The World Wars

This blog is about the WWI and WWII.

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Art by phobs

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Manfred von Richthofen

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Es lebe das heilige Deutschland! Long live our sacred Germany!

Claus von Stauffenberg

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Claus von Stauffenberg (15 November 1907 – 21 July 1944), was a German army officer and aristocrat who was one of the leading members of the failed 20 July plot of 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler and remove the Nazi Party from power. Along with Henning von Tresckow and Hans Oster, he was one of the central figures of the German Resistance movement within the Wehrmacht. For his involvement in the movement he was shot shortly after the failed attempt known as Operation Valkyrie.

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Nazi propaganda poster: "Danzig is German".

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Jewish shops were vandalized to warn people not to buy there.

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German warning in occupied Poland 1939 - "No entrance for Poles!"

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After the battle, Soviet soldiers hoist the Soviet flag on the balcony of the Hotel Adlon in Berlin.

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Men forced to dig their own graves by a subunit of Einsatzgruppe A troops. Šiauliai, Lithuania, July 1941.

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Citizens of Leningrad during the 872-day siege of Leningrad, in which about 1 million civilians died.

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German soldiers marching past the Arc de Triomphe, 14 June 1940.

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The German minority in Czechoslovakia welcome Nazi troops in October 1938.

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Flag of Nazi Germany, used jointly with the swastika flag, 1933–35

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Adolf Hitler's family tree is complicated. You will notice that the last name "Hitler" had many variations that were often used almost interchangeably. Some of the common variances were Hitler, Hiedler, Hüttler, Hytler, and Hittler. Alois Schicklgruber did change his name on January 7, 1877 to "Hitler," which was the only form of the last name that his son, Adolf, used.

The family tree is filled with multiple marriages. Look carefully at the marriage dates and the birth dates of their children. Many children were born illegitimately or born only a couple months after marriage. Although the graph shows Johann Georg Hiedler as Alois Schicklgruber's father, this is a contested issue.

Also, Alois Schicklgruber's first wife has not been included. He married Anna Glassl-Hörer (1823-1883) in October 1873. Anna became an invalid soon after the marriage, in 1880 she filed for a separation, and she died three years later. Alois and Anna had no children together.

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WWII

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“Amados pais. Se estão lendo esta carta, é porque ainda temos o aeroporto. Tenho certeza que esta será a última que seu amado filho lhes escreverá. Temos russos por todos os lados e não nos mandam ajuda de Berlim. Lhes tenho uma triste notícia, Granstsau morreu semana passada. Estava ele, eu e mais três andando quando simplesmente caiu no chão com a cabeça aberta. Amados pais, chorei muito ao vê-lo, porque crescemos juntos, lembram-se? Quando éramos crianças, quebrei a perna, ele me levou a casa nas suas costas com a minha perna quebrada. Sinto muito pelos pais dele. Perdi meu único amigo. E aqui haverá o fim. Nosso comandante se matou com um tiro na boca ontem de noite. Nossa moral não existe mais. Mas espero que essa maldita guerra acabe, pouco me importa o que aconteça. Se não receberem mais cartas minhas, vão para Espanha o quanto antes, sabemos que é uma questão de tempo dos russos chegarem em Berlim. Amados pais, após essa guerra, a Alemanha ficará atônita ao saber que o soldado que lhes escreve teve a vida salva por um médico judeu. Estou bem dos ferimentos, mas a cicatriz é enorme e horrível. Amados pais, se cuidem. Se não receberem mais cartas minhas, vão para Espanha, o dinheiro vocês já tem. Logo estaremos de novo conversando com Hilse, nos bom tempos dos dias de sol. Com muita devoção, seu filho querido.”

Cartas de Stalingrado, Coleção Einaudi, 1958.

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WWII