World War II Database

1.  Bill says:
15 Mar 2011 05:22:11 PM

HITLER'S UNIFORM OF THE DAY, WITH BLONDI:

In 1939 Hitler started to ware gray military
jacket with eagle/swastika sewn on the upper left sleeve, peak hat w/eagle, cockades with
wreath and black pants. Some photographs show
him with black jackboots. He also carried two Walther pistols of different calibers.

On the jacket, he wore his W.W.I Iron Cross 1st or 2nd Class Medal, Wound Badge and what looks like the 1938 Golden Party Badge.

Golden Party Badge:
This badge was authorized by Hitler to honor
party members who have been active since the beginning of the NSDAP's reforming in 1925.

When Hitler wore civilian clothes, he had a
Eagle of Sovereignty Pin on his suit lapel that denoted his rank as fuhrer worn between 1933 to 1935.

Hitler didn't ware the brown party uinform at any point during WWII. In 1941 Hitler appointed himself Commander-in Chief of the
Wehrmacht

2.  Bill says:
23 Jul 2011 01:38:38 PM

Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Fuhrer
One People, One Nation, One Leader...

During the Hitler era every German civilian
organization, political or para-military used small stick pins. One stick pin had the likeness of Hitler, with the worlds Ein Volk,
Ein Reich, Ein Fuhrer.

These awards ranged from civil achievement to Nazi party membership, Hitler youth and Sports awards.

AWARDS FOR EVERYTHING IN THE REICH:

Miscellaneous awards and badges along with the small stick pins, and cloth badges.
Pins and party badges were worn on civilian clothes and on military and para-military uniforms, and the regulations for wearing them.
The Fuhrer himself wore a small stick pin on his civilian suit coat lapel, this was the The Eagle of Sovereignty denoting his rank as Fuhrer. Surviving stick pins and badges are in collections throughout the world.

3.  Bill says:
15 Jan 2012 07:44:18 PM

THE FALL OF NAZI GERMANY: RELICS

Adolf Hitler's jack-boots, Dinner Jacket and
VIP Guest Book, are now on display at the
Russian Military Museum Moscow, Russia these items have only been revealed after the fall of Communism in the former USSR.

FOR MOTHER RUSSIA: VICTORY

Over two hundred symbols of Nazism such as
standards and flags that were captured by the
Red Army in 1945, and thrown down in front of
the marble steps of Lenin's Mausoleum in
Red Square, during the official celebrations
at war's end.
The most prized trophy was the standard of
the SS Leibstandarte "Adolf Hitler", among other items, was the huge bronze eagle that once adorned Hitler's Reich Chancellery in Berlin.
WWII documentaries show Russian troops that marched up to Lenin's Mausoleum, and then throwing down the captured Nazi standards.
These items are now on display at the Russian
Military Museum Moscow, Russia...

4. Bill says:
15 Jan 2012 08:22:05 PM

BLONDI AND THE FUHRER:

Adolf Hitler...one of the most diabolical
criminals in history, and committed heinous crimes against humanity. Even poor blondi had to die for him.
Why couldn't this evil man have been stopped earlier? if only, its a what if, question for History. Sure he was stopped but only after millions and millions died.
Has anything been learned, has everything been forgotten? Evil has always been, and always will be in the shadows...waiting.

5.  Bill says:
20 Feb 2012 09:02:12 PM

SUPREME MILITARY COMMANDER: ADOLF HITLER

Commander of the Wehrmacht the German Armed
Forces,made up of the Heer(Army)Kriegsmarine(Navy)and the Luftwaffe(Air Force).
The Waffen-SS was the military arm of the Nazi Party, that started out as a small
para-military section of Heinrich Himmler's
Allgemeine-SS that grew to 1,000,000 strong
during WWII.
This was De Facto, a fourth branch of the Wehrmacht that was under the operational command of OKW and OKH

De Facto Force:
The Waffen-SS was not officially part of the Wehrmacht. A political para-military force given power,supported and maintained by its Government.

OKW: Oberkommando der Wehrmacht
Supreme Command of the Armed Forces.

OKH: Oberkommando des Heeres
Army High Command

note*
Information is for reference only. I do not approve or support the evils of National Socialism, Fascism or Communism.

6.  Bill says:
21 Feb 2012 06:46:05 PM

SO HOW MANY CIVILIAN AND MILITARY AWARDS DID HITLER RECEIVE: AS FUHRER OF THE REICH:

Listed in comment number 1 are his WWI awards
and party badge. I'm also listing his other Nazi Party & Political Decorations, they are Blood Order, Coburg Badge, Nuremberg Party Day Badge 1929
Eagle of Sovereignty as listed in comment number 1.

POLITICIAL AWARDS BESTOWED BUT NOT DISPLAYED

NSDAP Long Service Award (25 years) Golden
Hitler Youth Badge w/Oak Leaves, this award was worn at youth functions, Honor Chevron for the Old Guard and the Nazi Gau (District)
Badge.

CIVILIAN DECORATIONS:

That were never displayed or worn was the Olympic Games Decoration, as host of the 1938 Games in Berlin.

MILITARY DECORATIONS WWII:

None were granted to Hitler himself and he was never a recipient However, Hitler was granted by default the Cross of Honor, The Anschiuss Medal, Sudetenland Medal w/Prague Castle Bar, Memel Medal and West Wall Medal w/1944 Bar.

Did you know Hitler didn't qualify for the Eastern Front Medal, because he didn't have enough time at that front.
Hitler did qualify for a Wound Badge as a result of the July 1944 bomb plot against him, but he continued to ware his WWI Wound Badge.

7.  Bill says:
17 Mar 2012 09:59:22 PM

THE FUHRER'S DOWN TIME:

Everyone knows about his Fuhrerbunker in Berlin, but did you know Hitler had his own apartment above his office in the Reich Chancellery with fine furnishings, paintings and sculptures, that's living pretty good.

HIS OFFICE HOURS:

Hitler's office was huge, this would awe and humble any visitor. He also had an office in Munich, Germany that was called the Fuhrerbau (Leaders Building) this was a former Nazi party building in Munich, where Hitler held the Munich Conference in September 1938


GETTING AWAY FROM IT ALL:

The Berghof was his Mountaintop Bavarian retreat and the closest to Hitler. He bought the house after becoming Chanceller in 1933, with money from his book Mein Kampf.
Berghof means Mountain Farm did you know, Hitler spent more time at the Berghof, than at his Berlin office.

PLANS FOR WAR:

Away from Berlin, it was still an important center of the Third Reich, it was here with
his Generals that plans for the invasion of Poland, France and Russia were made.

The Berghof was damaged during the war, and
in 1952 the Bavarian Government blew it up, all that's left is the foundation walls and the forest has reclaimed the area

INFAMOUS BERCHTESGADEN: EAGLES NEST

Berchtesgaden in Southeast Bavaria built for Hitler's 50th Birthday, the building remained intact at the end of World War II.

EAGLES NEST:

Built on top of a mountain at an altitude of 6,014 feet, with views of both the German and Austrian Alps.

TAKE THE TOUR:

Today you can tour Berchtesgaden during the post-war period, it was used as a recreation center by the US Army, and has been returned to Germany in the 1990s.

While stationed in West Germany during 1966 to 1967 I took the tour to Berchtesgaden as a student of History it was very interesting
I was glad, I took the opportunity to travel and visit some of the places and cities I read about while in school.

HITLER'S BUNKERS:

Besides the Fuhrerbunker in Berlin he spent
time at the Wolf's Lair in Northeast Poland and other Military Headquators in France.


I thank the editor/ww2db for allowing me to leave these comments, based on historical fact and personal experience.

8.  Bill says:
2 Apr 2012 03:32:47 PM

File Photograph Hitler with Blondi, taken at the Berghof.

FUHRER HEADQUARTERS: (FHQ)

Hitler spent very little time in Berlin during the war, he stayed at the Berghof and the Wolfsschanze (Wolf's Lair) spending 800 days there.
During World War II there are fourteen known
FHQs that he used throughout Europe when traveling to the front the most famous are the Wolf's Lair and the Fuhrerbunker in Berlin

9.  Bill says:
13 Apr 2012 09:17:30 PM

THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL: ADOLF HITLER IN FILM

Films listed below deal with the last day's of Adolf Hitler, leading up to his death in the Fuhrerbunker in Berlin. There have been more films made, about Adolf Hitler's last days, but I have listed these three.

Hitler:
The Last Ten Days(1973)Sir Alec Guinness portrays Adolf Hitler. If you get a chance to watch this film and its available on DVD, as you look at the map of Europe shown along with the opening credits, shows the post-war map of Europe with the Oder-Neisse-Line as Germany's Eastern frontier.

Dramatic Music:
Opening Music credits, this is the Prelude to Act II of the Opera "Lohengren" by
Richard Wagner. Hitler's favorite Opera was Wagner's Rienzi, that he saw over forty times

Closing Music:
Overturn to Die Fledermaus Act I By Johann Strauss II. Several witness accounts tell that immediatelly after his suicide was confirmed, Officers, Aides, Secretaries in the Fuhrerbunker lit cigarettes, as shown in the final scene.

Adolf Hitler is the only European who, more than over half a century after his death is still known around the world.
Other comtemporary politicians as Churchill or de Gaulle, are remembered within cultural spheres, as well as intellectuals like Gothe and Shakespeare...

The Bunker:
Anthony Hopkins portrays Adolf Hitler(1981)
also on DVD.

Downfall:(2004)German Actor Bruno Ganz gives a frightening performance as Adolf Hitler.
also on DVD.

10.  Bill says:
14 Apr 2012 10:23:02 AM

CULTURE AND EVIL:

With the exception of Richard Wagner, Hitler wrote, I have no forerunner...

Whoever wants to understand National Socialist Germany, must first know Wagner

-Adolf Hitler-

No other composer made a impact on world events than Richard Wagner. The music used and politicial legacy is second only to Adolf Hitler. Wagner wasn't just a musician, he was to many Germans a National figure and a powerful politicial force. Both Wagner and Hitler were racist, and both were artist and politicians.
Wagner's anti-semitic views and writings were to have a quasi-religious effect on Adolf Hitler, his theories of racial purity were in part drawn from Wagner.

THE DARK PAGES OF HISTORY:

A student of art and history can learn two perceptions from Wagner in music and culture that are almost unrecognized from one another
Those who know Wagner by his work, and those who know him by his reputation. Even today his music is linked in the minds of many with Nazism and his operas are often used to extol the virtues of German Nationalism.


ART AND POLITICS:

Nazi propaganda art was captured by the US Army at the end of WWII, among them was a painting of Adolf Hitler on horseback, dressed in armor as a Teutonic Knight bearing
the National Socialist Flag, portraying Hitler as Lohengin in Wagner's Operas.

Did you know, Wagner's prelude to the Rienzi Overture was often used at Nazi Party Rallies
Not every Nazi was into Wagner, Hitler was a
ardent fan of Wagner, However many in the Nazi hierarchy were not, and many had to endure watching the lengthy epics at the Fuhrer's inistence...

THE FUHRER'S FAVORITE COMPOSERS:

Ludwig van Beethoven
Richard Wagner
Anton Bruckner
Bach
Mozart

On May 1, 1945 Berlin radio played Anton Bruckner's Seventh Symphony to announce Hitler's death. Hitler's favorite song
was "Moonlight Sonata" by Beethoven

RADIO SUSPENSE: ACHTUNG! ACHTUNG!

May 1, 1945 Berlin radio played Wagner to announce Hitler's death. Later Hamberg radio played Wagner's "Tannhauser" and a piano concerto by Weber, later followed by Wagner's "Gotterdammerung" Twilight of the Gods, still more music followed with Wagner's Wagner's "Rhinegold", followed by Anton Bruckner's Seventh Symphony closing with the German National Anthem and Horst Wessel song.

Its chilling to think how music could be used to move the masses and even change world events and history just by the views of one man Adolf Hitler. How music could be used as a propaganda tool and turning point based upon Hitler's own philosophy and the entire Nazi system on ideas drawn from Wagner's writings and operas.

Richard Wagner: German Composer
May 22, 1813-February 13, 1883

I thank the editor/ww2db for allowing me to continue to provide lesser facts about WWII

11.  Bill says:
15 Apr 2012 11:02:17 AM

TO THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER:

Music is open to interpretation it can mean many different things to many people.
Historical and Political events can move nations and people, in opera there are those moments, those special moments that move your heart and fills the listener with excitement.
It doesn't matter that men have used music for both personal good or evil, Wagner's music and all music cannot be surpassed in its own form. Music will be apart of the human spirit for ages to come.
Richard Wagner was a great composer long before Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich came upon the world stage.

One interesting note, but no fault of the composer, was the use of Mozart't really wonderful little tune "Deutschland" that was worked into "Deutschland uber Alles, and later used as the German National Anthem during the National Socialist era in Germany.

OPERA:
Comes from the Latin word Work

There is no exact date when Opera began, it
was a product of musical evolution that emerged from various forms of Classical music that was popular in the 1400s.

Opera has been part of Western Classical Music, since the 16th Century, and soon spread throut Europe, each nation created its own national tradition in mood and form.
In the 18th Century Italian opera dominated most of Europe.

The late 17th and 18th Centuries created the great German composers, the 19th Century saw the "Golden Age" of opera dominated by Wagner
and Verdi in Italy, duringthis time,parallel opera was formed in Eastern Europe and Russia.

The 20th Century saw experiments with modern style, with the advance of technology through Radio, Records and live Performances and later Television, VHS, CDs and DVDs has moved opera into private and personal enjoyment and has become known to audiences throughout the world.

One German composer that I forgot to list was Carl Maria von Weber

12.  Bill says:
16 Apr 2012 07:35:37 AM

CULTURE IN THE FUHRERBUNKER:

Among the many personal items Hitler took with him to the bunker were over one hundred Classical recordings, these were found later
by Soviet intelligence and kept secret for decades and has only come to light with the death of one of the last soviet personnel who entered the bunker.
Besides the great German composers, many of these recordings were by Russian and Jewish composers of the 19th-century rather than Soviet.

IN ONE INSTANT:

At the age of twelve, I saw the first opera
of my life, "Lohengrin". In one instant I was addicted. My youthful enthusiasm for the
Bayreuth Master knew no bounds.

-Adolf Hitler-

Each summer from 1933 to 1939, Hitler attended the Bayreuth Festival, and made the Wagner estate his second home.

SALUTE TO A TYRANT: THE BIG EVENT

In April 1943 Hundreds of Nazi Party Members Military Officers and their wives attended a music concert for Hitler's 54th Birthday at the same time across Europe millions were being shipped to death camps.
Did you know, that Wagner's music has been played in over 200 films so far, Wagner's
Ride of the Valkyrie has occured in 27 of those films.

WAGNER: STARRING RICHARD BURTON

The late Actor Richard Burton, starred as Composer Richard Wagner, in this 1983 made for television British nine-hour miniseries the length of this film, must have taken a cue from Wagner's long-winded operas! the running time is about 540 minutes.

This series, covered the last four decades of his life. His radical politics, and his bigotry his support for unification of all the seperate kingdoms to become one united Germany. This film is available on DVD & VHS

*
Note
In comment # 9, I listed the Bunker (1981)
as available in DVD, its only available in VHS.

I thank the editor, for allowing me to make
a significant contribution to ww2db.
It has always been my intention to provide continued interest into the history of the Second World War.

Bill

13.  Bill says:
16 Apr 2012 12:38:18 PM

I have always tried to bring historical fact to ww2db, and from time to time, I have made an error which I've always been quick to correct.

IN COMMENT #9 LISTED IN DRAMATIC MUSIC:

The opening music credit is Wagner's Prelude to Act III, of the opera "Lohengrin" this is the correct Act, and not Act II as listed.

As a student of Art & History how could I have made such an error my apologies, In the future, I'll be more vigilant...

German March Music at the beginning of the film, before Wagner was Horst Wessel Lied
or (Horst Wessel Song) which became a Nazi Party Anthem.

HONORABLE MENTION:

Actor Adolfo Celi played General Krebs, he is best known as Largo in the James Bond film
Thunderball. To the editor/ww2db, thank you for bearing all this with me, it's time to call it a day.
Going to log off now and watch all the films that I've listed, and later listen to Wagner
and other Great Classical Music.

Best Wishes

Bill

14.  Bill says:
20 Apr 2012 03:25:08 PM

In comment #9 I forgot to list Wilhelm Zander
who brought a copy of Adolf Hitler's last testament from the bunker. In the 1973 movie
Hitler The Last Ten Days, actor Simon Ward
was loosey based on Zander, Ward played
Hauptmann, Hoffmann.

MARCH 1970, MAGDEBURG EAST GERMANY:

A team of KGB agents exhumed the remains of Adolf Hitler, his wife Eva Braun, Joseph Goebbels, his wife Magda and their six children from a secret location, known only by the KGB.
The five wooden crates holding the remains of ten or eleven bodies were taken to a secret location.

GOTTERDAMMERUNG: Twilight of the God's

Gasoline was poured on the crates, and for the last time, like an ending to a Wagnerian Opera set alight. Once the remains were
burned, the ashes were collected and put into a sack, the team drove to another undisclosed location.
As the KGB agent stands on the bank he opens
the sack, the wind catches the ashes and scatters them across the Elbe river.
Like an ending to a Wagnerian Opera, one could almost hear Wagner's prelude to Act III Lohengrin Overture...

OVERTURE:
An instrumental composition intended as an introduction to an extended work, such as an opera.

15.  Bill says:
20 Apr 2012 07:55:20 PM

CAST OF CHARACTERS THE FINAL ACT: GOTTERDAMMERUNG TWILIGHT OF THE GOD'S

In March 1970 what other bodies besides Hitler his wife Eva, their dogs, Joseph Goebbels, his wife Megda and their six children, who were put to sleep w/morphine
and later poisoned with cyanide.
General Heinz Krebs committed suicide in the bunker and was kept with the others, buried with them and later burned in March 1970.

All the bodies were kept by SMERCH did you know, this unit guarded, transported, buried
dug up and re-buried the remains about nine times since the end of WWII.
The final location where the bodies were buried in East Germany was known by SMERCH and its successor, the KGB all agents who had knowledge of this event, were sworn to secrecy.

FOR DECADES AND CENTURIES TO COME:

Some will say its hard to believe any version
speculations and controversies will continue for decades and quite possibly centuries to come.

FORTUNATE SON:

Did you know Magda had a son by a previous marriage, Harold was born in 1921.
He survived the war, served as a Luftwaffe
Lieutenant he was injuried and captured by Allied forces in Italy in 1944 and released in 1947.

GOTTERDAMMERUNG:

The dictionary now defines this word, as a turbulent ending of a regime or institution.

WHAT HAS BECOME OF THE FUHRERBUNKER IN BERLIN

Russian intelligence examined the bunker and later tried to destroy the it with explosive some parts broke down however the rest of the bunker later filled with groundwater and was sealed.
The East Germans made another attempt to destroy the bunker, and sealed for the last time. The area above ground shows no trace of the Reich Chancellery or the location of the bunker.

THE BUNKER TODAY:

Today this site is now a parking lot and playground for children and surrounded by residental buildings.
I think this was done by the Russians and East Germans, to avoid it becomong a shrine for Nazi sympathizers.
Berlin is once again the Capitol of Germany the city has been rebuilt the old buildings that were in East Berlin have been torn down and replaced, Berlin is also named city of the seven hills, because of all the debris cleared from the rubble.

HIDDEN TREASURE: THE HITLER GANG

This Black & White movie was made in 1944 for Allied propaganda the film has some inaccuries, but historial facts are correct. Actor Robert Walson bears a very good resemblance to Adolf Hitler, I haven't seen this movie in over 48 years...

COMMENTS ARE FOR EDUCATIONAL AND GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY. PERSONAL VIEWS AND OPINIONS
ARE NOT THOSE OF WW2DB. I CONDEMN THE EVILS OF NATIONAL SOCIALISM AND FASCISM.

I THANK THE EDITOR/WW2DB FOR ALLOWING ME TO SHARE MY PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE AND CONTRIBUTE TO THIS SITE.

16.  Bill says:
30 Apr 2012 12:59:32 PM

Everybody knows about Hitler's suicide in his Berlin bunker in April 1945, but what about the rank and file?

FOLLOW DER FUHRER:

Many other Nazis committed suicide during the last days of the war, others committed suicide after they were captured by the Allies, some even managed to escape.

NOTABLES WERE:

Among them were NSDAP Political Leaders, Hitler Youth Leaders, SS, Police and the Gestapo. Members of the Wehrmacht, Army Generals, Luftwaffe Generals, Navy Admirals, lower ranking Officers, Hitler Youth, NCOs and Enlisted men.
Some of the Nazis that for one reason or another didn't commit suicide would utter the classic line of the time "I know nothing nothing, I know nothing at all"

TAKE YOUR PICK: GO WITH THE FLOW

Thousands of Civilians, Nazi Party Members and local Nazi Government Officias committed suicide. Whole families died rather than be captured by the Allies or Soviets, many parents killed their children who believed life without National Socialism had no meaning.
Many of these suicides went unreported due to the chaos of the last months, weeks and days of the war.
Many killed themselves by gunshot,explosives
cyanide, jumping out of windows and hanging

FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS:

In 1945 instruction booklets were issued out encourageing suicide by hanging or by other means, with detailed instructions on how to carry it out, if anybody followed these detailed instructions will never be known, but nevertheless, that's German efficiency for you.

ASCENDO TUUM:

JANUARY 1945:
Suicides started when Soviet troops entered German territory.

APRIL-MAY 1945:
Both high and low ranking Nazi Officials Local Government Officials and Party Members committed suicide along with the Armed Forces

MAY 1945: And the following post-war months
Suicides continued after the Allies took control of Germany.
Was it fear of the Russians?, fear of the other Allies?, anxiety and depression, fear of the future. What is really known, is that Nazi Germany and the Third Reich caved in on them...

THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY:

Many Nazis escaped some just took off their uniforms and blended into the population, others avoided capture for years by the Allies and especially the Russians.
Some estimate as many as 10,000 or more Nazis
slipped through war torn Europe to other countries.
I'm sure there were more than 10,000 Nazis and other War Criminals, by 1945 Nazi Party membership was listed as 8,500,000 that's Eight Million Five Hundered Thousand! just where did they all go?

THE LUCKY ONES:

The Nazi Party had members who lived outside Germany, and were pooled as NSDAP/AO for Foreign Organization. I wonder if any of these Nazis committed suicide? and lived to see another day without National Socialism.
I guess they burned their party membership books and said the classic line of the time
I know nothing, nothing, I know nothing at all

BIG FISH AND LITTLE FISH:

Many Nazis fled to South America, Spain or the Middle East, some stayed in Germany and other countries in Europe, and some even made it to the USA.
They were a mix of the criminals who ran the machine of death, that cost the lives of millions. SS, Waffen-SS, Politicial Leaders and the bottom of the barrel Concentration camp guards.

HUNTING NAZIS:

World War II has beenover for decades, but hte search continues for Nazi War criminals.
When will the last Nazi stand trial and be brought to justice?
There will always be Facts & Myths some say
Allied Governments helped some Nazis, some say the Soviets helped some Nazis, some say secret SS-Organizations maybe ODESSA, maybe the Vatican? both East and West, used former Nazis during the Cold War, the truth may never be known files are buried, locked away in Government archives many are classified as secret and will remain so for a long time to come...

SINS OF THE FATHER:

Did you know the Germany is still paying for
World War II, when will the last payment be made, how long will it be before Germany can shake the horrors of the Nazi regime, and when that last payment is made, and World War II is paid in full, that payment will be made by a generation who had nothing to do with Nazi Germany and the Third Reich...

PERSONAL VIEWS AND OPINIONS ARE NOT THOSE OF WW2DB, AND ARE MINE ALONE...

17.  Bill says:
24 Jun 2012 07:02:45 PM

LAST MAN STANDING:

SS-Sergeant Rochus Misch was one of the last to leave the Fuhrerbunker in Berlin on April 30, 1945, he is the last person alive today, who saw Hitler and other top Nazis alive.
Misch served as Hitler's bunker switchboard telephone operator, bodyguard and courier he was also one of the lowest in military rank in the bunker.

FRONT LINE SOLDIER:

Wounded in Poland and was awarded the Iron
Cross 2dn Class, rank SS-Oberscharfuhrer
Senior/Technical Sergeant, later transferred to Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH) where he served from 1940 to 1945.

FOR YOU, THE WAR IS OVER:

Captured by the Russians and taken to Moscow
and questioned about the events that took place in the Fuhrerbunker. Held by the Soviets for nine years released in 1954 and
returned to Berlin, where he lives about
2 miles from where the Fuhrerbunker once stood. In 2008, Misch published his memoirs titled "The Last Witness" in Germany.

Did you know the switchboard number to the
Fuhrerbunker was 12-00-5-0, the bunker cost
1,350,000 Reich Marks and was built by the firm Hochtief AG.
Albert Speer/Karl Piepenberg Architects.

STRANGE BUT TRUE:

In the movie "Downfall", the German actor
Heinrich Schmider who played Rochus Misch
died in 2010, this means that Misch even outlived the actor who played him in that movie...
Today Rochus Misch is 94 years old and lives in his modest apartment in Berlin, Germany
one of the very few who now has a place in history, witnessed those events, and has lived to tell the tale..

I thank the editor/ww2db for alowing me to present lesser known facts about WWII.

18.  Bill says:
9 Feb 2013 12:29:38 PM

TASTE BUT DON'T SWALLOW:

Did you know Adolf Hitler had his own group of food tasters. One dozen women were assigned not to taste the quality of the food, but to taste and make sure it wasn't poisoned.
Hitler ate the best fruits and vegetables these food items were always fresh, while the German people had to endure food rationing.

PROTECTED BY WOMEN: SS LOOKING OVER YOUR SHOULDER

As many as a dozen women were part of a group to taste the food, before it was served to the Fuhrer this was done about one hour before it was served to Hitler to make sure there were no side effects.

ONLY THE BEST FOR ME, AND I'M LIKING IT:

Hitler's meals were prepared with different types of vegetables such as asparagus, green peppers, green beans, peas & carrots, cabbage, stewed tomatoes, rice along with other recipes.
It has been reported that the Fuhrer also enjoyed slices of ham, bavarian sausage, different types of soups, liver & dumplings and stuffed pigeon, I think I'll pass on the last one.

TABLE MANNERS: NO SOCIAL OCCASION

Hitler ate his food very fast and mechanically like a person who consumed his food as if he were in a race. Little table etiquette here, as reported from a diary of a German solider, who served the food.

DIE NOW OR LATER: A REAL LAST MEAL

Protecting a dictator is nothing new this goes as far back as the Roman Emperors, and even before them. I wonder how many many really died? from food poisoning, or the sword we'll never really know...over the centuries big and small dictators who have ever put a sword or boot upon the face of man have one thing in commom, they have lived in fear...

CHANGE OF MENU:

Margot Woelk one of the food tasters, survived the war she had worked at the Hitler's Wolf's Lair in East Prussia where Hitler spent about 800 days before leaving it, because of the Russian advance.
With the help of a Senior Officer she escaped on Goebbel's train bound for Berlin. Woelk believes the other food tasters were captured and shot by the Russians.
In 1946 she was reunited with her husband who had served in the German Army and was listed as missing in action, he died in 1990 Margot Woelk is 95 years old as of 2013.

Once again I thank the editor/ww2db for allowing me to leave historical facts covering World War II

19.  Bill says:
10 Feb 2013 04:15:02 PM

THE MOST DANGEROUS JOB IN THE REICH:

If Hitler had his food tasters, he must have had a double, or doubles this evil human being who had no regard for life and death over millions surely he must have had some sacrificial lamb to die for him as well.

DECOY:

Did a Hitler look-alike who was trained to appear and impersonate him really exist. The decoy was used to draw attention away from Hitler, and to
"Deal with the Risks" some sources to this day say its possible.
To some this sounds like a crazy hypothesis, but as evil as the Third Reich its possible to go to any length to protect a dictator. After the Battle of Berlin in May 1945, the Russians came across a body of an unidentified man that looked like Hitler, but turned out not to be, but could have been a double? will never really know who this person was.

SMOKE AND MIRRORS:

The body was mistaken to be Hitler because of the identical moustache, haircut. The Russians did find the burnt bodies of Hitler and Eva Braun outside the Chancellery bunker. Forensic exams
found according to the Russians the bodies were that of Hitler and Braun.
For decades after WWII the Russians never really shared any information about Hitler's suicide with the west, disinformation and other leaks were used to confuse and mislead the western powers.
Whatever information was found, was filed away, what happened to the bodies and where they were buried was guarded only by SMERCH and its successor the KGB, its agents past and present were under orders to kept it secret by order of Stalin himself and later Soviet leaders.

20.  Bill says:
11 Sep 2013 03:37:25 PM

DER LETZTE ZEUGE: OF THE INNER CIRCLE

Continued from comment #17, 24 June 2012 his place in history.

SS Staff Sergeant Rochus Misch, one of the last to see Adolf Hitler alive in his Berlin bunker not only survived WWII, capture by the Russians and imprisoned until 1953, died at the age of 96
September 5, 2013 in Berlin, Germany.

ONLY FOLLOWING ORDERS:

Rochus worked as the telephone operator in the Fuhrerbunker and was one of the last to see Adolf Hitler and his wife Eva Braun alive, they later killed themselves on April 30, 1945.

MIDNITE IN MOSCOW:

After his capture and interrogation and who he was and because of his proximity to the Third Reich's Inner Circle, Rochus Misch was flown to Moscow's Military Butyrka Prison and was subjected to repeated abuse, hours, days, weeks, months and years of interrogations.

ULTIMATE DESTINIES:

Some escaped from the bunker, Some were killed in the attempt, Some were captured by the Russians,
Some spent years in Soviet prisons or died in
captivity.
You could say that SS Sergeant Rochus Misch was one of the lucky ones of the millions of German soldiers that were captured. He survived only because he was the telephone operator in the Fuhrerbunker and the Soviets wanted to squeeze all the information out of him, that he knew...

He was released in 1953 and returned to West Germany, where he worked at different jobs and later opened and operated a small business until his retirement.
Rochus received mail from all over the world and answered his correspondence most of which asked for a autographed photo of him in his SS uniform.
his place in history as Der Letzte Zeuge:
The Last Whitness

21.  Bill says:
13 Sep 2013 01:32:22 PM

FILE PHOTO: HITLER WITH HIS DOG BLONDI

Photograph was taken by official photographer Walter Frentz on the Obersalzberg around 1942/43.
This area was about 1200 feet above Berchesgaden Photo: Ullstein Archives

THE NAZIS ARE COMING:

Before Hitler built his retreat the Obersalzberg
was a well known vacation spot. This area dotted with small farms and homes. During the Third Reich, this area with its small community became
known as Hitler's mountain headquarters located in the Bavarian Alps, and a hangout for some of Nazi Germany's most notorious.

THE FUHRER BE NEAR TO THEE:

Did you know that Nazi bigwigs Hermann Goering and Martin Bormann both had homes located on the Obersalzberg near Hitler's home.

NAZI REAL ESTATE: IF YOUR NOT IN THE LOOP

Property owners were bought out, or forced out by the Nazis. After property was taken over, a massive building program was started that was organized by Martin Bormann. Administrative buildings, barracks and workers housing covered the area below ground tunnels and bunkers were built. During the war, the area was bombed by the Allies buildings were destroyed or damaged.

THE AMERICANS ARE COMING:

May 4,1945 local government officials surrendered
to the Americans, there was no German resistance

THE FUHRER'S PHOTOGRAPHER:

Walter Frentz 1907-2004 took official photos of Adolf Hitler, he also took the last photos of Hitler in his Berlin bunker. Frentz was able to take one of the last flights out of Berlin before falling to the Russians in April 1945.
Captured by US Forces and held for several months
he was released and continued his work in post-war Germany.

22.  Bill says:
28 Sep 2013 09:59:27 PM

HITLER und WAGNER:

DARK SHADOWS:

Hitler was a fanatical admirer of Wagner's music
and incorporated it into the National Socialist
Movement. Wagner's music was used in Nazi Party rallies could it be that Hitler's obsession with Wagner's operas and writings influenced the very creation of Nazi Germany.

"Listening to this blessed music as a young man in the opera at Linz, I had the vision that I too must someday succeed in uniting the German empire and making it great once again".

-Adolf Hitler-

SECRET PROTOCALS:

The Nazi fascination with Wagner, was inspired by
Hitler. Did you know that each Nazi Party Rally
opened with Wagner's "Meistersinger Overture" or
other works.
Hitler even gave out one thousand free tickets to
other Nazi functionaries for such events, when he arrived, he discovered that many of the seats were empty.

AN OFFER ONE COULDN'T REFUSED:

Later many of those same party functionaries were ordered to attend. I'm sure the SS and Gestapo reminded many of those who forgot to attend the last rally the importance of such events.
Sometimes one's health and family safety depended on what not to do living under a dictatorship...

TO EACH HIS OWN:

Hitler had his Wagner, the party had its official Beethoven. When Hitler entertained on state occasions, Wagner was performed, when the party entertained on party occasions, Beethoven was played...

MEMBERSHIP DRIVES, RALLIES & NAZI PARTY MEMBERS:

By 1935 Hitler released free rally tickets to the General public, it was the Nazi version of whipping up the masses, and to attract new party members into the fold. By 1933 the Nazi party had 2,000,000 members, by 1939 5,300,000 and 1945 8,000,000.
So who were those party members, besides party functionaries. Party members came from the upper class, rural class, industrial workers, middle class, white-collar and the self-employed within Germany itself and members within the armed forces.

MUSIC LOST, MUSIC FOUND:

Hitler held many of Wagner's original scores in his Fuhrerbunker in Berlin with him at the end of World War II. Many of those scores were lost or perished in his final days.
Recent information has surfaced, that the Russian NKVD found many of these scores and recordings, in Hitler's bunker and had them shipped them back to Moscow.

Comments are mine alone and do not reflect ww2db in any way. I thank the editor/ww2db for allowing me to contribute my personal knowledge of WWII...

23.  Bill says:
9 Oct 2013 07:59:47 PM

THE SHOT NOT HEARD AROUND THE WORLD:

Adolf Hitler, Fuhrer of Nazi Germany committed
suicide on April 30, 1945. How many millions that died and suffered under National Socialism, would liked to have heard that pistol shot!
My past comments are a personal presentation and
not so much a documentary, just a student of history's personal knowledge and views, covering one of the final acts of the Second World War...

SHADOW OF HIMSELF:

By 1945 the Fuhrer was suffering from both the mental, physical and psychological effects of total war since September 1939 and was a shadow of himself. Adolf "Noble Wolf" name from old high German. Hitler's last public appearance was on March 20, 1945 when he left the bunker and awarded the Iron Cross to members of the Hitler Youth and SS Troops...

MAN & MYTH:

Decades since the end of World War II there have
been biographies, fictional works and movies about him, I don't think there is a person living on this planet in the civilized world, that hasn't heard about Adolf Hitler. But what about that significant other in the final acts in the bunker.

EVA BRAUN'S PLACE IN HISTORY:

Eva Braun was loyal and her determination to stay and be near Hitler and even die with him, thus making her own mark on history.

WIFE IN DEATH: UNTIL DEATH US DO PART

Hitler married Braun on April 28/29th after a brief wedding ceremony. Only after Eva Braun's death did this woman become known who lived in the shadow of one of history's most villainous man.

MARRIED TO GERMANY:

Hitler was the leader who was looked upon and portrayed as putting Germany first. His image was controlled, even his relationship with Eva Braun was highly restricted, it was so effective by the Goebbels propaganda machine hat very few knew of the relationship until the end of the war.

END GAME:

Between the hours of three and four o'clock in afternoon, April 30, 1945 Hitler and Braun committed suicide, afterward the bodies were carried outside gasoline poured on the bodies and set on fire, which burned slowly for hours.
After Hitler's and Braun's suicide the survivors made an escape from the bunker, some were killed in the street fighting, some went missing never to be seen again while others were captured by the Russians.

DIED FOR DER FATHERLAND:

The last armed German resistance the Russians encountered were made up of separated German units
SS Troops,Old Men of the Volkssturm, Hitler Youth and Policemen who died in the fighting.


THE FUHRERBUNKER:

The bunker was 3,000 square feet with two levels
with 18 small rooms. The bunker was an expansion of the air raid shelter underneath the Reich Chancellery. The bunker was started in 1942 and completed in 1944 it had its own electricity and water supply.
Links to the outside world were via telephone and telegraph lines, you could call the Fuhrerbunker at 12-00-5-0.. Hitler's staff lived and worked in the upper levels and the lower levels were made up of six rooms, used by Hitler and Eva Braun to
add life to the drab conditions, furniture was
moved from the Reich Chancellery.
Life was not pleasant in the bunker, electricity flicked intermittently and the sound of the diesel generators ran 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The air in the bunker was stuffy and oppressive, being inside the bunker after awhile became claustrophobic!

NOT FOR VOLK UND FATHERLAND:

The Fuhrerbunker was well stocked with food and other luxuries not available to the struggling and suffering population, who were now fighting to stay alive as the Russian War Machine crushed everything in its way to final victory.

FREDERICK THE GREAT:

Many of Hitler's personal items were also moved into the bunker with him, among them, was his favorite painting of Frederick the Great, it moved with Hitler during the war, and it had its own special shipping crate to protect it.
The painting was moved into Hitler's personal quarters, witnesses have reported, that Hitler would stare at the painting for hours, on a daily basis almost as if looking beyond...
The painting was later given to Hitler's personal pilot Hans Bauer, who was later captured by the Russians the was painting taken from him...the painting has been returned by the Russians, and is currently on display at Schloss Charlottenburg in Berlin, Germany.

Frederick The Great 1712-1786, and King of Prussia
from 1740-1786

UNDER LOCK & KEY: ARTIFACTS OF HISTORY

Today the Russian Government keeps in its State Archives the preserved artifacts that include
Hitler's uniform, personal possessions, dental records for everyone who died that day and the photographs taken of the bodies of Goebbles, his wife and their six dead children and the skull fragments belonging to Hitler? that are debated to this day.

HITLER REMEMBERED:

Revolting legacy it is important that Adolf Hitler
should never be forgotten he was one of history's most destructive and murderous genocidal criminals who changed the world as we know it today. Post-war political changes in Europe and throughout the world, that divided nations and people between two political & military blocs, between East & West. until the collapse of the USSR...

MEMORANDUM:

I thank the editor/ww2db for being very generous
in allowing me to continue to leave my comments
and from time-to-time gaze into my crystal ball.
I feel very honored that ww2db has given me the opportunity to share my knowledge.

It is my personal wish that the comments I leave will inspire tomorrows Teachers, Historians, Engineers, those going into Science and those who choose other Technical and Professional paths.

How I wish to have been able to debate & discuss the history of Aviation, Science and History with you...

Best wishes

Bill

24.  Bill says:
23 Oct 2013 12:39:19 AM

CONSPIRACY THEORIES:

Facts are the first to disappear in the face of
speculation. What's that old saying that many will always believe the story told by the one's who shout the loudest...

After WWII Stalin decided for whatever reason that
Hitler's death should remain a mystery, the Russians recovered the bodies of Hitler and Eva Braun. Soviet Intelligence was given the task to guard the bodies in the decades following WWII it wasn't until 1970 that the KGB destroyed all physical remains. Decades later the death of Adolf Hitler & Eva Braun, will remain open to speculation and it has become one of the many mysteries of WWII.

SONS OF GUNS:

Hitler owned a Walther PPK 7.65mm and a Walther
6.35mm pistol, what happened to them? did the
Russians capture them searching the bunker? and send them to Moscow? or were they taken out by a trusted aid and were buried or destroyed? could these weapons still be locked away in some Secret Russian State Archives...
Weapon's claiming to have belonged to Hitler, have popped up on the firearms market, but who knows.


We'll never really know the truth

25.  Bill says:
26 Oct 2013 09:33:57 PM

CONTINUED FROM COMMENT # 21: THE OBERZALBERG

The Berghof was Adolf Hitler's home in the area
called the Oberzalberg of the Bavarian Alps, near Berchtesgaden.

THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD:

This area was dotted with small farms, homes and vacation retreats. The Nazis came in and under great pressure bought out the owners and land many were forced to sell with visits from the local gestapo.

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY:

The whole area cost 100,000,000 Reich marks and construction took several years. The Berghof was
more than just a home, it was a mansion with as many as sixty-rooms filled with much expensive furniture, paintings, even the table settings were furnished with silverware stamped with AH (Adolf Hitler) w/the German eagle with swastika

DINNER AT EIGHT, DON'T BE LATE:

The menu changed daily, but most lunch & dinners were soups, salads, fried potatoes w/eggs, fruits
noodles, w/tomato sauce, beans, peas, lentils used as a meat substitute added vegetables and other unattractive vegetarian foods, along with one pot meals.
Hitler loved flowers with arrangements throughout the house, even the breakfast, lunch and dinner tables had large flower arrangements.
Dinner guests did have their choice of meat dishes during the dinner, Hitler would tell of horrible stories of animal slaughter, its not known, if the guests finished their dinner....

GARDEN PARTY:

After dinner, guests would enjoy Brandy, Cognacs
or wine strange as it seems, there was no ban on alcohol, only smoking. Hitler would enjoy his coffee or tea with baked apple cake or other sweets.
Guests were able to watch forbidden movies or other censored German films, that were sent to the Berghof from Berlin through the Ministry of Propaganda Chief, Goebbles himself!

IN THE CHIPS: THE SMELL OF MONEY

Did you know sales of Hitler's book Mein Kampf
made him a rich man. For members of the Nazi Party it was compulsory reading, even newly married couple's received a copy.
Just like Mao's "Little Red Book" for the Chinese, but that's later on, so were not going there...back to Hitler's income in 1930 book sales were 54,000 and jumped to over 854,127 in 1933 with an income of 1,200,000 marks, that's 1.2 million, in the following years the book produced another cool 1,000,000 marks.

Did you know, the Nazi Party controlled 90% of the German publishing industry along with publisher Standarte GmbH & Herold Press that was
co-owned by Adolf Hitler...he was looked upon by
the German people as simply a man of the people who lived a simple and frugal standard of living
with modest tastes this was a myth...

ONE LAST STOP: THE EAGLE'S NEST

This house was built on a mountain spur 3,000 ft.
higher than the Oberzalberg and reached by road it cost millions of marks.
Location: Vllage of Oberzalberg, on the German-Austrian border...it still stands today

26.  Bill says:
27 Oct 2013 05:31:25 PM

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY:

Films and photographs show Adolf Hitler giving speeches at party rallies and meetings his likeness was on money, post cards, photographs and official Government photographs but did you know he also had a library of 16,000 books this
collection covered the Classics, Literature,
German Literature, Architecture, Arts & Science, Music, Warfare and Military History.

EDUCATED LAYMEN:

There has been much misconception that Hitler was an uneducated man, and a failed painter he was educated in being self taught, and had a very inquisitive mind.
Most of the books in his library were taken by
looting troops and shipped back to Berlin as well as other captured treasures of Europe, as trophies
many of those books were never read by Hitler.

Its interesting to speculate but inconclusively how many of those books influenced Hitler or books given to him.

LOST IN THOUGHT:

I can imagine Hitler dressed in civilian clothes, slowly walking the terrace of the Berghof reading and listening to the music of Wagner. As a student
of history, I've tried to give the reader a feeling of history.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BOOKS:

At the end of WWII most of the books were taken by the Allies, and a larger share were captured
by the Russians. I'm sure a few GIs walked off with some of the books, to take back home, while
the rest of the collection was scattered throughout the U.S.,Europe and the former USSR.
Today in the Library of Congress has in its collection 1,200 of Hitler's books.

Adolf Hitler, the Nazis, and the Third Reich will forever occupy a place for those that will study the 20th Century. There has been no true horror, no catastrophe in recent history comparable to the rise and fall of Hitler's Germany.


SUGGESTED READING:

Hitler at the Oberzalberg
By J.C. Boon
Published by Xlibris (2007)
ISBN-10: 1436365449

History of the Eagle's Nest
By Florian M. Beierl
Published by World War 2 Books & Video (1998)
ISBN-10: 3922590772

27.  Bill says:
29 Nov 2013 06:27:24 PM

THE FUHRER'S TELEPHONE: DIAL "N" FOR N-A-Z-I

One of Hitler's telephones were captured by the
US Army Signal Corps, from Hitler's personal library, at wars end and is now on display at the Signal Corps Museum located at Fort Gordon, Georgia, USA.

What conversations were held, what business and orders given how many of those Sieg Heils were passed along, we'll never know.

INVASION BY TELEPHONE:

Hitler conducted his last-minute diplomacy by telephone and telegram. Austria now faced with a successions of ultimatums that Hitler was forcing Austria to invite the German army into the country.

28.  Bill says:
30 Nov 2013 07:41:05 PM

EAGLES NEST:

Martin Bormann, was Hitler's personal secretary and wanted to give the house to Hitler on his 50th birthday. Hitler knew about the project so it wasn't such a surprise as many thought and he lost interest in the project. Hitler never visited
the Eagles Nest, as much as he did the Berghof and it was used more then once to impress guests,
foreign and party officials, Bormann would host banquets and receptions.

GETTING THERE:

The area was a masterpiece of 1930s engineering and construction, a road winds about four-miles through five tunnels with sharp curves to reach the house set at 3,000 foot altitude.

BORMANN THE FUHRER'S RIGHT-HAND MAN:

So why did the Fuhrer's right-hand man spend huge amounts of money its been estimated it cost about 30,000,000 million Reich marks to build it could have all been political for Bormann to meet with
Hitler alone and keep those away, who threatened Bormann's influence he used over Hitler, but this is only my speculation.

To build the Eagle's Nest today, it would cost about 150,000,000 million Euros based on 2007 euro value. Today the Eagles Nest is a tourist spot and one of the few places built during the Third Reich untouched and left for posterity.

WON'T LEAVE THE LIGHT ON FOR YOU:

Did you know the Eagle's Nest was built without any bedrooms, a kitchen was built and used for heating food that was brought from the Berghof it was a glorified tea house.

HAIL THE CONQUERING HERO:

Besides the Allied soldiers who captured the area
American, British, French and Russian Generals toured the area, along with other Diplomates and Politicians.

NOT THE HOLLYWOOD IMAGE:

Did you know it was French forces that were the first to arrived in the area, with American troops close behind. However, before they left, many left graffiti and took souvenirs for the folks back home. Did you know the name Eagle's Nest was first coined by a French Diplomat and was picked up from there and the rest is history.

29.  Bill says:
2 Apr 2014 10:12:15 AM

UNIFORM OF THE DAY: COMMENT #4

In the above file photograph taken of Blondi and the Fuhrer, Hitler wares his field gray jacket with his WWI Iron Cross, Wound Badge and his Gold Party Badge. Hitler has the Gold German Eagle on his upper left sleeve why was it worn this way?

SOVEREIGNTY BADGE EAGLE: FOR THE FATHERLAND

In 1934 uniforms and insignia were developed for the Wehrmacht the eagle insignia was worn above the right breast uniform pocket for all ranks to identify men fit to bear arms for the Reich.
Other uniformed formations such as the Waffen-SS were obliged to wear the eagle on the upper left uniform sleeve as well as other Nazi Officials.

30.  Bill says:
14 Jun 2015 06:23:34 PM

HITLER & WAGNER:

Hitler, National Socialism and Richard Wagner his music was almost religious to the Fuhrer and was his favorite composer. Wagner was a genius his operas were composed long before Hitler and the Third Reich, Wagner's music powerful, strong and masculine played upon the Germanic God's in ancient times.

WAGNER FAMILY AND THE FUHRER:

Hitler took part in the Bayreuth festival visiting the Wagner family became one of his retreats.
Hitler received the original hand-written score for the Overture to Rienzi on his 50th Birthday from the Wagner family.

LOST TO HISTORY:

The Overture to Rienzi was taken by Hitler to his Fuhrerbunker in Berlin. It has remained missing to this day was it stolen, lost or was it burned w/ Hitler and Eva Braun in the Reich Chancellery courtyard in Berlin on April 30, 1945. All that is known, is that it has vanished in the possession of the greatest deceiver that ever existed.

LIKE AN ENDING TO A WAGNERIAN OPERA:

As the flames consumed the bodies of Hitler and Braun one could almost hear Wagner's Lohengrin
Overture. Wagner's music and writings were an influence on Hitler. Did you know, the Lohengrin Overture Act III is played in the introduction of the 1971 film Hitler: The Last Ten Days available on DVD.

THE MONSTER:

One side dark, evil and inhuman the murder of millions who destroyed much of Western Europe and other countries and left a devastating war as his legacy. The other side an artist, loved music,
children, animals and was a vegetarian.

To this day no other human being of the 20th Century is still remembered as Adolf Hitler in newsreel, film, documentaries and books the
world we know today, changed because of what he did and the pain suffered upon humanity.

WAGNER FAMILY:

After World War II the Wagner family tried to distance themselves of their relationship with Hitler and suffered because of it. Condemned for their association with Hitler much of the family assets were confiscated. File this under misplaced loyalty...

WAGNER:

Wagner's music are masterpieces contributions to
the beautiful world of music, Wagner's music dealt with Teutonic Germanic lore, fantasy, masculine overtones. The Nazis used music to stir the masses into something they weren't. My comments are designed to transport the reader to another time and place in history. Wagner's music along with the other great composers have been used in films, documentaries world-wide. music will never die its waiting to be discovered by one generation after another....

I thank the editor/ww2db for allowing me to continue our study of Adolf Hitler and the evil it really was...

31.  Bill says:
26 Jun 2015 07:47:52 PM

THE DEAD OF WORLD WAR II: GHOSTS

World War II was the most destructive war in history. Estimated number of deaths range from 50,000,000 to 60,000,000. World War II will always remain controversial followed by theories and interpretations. I have described my own personal insights, based upon my studies of WWII
that are left in this data base, as the statistics continue to change, its possible that WWII deaths will reach the 100,000,000 million mark.
During the last ten months of WWII 2,000,000 German soldiers were killed, that's about 350,000 every month not counting the wounded and missing. So what about civilian deaths?

THE UNKOWN:

WWII was a world-wide conflict that effected people in very country directly or indirectly involved in the war. Statistics change, so lets base total loss of life world-wide one the following factors: Famine, Disease, Massacres, as a result of local Insurrections and Civil War, Unrecorded Deaths, Murder, Torture and Suicide, Hunger and Starvation due to the lack of cargo and supplies transported by ships lost to sinking or blockade.

VANISHED!

WWII was a brutal war waged against civilian and soldier alike the Women, Men, Children Old, Sick, Crippled, Mental Ill, Murdered because of Religious belief or Nationally. Millions vanished
without a trace.
In Europe today the remains of unidentified WWII dead are still being discovered. Millions of soldiers went into captivity never to be heard from again their deaths forgotten.

ATROCITIES: 24/7

Millions died as a result of war crimes mass shootings, beatings civilians and POWs alike are worked to death these poor human beings suffered not only from hunger but also from disease:
Diphtheria, Malaria, Pellagra, Tuberculosis, Pneumonia, Typhus, Blood Poisoning, exposed to cold and wet weather the list goes on and on.
The killing wen on twenty four hours a day, seven days a week starting September 1, 1939
until VE Day May 7, 1945 murder continued for months afterward with acts of vengeance.

EVIL HAS NO EXPIRATION DATE:

HOLOAUST FACTS:

The Holocaust started in 1933 when Adolf Hitler came to power in Nazi Germany. Between 1933
to 1945 over 11,000,000 were murdered including 6,000,000 Jews. Even children were considered a threat if they lived they would grow up to parent a new generation of Jews. Did you know that 1/3rd of all Jewish people alive at that time WWII, were murdered.

FINAL SOLUTION:

This term was first used during the Wannsee Conference January 1942 that decided the fate of millions throughout Europe. More then 187,000 Jews were killed at Trblinka Death Camp with a staff of only 150.
When one side has the guns, they also have fear and power over you, the cost is your freedom. Its my hope people will never ever forget that.

SMALL PRINT:

Did you know that some victims escaped death during WWII by converting to another religion
People of Jewish descent could be spared only if their grandparents had converted to Christianity before January 18, 1871 the founding of the German Empire.

Personal Note *

Mozart: Requiem in "D" Minor, K. 626 fitting to those who died in World War II. I thank the editor/ww2db for allowing me to leave this comment.

32.  Bill says:
11 Apr 2016 06:33:23 PM

TRYING TO BLEND IN: FILE DER PAPERWORK

Did you know that Germans with little as 1/8 Jewish blood were ostracized, imagine Germans that were a quarter or half Jewish they were stripped of citizenship and known as "Subjects of the State" Many Germans had to prove they were
Aryans.

JUMPING THROUGH THE HOOPS:

However if one didn't aspire for a political office or other Government position it was easy. All one had to do is file the necessary paperwork and in
Nazi Germany everyone carried identity papers
but those weren't enough...

THE LESSER ARYAN: NIGHTMARE WORLD

One must produce certificates that show (7) birth certificates, their own, their parents and their grandparents, plus (3) marriage certificates, again showing their own, their parents and grandparents.
Any person who sought higher office had to prove their Aryan heritage going back to 1750! Germans of Jewish heritage were blacklisted they
couldn't hold professional positions in any position Government, State or Local property was
taken by the state many private businesses closed or taken over by non-Jews many went to jail or taken to concentration camps. and held without due-process. Many were later murdered because of what they were. Thy suffered the same fate that millions and millions of others did

WHEN DARKNESS FELL:

The Nazis created a Totalitarian State and had control over the population, newspapers, radio, music, art, science, industry, banks, education at all levels, the army, police courts and religion...

OSTRACIZED: From the Greek word Ostrakizein meaning to Banish. Other meanings to Shun, Reject, Boycott and Banish.

33.  Bill says:
25 Apr 2016 07:54:45 PM

FAILED ARTIST: VIENNA NIGHTS

Its has been estimated that Hitler painted over 300 works of art watercolors and oils in his lifetime. However, by Hitler's own account, he painted between (1) one to (3) three works a day while in Vienna. Let's take a closer look, if he painted (1) one painting a day the minimum number he painted would be 600 which is closer to Hitler's own recollection.

FUHRER ART 101:

Hitler spent from 1908 to 1914 in Vienna so is it possible he created 1,000 works of art? Hitler also gave away painting to Goering, Himmler and even Mussolini.

I WANT'EM BACK: BECAUSE I SAID SO

When Austria was taken over by Germany Hitler
gave orders to locate, buy back his paintings dated from 1907 to 1912 through 1921 to 1922.
By 1935 the Nazi Party was tasked to locate, recover as many of Hitler's paintings, by any means possible.
By wars end, the US Army captured a number of paintings along with other personal effects of Adolf Hitler. Today many of Hitler's paintings have surfaced in Europe and around the world books have even been printed showing his known works.

I thank the editor/ww2db for allowing me to leave my comments...

34.  Bill says:
27 Apr 2016 07:50:27 PM

EVIL HAND:

On the internet you can view many of Adolf Hitler's paintings, and can even buy them in dedicated art books. Works of flowers, buildings, monuments and colorful landscapes. Did you know that during Hitler's service in WWI, he was able to find the time to draw farm houses, landscapes and dressing stations.

STILL OF VALUE: IN DER CHIPS

In 2009 at an auction fifteen paintings by Hitler sold for $143,358 US Dollars at another auction
Hitler's artwork sold for $450,000 US Dollars and another work "The Old Town Hall sold for $147,444 US Dollars. In Germany today, its not illegal to sell or own any of the Fuhrer's paintings
as long as they do not bear any banned Nazi symbols.

SMALL PRINT:

However, the Bavarian State Archives which owns some of Hitler's works has a policy of not paying for any works, but accepts the paintings
as donations in order to take then (paintings) out of circulation. There are concerns that many could be forgeries. Hitler in general had no personal art style of his own, he generally copied so its difficult to be sure what was really painted by Hitler...this debate continues to this day

ETHICS & MONEY: EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

Looking at the value of Adolf Hitler's paintings, was it his artistic merit, or was it the artist who turned dictator that made the paintings valuable
and commanded such prices. Its for art historians
and others to bicker about, but the fact remains many of the Fuhrer's paintings have survived decades after his death. Hitler's political power and oratory skills took control over millions and created the most evil police state in modern history. And the paintings themselves? historically they are important relics of Adolf Hitler, the Third Reich and World War II.

I thank the editor/ww2db for allowing me to share my knowledge of WWII...