Conquering Germany - post-WW2 Occupation

B-17

Photo (c) Steve Keltie

The Power of Music

December 25, 1947

"The directors have gone to some trouble to give Christmas Day some special quality for us...for the first time after two and a half years, I heard Bach and Beethoven: a cantata, and the 'Gloria' from the Missa Solemnis. At first it was almost unbearable, but then a perfect calm came over me..."

- Albert Speer, diary entry during the early years of his imprisonment in Spandau Prison, serving a 20-year sentence. [Speer, Albert (1976), Spandau: The Secret Diaries, New York and Toronto: Macmillan]

For Wikipedia entry on Denazification, see this page.

Weekend Update - Jeff Evanshine

Summer is coming to a close here in the Northern Hemisphere, and I'd be lying if I said that didn't leave me a bit melancholy. I consider myself lucky to have had the chance to spend the entire summer back in the saddle, stringing together weeks of consecutive rides after not having ridden more than two days-in-a-row for nearly four years! But as road cyclists, we live for sunny days when we can roll out in short sleeves and the dark Oakley lenses. And soon enough it will be arm warmers and persimmon, before thermal jackets and long-finger gloves. Oh how I dread the winter.

BUT - we're not there yet! Hopefully we'll enjoy the luxury of an Indian Summer, and then it will be off to sunny SoCal (or somewhere warm) for xmas and the new year. Wouldn't that be nice?

Anyone have any experience with Ergon Bike Ergonomics' TP1 Shimano SPD cleat-alignment tool? If so, please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Mike Creed is feeling unloved. Follow him on Twitter and give the guy a virtual hug, why dontcha?

I love military history, primarily WW2. My father and both of his brothers served in the US Army, and one of my favorite memories from childhood is sneaking up to our attic and discovering my dad's duffel bag. Perhaps I'd never have found cycling if cancer didn't kill him on its third-try, because I'd have chosen national service instead. Probably not, though! One amazing rider who did throw-away a promising career as a top-professional was American Jeff Evanshine, the 1991 Junior World Champion. Had he won worlds in the "Modern Era" (the time in cycling since the widespread-acceptance of the Internet), he might be in a position similar to that of Damiano Cunego, another former Junior WC who just signed a massive contract renewal with Lampre-ISD. Instead, Evanshine joined the Army, only to find that it was not at all what he'd expected. I remember standing with Mike Fraysse in his Victorian mansion in upstate-NY in 1996 when some correspondence or message arrived either directly from Evanshine or on his behalf, asking Fraysse (who was president of USCF and had a seat on the Board of Directors) to try to help the poor kid get out of the service.

Anyway, back to military history: check out this video and tell me if at minute 3:23 you don't think the pilot who's still flying is attempting to murder the downed aviator who's taken to his parachute?! Remember, gun camera only records when the trigger is depressed...

U-Boat, anyone?

Remember the Strock Case?

This Memorial Day, 2010

Memorial Day for me was long linked to New Jersey's Tour of Somerville, a race I won as a junior and finished 3rd in as an elite yet always, always enjoyed. But the reality of the holiday is that is was conceived of to commemorate US soldiers who died during military service - something a trite more serious than my winning or losing a bike race in Jersey, eh?

My father and both his brothers served in the US Army, and while I never had the chance to don a uniform, I often thought what an honor it would be, and even went so far as to meet with recruiters for different branches of the service.

For most Americans, despite our being at war in both Iraq and Afghanistan, the notion of "war" is about as foreign a concept as Chinese human rights - there's no basis for even attempting to approximate the experience of one who's lived through a conflict, let alone fought in it (never mind he who died in battle, or those left behind). Yet I myself am fascinated by that momentous event known as World War II and never tire of learning more about the men who fought for both the Allies and the Axis, the various campaigns in which they died and their individual stories of heroism and triumph. Right now I'm especially interested in fighter aces of the German Luftwaffe, men who were probably some of the noblest soldiers in an ignoble conflict.

The highest-scoring ace of the war - and indeed the history of air combat - was the German Erich Hartmann, with 352 confirmed kills (and certainly many more that went unconfirmed). Three-hundred-and-fifty-two confirmed kills! By contrast, the last "Ace" in the US Navy was Randall "Duke" Cunningham, who scored five confirmed aerial victories during the Vietnam War. I cite the disparity in their scores not because I think Hartmann was any better a pilot than Cunningham, but rather because the historical conditions that enabled the German to tally such an unprecedented number of kills will likely never be repeated. And yet Hartmann was not the only German to have shot-down more than 300 opponents! His compatriot Gerhard Barkhorn claimed 301! (List of WWII air aces.)

We live in an age of technology so complex and sophisticated that nowadays a pilot need not even see with his own eyes the hostile enemy aircraft he intends to shoot down. And yet the danger to these men - and women - is no less great than it was for Hartmann and Barkhorn while they hacked away on the Eastern Front. Nor was the threat of death any less real for Randy Cunningham - though it wouldn't be a North Vietnamese MIG fighter that brought-about the California native's downfall, but rather a corruption scandal while he was a member of the US Congress... (proof that even heroes are mortal men who can be led astray by the temptations of a very material, self-focused world?) Cunningham's failures as a leader stand in direct contrast to Hartmann's heroism both during the War and after, when he endured 10 years of Soviet captivity.

But despite their fascinating stories, and service to their respective countries, neither man lost his life in combat. And while both deserve the recognition that has been duly accorded them, let us spare a thought now for the tens of thousands of American soldiers unknown to us who throughout the years have made the ultimate sacrifice and given their lives in battle to defend the interests of a nation and her people.

I previously wrote about Remembrance Day, and "Der Gute Kamerad,", a video of which I'll repost below. But let me leave you with "In Flanders Fields," written during WW I on 3 May 1915 by Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae:

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Ex-Nazi Officer Gets Life Sentence

A Munich court sentenced a 90-year-year-old former Nazi officer, Josef Scheungraber, to life in prison for murdering Italian civilians in 1944.

Ex-Nazi Officer Gets Life Sentence
By JUDY DEMPSEY
Published: August 12, 2009

"BERLIN — A Munich court on Tuesday sentenced a 90-year-year-old former Nazi officer, Josef Scheungraber, to life in prison for murdering Italian civilians as a reprisal for the killing of two Nazi soldiers.

In one of Germany’s last Nazi trials, he was convicted on 10 counts of murder and also found guilty of attempted murder.

Mr. Scheungraber had denied allegations that he ordered the killings in June 1944 in Falzano di Cortona, near the Tuscan town of Arezzo, when he was a 25-year-old German army lieutenant in command of a company of engineers. The trial began last September after the presiding judge, Manfred Goetz, said Mr. Scheungraber was fit to stand trial.

Prosecutors said that, after Italian partisans had killed two German soldiers, Mr. Scheungraber commanded his soldiers to shoot three Italian men and one woman. The prosecutors said he then ordered that another 11 civilians be herded into a barn that was then blown up..." Full Story.

They probably won't have to spend much on housing him in prison now...

Harry Patch - The Last Tommy

Rather than give any press to that sociopath George S., let's read a bit about someone heroic, Harry Patch, shall we?

"Who's he," you ask? Well, Harry Patch was a Brit made part of history by circumstance and his willingness, as the "Last Tommy," to rather unabashedly describe war as what it might truly be: “the calculated and condoned slaughter of human beings."


The NY Times reports:
Thousands Mourn Britain’s Oldest Warrior

By JOHN F. BURNS and ALAN COWELL

WELLS, England — To the strains of the “Last Post,” and in the presence of soldiers from armies that had fought as both friend and foe, the funeral was held here Thursday for Harry Patch, the last British survivor of World War I living in this country...




More:




There are already hundreds of news reports accessible via Google, but I'll include a link to one more, from the UK Telegraph.

Real-life FAQ - What kind of Clients do You Have to Deal With that This Enters Your FAQ?

"If you have a problem with anything we are more than happy to help you. But if you choose to call me a Punk in an e mail, or call and say some 'DICK' messed up my order, I will just laugh and delete it or hang up. Some people don't have the patience to let us help them."

Q: "Do you have Japanese Naval Paratrooper uniforms in size 58 X-short? How 'bout a Damascus dagger for $100? Come on, you sure you don't have one hiding in the back somewhere??"
A: Use your heads people. We get seriously nutty requests all the time. If it's not on the site, we don't do it! Many characters seem to think that we have a special hoard of hard-to-find or super rare items that we forget to advertise, but if they hassle us enough, we'll give in and share the treasure. We may be rude, but we aren't stupid.

Q: Why does your FAQ sound so obnoxious?
A: For some reason, helmets seem to inspire or mesmerize people in ways that other militaria does not. Some guys lose all sense of logic and reason when it comes to "their helmet". "Their helmet" is the only one in the world, the last of a dying breed and it should be treated with distinction. It is more important than their children, pets or Playboy collection. The only thing that can dislodge "their helmet" from it's exalted perch is..... a new helmet. Basically, many otherwise rational humans go ape-shit (kind of like teenage boys after their first grope) and act like complete nitwits if they think that their helmet is in any sort of danger for a split second. Dealing with this temporary psychosis has resulted in our semi-draconian helmet policies.

Q: "I want a perfect specimen, with no dings, blemishes or wear of any kind. I do not understand why you morons don't have anything less than pristine specimens. That's what I WANT and the customer is always right. Don't you inbreds know that???"
A: Nearly all of these have dings or small dents. We have complained bitterly to Reichminister Speer's office, but have as yet to receive satisfaction. There is no reason that a military helmet should acquire any imperfection over such a short period as 55 or 60 years.

Until Mr. Speer gives us an answer, we'll have to resign ourselves to the sad fact, boys and girls, that these are original steel helmets, that happened to go through something called a "war". Now, since many of you don't seem to comprehend just what a "war" is, let us give you a very basic idea. People from different countries, do their utmost to hurt each other very badly... sometimes they even kill each other. They use a variety of devices, including guns, cannons, bombs, chemicals (nasty ones), and occasionally they still throw rocks. Helmets are used to protect the participants' (soldiers') skulls from damage from flying metal, debris, bricks, stones, tree limbs and sometimes parts of small animals or other participants. As one might imagine, with this many bad things flying around during a war, some evidence of use is inevitable.

Yes, we sound condescending. But after being lambasted by legions of crack smokers who think these things were stored in a padded vault, lovingly wrapped in shock-proof Teflon containers awaiting to be unsealed only when the discerning collectors beckoned, we're just a little jaded. These helmets are not heavily damaged, but a small ding or scrape is to be expected. OK?

Used with permission

More Interesting WWII History Footage

For the WWII history buff, this content is fascinating:

[link deleted because it was giving me trouble]

"WORLD WAR II SHOWN FROM GERMAN PERSPECTIVE. Mostly TV Documentaries and History books only shows the Allied´s side point-of-view of the conflict. In this channel, we show the point-of-view from Axis´s side.

This material is taken from German Wartime Newsreels, Wehrmacht training films, 16 and 35mm footage. All videos are in original format and sound."

Here is another great link: WWII in Color

"Welcome to a great collection of World War II photographs on the Internet. Experience World War II like you never seen it before by viewing some of the most dramatic photos taken during the war. Contribute to history by posting your comments on each photo. Videos are coming soon."

Ich hatt' einen Kameraden

"Der gute Kamerad" ("The good Comrade"), also known as "I had a comrade", is a traditional lament of the German Armed Forces. The text was written by the German poet Ludwig Uhland in 1809. In 1825, the composer Friedrich Silcher set it to music. "The Good Comrade" plays an important ceremonial role in the German Armed Forces and is an integral part of a military funeral.

The song has also become traditional in obsequies of the Military of Austria, the Austrian firebrigades and the highly prussianized Chilean Army. It is also used to some degree in the French Army. When the song is played, soldiers are to salute, a custom shared only by national anthems. Occasionally the song is played at civil ceremonies, most often when the deceased had been affiliated with the military. It is also commonly sung at the funerals of members of a Studentenverbindung. Finally, the song is often played on Volkstrauertag, the German Remembrance Day, at memorials for the fallen.



"I once had a comrade,
you won't find a better one.
The drum was rolling for battle,
he was marching at my side
in the same pace and stride.
A bullet flew towards us
for him or meant for me?
It did tear him away,
he lies beneath my feet
like it was a piece of me.
´wants to reach his hand to me,
while I reload my gun.
"Can't give you my hand for now,
you rest in eternal life
My good comrade!"