History

General history issues, although a lot will be about WW2

  • By mid-September 1944, the Allies had made substantial progress in their liberation of Western Europe following the successful Normandy landings in June. Operation Market Garden, launched on September 17, was a large-scale Allied offensive aimed at quickly advancing through the Netherlands, securing key bridges, and eventually entering Germany to end the war sooner. This operation…

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  • On September 16, 1941, a devastating explosion ripped through the Glen of Imaal, County Wicklow, claiming the lives of sixteen Irish soldiers and injuring several more. It remains the single greatest loss of life in a training incident in the history of the Irish Defence Forces. The tragedy, which unfolded against the backdrop of the…

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  • I am not going to say too much about Margareta Maria Gallinat. Suffice it to say she sought employment abroad to terrorize innocent citizens. She was born in Ragnitz on 16 October 1894 in Rotsche Bach, Hamar. In April 1940, Gallinat read a newspaper ad for Aufseherin and decided to apply. Two months later, she…

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  • 16 bodies in Lake Maggiore

    The lakes of Italy are known for its beauty. Although I have been to Italy several times it was usually the Lake Garda area I would visit, every time I was awestruck by its beautiful surroundings. I did see Lake Maggiore once in passing and it also looked majestic. However this majestic beautiful place was…

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  • When the world turned color.

    I remember one of my sons , when he was a toddler, asking when the world turned color. I had to laugh at the innocent question, for he thought that prior to color movies and TV, the world had been black and white. To answer his question, well at least from a TV perspective, it…

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  • I was reluctant to write this blog, mainly because of the symbolism the flag has come to represent. However, it is an important part of history, and its adoption by Nazi Germany also illustrates just how little was truly original about Nazi symbolism and ideology. The swastika itself was certainly not a Nazi invention. It…

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  • Take Cover

    Don’t worry this post will not be as dramatic as the photo above of two policemen taking cover. It is going to be about a musical post of Rock covers, which were nearly as good, and in some cases better, as the originals. Cum On Feel The Noize-Original by Slade. Covered by Quiet Riot You…

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  • Words can kill

    The Nazis not only imposed their will by military force, but also through the Dutch Civil Service. A typewriter could be just as deadly as a bullet. Until the end of 1944 this typewriter was used in the Scholtenhuis on the Grote Markt, the main square in Groningen, in the north east of Netherlands. In…

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  • This is a historical blog however not  so much about a big historical event but more a personal historical tale, which I was reminded of today. In 1991 hardly anyone had heard about Andre Rieu, I know I didn’t. My Mother was getting remarried and I had told her that I would pay for the…

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