History

How Did Germany De-Radicalize Its People After The Fall of The Nazi Party?

April 12, 2021 Leave a Comment

(Force confrontation: German soldiers react to footage of concentration camps, 1945.)

The process of denazification and the trials of various war criminals in Germany was enormous. The Nazi party had 8.5 million members by the end of the war. Somewhere in the region of 18 million people served in the German armed forces during the war, many of whom had committed atrocities and war crimes. 17.2 million people voted for the Nazi party in the 1933 election. Almost 22 million had been members of the German Labour Front, the Nazi replacement for the Trade Unions. Perhaps as many as 45 million individuals were members of or associated with organs of the Nazi party. As such, the process of denazification would have to be conducted on an epic scale.

Who Was Martin Luther? What Were His Main Contributions?

April 8, 2021 Leave a Comment

Martin Luther was a German monk and priest. He was a devout Christian. In 1507, he was ordained as a priest and in 1508 he began to teach theology.

During his lifetime, the Western Church was raising money to rebuild St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. That in itself was a pretty well thought out plan. However, the methods by which they collected money were intolerable to Martin Luther.

I’m a German soldier in 1939. What are my chances to survive until 1945?

March 30, 2021 Leave a Comment

By the end of the war the Germans had 12.5 million men under arms. Over 4 million died during the war.

Survival depended upon where you were stationed.

If you were in the East there was a much higher chance of being killed and wounded than if you were in the West or in Denmark or Norway.

At the edges of the most vicious battles, such as the fighting near Vienna near the end of the war, or in Silesia, or in Czechoslovakia (where the Germans won major victories til the very last day) the chances of dying were very high.

How Did The United States Get So Powerful?

March 25, 2021 Leave a Comment

Geography

Size: It is the 3rd largest in area and population. The two countries bigger than the US – Russia and Canada have way too much unusable land. The 2 countries bigger than the US in population – India and China are still climbing up from the colossal destruction faced in the 19th century – early 20th century and also face severe resource constraints. Russia has still not settled in terms of governance. Australia & Canada have too few people. That leaves the US in a nice sweet spot.
Isolation: Guarded by 2 oceans and a frigid nation to the north, the US never had to worry about a major war on its borders. Apart from the Pearl Harbor attack, most of the US military operations in the past century were far outside its territories. Most other nations bed with their fiercest competitors (China-Russia, India-China, India-Pakistan, China-Japan) leading to insecurity and poor decisions.
Self-sufficient: theUS is probably the one country that is fairly self-sufficient in all fundamental resources. Unlike China, Japan, Germany or India, it has large quantities of oil & gas. Unlike the Middle East, it has plenty of water & agricultural land. Thus, throughout the 19th century, US grew unimpeded depending on Europe only for the luxury things.

What Were Aztec Sacrifices Ritual Actually Like?

February 16, 2021 Leave a Comment

They were religious events first. The Aztecs believed that their gods got their sustenance from human sacrifice; and one of the basic duties of Religion is caring for your gods. The most important of these sacrifices were carried out during the 18 monthly festivals of the Solar Year.

One of these, to give you an example, was the Tlacaxipehualiztli, the Festival of the Flaying of Men, celebrated at spring equinox before the rainy season, one of the most brutal and complex.

Why Do Stalin and Mao’s Atrocities Receive Less Attention Than Hitler’s?

January 27, 2021 Leave a Comment

hitler vs stalin and mao

Two things: specificity and deliberateness. When the Final Solution was put into action at the height of WWII, it was with a view to wiping out entire classes of people – Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, and the disabled, to name a few.

The Nazis undertook this work with a level of planning that was unprecedented in human history and has never been matched since. They made an earnest attempt to kill every single Jew in occupied Europe using all the techniques and technologies of the industrial age.

What Was The Scariest Thing For a German Soldier To See During WW2?

January 21, 2021 Leave a Comment

Churchill Crocodile tank

This isn’t a regular tank. It’s a Churchill Crocodile outfitted with a super-powered flamethrower.

Many Germans in WWII were incinerated alive shortly after seeing this view. Here’s an excerpt of a first-hand account from a German who went up against a Churchill Crocodile.

What Was The Last Night Like For Kamikaze Pilots

December 28, 2020 Leave a Comment

kamikaze pilots

Despite the numerous published testaments, photographs, and films that depict smiling pilots saluting or waving goodbye as they take off on their final mission, a rare description of the night before departure tells a very different story. It occurs in a letter written on June 21, 1995, by Kasuga Takeo, who was eighty-six years old at the time, addressed to Umezawa Shōzō.Kasuga was drafted and assigned to look after the meals, laundry, room cleaning, and other daily tasks for the tokkōtai pilots at the Tsuchiura Naval Air Base. He describes the night before their final flights:

How Were Pilots Chosen To Become Kamizakes?

December 28, 2020 Leave a Comment

how were kamikaze pilots chosen

Because the tokkōtai operation was a guarantee of death, the top military officers, quite hypocritically, decided not to make this operation an official part of the imperial navy or army, where orders were issued in the name of the emperor. They preferred to make it appear that the corps was formed voluntarily and that men volunteered to be pilots.

How Did Germany Defeat France So Easily In WW2?

December 15, 2020 Leave a Comment

how did germany defeat france so easily in ww2

It was a combination of factors.

One thing that’s very overplayed is the Maginot Line; the line of fortifications that France built along its border with Germany. In the popular imagination people often say that the French sat behind the Maginot Line and the Germans went around it through Belgium, but that’s just completely false. The French in fact built the Maginot Line to force the Germans to go through Belgium. The French sent their best forces and tanks to Belgium when the Germans attacked.

But what happened is that the Germans took a big gamble that paid off. Belgium can be roughly divided into two parts: