Germany

  • The Flensburg Government refers to a short-lived, provisional government of Nazi Germany that existed in the final days of World War II, from May 2 to May 23, 1945. Named after the town of Flensburg in northern Germany, near the Danish border, where it was headquartered, this government represented the last vestiges of the Third…

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  • The German assault on Liège, which commenced on August 5, 1914, and lasted until August 16, 1914, stands as the inaugural battle of World War I. This significant early confrontation set the stage for the brutal and protracted conflict that would engulf Europe for the next four years. The Battle of Liège exemplifies the strategic,…

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  • The story of C&A during the Nazi regime is a microcosm of the broader interaction between businesses and totalitarian states. Founded in 1841 by Clemens and August Brenninkmeijer in the Netherlands, C&A grew to become a major player in the European clothing retail industry by the early 20th century. The rise of the Nazi regime…

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  • On July 21, 1944, Adolf Hitler took to the airwaves to announce that the attempt on his life, code-named Operation Valkyrie, failed and “…accounts will be settled.” Hitler addressed the nation to reassure the German public of his safety and consolidate his power by framing the conspirators as a small, treacherous group acting against the…

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  • The July 20 Plot, also known as Operation Valkyrie, represents one of the most significant assassination attempts against Adolf Hitler during World War II. This bold initiative was led by a group of senior German officers who, driven by a mix of moral indignation and practical considerations, aimed to eliminate the Führer and put an…

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  • Bernard Henri Piller was born in Maastricht on 8 February 1932 and murdered by the Nazis in Auschwitz on 23 September 1943. He reached the age of 11 years. Henri Samuel Piller was also born in Maastricht on 15 April 1935. The nazis murdered him at Auschwitz on 23 September 1943 at the tender age…

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  • Some may consider this blog contentious and controversial, but you can’t write about World War II and the Holocaust without writing about Hitler’s first book. The original title was Viereinhalb Jahre (des Kampfes) gegen Lüge, Dummheit und Feigheit, which translates to Four and a Half Years [of Struggle] Against Lies, Stupidity and Cowardice. Max Amann,…

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  • I know that most people will know what the Holocaust is, but for some groups, it had a different name. In this blog, I try to explain some of the complexities. The Holocaust stands as one of the most horrific and systematic genocides in human history. Occurring during World War II, from 1933 to 1945,…

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  • Bergen-Belsen

    Bergen-Belsen was a Nazi Concentration Camp located near the town of Bergen in Lower Saxony, Germany. Initially established in 1940 as a prisoner-of-war camp, it was later converted into a concentration camp. Early Years (1940-1943): Initially served as a POW camp primarily for French and Belgian soldiers. Later, Soviet prisoners were also held here, many…

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  • Mauthausen

    Mauthausen was one of the most prominent and most notorious Nazi concentration camps during World War II. Located near the town of Mauthausen in Upper Austria, it was established shortly after Germany annexed Austria in 1938. The camp, originally intended for political prisoners and those considered enemies of the Nazi regime, eventually held a wide…

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