Austria
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On March 12, 1938, Nazi Germany annexed the neighboring country of Austria (Österreich). This event became known as the Anschluss. The German term Anschluss means “connection” or “joining.” By annexing Austria, Nazi Germany violated both the Treaty of Versailles and the Treaty of Saint‑Germain‑en‑Laye, which explicitly prohibited the unification of Germany and Austria. The Anschluss…
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The saying goes, “Music can soothe the savage beast,” but what if it is the savage beast that is using the music as a cynical form of evil and torture? In July 1942, Hans Bonarewitz attempted to escape from the Mauthausen concentration camp by trying to hide himself inside a box and was captured on…
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On September 15, 1935, the Nazi regime announced the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor (‘Gesetz zum Schutze des deutschen Blutes und der deutschen Ehre’). The law forbade sexual relations and marriages between Germans classified as so-called ‘Aryans’ and Germans classified as Jews. “–Section 1 Section 2Sexual relations outside marriage between…
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Amon Göth’s granddaughter, Jennifer Teege, wrote a book titled, My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me. I don’t think that would be the case. In my opinion, Jennifer would not have been conceived had her grandfather been alive. Göth was relatively unknown until Stephen Spielberg’s film Schindler’s List. His brutality was unhinged. I wrote about Göth…
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Alois Brunner was one of the most feared and ruthless Nazi war criminals during the Holocaust. As a senior SS officer and a close associate of Adolf Eichmann, Brunner played a pivotal role in the deportation of tens of thousands of Jews to concentration and extermination camps. Known for his cold-blooded efficiency and unrelenting cruelty,…
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On July 26, 1897, in the Austrian village of Wattens, Jakob Gapp was born into a modest working-class family. He grew up like many boys in Tyrol: ordinary, hardworking, with no hint of the extraordinary courage that would one day define him. Yet his life would unfold in ways that would test the limits of…
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No matter how you twist or turn it, when you are complicit to a crime, you are just as guilty as the perpetrator, and perhaps even more guilty because you were an enabler of that crime. Hermann Stieve was Director of the Berlin Institute of Anatomy from 1935 to 1952, which was from the early…
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Arthur Seyss-Inquart gravely misjudged the Dutch population in believing they would embrace Nazi ideology. While a minority in the Netherlands supported National Socialism, the vast majority rejected Hitler’s vision. Arthur Seyss-Inquart (22 July 1892–16 October 1946) was an Austrian Nazi politician who briefly served as Chancellor of Austria—from 11 to 13 March 1938—before the Anschluss,…
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I have to start with an apology because after reading this blog, next time you watch the Disney classic Bambi, you will see that young little deer in a different light. Felix Salten was a Hungarian-born, Austrian Jewish author. When he was four weeks old, he moved from Pest in Hungary to Vienna in Austria.…
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The Nazi regime, targeted numerous groups during its reign from 1933 to 1945. Among those persecuted were Jehovah’s Witnesses, a Christian denomination whose beliefs and practices placed them in direct opposition to Nazi ideology. Unlike many other victims of the regime, Jehovah’s Witnesses were not targeted based on race or ethnicity, but because of their…
History of Sorts 
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