wwii
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On March 27/28 in 1940, the Dutch Fokker G.I recorded its first aerial victory when it shot down a British Armstrong Whitworth Whitley over Pernis. As a neutral nation at the time, the Netherlands was obliged to intercept any aircraft violating its airspace. Of the five crew members aboard the Whitley, one was killed. On…
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Operation Source, executed on September 22, 1943, was one of the most daring and innovative operations conducted by the British Royal Navy during World War II. The objective of the operation was to neutralize the German battleship Tirpitz, one of the most significant threats to Allied naval operations in the North Atlantic and Arctic waters.…
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There is a common misconception that Nazi war crimes were committed only by the SS. Still, the Wehrmacht was also responsible for numerous atrocities. The massacre at Chozum is part of a broader history of the Wehrmacht’s involvement in war crimes during the invasion of the Soviet Union, a topic long shrouded in controversy. While…
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Stewart’s draft number was 310, and when he appeared before Draft Board No. 245 in West Los Angeles in February 1941, the 6’3” actor weighed just 138 pounds—five pounds under the minimum requirement. He was rejected for service. Undeterred, Stewart took matters into his own hands. Aware he was nearing the age limit for flight…
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Hermann Fegelein’s execution took place on April 28, 1945, during the final days of World War II and the collapse of the Nazi regime. Fegelein, a high-ranking SS officer and member of Adolf Hitler’s inner circle had fallen out of favor with Hitler due to his perceived desertion and betrayal. Fegelein was arrested by the…
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While Executive Order 9066 often occupies the center of the historical stage as the legal catalyst for the internment of Japanese Americans, Executive Order 9102 was the engine that powered the logistics of that displacement. Issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 18, 1942, this order transitioned the internment process from a purely military…
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Every meal could have been her last. After finishing the bland vegetarian dishes placed before her, 25-year-old Margot Wölk and her young female colleagues would burst into tears, “crying like dogs,” grateful simply to still be alive. Hitler was a vegetarian. While the exact timing of his conversion to vegetarianism is unclear, it is known…
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Although the Japanese may have called it an Internment camp, make no mistake about it, Tjideng was nothing other then a concentration camp. Batavia came under Japanese control in 1942, and part of the city, called Camp Tjideng, was used for the internment of European (often Dutch) women and children. The men and older boys were…
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I only came across this story by chance. Not only were the Axis powers cruel to the people of the countries they had invaded, sometimes they were also brutal to the people of their Axis partners. I don’t know if the Germans killed great numbers of Japanese citizen, but the Japanese definitely did not hold…
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One of my favourite cities in Germany is Cologne. known for Eau de Cologne and for its many landmarks like the Cathedral. The Cologne of the 21st Century is a vibrant and multicultural metropolitan city only about 80 km away from Belgium and about 95 Km from the Netherlands. This location and the fact that…
History of Sorts 