Holocaust victim

 It is impossible to think that someone managed to live in those Nazi camps. They were constructed to kill therefore survival mostly consisted of a great deal of chance, a small degree of skill and to a great extent, luck.The first big factor was the fact that I was Jewish. Chance of survival was very low in the eyes of the Jews; the majority were sent to be killed immediately. The non-Jewish prisoners such as the political prisoners stood a slightly upper hand since the Nazis did not always kill them at once, but usually placed them in labor. In case you managed to survive the killing of the first round, your occupation, or better to put it to be your “Kommando, became very significant. An appropriate skill was a buffer skill. The Nazis needed doctors, mechanics and clerks. They might receive better conditions or shelter, and so prevented the difficult labor, like in the very cold rock quarries. No man survived to himself. That never happened. Soon survivors organized themselves i...

 Yes, the simple fact is, I am afraid, yes. Nazis murdered even children including infants just born with their gas chambers and other methods. That is an awful thing to discuss. This was the central theme of the Nazis, their entire scheme to completely exterminate Jewish people. So they pursued all the individuals, regardless of their age. It did not matter to them whether one was old, young or a small child. As the trains with people reached death camps such as Auschwitz, the guards quickly did a sorting. This was what they referred to as the selection. Nearly all children below perhaps 14 years were kidnapped immediately. The Nazis believed themselves to be individuals, who were not able to work and termed them as useless. These children were directly sent to gas chambers. Their primary, fastest method of killing the large masses of people was the poison gas. In case of the mothers who gave birth to a child within the camps, the child was almost always killed immediately. The Na...

 Joachim Peiper was one of the senior SS officers of Nazi Germany who committed many war crimes. He was killed in France in 1976.Peiper was also known as an infamous figure who helped in the Malmedy Massacre where his army killed American prisoners of war. He was found guilty after the war and came out of prison in 1950s. He next moved to France, and made his home in a small town where he wished to live alone. At about 1975, the inhabitants of the town found out who he was. The discovery of a war criminal among them enraged the society especially the French citizens that had fought against the Nazis. Even anti-Nazi activists and ex-French Resistance fighters started to threaten him, as they insisted on his departure out of the country. His house was attacked on the night of July 14, 1976, a main holiday in France. These attackers took their time to torch the home and Peiper died of the smoke in the home. The murder has never been prosecuted against any one. Yet, it is generally tho...

 Billy Bailey was born in 1946, the ninth of 23 children, in South Carolina, where they lived in poverty. When he grew up, he developed an alcohol addiction and had a filthy temper. Bailey also got in trouble with the law on numerous occasions, committing six felonies ranging from grand larceny to burglary. In 1979, in Delaware, after being placed in a work release facility, Billy Bailey learned he faced a potential 45-year sentence for his most recent string of crimes. After attempting to kill himself with a knife only to be stopped by his brother-in-law, Bailey asked him to stop at a liquor store. There, he robbed the clerk before knocking her down and attempting to shoot her, but thankfully, the gun jammed. He fled the scene, being dropped off by his brother-in-law at Lambertson’s Corner. There, Billy Bailey entered a farmhouse and stole a shotgun. The elderly couple inside where then slaughtered by Bailey, the man being shot twice in the chest and once in the head with the pist...

 You know, many people get the wrong idea about the way Hitler treated his men. I've read a lot of the accounts from that time only and the truth is really quite dark.In the early years, around 1939 it wasn't too bad. If a soldier's father died or if there was a bad emergency back home they could get special leave. But don't get the impression that Hitler was being a nice man. He just recalled how the German army crumbled in the First World War because the men became depressed. He gave them leave, just to prevent them from revolting. But everything went sour after a great defeat at Stalingrad in 1943. When the war in Russia got ugly, the kindness was completely stopped. Hitler essentially abolished all vacations. He did not care if German cities were being blown to the ground by the bombs. If a soldier requested to go home because his house was destroyed or his wife got hurt, they called him a coward. By the end, it was pure terror. There were military police referred t...

 This is a true story told by an old soldier, who reveals the attitude of German soldiers to their enemies. According to the historians, it is something that they already know.First, German leaders looked down upon the Russians terming them inhumane. However, in a battle, the Germans appreciated the Russians as competent and powerful warriors. The most problematic was the question of fear the Germans were cruel to the Russian civilians, and their soldiers were too scared of being captured. It is this fear that influenced the narrator to be glad to give up to the Americans. British were considered to be professional and skilled fighters. But the British generals were too timid and tardy in the opinion of German troops. The British took a long time before they could attack, and thus they had amassed a lot of artillery and manpower that their actions were predictable to the Germans. The Americans acted in a very different manner. The old soldier referred to them as enthusiastic amateu...

 Yes, American troops detested the SS during World War 2 to an extent even greater than how much they resented the regular German Army (Wehrmacht). It was not a war-time bias, but an inflamed, lynching anger which often ended in bloodshed against the apprehended SS personnel.This passionate feeling happened because of three large reasons. To start with, the SS were the most extreme believers of the Nazi Party. They had been dipped in the inhuman, vile ideology and were much more savage than other Germans soldiers. They usually did not give up and the combat became much more deadly to the Americans. They were fanatics, as well as ordinary soldiers. Second major reason is that the SS committed colossal war crime. As the news of the Malmedy Massacre, in which SS troops murdered over 80 of the captured American soldiers, hit the U.S., myriads of units resolved that they would not take prisoners of SS any longer. Both verbal and written orders were given to shoot them when they were spo...

 I was at the grocery store when my brother called. It was unusual for him to call at that time, so I answered right away, sensing something was wrong. It was about Dad. Dad had a sink in the garage. One day, he opened a cabinet door above the sink, closed it, and then leaned over to wash his face. When he finished, he accidentally hit his head on the sharp corner of the partially open door. At first, the pain seemed normal for how hard he’d hit his head. But over the next three weeks, the pain kept getting worse. Mom took him to the doctor, but the doctor didn’t order any tests. Later, when the pain became unbearable, Mom rushed him to the ER. Tests showed that enough blood had leaked into his brain to shift it to the side. My brother called because the surgeon wasn’t sure how Dad’s brain would react once they drained the blood—it could start swelling dangerously. Dad was airlifted by helicopter from Indiana to a major hospital in Dayton, Ohio. I packed my things and drove to the ...

 Looking back at the end of the war, it is a real mess the way Hitler was treating his own men. I've read a lot of books about that, and it's just obvious that he wasn't just a bad leader, but he turned into a very sick, paranoid guy. The turning point was definitely that bomb plot in July of 1944. A group of his own officers led by a man named Stauffenberg attempted to kill him. He survived, but after that, he didn't trust a single soul.He started a huge purge. He wasn't just looking for the guilty ones he was looking for anyone who wasn't a yes man. The sadder the story, what happened to Erwin Rommel. Rommel was a brilliant soldier and a national hero but Hitler suspected him of being a traitor. Instead of a fair trial, he made Rommel killed himself just to spare his family from being hurt. It's a shame that Hitler decided to be loyal rather than to use the real talent to win. Another issue was Hitler did not allow anyone to back down. Any old soldier know...

 Most people think that the misery ended in 1945 when the war came to a close, but the ordinary German soldiers were forced to face a new nightmare. Remember, of these were, many of them were young boys or old men drafted at the last moment. After fighting had subsided, they were not sent home, but became living reparations for the victors.In the West, near the Rhine, they had American and British forces gathered by the thousands in open fields without buildings or tents to sleep in. To survive the cold and rain, the men had to carve out holes in the ground with their bare hands or spoons and carve out a place to crawl into. Many died by hunger or sickness in that mud and well after the last bullets were fired. The situation was tragic. For those captured by the Soviet Union the conditions were even harsher. They were sent off to labor camps in cold places such as Siberia where they worked in mines and forests with barely anything to eat. Some did not see their families again until...

 One of my greatest regrets is that I didn’t homeschool my son. When Steve was tested for academic readiness, he passed with a very high score and was admitted to kindergarten. Academic readiness merely means he had sufficient background knowledge to begin school. There is a vast difference between academic readiness and developmental readiness. Study the photo below. Does this child look happy to you? Steve, holding his blanket (blankie) his first day of school. Photo courtesy of Kathy Pennell I hadn’t returned to college to gain my masters in education and reading specialist certification at that point. When I started testing youngsters for developmental readiness, I knew my son, who was 16 by the time I started teaching, wasn’t ready for school. First of all, he was the youngest child in his class by a considerable margin. Second, all he wanted to do was play. Play is what little ones want/need to do. When they’re “ready” they will sit and learn for a reasonable period of time, ...

 I have spent many years studying the Second World War, by the end of 1944 it was clear that Germany was a sinking ship. In those days, no one wanted to be caught up with Hitler. It wasn't just about losing the war, it was about helping the Nazis, this became a real death sentence of any country.Germany's own allies were the first to flee. I always think about King Michael of Romania. He was a courageous young man who realized that the Soviet Union would destroy his country if he remained steadfast to Hitler. So he staged a coup, arrested the pro-Nazi leaders, and changed sides. Most of the other allies followed suit, terrified of finding themselves in the losing side when the fighting finally ended. The United States and Britain were also adamant. They warned the neutral countries like Switzerland, and Sweden: "If you help Germany you are our enemy." It was an easy choice for them. Germany was totally broke no money, no oil, no food with nothing to give in exchange f...

 On December 2, 1978, the woman disappeared, perhaps while she was playing hide and seek with a nurse who forgot to look for her. A search was conducted throughout the building, which was huge and filled with rooms with more than 2000 patients, but to no avail. She was only found on January 12 of the following year. Some say that she was deaf and dumb and this prevented her from calling for help when she was trapped in a room, but what is more likely is that her mental disorders condemned her to death in that circumstance. The woman had died with her arms wrapped around her chest, and had remained on the same spot on the floor long enough to decompose. All that remained of her when her body was taken away was a stain that is visible even now despite numerous attempts to remove it. This stain was recently analyzed by a team of forensic scientists to ascertain its origin, and indeed it was discovered that it is biological in nature and was not created artificially. Attempts to erase ...

  It is a really heavy thing to be carrying a name which the whole world hates. I have spent a lot of time reading about these families, and it does not sound like the world ever formally forgive them. Instead, people judged them according to what they did after their fathers were gone.Take Niklas Frank. His father was a high Nazi official and was executed. Niklas didn't make excuses. He spent his entire life speaking out against the crimes of his father. Because he was so honest, most everybody respected him. He had proved that you don't have to be like your parents. To the world, he was one who was the victim of his name and was not a criminal. But then you have someone like daughter of Heinrich Himmler, Gudrun Burwitz. She remained faithful to her father's terrible ideas till she died. She even helped former Nazis to hide from the law. Because of this, nobody felt sorry for her. She lived as an outcast because she decided that she wanted to keep the hate alive. Many othe...

  I've been reading a lot of stuff about World War II over the years and there is something people get wrong, and it's that those soldiers were just robots. In reality, the German army at the beginning of the war was probably the most educated force in the world. Back then they had a great school system in Germany. Almost every man sent to the front could read and write and handle very complicated machines. They were technically very bright when compared to the other side. But the real secret was the way they were taught to think. Most armies tell a soldier what to do, what to do step by step. The Germans did it differently they called it mission tactics. An officer would provide a soldier with a goal, but it was up to the soldier to bring his own head to bear on how to go about making it happen. If a leader was killed, even a young private was expected to come forward and take over. They didn't go around waiting for orders, they just took action. I do not forget reading ab...

 I have spent much my life reading about World War 2 but nothing is as shocking as the things Hitler did after he survived the bomb in the briefcase that exploded on him in July 1944. It was not about getting him justice, it was about sick revenge. He wanted to make an example to show that nobody should try to stop him again.Stauffenberg was fortunate in that the same night he was shot down by a firing squad. But for the others Hitler made them suffer. He ordered them to be hanged using thin piano wire. A regular rope does the act of breaking the neck instantly but a wire makes a person struggle for a long time. It was horrible and he even had it filmed so he can watch it later. In the trials the Nazis attempted to humiliate the men. Even though they were high ranking officers, the Nazis removed their belts and suspenders. They had to stand holding up their trousers as the judge shouted at them. It was to make them appear weak rather than brave. Hitler did not stop with the soldier...

 Raymond Drux, her chauffeur for the last four years of her life, said that once, in a crowded restaurant in Caen, the owner recognized her and asked him: "Isn't that Madame Curie, that woman?". The chauffeur denied it, but the owner did not give up. While Raymond and Marie were waiting for lunch, the man approached Madame Curie with the guest book, said her name out loud, so that all the other customers could hear, and asked her to sign. "Madame Curie stood up without a word, left some money for the meal we had not eaten and decided to leave again," the chauffeur recalled. When Marie Curie developed cataracts in 1920, she invented a whole series of tricks to be able to continue working while hiding her vision problems: she placed large colored marks on her instruments and took to writing her lecture notes in large letters. When a student showed her an experimental photograph in which very thin lines appeared, the scientist resorted with extraordinary skill to a...

 When we look back at the Holocaust, we have to speak about what happened to women. The Nazis didn't just want to kill them they wanted to steal everything that made them human. I have read many of the stories about what happened when the women arrived to camps like Auschwitz. The first things guards did were forcing them to strip naked in front of men. Then they shaved their heads. For women at that time, hair was a source of pride and dignity. Many of the survivors said when their hair was taken, it felt like their soul was taken. It was pure humiliation. They most painful part is that how they treated mothers. In the perverted eyes of the Nazis, a Jewish child was a threat. So if a woman arrived at the camp with a baby or was pregnant she was sent directly to the gas chambers. There was no mercy. I often think about Dr Gisella Perl. She was a doctor who performed secret abortions to the dirty barracks. It sounds horrible but she did it to save women. If the guards discovered a p...

 Lina Cavalieri and Donna Franca Florio had few things in common: the undisputed beauty and attentions of Ignazio Florio, a wealthy Sicilian entrepreneur, owner of a vast financial empire as well as Donna Franca's traitorous husband. Lina Cavalieri, the famous singer, was considered one of the five most beautiful women in the world: a rose in which Donna Franca was also included. It was Ignazio Florio, crazy with passion for the beautiful Lina, who had made sure that she could perform in all her splendor at the Teatro Massimo, the largest opera house building in Italy, one of the largest in Europe, whose construction had been strongly desired by Ignazio himself. Ignazio Florio, unfortunately, had never been a faithful husband and his wife suffered a lot from the attention he dedicated to other women, who, in the days before the debut, sent the beautiful singer hundreds of flowers that often only framed precious jewels. All of Palermo talked about nothing else and in the Florio hous...

 South Vietnam was not a dictatorship. It was a free, democratic nation — unlike North Vietnam, which was a totalitarian Communist dictatorship.During the Vietnam War, liberals claimed that South Vietnam was corrupt, oppressive, incompetent, and therefore not worth defending. Leftists went even further: they concocted the falsehood that South Vietnam was illegitimate, artificial, and criminal — a “US puppet regime” — whereas Communist North Vietnam was a victim of “US imperialism.” Both liberals and leftists undermined US support for South Vietnam, which aided the Communist victory in Vietnam, not to mention the Khmer Rouge victory in Cambodia. In fact, South Vietnam had been fighting an uphill battle ever since it got shafted by the terms of the 1954 Geneva Accords — which the South Vietnamese had been excluded from participating in. The South Vietnamese refused to accept an agreement that ensured a Communist takeover of the South, and instead founded by referendum the Republic of...

 The Second World War and there is a big misconception which I've seen a lot online. People are always saying that German engineering was the best. Now, it is true that all of their tanks had radios early on and these were very advanced for the time. But if you actually talk to the men who were there those German radios were a nightmare to use. They were fussy machines-indeed quite fussy machines. You had to be an expert just to tune them and the AM signal was usually drowned out by the roar of the tank engine. From all I've read and researched, it was the Americans that got it right. They didn't try and be fancy, they tried and be practical. A man at Motorola named Paul Galvin understood that a scared 19-year-old boy in a dirt ditch can't be fooling with complicated dials while people are shooting at him. The U.S. switched to FM signals, which were then much better. But their real genius was to make use of those little quartz crystals. They made it so that a soldier co...

 On June 20, 1944, Vraciu downed his 19th Japanese Plane, making him the leading US Navy ace, although he only held that title for four months. After an extended leave in the USA that included public appearances, Vraciu returned to USS Lexington in late 1944. On December 14, 1944, his Hellcat was downed by AA fire during a mission over the Philippines. Vraciu parachuted from his plane, landing in the Tarlac province of Luzon where he was rescued by Filipino resistance fighters, who appointed him a brevet major in command of a guerrilla unit. After spending five weeks with the guerrilla fighters, Vraciu managed to join up with US military forces and return to USS Lexington. Vraciu ended the war as the US Navy's 4th highest ace, credited with downing a total of 19 enemy aircraft and destroying 21 on the ground. He stayed in the service after WW2 including 6 years as a test pilot. Later he was Promoted to Commander of VF-51 and won the individual gunnery championship at the US Navy...

 Well, if you ask me, then I've seen something fair about those German boys in the Second Great War. What truly frightened them? The Eastern front - i.e., the war against the Russians, the Soviet Union.It wasn’t just a war. It was a brutal battle to even remain breathing. All the rules of warfare were melted away over there. The biggest fear that they carried with them were the simple words of being captured. Surrendering? That was bad business if any. The Soviet troops had suffered terribly because of what the Germans have done. So when they captured a German soldier mercy was rarely extended. Many were shot on the spot. If you managed to survive that, you were sent to a prison camp. Those camps were horrible places. The cold and the hunger put them to work for the enemy. Most of those German boys never saw their homes again. The records prove it. Then there was the Russian winter called "General Winter" and it was an enemy as much as any soldier. The cold was so great t...