Image 01 Image 03
Sign In or RegisterLogout

World War II Tag

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 07, 2016 15 Comments
I'm back in the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations again. Not just for the weekend, but "for good." We are back to splitting the year between Ithaca and RI. When I left in 2013, I lamented all that would be missed:
My home State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations has provided much material for Legal Insurrection over the years, including the dispute as to the name itself. Splitting the year between Ithaca and Rhode Island provided me with the distinction of having Patrick Kennedy and Maurice Hinchey as Congressmen for several years. I’m reminded of the Seinfeld episode about the dentist who converted to Judaism for the jokes. Sometimes I felt that I lived in Rhode Island for the same reason. But alas, it is no more....

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 30, 2016 8 Comments
Through the course of my daily interneting, I happened across a post that discussed the babies born in Dachau. Naturally, I had to check this out further. Their stories are amazing and too good not to share. First, the story of the babies pictured in the featured image:
In this image is 5 of 7 women (shortly after their liberation in Dachau) who were pregnant and had given birth, all during the Holocaust. Each woman is a miracle. Miriam Rosenthal (not pictured) survived Auschwitz before her arrival. Eva Fleischmanova (middle) survived two inspections by Josef Mengele.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 24, 2016 12 Comments
The Marine Corps discovered officials misidentified Harold Shultz, a private first class from Detroit, MI, in the famous Iwo Jima picture. The investigation also found that John Bradley, a Navy hospital corpsman, did not raise the flag. Bradley's son "wrote a best-selling book about his father’s role in the flag-raising that was made into a movie directed by Clint Eastwood." Schultz always knew he was in the picture, but never spoke about in public.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 09, 2016 5 Comments
More than 16,000 items belonging to victims of Nazi death camp, Auschwitz were recently rediscovered in Poland. Their whereabouts have been known since 1967, but shortly thereafter, communist upheaval stalled the recovery of these long-lost possessions. Haaretz reports:
The items include flatware, brushes, pipes, lighters, kitchenware, penknives, buttons, jewelry, watches, keys, stamps, medical kits, shoes and documents.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on June 06, 2016 14 Comments
On June 6, 1944, Allied forces executed Operation Neptune, one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history. We know it at D-Day. Two years prior to launching the D-Day kickoff to the Battle of Normandy (Operation Overlord), Allied forces planned, strategized, and misdirected Axis opponents (Operation Bodyguard) to ensure Operation Neptune's success. The D-Day invasions marked a crucial turning point in the European theatre. Within two months, France was liberated. By the following spring, the Germans were defeated. Today, we remember the courage, valor, grit, and determination of the men and women who participated in the D-Day invasions.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 30, 2016 8 Comments
Several years ago, I had the opportunity to spend some time in France studying World War II. I left with an incredible appreciation for our veterans and their sacrifice. This is the story of my visit to the Memorial Cemetery at Omaha Beach. As we celebrate Memorial Day, may we always remember those that paid the ultimate price for freedom. I woke up a little cranky. The long, bumpy bus ride certainly didn’t help to improve my already sour mood. I knew I shouldn’t have stayed out so late. Seven o’clock was way too early to be traipsing up and down a beach; I really hoped there was a place to get a good, strong cup of coffee nearby. As the bus turned into a small parking lot, I pulled the headphones out of my ears and tucked my iPod into my little pink bag. Our professor informed us we’d reached our destination. After the bus parked, we all filed out methodically. Surveying the group it seemed as though I wasn’t the only one having a hard time waking up. The morning was gray, cold and solemn. It was cooler than I anticipated. I zipped up my jacket, tucked my hands into my pockets and fell in line with the group.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 20, 2016 7 Comments
Sir Nicholas Winton rescued 669 mostly Jewish children from Czechoslovakia in 1939. Not a soldier, not a government official, Winton petitioned the British government for permission to organize "Kindertransport." For fifty years, Winton kept his Kindertransport activities to himself. It wasn't until his wife discovered a scrapbook that his story was made public in 1988. It wasn't until the details of his rescue missions were unearthed that the children he saved learned who saved them and how. More than 7,000 people credit their lives to Winton's efforts. Winton passed away last year at the age of 106. Thursday, hundreds attended a memorial service to commemorate Winton's incredible bravery and selflessness.

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 10, 2016 9 Comments
Europe and Russia spent the last few days celebrating the 71st Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) to mark the end of World war II. https://twitter.com/CuriosityStream/status/729504694834331648 The German military surrendered on May 7, 1945, in Reims, France and then again on May 8 in Berlin, Germany, a week after the Red Army overtook the capital.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 09, 2016 25 Comments
I always found Jay Leno's "Jay Walking" segment depressing. He would wander around Los Angeles, conducting man on the street interviews with passers by, most of whom showed complete ignorance about very basic American history questions. I never found it humorous, I found it disheartening, but also context for why things are the way they are. This video is no different. Who fought in World War II? Who was Hitler? ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 07, 2016 16 Comments
I doubt many people know the name Babi Yar, or what happened there. Unless you read Legal Insurrection. If I polled 10,000 college students, I'd be surprised if more than a handful ever heard of it. Babi Yar is a large ravine in Kiev, Ukraine. [caption id="attachment_170714" align="alignnone" width="600"]http://collections1.yadvashem.org/notebook.asp?lang=ENG&dlang=ENG&module=search&page=next_list&rsvr=7@7&param=%3Cdlang%3EENG%3C/%3E%3Cnob%3E28%3C/%3E%3Cstart_entry%3E91%3C/%3E%3Crsvr_id%3E7%3C/%3E%3Clang_id%3EENG%3C/%3E%3Cquantity%3E15%3C/%3E%3Cvalue%3Ebabi%20yar%20murder%20site%3C/%3E%3Cindex_name%3ECONPL%3C/%3E%3Ccollector%3E0%3C/%3E%3Clif%3ECONPL%3C/%3E%3Crsvr_ser%3E@@7%3C/%3E%3Cdispq%3Ez1zPlaces:%20z3zbabi%20yar%20murder%20site,%20Literal%20%20z1zDatabanks:%20z3zPhotos%20Archive%3C/%3E%3Cquery_name%3Ejaguar50_4504_451103%3C/%3E%3Cnum_of_items%3E0%3C/%3E%3Cquery_index%3E@CONPL%3C/%3E%3Cthumb%3E0%3C/%3E%3Csmode%3Edts%3C/%3E%3Cbook_id%3E6443%3C/%3E%3Cview%3Ealbum%3C/%3E%3Cmainimage%3E/arch_srika/4001-4500/4135-4303/4147_102.jpg%3C/%3E&param2=&site=sapir [Babi Yar ravine, image via Yad Vashem][/caption]In September 1941, after the Nazis conquered what at the time was the Ukrainian Socialist Republic, part of the Soviet Union, the roundup of Jews was ordered. Ukrainian collaborators gladly assisted in the round up, particularly of Jewish women.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 09, 2016 3 Comments
Thirty-one rolls of undeveloped film, all shot by the same American soldier during World War II were passed along to developers at The Rescued Film Project. There, they carefully worked to develop photos taken seventy years ago. The results were amazing:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on April 04, 2016 7 Comments
Corporal Daniel A. Miller will be headed to Washington, D.C. on an Honor Flight next week. He served in the Pacific theatre during World War II as a TEC 5. Three of his now-late brothers also fought in World War II, though Corporal Miller is the last of his thirteen siblings still with us. Honor Flight is an incredible program. It's "non-profit organization created solely to honor America’s veterans for all their sacrifices. We transport our heroes to Washington, D.C. to visit and reflect at their memorials." More than 20,000 veterans were flown in to their memorials last year alone. His great-grandson, Joshua Perry, is asking anyone who feels compelled to do so send Corporal Miller a short note, which he'll receive on his honor flight, April 16.

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on February 22, 2016 12 Comments
One of the last of the Buffalo soldiers was laid to rest on Friday; Private Tomie Louis Gaines was 93 years old. The last of South Carolina's Buffalo soldiers, Gaines was a remarkable man. Greenville online reports:
Private Tomie Louis Gaines, 93, one of the last of the Buffalo Soldiers, the black Army men who helped settle the West on horseback and fought in two world wars, was laid to rest Friday at M.J. Dolly Cooper Cemetery in Anderson.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on December 30, 2015 11 Comments
There are many ways to study war and conflict -- causes, effect, social constructs, literature of the era, resistance movements... the list goes on. This particular project by Neil Halloran is, "an animated data-driven documentary about war and peace, The Fallen of World War II looks at the human cost of the second World War and sizes up the numbers to other wars in history, including trends in recent conflicts." The result is staggering:

The Fallen of World War II from Neil Halloran on Vimeo.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 02, 2015 6 Comments
AP Reports:
The Nazi soldiers made their orders very clear: Jewish American prisoners of war were to be separated from their fellow brothers in arms and sent to an uncertain fate. But Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds would have none of that. As the highest-ranking noncommissioned officer held in the German POW camp, he ordered more than 1,000 Americans captives to step forward with him and brazenly pronounced: "We are all Jews here." He would not waver, even with a pistol to his head, and his captors eventually backed down. Seventy years later, the Knoxville, Tennessee, native is being posthumously recognized with Israel's highest honor for non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during World War II. He's the first American serviceman to earn the honor.
The Yad Vashem news release explains further:
Accessibility by WAH