War
-
The photograph above is a portrait of five-year-old Mania Halef, a Jewish child murdered during the mass murder at Babi Yar. On September 29 and 30, the Germans stationed at Kyiv slaughtered 33,000 men, women, and children at Babi Yar—a two-day mass murder spree. If you take the total 48 hours, it is 172,800 seconds;…
-
To say that the Germans were the only ones responsible for the Holocaust would be a mistake. They had plenty of willing helpers in the occupied countries and outside the occupied territory. Regardless of what some governments say nowadays, that their nations had no part to play in the biggest genocide ever committed, they are…
-
When discussing stories from World War II, the role of Italy is often overlooked, despite the fact that it participated in numerous battles and suffered many defeats. I believe that if Nazi Germany had not aligned itself with Italy, the outcome of the war might have been significantly different. The Battle of Fardykambos (March 4–6,…
-
Les Morts Dansant is a 1984 song by Magnum. from their classic album “On a Storytellers night” The song was initially called “Cannon”, this Tony Clarkin composition is about one of the horrors of war. In World War I, a surprising – some would say disgraceful – number of British soldiers were executed by firing…
-
A Rain of Bombs March 1945, two months before the liberation. Den Haag has by then been occupied by the Germans for nearly five years. It is the tail end of the Hongerwinter, and there is a shortage of almost everything. On March 3, an additional great tragedy strikes the residents of the Bezuidenhout district…
-
Many still believe that Nazi atrocities were carried out solely by the SS, SS-Totenkopfverbände, Einsatzgruppen, and Waffen-SS, and not by regular Wehrmacht or Luftwaffe personnel. However, in recent years, evidence has shown that members of das Heer were also responsible for war crimes—sometimes committing acts even more brutal than those of the SS. Below are…
-
The story of Harrie and Trien Semler-Hendriks “Not a single day was without danger.” The most striking action of the underground resistance movement “De Vrijbuiters” in Maarheeze was the raid on the ration-distribution office in Valkenswaard in April 1944. The group also helped dozens of people in hiding. Yet here, in the border region with…
-
The Holodomor comes from the term moryty holodom which translates as “death inflicted by starvation.” A man-made famine that convulsed the Soviet Republic of Ukraine from 1932 to 1933, peaking in the late spring of 1933. Millions of Ukrainians were killed in the Holodomor, engineered by the Soviet government of Joseph Stalin. The primary victims…
-
On December 16, 1944, the Germans launched their last great offensive against the Western Allies through the Ardennes Forest of eastern Belgium. It would become known as the Battle of the Bulge. Three German Armies attacked a long a 50-mile front. American troops manning the line were thrown into confusion. Even the high command was…
-
In a time when true heroes are rare, it’s important to remember those who made a difference through selfless actions rather than self-promotion. Ross F. Gray and William Gary Walsh: Heroes of World War II During World War II, countless soldiers displayed extraordinary bravery in combat. Among them, Ross F. Gray and William Gary Walsh…
History of Sorts 