the exchange will take place.

 
We were granted safe passage, and it was a treat to have portholes open and lights showing. On Christmas Eve 1944, we lay off Gibraltar after embarking the Germans at Marseilles, and everyone who was able gathered on the deck to sing a grand selection of carols….Later we passed through a narrow channel in the Skaggerak into the Baltic, and we could see the faces of the German gunners looking down on us from their gun positions. They weren’t impressed when some of our crew gave the V-sign. Arriving at Goteborg, we were surprised to get a welcome from a German brass band playing on the quayside…The saddest part was when close on a hundred of our lads who had lost their sight were led up the gangway. The exchange was all over in about three hours and we sailed home to Liverpool.

 
It is important to note that both Norway and Denmark were occupied by the Germans at this time so the German gunners he refers to are stationed in those countries.


[Image courtesy of Naval-History.net.]

 
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Posted in Atlantic Theater, Country - Germany, Europe Theater, Sea

 

LIFE.com – Hitlers Bunker Photos

30 Apr

Apr 30, 1945 – With Russian shells falling on Berlin, Hitler with his just married mistress Eva Braun, in his bombproof Berlin bunker, poisons her with cyanide and kills himself. His remains are never recovered.

This never-before-published image not only captures the chaotic state of Hitler’s bunker when Vandivert made his way there in 1945, but also features an item that recalls the wanton gangsterism and greed that characterized Nazi rule: a 16th-century painting looted from a museum in Milan. In the typed notes (see next slide) that Vandivert sent to LIFE’s New York offices “immediately after getting to Berlin,” Vandivert described his intense and harried visit to the bunker: “(Note and note well),” he wrote “These pix were made in the dark with only candle for illumination since lights were only on in two rooms and when we were there there were no lights at all. Our small party of four beat all rest of mob who came down about forty minutes after we got there.”

Blood in the Bunker

With only candles to light their way, war correspondents examine a couch stained with blood (see dark patch on the arm of the sofa) located inside Hitler’s bunker. In his typed notes Vandivert wrote: “Pix of [correspondents] looking at sofa where Hitler and Eva shot themselves. Note bloodstains on arm of soaf (sic) where Eva bled. She was seated at far end …. Hitler sat in middle and fell forward, did not bleed on sofa. This is in Hitler’s sitting room.” Remarkable stuff — but, it turns out, only about half right. Historians are now quite certain that Braun actually committed suicide by biting a cyanide capsule, rather than by gunshot — meaning that the blood stains on the couch are quite likely Hitler’s, and not Eva Braun’s, after all.

Source: LIFE.com, Used with Permission.

 
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Posted in Country - Germany, Europe Theater, Images, Media, News, Today

 

World War II History for April 14

14 Apr

Today in WWII History

World War II History for April 14

Audio Clip: CBS Reports on FDR’s Death Apr 13, 1945

 World War II History - CBS News Reports on FDR's Death 04-13-1945 [15:15m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Apr 14, 1931 – Spanish Republic proclaimed; recognized by US and western nations. (More…)

Apr 14, 1940 – 350 British Royal Marines landed at Namsos, Norway to prepare for the arrival of the 146th Territorial Brigade. These Marines were the first British forces to land in Norway. (More…)

Apr 14, 1941 – German troops reached the Aliakmon River in Greece. (More…)

Apr 14, 1941 – Tobruk’s defenders beat back a determined assault by the German 5th Light Div on the encircled city. (More…)

Apr 14, 1941 – Yugoslavia sues for peace, seeking to negotiate a surrender with Germany. (More…)

Apr 14, 1942 – Adm Nimitz assigned to South Pacific. Sends Yorktown (CV-5, RAdm Fletcher) to Tongatabu, south of Samoa, to replenish for anticipated defense of New Guinea and Solomon Islands at the end of the month. (More…)

Apr 14, 1942 – Destroyer USS Roper sinks U-85, the 1st submarine kill by a US ship. (More…)

Apr 14, 1942 – Marshal Petain became Vichy French chief of state, and Pierre Laval became chief of government. Laval thus assumed actual direction of the Vichy administration, and the aging Petain remained to perform an essentially ceremonial function. (More…)

Apr 14, 1942 – British forces began destroying the Yenangyaung oil fields in Burma as the Japanese pressed their drive northward. (More…)

 
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Posted in African Theater, Asian Theater, Country - Germany, Country - USA, Europe Theater, Media, North America, Pacific Theater, Podcast, Today

 

World War II History for February 19

19 Feb

Today in WWII History

World War II History for February 19

Audio Clip: 02.18.1943 Soong Mei-Ling Appeals to Congress to Aid Chinese Nationalists

 WWII History - 02.18.1943 Soong Mei-Ling Appeals to Congress to Aid Chinese Nationalists [3:42m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

02.19.1932 – The Sino-Japanese dispute was referred to the Assembly by the League of Nations Council.

02.19.1937 – An attempt was made in Addis Ababa to assassinate the Italian viceroy of Ethiopia, General Rodolfo Graziani. Though he was only wounded, the Italians launched large scale reprisals vowing to keep the Ethiopians in line.

02.19.1938 – The British Cabinet rejects Foreign Secretary Eden’s proposal to have Italian troops withdraw from Spain. Their hope was misplaced, believing that Italy would check any further advances by Germany (they had already occupied Austria).

02.19.1938 – Nazis were permitted to join the ruling party of Austria, the Fatherland Front.

02.19.1939 – A trade agreement was signed between the Soviet Union and Poland in an attempt to strengthen Poland as a buffer against Germany.

02.19.1940 – Ambassador Hull extends the US moral embargo to the Soviet Union.

02.19.1941 – The 8th Australian Division lands in Singapore.

02.19.1942 – Executive Order 9066 is signed by President Roosevelt, authorizing the transfer of more than 100,000 Japanese-Americans living in coastal Pacific areas to concentration camps in various inland states (and including inland areas of California). The interned Japanese-Americans lose an estimated 400 million dollars in property, as their homes and possessions are taken from them.

02.19.1942 – Japanese air raids on Darwin, Australia. Considered the “Pearl Harbor of Australia”, they largest attacks ever mounted by a foreign power against Australia. The raids were the first of almost 100 air raids against Australia during 1942-43.

02.19.1942 – Battle of Badoeng Strait begins; ABDA force attacks retiring Japanese Bali occupation force with 1 Dutch DD sunk, 2 CL and 1 DD damaged.

02.19.1942 – Mandalay came under aerial attack for the first time. Defending forces are ordered back from the Bilin River.

02.19.1942 – Japanese troops landed on the Portuguese island of Timor in the East Indies. Tokyo says the action is taken in self-defense and that its forces would withdraw when the area was secure. The neutral Portuguese accept the occupation.

02.19.1942 – Canada’s Parliament vote to begin military conscription.

02.19.1942 – The Supreme Court of Vichy France begin trials in Riom to establish responsibility for the defeat in 1940.

02.19.1943 – Allied defenses in Tunisia are restructured in the face of a deteriorating position. The Axis forces begin frontal assaults on American positions in the Kasserine Pass.

02.19.1943 – German Army Group South opens a counteroffensive toward Kharkov and Belgorod.

02.19.1944 – US forces land on Engebi Island, Eniwetok Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

02.19.1945 – Units of the US 8th Div begin encircling German troops trapped within the Siegfried Line.

02.19.1945 – Himmler makes his first peace overtures to Swedish Count Folke Bernadotte of the Red Cross.

02.19.1945 US troops land on Samar and Capul Islands in the Philippines.

02.19.1945 (0905 hrs) – The first of 30,000 US Marines land on Iwo Jima. /via World War II Database

 
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Posted in African Theater, Asian Theater, Country - Germany, Country - Japan, Country - USA, Europe Theater, Facts, Media, North America, Pacific Theater, Podcast, Today

 

Guide to German Soldiers Equipment

08 Sep

A Guide to German Soldiers Equipment from WWII, Review of Deutsche Soldaten

This reference is an excellent source as a visual encyclopedia of the German soldiers equipment during World War II. Casemate Publishing’s Deutsche Soldaten details what the German soldiers lived in and worked with, and the evolution of gear over the several years of constant warfare and location. Every page in vivid full color brings out the reality of each item and how it would have been used, held, or worn by the men of Germany. Agustin Saiz includes valuable commentary and specific item details for each piece from undergarments to chemical warfare equipment.

Though there have been many books published revealing the equipment and lives of the Allies, and especially American soldiers, this book focuses strictly on the German side. It is a revealing experience to be able to so visually relate to how the German soldiers had to survive, often in incredibly harsh conditions. Compared to modern equipment it is amazing to see just how little they had to survive with and how primitive their equipment was. Blended in with the photos of actual militaria artifacts are portions of German manuals on how to use the equipment, photos of soldiers and other related memorabilia.

Deutsche Soldaten is a well put together and comprehensive volume that is a must for any collector of WWII militaria and an excellent research reference for scholars.

- Steve Terjeson
World War II History

Deutsche Soldaten
Uniforms, Equipment & Personal Items of the German Soldier 1939-45
by Agustin Saiz

Publish Date
October 2008

Specifications
8 x 12
356 pages
full color throughout
978-1-932033-96-0
$55
hardback

Casemate Publishing

http://www.casematepublishing.com/cgi/titleinfo.pl?sku=9781932033960

Deutsche Soldaten

 
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Posted in Country - Germany, Images, Media, News, Other

 

World War II History for September 1

01 Sep

Today in WWII History

World War II History for September 1

1939 - World War II began when Germany invaded Poland.

1942 - A federal judge in Sacramento, CA, upheld the wartime detention of Japanese-Americans as well as Japanese nationals.

1945 - The U.S. received official word of Japan’s formal surrender that ended World War II. In Japan, it was actually September 2nd. The war officially lasting 6 years and 1 day.

 
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Posted in Asian Theater, Country - Germany, Country - USA, Europe Theater, Today

 

World War II History for July 14

14 Jul

Audio: General Charles de Gaulle urges America to Join the Allies (14 July 1941)


Charles de Gaulle 1942
A 1942 WWII photo portrait of General Charles de Gaulle of the Free French Forces and first president of the Fifth Republic serving from 1958 to 1969.

Today in WWII History

World War II History for July 14

14 July 1933 - All German political parties except the Nazi Party were outlawed.

14 July 1940 - British Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivers War of the Unknown Warriors BBC Broadcast in London. [1]

14 July 1940 - A force of German Ju-88 bombers attacked Suez, Egypt, from bases in Crete.

14 July 1941 - Vichy French Foreign Legionaries signed an armistice in Damascus, which allowed them to join the Free French Foreign Legion.

14 July 1941 - Free French General Charles de Gaulle urges America to Join the Allies.

14 July 1941 - British Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivers You Do Your Worst — And We Will Do Our Best speech to the House of Commons. [1]

14 July 1945 - American battleships and cruisers bombarded the Japanese home islands for the first time.

[1] Selected Speeches of Winston Churchill – http://www.winstonchurchill.org/learn/speeches/speeches-of-winston-churchill

 
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Posted in African Theater, Country - Germany, Country - Japan, Europe Theater, Media, Podcast

 

World War II History for June 18

18 Jun

Today in WWII History

World War II History for June 18

18 June 1940 - Benito Mussolini arrived in Munich to meet with Adolf Hitler. Mussolini’s foreign minister, Count Ciano, recorded in his diary that Mussolini left the meeting “very much embarrassed,” and feeling “that his role is secondary.”

Hitler & Mussolini
Hitler and Mussolini

18 June 1940 - The Soviet Union began its occupation of the Baltic States.

 
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Posted in Country - Germany, Europe Theater, Media, Today

 

The Red Orchestra

18 Jun

The Little Known Impact of the Red Orchestra

The Red Orchestra, or Die Rote Kapelle, was the name given by the Nazi secret police, the Gestapo, to different espionage groups existing in Germany, Switzerland, and the Soviet Union during WWII. These groups were opposed to the ideals which the Nazi party stood for and therefore attempted to sway the German public to counteract the Nazi party and rise up against them. While they never fully succeeded in gaining a heavy following, the different groups did serve to get out information of the atrocities going on within the cities.

The three major groups to take part in this larger organization were the Trepper Group, the Schulze-Boysen/Harnack Group, and The Red Three. While the majority of the individuals in these groups numbered about 100, they still participated in one of the most daring attempts to counter the Third Reich in the most terrifying years, and many gave their lives to their beliefs. There were such few citizens who questioned the authority of Hitler during WWII, and the few who did paid for it with their life. These citizens did more than simply go against his principles, but additionally attempted to get news out of the country and to the Allies. Libertas Schulze-Boysen even succeeded in taking photographs of the Nazi atrocities in an attempt to one day prove Germany’s war crimes, although both her and her husband were caught and sentenced to death before the war ended.

Many of these groups attempted to contact the British and American forces but were met with a myopic lack of interest by both parties at the time which in hindsight was a grave error for the Allies. If many of these documents had been intercepted earlier, the war would have been over much sooner and the Holocaust would not have been as awful as it was. These different groups additionally created an Underground Railroad of sorts and assisted many people who were targeted by Nazis to get away to safety before they were sent away to the many camps. However, even after the war ended, many of the Allied countries still did not openly welcome the members of these groups because of their name (Red Orchestra was misconstrued with Communist leanings) and their ties with the Soviets to begin with. It wasn’t until the fall of the Berlin Wall that these individuals were recognized for everything they did to combat the Nazi regime and how they stood up in the face of Totalitarianism.

This post was contributed by Meredith Walker, who writes about the bachelors degree. She welcomes your feedback at MeredithWalker1983 at gmail.com

Claire Jaspar-Legrand
Claire Jaspar-Legrand (pictured) aged 65 who had been arrested with her husband Jules Jaspar in Marseilles on 30th November 1942 by the Gestapo. They were suspected members of the “Red Orchestra” spy group .

 
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Posted in Country - Germany, Europe Theater, Facts, Media, Other

 

World War II History for May 21

21 May

Today in WWII History

**Don’t forget to enter our Contest for a copy of Finding Granddad’s War here**

World War II History for May 21

21 May 1940 - A Nazi “special unit” began murdering more than 1,500 hospital patients in East Prussia. The operation of killing the “unfit” mentally ill patients took 18 days.

21 May 1941 - The first U.S. ship, the SS Robin Moor, was sunk by a U-boat.

The SS Robin Moor was a World War II era Merchant steamship. She was launched in 1919 and sailed under the American flag. In 1941, she was stopped and became the first US ship sunk in World War II by the German WWII U-boat U-69 in the Atlantic Ocean. See more details on the event SS Robin Moor.

21 May 1942 - 4,300 Jews were deported from Chelm, Poland, to the Nazi extermination camp at Sobibor.

21 May 1942 - The German company IG Farben set up a factory just outside of Auschwitz, in order to take advantage of Jewish slave laborers.

Read more details on these events here.

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Posted in Atlantic Theater, Country - Germany, Europe Theater, Media, Today

 
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