Wir müssen über Opa reden – und seine Zeit bei der SS. Wirklich!

Das machen die Westdeutschen doch schon seit 1945! 

Wie alt ist dieser Opa jetzt, wenn er überhaupt noch lebt? 80 Jahre mindestes, wenn nicht sogar über 90 Jahre alt.

Auch in meiner Familie gab es solche Fragen und Gespräche, aber nicht nur für Opas sondern auch für andere Familienmitglieder.

Das wird wohl erst aufhören, wenn die letzten Überlebenden gestorben sind. 

Wir müssen über Opa reden – und seine Zeit bei der SS "Unsere Autorin dachte lange, ihr Großvater sei im Zweiten Weltkrieg Soldat gewesen. Dann erfuhr sie: Er war für die SS in Polen. Mit ihrer Mutter sprach sie zwanzig Jahre lang nicht darüber – bis jetzt."

Why Was Germany so Fragmented in the Middle Ages

Recommendable!

Ältestes christliches Zeugnis nördlich der Alpen: Die Frankfurter Silberinschrift

Empfehlenswert! 

Image of the day (2)

"Tischlein Deck Dich" in Queens, NYC is closing! Farewell to a German immigration history butcher tradition! Credits: Farewell, Fleischermeister!

Hitler's Jewish Soldiers WW2 - Forgotten History

Recommendable! This documentary surprised me!

Remember Kristallnacht 1938

In remembrance of November 9-10, 1938! Never forget that humans can at times be terrible monsters! 

When in a highly civilized country, which has been famous for its poets, thinkers, musicians and inventors/scientists, such atrocities against humanity can be perpetrated!

When grave evil is not confronted and opposed in time! It is everyone's responsibility not to remain silent, ignorant, or passive when one learns of or witnesses such evil!

I was born only 16 years in Western Germany after World War II ended. A lot of the enablers or perpetrators were still alive and among us as family members, neighbors, politicians, judges, police officers etc..

My father (born 1933) told me the story that during Kristallnacht, the local fire department, against all German traditions and virtues, was not to respond to certain emergency calls! Perfidy perfectly defined!

All my life, I wanted to find out more about the people Hitler and the Nazis  tried so hard to exterminate. I discovered that Jewish history is absolutely fascinating. There are good reasons why I try to cover e.g. fascinating Israel here in my blog. In high school, one of my best friends was a Jew, but the family was not orthodox, but modern and they were not hiding their religious beliefs. 

Kristallnacht is a terrible German euphemism to name this event!

Before the Kristallnacht, there were e.g. the ominous and infamous Nazi book burnings in 1933. It was none other than the famous Heinrich Heine (1797-1856, born into a Jewish family) who prophetically said "Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings"!

What came after the Kristallnacht? The Endlösung der Judenfrage (Final Solution to the Jewish Question)!

Kristallnacht - Wikipedia

A Few Notes On Otto Von Bismarck

Posted: 2/11/2017 Updated/revised: 2/12/2017

Trigger

Yesterday, I watched a recommendable biography documentary on Otto von Bismarck in German language on YouTube (Captioned: “Bismarck - Kanzler und Daemon; in German language). Here and here.

I cannot claim to be an expert on Bismarck. I also regret that my public schooling in Germany came short on this important topic.

A Few Notes

These are very selective notes. I do not even attempt here to evaluate what are widely considered to be his historical achievements in foreign or domestic policies.

1. Bismarck implemented the welfare state (such as old age and disability insurance, sickness insurance, accident insurance, workers protection act) to prevent or appease future, potential uprisings by the labor class. Perfect usurpation of power by government! One apt German term for this is Staatssozialismus (state socialism, supposedly coined by the opposition, but later adopted by Bismarck himself)
2. Late in life Bismarck became a serious addict to alcohol and morphine to combat his many illnesses. Further, he seems to have suffered from an eating disorder like overeating or binge eating.
3. The occupation of the Alsace and northern Lorraine as a prize for the victory of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71 was stupid. This unnecessarily promoted more enmity between France and Germany leading up to World War I & II.
4. Bismarck bribed the Bavarian King Ludwig II (also known as the fairy tale king) to join the unification of Germany. No wonder that the Bavarians are widely considered a laughing stock to this day

Hitler’s Food Taster

Posted: 4/9/2013 Updated: 9/20/2014

Interview Of Probably Last Surviving Food Taster

The German weekly magazine Der Spiegel published on 3/28/13 an interview (article is in German) with a 95 year old lady who is said to have been Hitler’s food taster at his headquarters “Wolfschanze” for about 2.5 years.

Meanwhile the Times of India also has a story about Margot Woelk here. She lived a nightmarish life ever since.

Summary & Comment

She was one of 15 young women who were coerced to be a food taster for Hitler. She never saw Hitler, which would imply he never thanked her.

Apparently, the dictator either did not trust volunteers or there were not enough devoted followers to volunteer for this job.