Wehrmacht

We’re running away again, in the middle of the nigh, this time accompanied by Daniel, in an aged truck loaded with hens and rabbits for sale at the Issoire’s market. We made our journey, hidden together with Prince between the rabbit cages covered by a canvas. Before the dawn arrived at a bridge at Issoire’s entry, and the truck driver left us there. Daniel told to us that would need to walk at least two hours up to come to our refuge, a castle lost in this remote area. It did not dawn yet when…

Ardennes region which was suppose to occupied by the First United States Army. The allies believed the Ardennes could be defended by as few troops as possible due to the favorable terrain and a limited number of Allied operational objectives. Also the Wehrmacht was known to be using the area at the east across the German border as a rest-and-refit area for its…

buses, and trains. The term “passive smoking” ("Passivrauchen"), or second hand smoking, was coined in Germany. Heinrich Himmler restricted police personnel and SS officers from smoking while in duty. Cigarette rations were also limited in the Wehrmacht. Medical lectures were organized to teach the public about the hazards of tobacco. Pregnant women under the age of 25 and over 55 were not given tobacco ration cards during WWII, and in 1943, Hitler prohibited smoking for people under the age of…

“panzers” have broken the deadlock of trench warfare and forced other ground-based elements to adapt to and utilize its implementation. It wasn’t until the Second World War that Panzers were fully utilized on the battlefield, primarily by the German Wehrmacht and SS. The Germans themselves were some of the fiercest combatants of modern warfare and implemented the use of panzers with specialized infantry resulting in combined arms operations. The main reason armor is highly efficient is mainly…

Despite his infamy, Adolf Hitler is considered to be a brilliant military strategist for his execution of blitzkrieg; a military tactic which allowed him to conduct some of the most successful land invasions in human history. However, Hitler’s subsequent invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 (codenamed Operation Barbarossa), resulted in a massive and costly failure, leading to the eventual fall of the Third Reich. The decision to invade the Soviet Union was one of the most fateful and seminal…

Oskar Schindler out of the goodness of their hearts. Each Jewish person Oskar Schindler saved came with a price. He spent an infinite sum of money to employ the Jewish workers. In Poland, Schindler quickly befriended the key officers in both the Wehrmacht (the German army) and the SS (the special armed Nazi unit.) He offered them black-market merchandise such as cigars and cognac. He used these items to bribe his “friends” to obtain more Jews. In addition to this, he spent a great amount of…

was drafted into the German Wehrmacht at the early age of sixteen and fought in the Großdeutschland Division. Some of…

Introduction Coinciding with the Nazi takeover in 1933, Germany began a belligerent rearmament of the Wehrmacht by taking advantage of political and ideological strains in Europe and Russia. By rearming and reforming the German military, Hitler hoped to secure Germany’s global dominance by creating a powerful striking force, capable of rapid mobilization and decisive victory. In part, historians attribute Germany’s ability to rearm to liberating appeasement policies; however, another…

Joseph Stalin was a man with huge power that came with consequences for the people of the Soviet Union. Although he didn’t always have a remarkable childhood, things had changed for him later on his life. Looking back, Stalin climbed to his success in his near future because of one decision that was made by another in his life, which lead him to rule. Many events that fell through from his leadership had impacted the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe as not every decision Stalin made was wise…

On the day of May 24, 1943, the Auschwitz extermination camp changed. They had just received a new, spine-chilling doctor, Josef Mengele; he had also worked in a few other camps. He was an infamous Nazi experimentalist. Josef Mengele was born on March 11, 1911 in Günzburg, Germany. In his early years, Josef seemed like a normal young boy and no one would guess that he would be the one to commit to this harsh work. He began to study medicine and found an interest in anthropology and genetics.…