The strange and tragic history of Japan’s attempt to bomb the United States during World War II began with a summer picnic. It began just outside the small town of Bly, Oregon, on a secluded forest road. Reverend Archie Mitchell was with his wife Elsie and five children from their Sunday school class at the […]
The Unforgettable Impact of Japanese Fire Balloons During WWII Read More »
The North African campaign during World War II was a battle of supply. Between 1940 and 1942, both the Axis powers and the Allied powers achieved significant victories, which allowed them to continue their campaign for hundreds of miles and across many countries. Inevitably, the supply tether was reaching its limits, and the advances ground
Battles of World War II: The Battle of El Alamein Read More »
It may sound strange, but when Clara Petacci was shot by the firing squad on April 28, 1945, and hung up in the center of Milan along with Benito Mussolini and 14 other Fascists, she got what she had wanted. You see, from a young age, Clara Petacci wanted two things – to be famous
Clara Petacci: The Life of Mussolini’s Mistress Read More »
Upon the liberation of concentration camps following World War II, the Allied forces discovered the nightmarish aftermath of the Holocaust. The camps in Nazi-occupied territories were rife with scenes of mass murder, suffering, and depravity. One of the most disturbing discoveries was at Bergen-Belsen, which the British Army liberated on April 15th, 1945. Again, the
Johanna Bormann: The life of “The Weasel of Auschwitz” Read More »
The Holocaust was one of the darkest periods in human history, characterized by unspeakable atrocities committed by the Nazi regime against Jews and other marginalized groups. The core of this brutal campaign was the Nazis’ infamous concentration and extermination camps, where prisoners were subjected to unimaginable horrors in the name of racial purity and ideological
Josef Mengele: Who was Auschwitz’s Angel of Death? Read More »
Germany was the birthplace of the automobile. In 1889, Karl Benz invented the Motorwagen, the first practical gasoline-powered car. Well, practical is a bit of an overstatement. It had a top speed of only ten mph, was a tricycle, and had a steering system more like that of a boat than what we would today
The Autobahn: Unraveling the Story of the World’s First Superhighway Read More »
In 1945, World War II was still raging in the Pacific. Though Germany surrendered to the Allies on May 8 and the Italians on April 29, Japan still fought in the Pacific Theater. It was a brutal effort that tested the mettle of ordinary soldiers. The Americans wanted a quick end to the war, and
The Tragedy of the USS Indianapolis: The Worst Shark Attack in History Read More »
Inside the Third Reich’s concentration camps were scores of evil guards capable of committing horrible and sadistic acts. When the Allies tried the perpetrators of the Holocaust after the end of the war, the public was surprised by the beastly behavior of female guards like Irma Grese and Elisabeth Volkenrath, who often committed worse acts
Jenny Barkmann: The “Beautiful Spectre” of Stutthof Read More »
In the late 1930s and early 1940s, the bloody trauma of World War I was still lingering in Europe’s collective memory. It should be no surprise, then, that many countries wanted nothing to do with another conflict. Switzerland, Sweden, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the Netherlands declared their neutrality to keep the war
Was Sweden Actually Neutral in WW2? Read More »
Over 55,000 prisoners of the Buchenwald Concentration Camp never made it out alive. Buchenwald was one of the Third Reich’s largest camps, with over 280,000 prisoners serving time there. Death lurked around every corner, and many killings were never recorded in the camp’s books. Walter Gerhard Mart Sommer, who earned the title “The Hangman of
Martin Sommer: The guard too cruel for even the Nazis Read More »
