World War 2
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Once upon a time in the West is not only one of my favourite westerns, it is also one of my favourite movies of all time. Many people don’t appreciate this fact but it is one of the few if not the only movie where Henry Fonda plays the bad guy. But before I ramble…
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On 14 May 1940, German planes sighted the Dutch gunboat Johan Maurits van Nassau just off the coast of the town of Callantsoog in the Netherlands. Earlier the ship had successfully helped to defend the Afsluitdijk, the large enclosure dam in the north of the Netherlands. For days, Dutch troops managed to hold the front…
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As early as May 1940, the Germans issued an ordinance stating that all carrier and fancy pigeons had to be killed in the Netherlands. Free-flying pigeons might be used to get messages to the Allied Forces A furious protest from pigeon owners ensued – there were more than 25,000 in the Netherlands – and this seemed to help.…
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Karl Gebhardt was Gruppenführer in the SS and Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General) in the Waffen SS; personal physician to Reichsfuehrer-SS Himmler; Chief Surgeon of the Staff of the Reich Physician SS and Police (Oberster Kliniker, Reichsarzt SS und Polizei); and President of the German Red Cross. He served as Medical Superintendent of the Hohenlychen Sanatorium. As a…
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In the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten lie the graves of 8,301 Americans killed during World War II. In Plot H, Row 8, Grave 9 rests John Sherman Hascall. His story, like all the others, is far too short. John was a Husky, graduating from Michigan Tech in 1939 with degrees in mining engineering and…
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Jesselton revolt was a multiethnic uprising on the occupied island of Borneo in October of 1943. The revolt was led by a guerrilla force mainly consisted of indigenous Suluk people and ethnic Chinese. The rebels were mainly armed with spears and Indonesian swords called parang, with little or no firearms. The Kinabalu Guerrillas were led…
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Two years after the invasion of the Netherlands all Jews age six and older were required to wear a so-called yellow star visible on the left side of their clothing. It was yet another measure to isolate and exclude Jews from Dutch society. The word Jood (Jew) appears in the middle of this six-pointed star, which has the same form…
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The Imber friendly fire incident took place on the 13 April 1942 at Imber, England, during the Second World War. One of the Royal Air Force fighter aircraft taking part in a firepower demonstration accidentally opened fire on a crowd of spectators, killing 25 and wounding 71. Pilot error and bad weather were blamed for…
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After the February Strike of 1941, in Amsterdam, the sculptor and draftsman Cor van Teeseling joined a Resistance group that printed and distributed the illegal Communist newspaper De Waarheid (Lit. The Truth). Six months later, the Germans arrested him. On 10 November 1941, the death sentence was pronounced against him. While awaiting execution Van Teeseling…
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Some Jewish children gave away their toys when they had to report for transport or went into hiding. Marbles were a child’s prized possession. The night before they were transported, a few children in the South of Amsterdam were known to have said: ‘Let’s just toss them!’ They threw their marbles out the window, hoping…
History of Sorts 
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