Tag Archives: History

General history issues, although a lot will be about WW2

The Oscars and the Third Reich

Since the initial awards banquet on May 16, 1929, in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel’s Blossom Room, over 3,000 statuettes have been presented.

Yes, it is about the Oscars, on May 16 1929 the first Academy Awards were held, and the very first Best Actor award went to Emil Jannings.

Emil Jannings was a theater actor who went into films. He starred in the 1922 film version of Othello and in F. W. Murnau’s The Last Laugh, as a proud but aged hotel doorman who is demoted to a restroom attendant. Jannings worked with Murnau on two other films, playing the title character in Herr Tartüff and Mephistopheles in Faust. He eventually started a career in Hollywood. In 1929 he won the Oscar for two films, The Way of All Flesh and The Last Command.

The strange story of Jannings began in Rorschach, Switzerland, with his birth on 23 July 1884. His father Emil, a well-to-do American businessman from St Louis, died when the future actor was a child. His mother, Margarethe, moved the boy, who was christened Theodor Friedrich Emil Janenz, to Görlitz, in the far east of Germany. Jannings ran away from home at 16 to become a sailor but quickly decided that he wanted to be an actor.

With the advent of sound in cinema, Jannings faced challenges due to his thick German accent and subsequently returned to Europe.

Back in Germany, during the 1930s and 1940s, Jannings worked extensively in films produced under the Nazi regime, a collaboration that tainted his legacy in the post-war years.

After the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, Jannings continued his career in the service of Nazi cinema. In Nazi Germany, he starred in several films that were intended to promote Nazism, particularly the Führerprinzip by presenting unyielding historical characters, such as Der alte und der junge König (The Old and the Young King, 1934), Der Herrscher (The Ruler, 1937) directed by Veit Harlan, Robert Koch, Ohm Krüger (Uncle Kruger, 1941) and Die Entlassung (Bismarck’s Dismissal, 1942).

Jannings also performed in his famed role in The Broken Jug directed by Gustav Ucicky. Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels named Jannings an Artist of the State (Staatsschauspieler)

The shooting of his last film, Wo ist Herr Belling? was aborted when troops of the Allied Powers entered Germany in Spring 1945. Jannings reportedly carried his Oscar statuette with him as proof of his former association with Hollywood. However, his active role in Nazi propaganda meant that he was subject to denazification, effectively ending his career. Allegedly as Allied troops marched into Berlin in 1945, Jannings ran through the bombed-out city, his shimmering Oscar thrust in front of him like a sword. “Don’t shoot,” he shouted, “I have won an Oscar!”

In the same period, Dietrich became a US citizen and an influential anti-Nazi activist, spending much of the war entertaining troops on the front lines and broadcasting on behalf of the OSS. Dietrich particularly loathed Jannings for his Nazi ties, and would later refer to her former co-star as a “ham.”

According to Susan Orlean, author of Rin Tin Tin: The Life and The Legend (Simon and Schuster, 2011), Jannings actually was not the winner of the first best actor vote, but the runner-up. While researching her book, Orlean discovered that it was in fact—Rin Tin Tin, the German Shepherd dog, one of the biggest movie stars of his time, who won the vote. The Academy, however, worried about not being taken seriously if they gave the first Oscar to a dog, chose to award the Oscar to the human runner-up.

After the war with his reputation stained by his work with the Nazi government, he never worked as an actor again. He was de-nazified in 1946 and took Austrian nationality one year later.

He was portrayed by the German actor Hilmar Eichhorn in Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds (2009). In it, Jannings died a fictional death, shot and then engulfed in flames along with Adolf Hitler.

He died in 1950, aged 65, from liver cancer. He is buried in the St. Wolfgang cemetery. His Best Actor Oscar is now on display at the Berlin Filmmuseum.




Sources

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0417837/?ref_=nmtrv_ov

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/which-best-actor-winner-allegedly-once-shouted-dont-shoot-i-have-won-an-oscar-4146311/

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/best-actor-oscar-winner-nazi-emil-jannings-b2509263.html

Donation

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Rotterdam—May 14, 1940

May 14, 1940, marks a significant day in the history of Rotterdam, as it was the day the city was bombed during World War II.

During the early stages of the German invasion of the Netherlands, the Dutch army attempted to defend Rotterdam, but they were ultimately unable to prevent the Germans from advancing. As a result, the city was subjected to a devastating bombing raid by the German Luftwaffe.

The bombing of Rotterdam on May 14, 1940, resulted in widespread destruction, with large parts of the city center being reduced to rubble. The attack caused thousands of casualties and left tens of thousands homeless.

The devastation inflicted upon Rotterdam was a key factor in the Dutch Army’s decision to surrender to the Germans just a day later, on May 15, 1940. This event had profound consequences for the Netherlands and, in the course of World War II, in Europe.

The Dutch military had no effective means of stopping the bombers (the Dutch Air Force had practically ceased to exist, and its anti-aircraft guns had been moved to The Hague), so when a similar ultimatum was given in which the Germans threatened to bomb the city of Utrecht, the Dutch supreme command decided to capitulate in the late afternoon, rather than risk the destruction of another city.

Source

https://beeldbankwo2.nl/nl/beelden/?mode=gallery&view=horizontal&q=Rotterdam%2014%20Mei%201940&rows=25&page=1

Star Wars: Episode 1010—The Rise of AI

In a galaxy, far, far away where technology and the Force intertwine, a new era dawns. In the wake of the Galactic Empire’s fall, a different threat looms on the horizon: the rise of artificial intelligence. As machines evolve and minds merge with circuits, the balance of power shifts once more. Amidst the chaos, a band of unlikely heroes emerges, bound by destiny and fueled by the hope of a galaxy in turmoil. As ancient secrets resurface, alliances are tested, and the fate of the galaxy hangs in the balance.

Franz Stapf—Mistaken for a Victim

The above photo is of the photographer Franz Stapf (Stapf Bilderdienst). Carrying a Leica camera in front of his stomach, in the Nieuwe Kerkstraat, Amsterdam where disturbances took place between WA people and Jews.

It is clear to see he is wearing a Nazi uniform, so how could he have been mistaken for a Jewish victim?

Franz Anton Stapf was not Jewish. He was German. He did not die in a gas chamber but fought on the Eastern Front from the end of 1941. He was a Nazi who took photos for newspapers and anti-Semitic pamphlets in Amsterdam. Stapf survived the war and died in 1977 in Frankfurt.

The photo above was taken by Franz Stapf of weapons used by a Jewish Fighting Squad. It was printed in the Deutsche Zeitung in den Niederlanden on February 18, 1941, with the following caption:
The Jews in Amsterdam had equipped themselves with hatchets, hammers and similar objects. They also had firearms. Our picture shows a small selection of the confiscated murder tools.

The photos were published in the NSB newspaper Het Nationale Dagblad, under the title “Jews unmasked,” to wage a smear campaign against Amsterdam’s Jews.

Historians René Kok and Erik Somers of the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, discovered that Stapf’s name, that of his wife, two children and a sister, were incorrectly listed as Jewish war victims while doing research for the book, Stad in oorlog (City at war), which was published in 2017. The book is about Amsterdam in the period 1940 to 1945.

They believe that the error resulted from an incorrect interpretation of notes on a record card from the Amsterdam Council of Labor dating from 1950. The Council investigated financial matters affecting Jewish people murdered during the war. Stapf’s card reads, “Afgevoerd” in Dutch. According to Somers, that can be interpreted as “transported” to a concentration camp, or that he was discharged from the administration.

Stapf’s fate was long unclear after the war. In late 1941 he responded to a call for volunteers to fight on the Eastern Front. The rest of his life wasn’t tracked, which meant he was never prosecuted. His name fell under the “missing, don’t know where” category, along with the word “afgevoerd,” which could have certainly led to the wrong assumption that Stapf ended up in a concentration camp, according to Somers.

In 1981 NIOD received about five thousand negatives of photos taken by Stapf.

Stapf left for Germany after Mad Tuesday in 1944. In the municipal administration, it was noted, “Left for Germany.”

His name was listed on a memorial with the names of Jews murdered during the Holocaust. The Hollandsche Schouwburg, which houses the memorial, was told in February 20117 and immediately covered the name with a sticker.

“We are extremely shocked that such a bad man is among them. Terrible. That Nazi must be removed immediately,” said curator Annemiek Gringold.

Gringold contacted the company that created the wall of names in 1993. “It is a cumbersome procedure to remove the name. It has happened once before,” she said

The name, Stapf, also appeared in memory books and is on the list of the Holocaust Memorial Center Yad Vashem in Israel.

I know—to err is human—but this error could have easily been avoided if some research had taken place. Then again to finish the quote “To forgive is divine.”


Sources

https://www.parool.nl/nieuws/hollandsche-schouwburg-verwijdert-naam-nazifotograaf~be760abe/

https://www.volkskrant.nl/nieuws-achtergrond/franz-anton-stapf-werd-herdacht-als-joods-slachtoffer-maar-blijkt-nazi-fotograaf~b4093fff/

https://nltimes.nl/2017/02/16/nazi-photographer-mistaken-jewish-holocaust-victim-decades

https://www.demorgen.be/nieuws/franz-anton-stapf-werd-herdacht-als-joods-slachtoffer-maar-blijkt-nazi-fotograaf~b5632660/?referrer=https://www.google.com/

https://beeldbankwo2.nl/nl/beelden/?mode=gallery&view=horizontal&q=Franz%20Stapf&rows=1&page=1

Donation

I am passionate about my site and I know you all like reading my blogs. I have been doing this at no cost and will continue to do so. All I ask is for a voluntary donation of $2, however if you are not in a position to do so I can fully understand, maybe next time then. Thank you. To donate click on the credit/debit card icon of the card you will use. If you want to donate more then $2 just add a higher number in the box left from the PayPal link. Many thanks.

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A Child’s Laughter—Once So Alive

In the dark of history’s cruel abyss,
A child’s innocence—lost in the mist.
Amidst the horror, the anguish, the pain,
A young soul’s light, forever slain.

In shadowed corners, where terror thrived,
A child’s laughter, once so alive.
But silenced now, by tyranny’s hand,
In a world where humanity couldn’t stand.

No tender embrace, no gentle care,
Just the echoes of sorrow, lingering in the air.
In the grip of hatred’s ruthless hold,
A child’s dreams—forever cold.

Their nameless faces haunt the past,
In the chambers of death, their innocence is cast.
Yet in our hearts, their memory lives,
A testament to the love each child gives.

Though tears may fall for those we’ve lost,
Their spirits endure, whatever the cost.
In the song of remembrance, their voices soar,
A tribute to the children of war.

So let us vow, with every breath,
To never forget, to honor their death.
For in their innocence, we find our plea,
To build a world where all children are free.

Rest in peace Willem Alvares (Wimpie) Vega.

Born in Amsterdam on 5 August 1939 and murdered in Sobibor on 21 May 1943. He reached the age of three.

Sources

https://www.joodsmonument.nl/en/page/153666/willem-alvares-vega

https://www.oorlogsbronnen.nl/tijdlijn/25ae66e4-e0ae-4507-a793-3b9f64d3ec38

https://beeldbankwo2.nl/nl/beelden/detail/4eb1f7e0-025a-11e7-904b-d89d6717b464/media/ddeaabe5-2c8c-bf4f-2a58-cdf98c636154?mode=detail&view=horizontal&q=wimpie%20vega&rows=1&page=2

May 10, 1933—Book Burning

The book burning in Germany on May 10, 1933, was a significant event orchestrated by the Nazi regime. It took place largely in Berlin, but similar events occurred in other cities across Germany. The Nazis, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, organized the burning of books deemed “un-German,” including those written by Jewish, communist, socialist, and other dissenting authors.

The goal of the book burning was to suppress ideas that contradicted Nazi ideology and to exert control over culture and education. The burning of books symbolized the suppression of intellectual freedom and the persecution of those who opposed the Nazi regime. It was a chilling precursor to the broader censorship and oppression that characterized the Nazi era. This event remains a stark reminder of the dangers of censorship and the importance of safeguarding intellectual freedom.

On 10 May 1933, National Socialist students organised book burnings at universities all over Germany. These actions were symbolic, directed against everything that the Nazis felt did not belong in Germany. Books by Jewish, left-wing, or pacifist writers such as Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, and Erich Maria Remarque went up in flames. Students in 34 university towns across Germany burned over 25,000 books.

The students sought to purify German literature of “foreign,” especially Jewish, and other immoral influences.

As early as two weeks before, American organizations like the American Jewish Congress knew of the planned book burnings and launched protests. With her books slated for the bonfires, Helen Keller confronted German students in an open letter: “History has taught you nothing if you think you can kill ideas. Tyrants have tried to do that often before, and the ideas have risen up in their might and destroyed them. You can burn my books and the books of the best minds in Europe, but the ideas in them have seeped through a million channels and will continue to quicken other minds.” Similarly, novelist Sherwood Anderson, best-selling author Faith Baldwin, scriptwriter Erwin Cobb, and Nobel laureate Sinclair Lewis declared solidarity with the banned writers and publicly protested the book burnings. The next day, and in the weeks following, there was a massive reaction in the world press, especially since many other German university towns imitated this infamous act. German newspapers reported, in triumph, that Germany was beginning to purge itself of the alien and decadent corrupters of the German spirit, and newspapers and magazines abroad, from as far away as China and Japan, responded in surprise and shock. Even then, some knowledgeable journalists recalled the prediction of the poet Heinrich Heine, who had said a century earlier, “Where one burns books, one will soon burn people.”

In the effort to synchronize the literary community, Goebbels had a strong ally in the National Socialist German Students’ Association (Nationalsozialistischer Deutscher Studentenbund, or NSDStB). German university students were among the vanguard of the early Nazi movement, and in the late 1920s, many filled the ranks of various Nazi formations. The ultra-nationalism and antisemitism of middle-class, secular student organizations had been intense and vocal for decades. After World War I, many students opposed the Weimar Republic (1919–1933) and found National Socialism a suitable vehicle for their political discontent and hostility.

Not all book burnings were on May 10, as the German Student Association had planned. Some were postponed a few days because of rain, others, based on local chapter preference, took place on June 21, the summer solstice, a traditional date for bonfire celebrations in Germany.

And yet again history repeats itself.


Sources

https://www.annefrank.org/en/timeline/145/book-burning-at-german-universities/

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/may/10/nazi-book-burnings-in-germany-may-1933

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/goebbels-burnings/

https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/book-burning

https://www.museumoftolerance.com/education/archives-and-reference-library/online-resources/simon-wiesenthal-center-annual-volume-2/annual-2-chapter-5.html

Donation

I am passionate about my site and I know you all like reading my blogs. I have been doing this at no cost and will continue to do so. All I ask is for a voluntary donation of $2, however if you are not in a position to do so I can fully understand, maybe next time then. Thank you. To donate click on the credit/debit card icon of the card you will use. If you want to donate more then $2 just add a higher number in the box left from the PayPal link. Many thanks.

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My Interview on WTBQ Radio—Orange County, New York

Last Wednesday I was a guest on the ‘Creativity and Technology Solutions for Business and Life Show,’ presented by Joe Dans on WTBQ Radio. WTBQ is an independent radio station broadcasting from Warwick, New York. The last locally-owned radio station in Orange County, New York, WTBQ broadcasts on 1110 AM and 93.5 FM, throughout Orange County and Northern New Jersey.

We had a talk about my blog and how history repeats itself.

source

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