World War II

Is this one of the Gates of Auschwitz that had to be opened by the Red Army? Or is it the one below? Where did they enter? No one can say.

In a radio interview on Wednesday, Jan. 21, Polish Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna gave an interview on the national broadcaster, Polskie Radio, in which he was asked :

Was Poland being petty in not inviting Mr. Putin [to the Jan. 27th ceremony at Auschwitz-Birkenau], considering that Russia was the successor of the Soviet Union and that it was the Red Army that opened the gates of Auschwitz.

Mr. Schetyna, who has a master's degree in history, interjected:

[The camp] was liberated by the First Ukrainian Front and Ukrainians. Ukrainian soldiers ... opened the gates of the camp.

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Can anyone show me a photograph of “the gates of Auschwitz” that were “opened” by the Soviet Red Army or the Ukrainian Front?

By Carolyn Yeager

copyright 2012 Carolyn Yeager

Following Monday night's Heretics' Hour program on the Dreyfus Affair, I am featuring this article from 2012 for awhile because it was discussed during the program. 
 

This article is based on the notes for my radio program of March 19, 2012, and expanded to include further research and also clarification of a few details. I hope readers will continue to spread this article far and wide. It should really be on my "Most Popular Articles" list but it doesn't have enough reads. Pictured above right: German Radio Station Gleiwitz in 1936.

Please continue reading on this page

Jan. 15, 2015

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Ray Goodwin and Carolyn Yeager read and comment on the June 28-July 3, 1942 lunch and dinner table monologues by the German Leader, as taken down in shorthand by aide Henry Picker. 1h22m. Included in this episode: 

• The Danube is a German River that needs be under the control of Germany for the "new Europe" to work;
• The welding together of Europe has not been accomplished by statesmen, but by force of arms;
• Hitler says war is the current inspiration for artists, and questions the value of the academies for art training;
• Responsibility of the family for individual members' bad behavior - Japanese are a model;
• A warning about half-castes, that Germany cannot afford to burden its blood-stream with foreign elements;
• Collapse of British domination in Egypt - Hitler correctly predicts their propaganda will downplay it;
• The fall of Sebastopol brings comments on the Turks and Japanese, who are cunning diplomats;
• Hitler compliments the Habsburg monarchy for upholding the Pan-Germanic ideal, and calls Jean d'Arc a great heroine in the cause for freedom;
• As predicted, Britain writes off the loss of Egypt, saying it's a bigger difficulty for the German High Command than for themselves;
• Churchill survives a censure motion in Parliament.

Jan. 8, 2015

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Carolyn Yeager and Ray Goodwin read and comment on the June 21-27, 1942 lunch and dinner table monologues by the German Leader, as taken down in shorthand by aide Henry Picker. 1h25m. Included in this episode: 

• Why Rommel and Dietl are the most popular generals in Germany -- the Volkswagen and desert warfare;
• Scrutiny of the people's activities by the security police and regulation by the federal ministries should follow the rule of less, rather than more;
• Problems with transportation of fruits and vegetables, and other items, must be dealt with;
• Importance of good, strong leadership in the Gaus and newly added territories,
• Hitler: Nothing more harmful to the organization of a State than over-centralization and limitation of local power;
• Best method for electing heads of state, including that a son should never succeed his father;
• Hitler commends Leon Degrelle (even though he was a Royalist) and the  "Flamands", then speaks of the importance of road construction in Russia to begin immediately;
• The coalition between Great Britain and the United States, Russia and China requires a miracle to hold together.

The edition of Hitler's Table Talk being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

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Jan. 1, 2015

Ray Goodwin and Carolyn Yeager read and comment on the June 5-8, 1942 lunch and dinner table monologues by the German Leader, as taken down in shorthand by aide Henry Picker. 1h28m. Included in this episode:

• The negative effect of studying the Jewish Old Testament - Hitler wants to help Germans avoid religious mania;
• Hitler disapproves of giving military titles to saints of the Church, as is done in Spain;
• The Catholic Church strives for power and cannot recognize any organization other than its own;
• Hungarian Regent Horthy makes some requests through his Prime Minister Kallay;
• Hitler speaks brilliantly and at some length on treason and why it requires severe punishment;
• Hitler now considers his failure to create a Bishop of the Reich a stroke of luck, considering what is happening in Spain;
• The education of the youth, teacher training, and the press.

The edition of Hitler's Table Talk being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

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Hundreds of Croatians attended a memorial mass in the Basilica of the Heart of Christ in Zagreb on Sunday, Dec. 28, for World War II-era leader Ante Pavelić [shown at right] on the 49^th anniversary of his death, it was reported by local media.

Pavelić was the founder of the nationalist Ustaše movement which advocated for an independent Croatia and called for armed rebellion against the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Croatia was put into this brand new “state” of Yugoslavia when it was created at the Paris Peace Talks after the First World War.

Yugoslavia's capital Belgrade allied the state with Stalin and the Bolshevist Soviet Union. After the Germans conquered Yugoslavia in 1941, Pavelić became the new head of state of Croatia and allied his regime with National Socialist Germany and Facist Italy.

Dec. 15, 2014

Margaret Huffstickler returns with another great musical show -- a tour of German Christmas music that was heard and enjoyed during the Third Reich. Eleven selections are played, ranging from children's choirs and soft lullabys to the voices of soldiers from all the many fronts in 1942 singing Stille Nacht together connected by radio ... and by their comradeship.  

Margaret translates and comments on each selection, giving us some background information and a sense of how Germans celebrated Weinachten at that time. I hope you enjoy it and Fröhliche Weinachten to you all!! [1hr50min]

Dec. 11, 2014

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Carolyn Yeager and Ray Goodwin read and comment on the May 20-June 4, 1942 lunch and dinner table monologues by the German Leader, as taken down in shorthand by aide Henry Picker. 1h46m. Included in this episode:

• Hitler explains how he raised the standard of living for showgirls in Berlin;
• He describes in detail his assumption of power, including negotiations with Von Papen, Generals Schleicher and Hammerstein, and the "Old Gentleman" Hindenburg;
• How his relationship with Hindenburg became very warm and close;
• Treatment of spies and war-time criminals must be the most severe--compares them to the idealist at the Front;
• Approves of a movie film about Lola Montez and Ludwig 1 of Bavaria;
• Artists should be recognized in their lifetimes--Mozart, Bruckner and Haydn--Vienna compared to Munich as art capitals;
• Hitler advises to follow nature in designing aircraft and ships--the importance and difficulty of invention;
• Murder in Prague--Hitler reacts angrily to the assassination death of the "irreplaceable" Reinhard Heydrich and orders that all must obey regulations intended to ensure their safety. 
   

The edition of Hitler's Table Talk being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

Dec. 6, 2014

Dec. 1, 2014

Seventy-five years ago, on Nov. 30, 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Finland, thinking it could overwhelm a much smaller country by its size. But the Soviets were in for a surprise. What lessons does this short but brutal war have for us today? Included are:

• Molotov-Ribbentrop pact and secret protocol;
• How intelligence and motivation aided the Finns;
• Losses -26,000 Finnish dead or missing vs 127,000 Soviet Russian dead or missing;
• Can the Ukrainians hold off the Russians as well as the Finns did?

Plus, a closer look at Ukrainian nationalist leader Stepan Bandera and his arrest and incarceration at Sachsenhausen near Berlin. Included :

• Bandera's fanatical movement veered away from sharing the same objectives as N-S Germany;
• Bandera's death in 1959 ordered by the KGB head Alexander Shelepin and Nikita Khrushchev;
• Ukrainian nationalists have been the most persevering of all, and most hated by the Russians. [1hr51min]