Category: World War II
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The Nazi Massacre at Distomo, Greece
Resting on a hill above the town of Distomo, Greece, is a massive memorial and ossuary. It contains the names and skulls of victims from a 1944 German massacre in this town where 218 men, women, and children were slaughtered. ((Stephanie Bird, et. al., eds., Reverberations of Nazi Violence in Germany and Beyond: Disturbing Pasts (London:…
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12 War Lessons from the Movie Patton (1970)
There is no question that Patton (1970) is my favorite movie. Since I was a kid, I have seen it more times than I can count and this project took much longer than necessary, as I kept watching large chunks of the movie. Of course, the real person is much more complex than the Hollywood version…
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When History Becomes More Like Professional Wrestling
“FDR was a piece of shit. If you disagree, you don’t know history.” That is what someone said to me during a stream of articles last month about President Roosevelt’s attitude and policy toward Jews during World War II. While everyone piled on the president, I pointed out that his attitudes toward Jewish people was…
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The Bastogne Mardasson Memorial
While in Luxembourg, a Belgian coworker harassed me, “You’re an American and you’ve never visited Bastogne?” It was true. I was visiting the Low Countries for the third time and I had zero plans to visit the famous town from the Battle of the Bulge. To redeem myself, I showed him a picture of the…
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A Tale of Two Luxembourg Cemeteries
Visiting both the Luxembourg American Cemetery and German War Cemetery consecutively provided an interesting perspective on how two peoples on opposing sides have chosen to remember their war dead. Both cemeteries hold soldiers who fought during World War II, many during the Battle of the Bulge. There is a heavy dose of crosses at both,…
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Luxembourg German War Cemetery
After visiting the Luxembourg American Cemetery, I convinced my German coworker that we should visit the Germany War Cemetery as well. It just over a mile away. The following description, photos, and video comes from my trip there on April 18, 2013. The German cemetery holds over 10,000 fallen German soldiers who fought…
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Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial
When I learned that Patton was buried 10 minutes from my hotel in Luxembourg, I had to make the pilgrimage. The Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial is a bit of touristy place, but it is well worth the trip. The following description, photos, and video comes from my trip there on April 18, 2013. There…
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A Closer Look at Churchill’s Battle of the Bulge Quote
The Battle of the Bulge Monument at the Valley Forge Military Academy and College prominently displays a quote from Winston Churchill (1874-1965), “This is undoubtedly the greatest American battle of the war, and will, I believe be regarded as an ever famous American victory.” Although inspiring, this is not the full quote or the full…
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Battle of the Bulge Monument at Valley Forge Military Academy
For over a year now, I passed a sign for the Battle of the Bulge Monument on my way to work. I have yet to find anyone at work who visited it, but ironically, I never visited either. This past Friday, on the 67th anniversary of the start of the battle, I decided to check…
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Churchill’s Earliest Warning About Hitler
Throughout the 1930’s, Winston Churchill spoke out concerning German rearmament, Britain’s lack of comparable military strength, and Adolf Hitler. Churchill spent most of the decade a mere Member of Parliament and not a member of the British Cabinet. By July of 1939, the British newspapers would demand overwhelmingly that Churchill be made a member of…
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These Men Beat Hitler
Years ago, my mom sent me an 8×11 photo of Churchill, FDR, and Stalin at the Yalta Conference. She knows my love for history and she envisioned me hanging this on my wall at work. I did. The photo has followed me from job to job in my career. I am astonished at the amount…
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Nazi Body Count in USSR: 12,250,000 Non-Battle Deaths
Editor’s Note: This article is part of a larger project detailing the death toll inflicted by Nazi Germany outside the realm of combat. To see the full body count by country click here. Body Count: 12,250,000 ((This number is determined by taking all available estimates from various sources, averaging them, and selecting the mid-value of…