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Posts Tagged ‘nazi germany’

V-E Day: 75th Anniversary

Friday, May 8th, 2020

May 8 marks the 75th anniversary of V-E Day. V-E stands for Victory in Europe. It was officially proclaimed by United States President Harry S. Truman on Tuesday, May 8, 1945. It marked the surrender of the German armed forces and the end of the fighting against Germany in World War II (1939-1945).

Upon Germany’s defeat, celebrations erupted in towns and cities across the world. Crowds took to the streets to sing, dance, and rejoice. British prime minister Winston Churchill marked the occasion by declaring May 8 a public holiday. It was the end to nearly six years of conflict in Europe that had cost the lives of millions and caused huge suffering worldwide.

A cheering crowd in London, England, welcomes the end of fighting in Europe during World War II on May 8, 1945—a day remembered as Victory in Europe (V-E) Day. Photo credit: © Popperfoto/Getty Images

A cheering crowd in London, England, welcomes the end of fighting in Europe during World War II on May 8, 1945—a day remembered as Victory in Europe (V-E) Day.
Photo credit: © Popperfoto/Getty Images

Leading up to V-E Day. The Allies began their final assault on Germany in early 1945. Soviet soldiers reached the Oder River, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of Berlin, in January. Allied forces in the west occupied positions along the Rhine by early March.

British and Canadian forces cleared the Germans out of the Netherlands and swept into northern Germany. American and French forces raced toward the Elbe River in central Germany. The German dictator Adolph Hitler ordered his soldiers to fight to the death. But large numbers of German soldiers surrendered each day.

As they advanced, the Allies discovered horrifying evidence of brutality by Germany’s Nazi regime. Hitler had ordered the imprisonment and murder of millions of Jews and members of other minority groups in concentration camps. The starving survivors of the death camps gave proof of the terrible suffering of those who had already died. The full nature and reality of the Nazi’s state-sponsored, systematic murder of Jews and others, known as the Holocaust, came to light in later months and years.

The Allies left the capture of Berlin to Soviet forces. By April 25, 1945, Soviet troops had surrounded the city. From a bunker (shelter) deep underground, Hitler ordered German soldiers to fight on. On April 30, however, Hitler killed himself rather than face defeat. With him died the Third Reich (Third Empire), the Nazi term for the empire in which they hoped to unite all Germanic peoples.

The fighting in Berlin claimed the lives of over 70,000 Soviet soldiers. The Germans propped up their remaining units with children and elderly reservists. Thousands of them died in that last week of fighting.

German Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz briefly succeeded Hitler and arranged for Germany’s surrender. On May 7, 1945, General Alfred Jodl, chief of staff of the German armed forces, signed a statement of unconditional surrender at the headquarters of Allied leader Dwight D. Eisenhower in Reims, France. World War II had ended in Europe. The Allies declared May 8 as V-E Day.

Tags: hitler, nazi germany, v-e day, victory in europe, world war ii
Posted in Current Events, History, Holidays/Celebrations, Military Conflict | Comments Off

80 Years Ago: Germany Invades Poland

Friday, August 30th, 2019

August 30, 2019

This Sunday, September 1, marks 80 years since Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939. Fighting in Asia had begun years earlier, but Germany’s invasion of Poland is considered the beginning of World War II, the most destructive war in history. World War II eventually drew in more than 50 nations, and more than 50 million people died before the war ended in September 1945.

This photograph shows German troops attacking from a trench early in World War II (1939-1945). Germany started the war in Europe by launching an attack on Poland in September 1939. World War II killed more people, destroyed more property, and disrupted more lives than any other war in history. Credit: AP Photo

German troops attack from a trench early in World War II. Germany started the war in Europe by attacking Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, 80 years ago this Sunday. Credit: AP Photo

Germany’s invasion of Poland came after years of problems and shifting attitudes in Germany. The nation’s defeat in World War I (1914-1918) resulted in dire economic and social problems in the 1920′s. Many people longed for the more prosperous pre-war days of the German Empire. In the early 1930′s, political unrest led to the rise of the Nazis, a fascist (extreme authoritarian) political group. The Nazis opposed democracy, Communism, socialism, feminism, and other political systems and movements that claimed to favor equality. The Nazis promised to make Germany great again by building a harmonious, orderly, and strong society. Instead, they brought terrorism, war, and genocide to Germany and other countries.

Germany's blitzkrieg (lightning war) overran Poland at the outbreak of World War II in 1939. German dictator Adolf Hitler, far right , reviewed German tanks as they paraded through the streets of Warsaw. Credit: AP/Wide World

Adolf Hitler, far right, reviews German tanks as they parade through the streets of Warsaw, Poland, in 1939. Credit: AP/Wide World

In 1933, Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazis, was appointed chancellor of Germany. Hitler rapidly increased his own power, and preached that Germans were a “superior race.” He called Jews, Slavs, and other minority groups inferior. He began a campaign of hatred against Jews and Communists and promised to rid the country of them. In this time of distress and economic depression, Hitler’s version of nationalism (an extreme form of patriotism) appealed to many Germans.

Hitler built up Germany’s armed forces. In March 1938, German soldiers marched into neighboring Austria and united it with Germany. At the end of September, Germany seized part of Czechoslovakia. The Czechs came under complete Nazi control in March 1939. Germany’s September invasion of Poland took place after Hitler agreed to divide the country with the Soviet Union. After quick German advances in western Poland, the Soviets invaded Poland from the east on September 17. Attacked from both sides, Poland fell on October 6. The Germans went on to invade other countries (including the Soviet Union) and took control of much of Europe.

The Nazis instituted the Holocaust, the systematic, state-sponsored murder of Jews and other people the Nazis judged politically dangerous or racially or mentally inferior. Historians estimate that the Nazis killed as many as 11 million people, including some 6 million Jews.

The war eventually turned against Nazi Germany, and the Nazis lost control of all areas—including Germany, which was badly damaged in the fighting. Around 5 million Germans died during World War II. Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945. Germany surrendered on May 8, ending the war in Europe. Despite the death and destruction brought by Hitler and the Nazis, far-right Neo-Nazi (new Nazi) groups formed after the war in Germany and elsewhere. Neo-Nazis continue to threaten and attack Jews and members of other minority groups.

Nazism and fascism (which also thrived in Italy and Spain) were not unique to Europe. In the United States in the 1930′s, the German American Bund and other groups actively supported the Nazis. The Bund gained a large membership, and in February 1939, it held a rally at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Some 20,000 people attended the radical Bund rally as around 1,500 police officers held back crowds of anti-fascist protesters outside. The Bund collapsed with the U.S. entry into World War II in December 1941—against Nazi Germany (and Japan).

Tags: adolf hitler, fascism, nationalism, nazi germany, nazis, poland, racism, war, world war ii
Posted in Current Events, Government & Politics, History, Military, Military Conflict, People | Comments Off

The Duquesne Spy Ring

Tuesday, January 2nd, 2018

January 2, 2018

On Jan. 2, 1942, 76 years ago today, a United States federal court sentenced 33 members of a Nazi German spy ring led by Frederick “Fritz” Duquesne to a total of over 300 years in prison. Duquesne and the 32 others had pleaded guilty or been convicted of espionage in the months leading up to the December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that brought the United States into World War II (1939-1945). The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) brought down the spy ring with the critical help of a German-American citizen named William Sebold. The fall of the Duquesne Spy Ring resulted in the largest number of convictions of any single espionage case in U.S. history.

The 33 convicted members of the Duquesne spy ring. Credit: Library of Congress

This composite shows the 33 convicted members of the Duquesne Spy Ring. Frederick Duquesne is at the top right. Credit: Library of Congress

William Sebold was a naturalized U.S. citizen who had worked in aircraft and industrial plants in the United States and elsewhere since leaving his native Germany in 1921. During a return trip to Germany in 1939, the German Secret Service asked Sebold to spy for the Nazis on the United States. Alarmed, Sebold reported the spy recruitment efforts to U.S. officials in Germany. The FBI directed Sebold to go through with the Nazi spy training. Sebold would then work as a double agent, pretending to spy for Nazi Germany while actually working for the FBI—an extremely dangerous occupation.

In 1940, after his Nazi spy training, Sebold returned to the United States. He began working among a network of Nazi spies in New York City. Sebold met with Nazi agents at a Manhattan office fitted with a two-way mirror and audio and video recording devices. FBI agents witnessed Sebold’s meetings with Nazi spies. They also altered communications from Sebold and relayed the misleading information to Germany.

Frederick Duquesne Credit: Federal Bureau of Investigation

Frederick “Fritz” Duquesne. Credit: Federal Bureau of Investigation

Sebold’s Nazi contacts included Fritz Duquesne, a South African who had fought against the British during the second Boer War (1899-1902). Duquesne had lived off and on in the United States since 1902, and he was involved in numerous nefarious activities. In 1917, during World War I (1914-1918), he was arrested for insurance fraud and was found to be spying for Germany. Duquesne escaped U.S. captivity in 1919. He was arrested again in 1932, but was released. In the mid-1930′s, Duquesne became involved with pro-Nazi groups in the United States, and eventually resumed spying for Germany.

In 1940, Duquesne began meeting with Sebold. Duquesne relayed schedules of ships bound for England, advised Sebold on sabotage techniques, and passed along information on new U.S. military weapons and equipment. The FBI arrested Duquesne and his co-conspirators in June 1941. All 33 either pleaded guilty to spying for Nazi Germany or were convicted of espionage in court. Duquesne was sentenced to 18 years in prison. He was released in 1954 because of failing health, and he died in 1956 at age 78.

In 1942, overseas espionage and intelligence operations were taken up by the newly created Office of Strategic Services (OSS). The OSS was the forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which was established in 1947.

Tags: duquesne spy ring, fbi, federal bureau of investigation, frederick duquesne, nazi germany, united states, world war ii
Posted in Government & Politics, History, Military Conflict, People, Terrorism | Comments Off

Remembering Auschwitz

Thursday, December 14th, 2017

December 14, 2017

On December 1, in Madrid, Spain, an exhibition opened featuring artifacts and personal belongings of people imprisoned at the Auschwitz concentration camp run by Nazi Germany during World War II (1939-1945). Madrid’s Canal Art Centre is the first stop for the exhibition, called “Auschwitz: Not long ago. Not far away.” The exhibit runs in Madrid through June 2018, and it will rotate between world museums for the next seven years.

A barracks from Auschwitz III-Monowitz. Credit: © Musealia/Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum

A barracks that held Auschwitz prisoners is among the items displayed in the traveling exhibit. Credit: © Musealia/Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum

The Auschwitz complex—a group of three main camps and more than 40 smaller camps—was in the town of Oświęcim in German-occupied Poland. The Nazis used Auschwitz (the German name for Oświęcim) as a killing center, where prisoners were murdered, and as a center for forced labor. About 1 1/4 million people, mostly Jews, were killed at Auschwitz. Other victims included Poles, Roma (sometimes called Gypsies), and Soviet prisoners of war.

A wooden box made in Auschwitz by a prisoner Bronisław Czech. Credit: © Pawel Sawicki, Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum

This wooden box on display was made by an Auschwitz prisoner. Credit: © Pawel Sawicki, Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum

The traveling Auschwitz exhibit contains many objects from the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum near the Polish city of Kraków. Some 2 million people visit Auschwitz every year. The camp is included in the World Heritage List, an international registry of sites that have great natural or cultural value, as a symbol of the Holocaust. The more than 1,100 tour items also include objects from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, Israel, and other world centers and museums.

Click to view larger image The Nazis forced Jews and others into concentration camps during the Holocaust, which took place during World War II (1939-1945). Most of the camps became centers for slave labor. Some, known as death camps, were centers for extermination. This map shows a fraction of the hundreds of camps throughout Europe. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

Click to view larger image
The Auschwitz complex was just one of many Nazi concentration camps. This map shows a fraction of the hundreds of camps throughout Europe. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

The traveling exhibition includes such items as children’s toys, eyeglasses, striped pajamas, and suitcases, as well as a gas mask, a tin that contained poisonous gas pellets, and other grim reminders of the killing that took place at Auschwitz. Artifacts on display are tightly secured at all times, and exhibition spaces meet strict requirements regarding proper transportation and storage and careful lighting and climate control. The items are also presented in historical context to remind the public of the circumstances that led to the rise of Nazi Germany and the atrocities of the Holocaust.

Tags: auschwitz, concentration camp, jews, nazi germany, world war ii
Posted in Current Events, Government & Politics, History, Military Conflict, People, Race Relations, Religion | Comments Off

World Commemorates Anniversary of D-Day

Friday, June 6th, 2014

June 6, 2014

Several thousand military veterans joined heads of state in Normandy, in northwestern France, today in a series of events commemorating the 70th anniversary of D-Day, the start of the Allied invasion of Europe in World War II (1939-1945). D-Day marked the beginning of the biggest amphibious invasion in military history. Some 160,000 troops, mainly from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, crossed the English Channel on June 6, 1944, to attack German dictator Adolf Hitler’s Fortress Europe (the areas of Europe controlled by Nazi Germany). By the end of D-Day, the Allies had a foothold in France. Within 11 months, Nazi Germany had been defeated, ending World War II in Europe. The Allied success on D-Day came at a significant cost, however. More than 10,000 Allied soldiers, sailors, and aviators were killed, were wounded, or went missing.

Speaking at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, U.S. President Barack Obama said, “America’s claim–our commitment to liberty, to equality, to freedom, to the inherent dignity of every human being–that claim is written in blood on these beaches, and it will endure for eternity.” The cemetery overlooks Omaha Beach, one of the Allies’ five code-named landing sites in Normandy. United States forces also landed at Utah Beach. British forces landed at Gold and Sword beaches, while Canadian troops landed at Juno Beach. “What more powerful manifestation of America’s commitment to human freedom” could there be, asked President Obama, “than the sight of wave after wave of young men boarding those boats to liberate people they’d never met?”

Hitting the beach, Allied infantrymen swarmed ashore along the Normandy coast of northern France on D-Day—June 6, 1944. It was the largest seaborne invasion in history. Hitler had boasted that German defenses along the coast could resist any attack. But he was wrong. (U.S. Coast Guard)

President Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom were among world leaders and dignitaries who attended a luncheon hosted by French President Francois Hollande. Queen Elizabeth is the only living head of state who served in World War II. She worked as a mechanic and military truck driver. Russia (then the Soviet Union), which fought Hitler’s forces on the war’s eastern front, did not participate in the Normandy invasion. But the Soviet Union suffered more casualties than any other country in World War II–about 27 million troops and civilians killed and millions more wounded. Also at the luncheon were the monarchs of Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway; the presidents or prime ministers of Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Poland, and Slovakia; the grand duke of Luxembourg; and the governor-general of New Zealand.

Following the luncheon, world leaders, dignitaries, veterans, and spectators attended the main commemoration, held at Sword Beach. The ceremony included speeches, a re-creation of scenes from the invasion, a 21-gun salute, and a flyby of World War II aircraft. At dawn today, an international task force of ships sailing across the English Channel arrived at Normandy. The force was led by HMS Bulwar, the Royal Navy flagship.

Additional World Book articles:

  • Battle of Normandy
  • Sir Winston Churchill
  • Dwight David Eisenhower
  • Erwin Rommel

 

 

 

Tags: allied invasion, amphibious warfare, australia, barack obama, battle of normandy, canada, d-day, elizabeth II, france, nazi germany, new zealand, united kingdom, world war ii
Posted in Current Events, Government & Politics, History, Military Conflict | Comments Off

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