The Shame of German Colonialism: Foretaste of the Holocaust

 “Of all manifestations of power, restraint impresses men the most.” ― Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War Renowned Prussian military theorist Carl von Clausewitz defined war as “an act of violence to compel our opponent to fulfil our will.”1 Given Germany’s martial legacy, it should come as no surprise that a Prussian general penned those words. Baron Antoine-Henri Jomini, a Swiss officer and contemporary of Clausewitz, expounded upon the definition of war when he stated, “The most just war is one founded on undoubted rights.”2 Jomini felt that public (civilian) interest must be considered before resorting to military action. Unfortunately, most Western powers have failed to heed Jomini’s dictum and have instead placed their own interests before those of the public. As a result, many millions of innocent civilians have perished because of state-sponsored war. Right: General Lothar von Trotha. Nevertheless, agreements like the Hague and Geneva Conventions were drafted around…

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25 June 1947: The Netherlands; The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank's diary, is published

Anne Frank's diary has become an iconic symbol of the horrors of the Nazi occupation and the persecution of the Jewish people during World War II. The diary provides a candid and intimate glimpse into Anne's life while in hiding, as well as her hopes, fears, and dreams during a tumultuous time in history. Anne began writing in her diary on 12 June 1942, just a few weeks before she and her family went into hiding. She chose a red checkered autograph book with a lock and began her diary with a single sentence: "I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support." From that moment on, Anne poured her heart and soul into her diary, documenting her daily life, her relationships with her family members and fellow hiding occupants, her thoughts on the war and the outside world, and her own personal struggles as a teenage girl. RIGHT: Anne Frank in 1940, at 6 years old.…

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27 January 1945: Auschwitz is Liberated by the Soviet Red Army

On 27 January 1945, the Soviet army entered Auschwitz concentration camp and liberated around 7,000 prisoners still alive in the Main Camp, Birkenau, and Monowitz. For years, this complex had served as a killing center for Nazi Germany, where over 1.1 million people had been murdered, mostly Jews. The prisoners who were mostly ill and dying greeted them as true liberators. This historic moment marked the end of the deadliest phase of the Holocaust, which saw millions of Jews and others brutally killed by Nazi Germany between 1940 and 1945. Right: Wearing adult-size prisoner jackets, child survivors of Auschwitz are led by relief workers and Soviet soldiers through a narrow passage between two barbed-wire fences. Standing next to the nurse are Miriam and Eva Mozes. Behind them (wearing white hats) are Judy and Lea Csenghery. Both sets of sisters are twins. From the Soviet film of the liberation of Auschwitz, taken by the film unit of the First Ukrainian Front. Photo Source: Wytwornia…

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"19 April - 16 May 1943: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Takes Place" by Scott Lyons

In the backdrop of World War II, German authorities systematically initiated the process of ghettoization across occupied Poland, striving to isolate and control the Jewish population. The establishment of the Warsaw Ghetto in October 1940 marked the beginning of a horrific chapter for over 400,000 Jews, who were forcibly relocated into an area of merely 3.3 square kilometers. This concentration, the largest of its kind, subjected its inhabitants to inhumane living conditions, rampant disease, and a death toll exacerbated by starvation and brutal enforcement by Nazi forces under the command of Odilo Globocnik and Ludwig Hahn. The situation deteriorated further with the onset of Operation Reinhard, a ruthless campaign aimed at the extermination of Polish Jews. The Warsaw Ghetto, once a bustling hub of Jewish life, became emblematic of the Nazi regime's genocidal cruelty. The mass deportations to Treblinka, especially during the operation known as Grossaktion Warschau, carried out…

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11 April 1945: Buchenwald concentration camp is liberated

Above: Buchenwald, 11 April 1945. American soldiers of the U.S. 9th Armored Infantry Battalion, from the 6th Armored Division, part of the U.S. Third Army, march into Buchenwald upon liberation of the camp. Source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Copyright: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Provenance: Virginia Longest. Source Record ID: Collections: 1992.9. Click to expand. Above: Survivors of Buchenwald scrounge for food after liberation. The original caption reads, "A group of prisoners preparing extra nourishment. They are given black bread and horse meat hash from the central mess." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Copyright: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Provenance: Lee T. Stinchfield. Click to expand. During the war's last months in 1945, camp prisoners were either evacuated to other locations by their German and SS captors, or shot, or merely left abandoned locked in their disease- and death-ridden prisons. The United States Holocaust…

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Unconditional extermination: Operation Reinhard and the SS camps at Belzec, Sobibor and Treblinka - 1 hour video

Lunchbox Lecture: Unconditional Extermination: Operation Reinhard and the SS Camps at Belzec, Sobibor, and TreblinkaBelzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka, known as the Operation Reinhard camps, are much less familiar to American audiences than Auschwitz. Yet the SS murdered more than 1.5 million Jews in these camps during World War II. This presentation will offer a detailed history of these three killing centers in 1942–1943 and where they might fit in the larger history of the Holocaust.This Lunchbox Lecture is free and open to the public to attend in The National WWII Museum’s Karen H. Bechtel and William M. Osborne III Media Auditorium. https://fb.watch/foTwL93eqT/

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4 August 1944: Anne Frank and her family are discovered in hiding; Amsterdam, Netherlands

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS, 26 October 2016: Anne Frank handwriting in her famous diary, Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in Amsterdam. Photo licensed to War History Network. (Click to enlarge) Right: Anne Frank in 1940, while at 6. Montessorischool, Niersstraat 41-43, Amsterdam (the Netherlands). Photograph by unknown photographer. Photograph in the Public Domain. (Click image to expand) Would it have made a difference to SS officials in 1944 that Otto Frank--Anne Frank's father--served Germany in the First World War as a lieutenant? Otto served in an artillery unit on the Western Front and later with the German infantry at the Battle of the Somme. Following the Somme, he was made an officer and served at the Battle of Cambrai. To the casual observer of history, one would think this man and his family would not have been deported from the Netherlands upon their discovery. But it did happen. Otto, his wife Edith, their two daughters Margot and Anne were betrayed and given up to the SS in…

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10 April 1945: Buchenwald Concentration Camp is liberated

Above: Weimar, Thuringia, Germany today: National Buchenwald Memorial near former concentration camp. Sculpture by Fritz Cremer. Photo licensed to WW2 History Network.  |   Buchenwald Photo Album by Erwin Leydekkers  |  VIDEO: WWII veteran recalls liberation of Buchenwald Above: 1940: Newly arrived Polish prisoners undressing before they are washed and shaved. Photo within the Public Domain. Established in July, 1937, the concentration camp saw witness to the deaths of 55,465 by the SS. The camp was liberated on 4 April 1945 by the U.S. 89th Infantry Division. On 12 April 1945, famed American journalist Edward R. Murrow gave one of his most moving accounts: "I asked to see one of the barracks. It happened to be occupied by Czechoslovaks. When I entered, men crowded around, tried to lift me to their shoulders. They were too weak. Many of them could not get out of bed. I was told that this building had once stabled 80 horses. There were 1,200 men in it, five to a bunk. The stink was…

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The Holocaust. How it Started . . .

"Remember, it didn’t start with gas chambers. It started with politicians dividing the people with ‘us vs. them.’ It started with intolerance and hate speech, and when people stopped caring, became desensitized, and turned a blind eye, it became a slippery slope to genocide".Source: Holocaust Exhibition 

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