Putin is using Old Soviet Election Tactics.
Only
the Candidates he approved of are allowed on the Ballot and every Russian Adult
and Ukrainian Adult in Russian-Occupied Ukraine has to Vote or they can be sent
to a Forced Labor Penal Colony for 2 years.
Liviu Librescu
Liviu
Librescu was born August 18, 1930 in Ploiești, Kingdom of Romania (Present-Day:
Romania.)
His
Father, Izidor Librescu, was a Lawyer.
On
August 8, 1940 Romania, under Ion Antonescu and his Nazi Iron Guard (Romanian:
Garda de Fier), created the “Jewish Statue” that was similar to Nazi Germany’s
Nurenberg Laws declaring who was a Jew and what Jews could and could not do.
Liviu’s
Father was banned from being a Lawyer.
On
November 23, 1940 Romania officially became a Member of the Axis Powers (along
with Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Hungary, Finland, the Slovak Republic, the
Kingdom of Bulgaria, Croatia and the Empire of Japan.)
In
1941 was deported to a Labor Camp in Transnistria (an area of Romania that the
Soviets occupied from September 1939-June 1941 and again from 1945-1991 making
it part of the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic) by the Romanian Nazis.
Liviu
and his Mother were forced into the Focșani Ghetto and then a Forced Labor Camp.
His
Parents and he were lucky to have survived the War as 380,000 Jewish Men, Women
and Children were murdered by the Romanians during the Holocaust.
Ion
Antonescu was Trialed for his Crimes and executed in 1946.
Liviu
was 14 years old when World War 2 ended in May 1945 and Romania was under
Soviet Occupation with the Communists governing Romania from 1947 until 1989.)
Liviu
studied Aerospace Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Bucharest,
graduating in 1952 and continuing with a Master's Degree at the same University.
He
received his Ph.D. in Fluid Mechanics in 1969 at the Academia de Științe din
România.
From
1953 to 1975, he worked as a Researcher at the Bucharest Institute of Applied
Mechanics, and later at the Institute of Fluid Mechanics and the Institute of
Fluid Mechanics and Aerospace Constructions of the Academy of Science of
Romania.
He
married Marlena and they had two Sons, Joseph and Arieh.
In
the late 1970s his career stalled when he refused to swear Allegiance to
Nicolae Ceaușescu's Government.
When
he requested to Emigrate to Israel the Academy of Science of Romania fired him.
After
months on end Communist Government refusal, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem
Begin intervened to get the Librescu Family an Emigration Permit by directly
asking Romanian President Nicolae Ceaușescu to let them go.
In
1978 Liviu and his Family moved to Israel.
From
1979 to 1986, Liviu was Professor of Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering at
Tel Aviv University and taught at the Technion in Haifa.
In
1985 he went to teach at Virginia Tech in the United States in the Department
of Engineering Science and Mechanics.
On
April 16, 2007 South Korean Seung-Hui Cho opened fired at Virginia Tech.
When
Cho tried to enter the Classroom where Liviu was teaching Solid Mechanics Liviu
held the door of his Classroom shut and yelled to his Students to escape
through the windows.
Cho
shot Liviu four times through the door.
Cho
then entered the Classroom, and seeing only Liviu and one Student (Minal
Panchal), got mad and shot and killed both of them.
Liviu
Librescu was 76 years old.
Liviu
is credited with saving the lives of 22 of the 23 Students in his Class by his
actions.
The
Massacre took place on Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah).
On
April 18, 2007, President of the United States George W. Bush honored Liviu at
a Memorial Service held at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington
DC.
On
April 20, 2007 Liviu was buried at Ra’anana’s Cemetery in Israel.
In
his native Romania a candle was lit and flowers laid at the Polytechnic University of Bucharest.
Liviu
was the Author of: 4 Monographs; 21 Chapters in Books; 288 Articles appeared in
Peer-Reviewed Journals; 250 Papers included in the proceedings and 190 Lectures
at National and International Conferences and Congresses; 40 invited Lectures
to various Universities of the USA and in more than 10 Foreign Countries.
The
President of Romania, Traian Basescu, Posthumously awarded him the National
Order of the Star of Romania for his heroic role in the events at Virginia
Tech.
The
Street in front of the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest, Romania was named in his
honor.
The Welland Canal
The
Welland Canal is a Ship Canal in Ontario, Canada, and part of the St. Lawrence
Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway.
The
Canal was opened in 1829 and was last reconstructed in 1932 to allow for larger
Cargo Ships to pass through it.
The
Canal goes through the Niagara Peninsula and was built because the Niagara River
(the only natural waterway connecting the Lakes) is unnavigable due to Niagara
Falls.
The
Canal goes from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie.
3,000
Ships (carrying 40 Million Tons or 88 Billion Pounds) pass through the Welland
Canal every year.
The
Canal allowed goods from American Ports in the Great Lakes (Cleveland, Detroit,
Milwaukee and Chicago) to travel to the Port of Montreal where they were loaded
onto Ocean-Going Ships to go across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe.
Lake
Ontario (one of the 5 Great Lakes and named after the Iroquoian Native Tribe
living in the area since 1639) was renamed to Lake America by US President
Trump in August 2026.
Canada
continues to only recognize the name it has used for 387 years: Lake Ontario.
Canada
holds the cards in this dispute because they are refusing to allow any Cargo Ship
(American, Canadian or Foreign) that uses the unrecognized name “Lake America”
on their International Cargo Shipping Documents to use the Welland Canal.
That
means American Shipping - especially items
and products that go through the Mid-West - is being stopped which means even
more higher prices for Ordinary Americans (on top of the higher prices we pay
in the form of Tariffs on Canadian Goods also recently imposed by President
Trump.)
Diane Mumpher Klutz
Diane
Mumpher was from a small Town in Pennsylvania.
In
1969 she completed Nursing School and joined the US Army as a Second Lieutenant.)
In
November 1970 she was stationed at the 67th Evacuation Hospital in Qui Nhon,
South Vietnam (Present Day: Qui Nhon, Vietnam.)
For
90 days straight she worked non-stop.
She
worked to save the lives of US Soldiers who came to the Army Hospital by helicopter
burned or torn-apart by explosions and gunfire.
She
moved from one Soldier to the next for 90 straight days.
Those
she couldn’t help save she stayed with them until they died.
When
Diane returned to the United States in 1971 she met and married Stephen Klutz
(who also served in Vietnam.)
She
got her Ph. D in Nursing and taught at Universities as well as working as a
Nurse Practitioner.
Today
she is not only a Veteran, but a Wife, a Mother and a Grandmother.
35 Years of Ukrainian Independence
For
Ukrainian Independence Day tomorrow (August 24, 1991) the Motherland Monument
in Kyiv launched a five-minute audiovisual art installation titled "The
Future Remembers."
The
Project tells the story of Ukrainian History and Identity through light,
symbols, and music.
During
the projection, the Monument displayed changing images that reference various
periods in the History of Ukraine, including Cossack embroidery, Crimean Tatar
ornaments, and motifs of Greek, Scythian, and Slavic cultures.
Today,
Washington, DC turned blue and yellow as Ukrainians and Americans gathered at
the Lincoln Memorial to celebrate the restoration of Ukraine’s independence in
1991 -35 years ago tomorrow.
Canada
was the Western Country to recognize Ukraine’s Independence from the Soviet
Union on December 2, 1991.
Soviet
Russia (the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic) also recognized t=Ukraine’s
Independence on that day.
The
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) did not recognize Ukraine’s Independence.
The
United States recognized Ukraine’s Independence on December 25, 1991 (the day
the Soviet Union collapsed.
The United Kingdom recognized Ukraine’s Independence
on December 31, 1991 long after the USSR was disbanded.
35
years ago tomorrow (August 24, 1991) declared it’s Independence from the Soviet
Union which had occupied the eastern and central parts of Ukraine since 1922
and the western part of Ukraine since 1945.
37 years ago today (August 23, 1989) the Baltic Way occurred in Soviet-Occupied Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.
(The Baltic Way in Latvia.)
The
Baltic Way (Lithuanian: Baltijos kelias; Latvian: Baltijas ceļš; Estonian:
Balti kett) was a peaceful demonstration where 2 Million Latvians, Lithuanians
and Estonians joined hands to create a human chain that was 430 miles long and
stretched from Estonia, through Latvia and into Lithuania.
August
23, 1989 was the 50th Anniversary of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact (signed by
Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union on August 23, 1939) that not only made Nazi
Germany and the USSR Allies, but also allowed the Soviet Union to invade and
occupy Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.
The
1989 event was organized by the Baltic Pro-Independence Movements: Rahvarinne
of Estonia, the Tautas fronte of Latvia, and Sąjūdis of Lithuania, to draw
Global attention by demonstrating a popular desire for Independence and
showcasing Solidarity among the three nations.
It
has been described as an effective publicity campaign, and an emotionally
captivating and visually stunning scene.
Background
to the Baltic Way:
On
August 23, 1939 the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany became Allies (which they
stayed until June 21, 1941)
The
Soviet Union invaded, occupied and illegally annexed Estonia, Lithuania and
Latvia from September 2, 1939 until June 22, 1941 and then again from 1944
until December 26, 1991.
The
Soviets made the Russian Language the Official Language throughout Estonia,
Latvia and Lithuania, they deported and murdered Ethnic Estonians, Ethnic
Lithuanians and Ethnic Latvians and moved Ethnic Russians into the Baltics to
forcibly Russify the areas.
From
1939-1941 the Soviets Forcibly Deported from the Baltics to Siberia:
11,000
Estonians from Estonia to Gulags and Forced Settlements in Siberia (9,267
died.)
17,500
Lithuanians from Lithuania to Gulags and Forced Settlements in Siberia. (9,945
died.)
15,000
Latvians from Latvia to Gulags and Forced Settlements in Siberia (9,400 died.)
Thousands
upon thousands of these Innocent Men, Women and Children were killed from
Soviet Bullets, Forced Labor, Lack of Food, the Harsh Weather, etc.
From
1939-1941 the Soviets Arrested, but didn’t Deport:
8,000
Estonians inside Estonia and murdered 2,000 of them.
12,900
Lithuanians inside Lithuania and murdered 3,000 of them.
21,000
Latvians in Lativia and murdered 5,000 of them.
From
June 1941 until 1944 the Baltics were invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany.
The
Nazis murdered: 950 of the 1,000 Estonian Jews during the Holocaust and 49,000
Estonian Civilians (7% of Estonia’s 1939 Population.)
The
Nazis murdered: 195,000 Lithuanian Jews during the Holocaust and 150,000
Lithuanian Civilians (14% of Lithuania’s 1939 Population.)
The
Nazis Murdered: 66,000 Latvian Jews during the Holocaust and 154,000 Latvian
Civilians (12% of Latvia’ 1939 Population.)
From
1945-1951 the Soviets Forcibly Deported:
35,000
Estonians from Estonia to Gulags and Forced Settlements in Siberia.
130,000
Lithuanians from Lithuania to Gulags and Forced Settlements in Siberia.
60,000
Latvians from Latvia to Gulags and Forced Settlements in Siberia.
70%
of all the Deported were Women and Children under 16 years old.
Thousands
upon thousands of these Innocent Men, Women and Children were killed from
Soviet Bullets, Forced Labor, Lack of Food, the Harsh Weather, etc.
From
1945 -1951 the Soviets Arrested, but didn’t Deport:
30,000
Estonians inside Estonia and murdered 11,000 of them.
186,000
Lithuanians inside Lithuania and murdered 20,453 of them.
32,000
Latvians inside Latvia and murdered 12,000 of them.
Aftermath:
In
December 1989, the Soviet Congress of People's Deputies accepted and Mikhail
Gorbachev signed a Report condemning the Secret Protocols of the
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact – acknowledging the Soviet Invasion and Occupation of
the Baltics for the first time.
In
February 1990, the first Free Democratic elections to the Supreme Soviets took
place in all three Baltic States and Pro-Independence Candidates won
majorities.
On
March 11, 1990, within seven months of the Baltic Way, Lithuania became the
first Soviet State to declare Independence from the Soviet Union (which was
recognized by the USSR on March 11, 1990.)
On
May 4, 1990 Latvia declared its Independence from the Soviet Union (which was
recognized by the USSR on September 6, 1991)
On
August 20, 1990, Estonia declared its Independence from the Soviet Union (which
was recognized by the USSR on September 6, 1991.)
The
independence of all three Baltic States was recognized by most Western
Countries by the end of 1991 and the Soviet Union collapsed on December 26,
1991.
Estonia
joined NATO on March 29,2004, the European Union on May 1, 2004 and the
Eurozone in 2011.
Lithuanian
joined NATO on March 29, 2004, the European Union on May 1, 2004 and the
Eurozone in 2015.
Latvia joined NATO on March 29, 2004, the European Union on May 1, 2004 and the Eurozone in 2014.
Black Ribbon Day
Today
(August 23rd) is Black Ribbon Day. It is the day the European Union, Georgia,
the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States remembers the Men, Women and
Children murdered by both the Nazis and the Communists. The date was chosen
because it was when the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between the German Nazis and
the Soviet Communists was signed in 1939.
The
Nazis murdered 24,826,424 Men, Women and Children (Non-Military Civilians) from
1933-1945.
That
number also includes those in Targeted Groups that the Nazis specifically went
after:
Jews:
6 Million Men, Women and Children;
Non-Jewish
Polish Civilians: 3 Million Men, Women and Children
People
with Disabilities: 270,000 Men, Women and Children (doesn’t include the 375,000
Disabled who were Forcibly Sterilized)
Roma
and Sinti (Gypsies): 500,000- 1.5 Million Men, Women and Children
Jehovah's
Witnesses: 5,000 Men, Women and Children
Homosexuals: 9,000 Men and Women in Concentration Camps
(Doesn’t include the 50,000 Men and Women held in Regular Prisons)
The Communists murdered 149,469,610 Men, Women
and Children (Non-Military Civilians)
Worldwide since 1917 and the Communists in China, Cuba, Vietnam, Laos
and North Korea continue murdering Innocent People.
We
should also remember the Ukrainian Men, Women and Children being murdered by
the Russian Nazi Zs since 2022.
Thousands of Russian Men returning from committing War Crimes in Ukraine are now committing Crimes across Russia.
(Roman
and Olga Bykovskay)
All
46 Oblasts (Provinces), 21 Republics, 9 Krais (Regions), 4 Autonomous Okrugs (Autonomous
Areas) and the 2 Federal Cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg have reported at
least a 87% of Violent Crime committed by Soldiers and Returning Soldiers since
Russia started its War in Ukraine in 2022.
There
are 23 Independently-Verified Accounts of Russian Military Wives who gave their
Soldier Husbands permission to rape Ukrainians (Boys, Girls, Women and Men.)
One
such Military Wife is Olga Bykovskaya whose phone call with her Husband, Roman,
was intercepted.
In
the Phone Call Olga tells her Husband; “Rape them, yeah, ... Don't tell me
anything, understand? Yeah, I allow you—just use protection."
Roman
replies: “Uh-Huh. 'So I
should rape and not tell you anything?”
Olga: “'Yes, so that I wouldn't know anything.
Why do you ask?”
Roman: “Can I really?”
Olga
replies, with a giggle:
“Yeah, I allow you. Just use protection.”
Roman: “Ok.”
Roman
and Olga Bykovskay are Russians from Oryol Oblast in Russia who moved to
Russian-Occupied Crimea in 2018.
Roman,
a Paratrooper, was part of Russia’s Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Olga
has been tried in Absentia, found guilty of violating Article 27.2 of the
Convention on the Protection of the Civilian Population in Time of War and the
Geneva Conventions and sentenced to at least 5 years in Prison.
Of
course she is living in Russian-Occupied Crimea and Putin and the Russian
Military allow (and encourage) Russian Soldiers fighting in Ukraine to rape,
torture and murder Ukrainians to “Get it out of your system before you return
to Mother Russia.”
Men
like Roman, who commit War Crimes in Ukraine, are returning to Russia and
continuing their Rape, Violence and even Murder against Russian Citizens.
Any
Russian Victim who complains or files a Police Report is sent either to a Mental
Hospital against their will or to a
Forced Labor Penal Colony for 5 years for “spreading misinformation against the
Great Russian Military.”
These
attacks inside Russia will only get worse as more Soldiers return from Ukraine.
Giving
the Soldiers Official Permission to rape Ukrainian Boys, Girls, Women and Men is
not new to the Russians.
Soviet
Soldiers during World War 2 – with Official Permission from Stalin Moscow –
raped at least 100,000 Polish Girls and Women as they “liberated” Poland in
1944-1945.
The
Soviets saw the Poles as Anti-Communist and wanted to “put them in their place
in the New World Order (Ie. Communism.)”
Soviet
Soldiers also raped “liberated” Russian, Ukrainians and Belarussian Forced
Laborers inside Germany.
The
Official Soviet Stance on these Soviet Forced Laborers (who were arrested or
kidnapped by the Germans and forced to work inside Germany or be killed) was
that the Soviet Citizens were Traitors who “allowed themselves to be captured by
the enemy.”
Soviet
Soldiers raped many German Girls and Women.
2
Million German Girls and Women (the youngest known was 4 years old and the
oldest known was 89) were raped by Soviet Soldiers.
100,000
German Girls and Women and were raped in Berlin along from April 1945-June
1945.
The
rest were raped in the German Areas of: East Prussia, Pomerania and Silesia.
It
is estimated that 23% of those who were raped by the Soviet Soldiers were
either raped over and over again by the same Soldier or were Gangraped by
Soviet Soldiers.
An
11 year old German Girl was taken from her Parents in their Bomb Shelter in May
1945, brought to an abandoned Factory where she was raped by 40-50 Soviet
Soldiers for 3 days until she bled to death.
When
her Father tried to find his Daughter he was shot and killed by the Soviets.
When
her Mother reported the rape/murder of her Daughter to the Soviet Commanders
she was put on a train and shipped to any unknown destination inside the Soviet
Union where her trail ended.
The
Soviets even forbade the Americans, British and French Occupation Forces to
enter Belin until July 4, 1945 (despite Berlin having surrendered to the
Soviets on May 2, 1945) because the Soviets needed to remove the traces of
their War Crimes (including rape) in Berlin first.
It
was illegal in the Soviet Union (from 1944-1991), in Poland (from 1945-1990)
and in East Germany (from 1945-1990) to mention the fact that Soviet Soldiers
raped anyone.
Helmut
Kohl (who was Chancellor of West Germany from 1982-1990 and then Chancellor of
Germany until 1998) first Wife, Hannelore Kohl (née Renner) was Gang-raped by
Soviet Soldiers when she was 12 years old and thrown out of a window when the Soviets
were done with her.
She
suffered a fractured vertebra and back pain for the rest of her life. She committed
Suicide in 2001.
Soviet
Soldiers who returned to the USSR from Germany continued to commit rapes and
crimes on Soviet Citizens for decades -
although the Communists forbade any mention of these crimes just like the
Russians do today.
(Second Lieutenant Dave Sabben advances cautiously through the rubber plantation the day after the Battle of Long Tan in 1966.)
60
years ago today (August 18, 1966) The Battle of Long Tan took place in Phước
Tuy Province, South Vietnam.
It
took place during the Vietnam War (1965-1973) between Australian and New
Zealander Soldiers (of the D Company,
6th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment) and the North Vietnamese and
Vietcong Communists.
108
Australian and New Zealander Troops faced 2,800 North Vietnamese Communists
with Americans providing Air Fire for the Australians and New Zealanders.
The Battle of Long Tan lasted until August 21,
1966 with the Australians and New Zealanders winning.
18
Australian and New Zealander Soldiers were killed and 24 were wounded.
500
North Vietnamese and Vietcong Communists were killed.
The
Long Tan Cross Memorial which was
erected by the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment on August 18, 1969 to
mark the site of the Battle of Long Tan, which was fought three years earlier.
After
the North Vietnamese Communist Victory in April 1975 the Cross was removed.
The
Cross was found by the Đồng Nai Province
Museum in 1984 and gifted to Australia in 2017 where it has been on permanent
display at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra ever since.
For
the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan in 2016 a Ceremony was held on
the Battlefield; where 1,000 Australian Veterans and their Families travelled
to Vietnam to participate.
In
Australia hundreds attended the Australian War Memorial and Vietnam Forces
National Memorial in Canberra.
Commemorations
were also held at Sydney's Cenotaph, Brisbane's ANZAC Square, Melbourne's
Shrine of Remembrance.
61,000
Australian Men and Women served in South Vietnam from July 1962 – December 1972.
521
Australian Soldiers were killed and 3,000 were wounded during the War.
Australia
had Military Conscription until 1972 and sent Draftees to fight in Vietnam.
3,890
New Zealander Men and Women served in South Vietnam from June 1964-December
1972.
37
New Zealander Soldiers were killed and 187 were wounded during the War.
New
Zealand had Military Conscription until 1972 and sent Draftees to fight in
Vietnam.
2,709,918
American Men and Women served in South Vietnam or Cambodia from August 1964-April
1975.
543,000
American Soldiers were in South Vietnam at the peak in 1969.
58,148 American Soldiers were killed and 303,644
were wounded.
The United States had Military Conscription until 1973 and sent Draftees to fight in Vietnam.
Peter Fechter
Peter
Fechter was born on January 14, 1944 in Nazi Germany.
He
was the third of four Children and the only Son.
His
Father was a Mechanical Engineer and his Mother was a Saleswoman.
After
World War 2 his District of Berlin (Weißensee) was in the Soviet Occupation
Zone (ie East Berlin.)
Peter
finished School when he was 14 years old and started working as a Bricklayer.
Being
a Bricklayer was in high demand with all the Post-War Construction going on in
East Berlin and East Germany.
Peter’s
oldest Sister married and lived in West Berlin and was regularly visited by
Peter and his Parents.
From
1945-1961 East Berliners and West Berliners could easily visit each other.
On
August 13, 1961 the East German and Soviet Communist Governments built the
Berlin Wall, closing the last loop-hole East Germans had to visit or flee to
the West.
Overnight,
Peter and his Parents were cut-off from his Sister/Daughter in West Berlin.
Peter,
not wanting to be locked inside Communist East Germany and wanting his Freedom
had long planned to flee to the West.
The
East German Government had recently rejected Peter’s application to temporarily
visit West Berlin even though his Work wrote:
“Colleague
F. is a willing and hard-working Craftsman. Loafing and absenteeism are not a
problem with him.”
On
August 17, 1962 Peter and his Friend, Helmut Kulbeik, decided the time to flee
was now.
Peter
and Helmut had met in early 1962 they were both involved in rebuilding the
former Kaiser-Wilhelm-Palais, a Palace on the Unter den Linden Boulevard.
(Peter dying after being shot.)
The
plan was to hide in a Carpenter's Workshop near the Wall on Zimmerstrasse and,
after observing the East German Border Guards from there, to jump out of a
window into the "Death-Strip" (a strip running between the main wall
and a parallel fence which they had recently started to construct), run across
it, and climb over the 6.5 Foot Wall topped with barbed wire into the Kreuzberg
District of West Berlin near Checkpoint Charlie.
Peter
and Kulbeik made it to the last Wall when the East German Border Guards started
firing at them.
The
East German Border Guards were ordered to Shoot-To-Kill anyone trying to flee East
Berlin or East Germany.
Kulbeik
was successful in making it over the Wall.
Peter
was shot in the pelvis while he was still climbing over the Wall.
Even
while wounded the East German Border Guards continued to shot at him.
It
was in full view of hundreds of West Berliners watching from the other side.
Peter
fell back into the Death Strip on the East German side.
Peter screamed in pain for 1 hour.
(An East German Border Guard finally removing Peter's dead body.)
The
East German Border Guards refused to help him.
Standing
on a ladder the West Berlin Police asked him his name and threw bandages across
the Wall to him, but he couldn’t reach them.
Members
of the US Military at nearby Checkpoint Charlie were ordered not to intervene
since it would have started World War 3.
After
an hour of screaming Peter bled to death.
He
was 18 years old.
As
a result of Peter’s death a spontaneous Demonstration erupted with hundreds of
West Berliners shouting “Murderers” to the East German Border Guards.
(Peter
Fechter Memorial Cross at Checkpoint Charlie.)
The
East German Border Guards finally retrieved his dead body,
The
Chief Propagandist of East Germany, Karl-Eduard von Schnitzler, justified the Border
Guards’ brutality as being good for and in the interest of the State.
In
his commentary he dishonored the Victim with the following words:
“And
when this kind of element […] is wounded directly on the border and not
retrieved immediately – then a huge fuss is made. […] The life of each one of
our brave young men in uniform is more important to us than the life of a
lawbreaker. By staying away from our state border – blood, tears and screams
can be avoided.”
This
Commentary was broadcast on the East German Radio Program “Schwarzer Kanal” on
the same day that Peter Fechter’s Funeral took place at the Cemetery of the
Resurrection Congregation in Berlin-Weissensee.
In
addition to losing their Son, Peter’s Parents suffered reprisals from both the
East German Government and Ordinary East German Citizens for Decades as Peter
was considered an “Enemy of the State.”
Shortly
after his death a Cross was placed on the Western Side near the spot where
Peter Fechter was shot and bled to death.
American
News Magazine “Time” in August 1962 headlined Peter Fechter.
In
this article, the expression "Wall of Shame" (German: Mauer der
Schande) was coined, and this would become a synonym for the Wall.
After
German Reunification in 1990, the Peter-Fechter-Stelle Memorial was constructed
on Zimmerstraße, at the precise spot where he had died on the Eastern side.
It
has the inscription: "… er wollte nur die Freiheit." ("… he just
wanted freedom.")
(Memorial
to Peter Fechter on Zimmerstraße.)
In
March 1997, 7 years after the Reunification of Germany and 35 years after Peter’s
death, 2former East German Border Guards, Rolf Friedrich and Erich Schreiber,
faced Manslaughter charges for Peter’s death.
Both admitted to the shooting after an intense
investigation.
They
were both convicted and sentenced to 20 and 21 Months' Imprisonment on Probation.
Due
to a lack of conclusive evidence, the German Court was unable to determine
which of three Gunmen (one of whom had already died) had fired the fatal
bullet.
After
pleading Guilty to the crime, during sentencing, both Guards apologized for
killing Peter Fechter, saying that if they could take it back, they would, and
that they were honestly remorseful for their actions.
65
years ago today (August 15, 1961) 19 year old East German Border Guard Konrad
Schuman escaped into West Berlin jumping over a barbed wire fence during the
construction of the Berlin Wall.
Hans
Konrad Schumann (March 28, 1942 – June 20, 1998) Born in Zschochau (now part of
Ostrau, Saxony) during World War II, Schumann enlisted in the East German
Bereitschaftspolizei (State Police) following his 18th Birthday. After three
months' training in Dresden, he was posted to a Non-Commissioned Officers'
College in Potsdam, after which he volunteered for service in Berlin.
On
August 15, 1961, the 19-year-old Schumann was sent to the corner of Ruppiner
Strasse and Bernauer Strasse to guard the Berlin Wall on its third day of
construction. At roughly 4:00 PM, Schumann jumped over the barbed wire while
dropping his PPSh-41 submachine gun, and was promptly driven away in the van by
West Berlin Police.
West
German Photographer Peter Leibing photographed Schumann's escape. The
photograph, entitled "Leap into Freedom", has since become an iconic
image of the Cold War era and featured at the beginning of the 1982 Disney film
“Night Crossing.”
The
scene, including Schumann's preparations, was also filmed on 16-mm film from
the same perspective by camera operator Dieter Hoffmann. Schumann went from
West Berlin to West Germany, settling in Bavaria.
In
1962, he met and married Kunigunde Gunda in Günzburg. They had a Son the
following year. Schumann took up a new job at a winery and eventually at the
Audi car assembly factory in Ingolstadt, where he worked for nearly 30 years.
From
his jump to Freedom in August 1961 until the Fall of the Berlin Wall in
November 1989 Schumann worried that the East German Stasi would try to
assassinate him.
On
June 20, 1998, suffering from Depression (from his years of worrying about
being assassinated), he committed Suicide.
In
May 2011, the photograph of Schumann's "Leap into Freedom" was
inducted into the UNESCO Memory of the World Program as part of a collection of
documents on the fall of the Berlin Wall.
He
was one of the 4 Million East Germans who fled Communism for Freedom from
1945-1989.
81: All Fronts
2026
is the 81st Anniversary of the end of World War 2.
The
United States is the only country that fought in every single Theater of World
War 2.
The
US fought from December 7, 1941 until August 14, 1945.
16,112,566
Americans served in the United States Armed Forces, with 291,557 killed
and 671,278 wounded.
130,201
Americans became Prisoners of War, of whom 116,129 returned home after
the War.
19,000
American Civilians (Men, Women and Children) were interned by either the
Germans or the Japanese during World War 2 (1941-1945.)
5,000
American Civilians were interned by the Germans and 14,000 American Civilians
were interned by the Japanese.
The
US fought in the Atlantic Ocean Theater from 1941-1945 (US Occupied Iceland; US Occupied
Greenland, Sank German U-Boats; Sent US Troop Ships to Europe with Soldiers,
Weapons and Supplies, etc.)
The
US Fought in the Caribbean Theater from 1941-1945 (Sank German U-Boats, Protected
Shipping and Raw Materials, built American Bases on Non-American Islands,
Protected Dutch Curacao and Aruba Oil from German Attacks, Len Lease, etc.)
The
US Fought in the North American Theater from 1941-1945 (Sank German U-Boats off the coast of
the US – Torpedo Alley; Protected Shipping Troops and Raw Materials; Stopped
German Attacks on the US under Operation Pastorius , Stopped Japanese Attacks
on the US – along the West Coast and The Aleutian Islands of Alaska which were
occupied by the Japanese from 1942-1943,
Won the Battle of the Saint Lawrence, Lend Lease, etc.)
The
US Fought in the Latin American Theater from 1941-1945 (Sank German U-Boats, Built American
Bases on Non-American Countries, Carried out Espionage on the Germans, Lend
Lease, etc.)
The
US Fought in the Western European Theater from 1941-1945 (Lend Lease, Sent Undercover Agents
of the Office of Strategic Services to German-Occupied Territory, Bombed
Germany, D-Day Landings in northern France, Liberation of France, Operation
Market Garden, The Battle of the Bulge, Crossing the Rhine River into Germany,
Meeting with the Soviets at the Elbe River, the Liberation of Concentration
Camps, etc.)
The
US Fought in the Eastern European Theater from 1941-1945 (Lend Lease, Sent Arctic Conveys to
supply the USSR, Warsaw Airlift, etc.)
The
US Fought in the Mediterranean Theater from 1942-1945 (Sent Conveys to break the Siege of
Malta, Invasion of Sicily, Invasion of the rest of Italy, Invasion of southern
France, Battle of Anzio, Liberation of Rome, etc.)
The
US Fought in the North Africa Theater from 1942-1945 (Operation Torch – Invasion of Morocco
and Tunisia, etc.)
The
US Fought in the African Theater from 1942-1945 (Lend Lease, Protected against German
Attacks, Shipped Raw Materials, etc.)
The
US Fought in the Middle East Theater from 1942-1945 (Lend Lease, Sent Materials and Men to
British Mandatory of Palestine, Protected Egypt, etc.)
The
US Fought in the Antarctic Theater from 1942-1945 (Operation Tabarin, etc.)
The
US Fought in the Australia/New Zealand Theater from 1941-1945 (Lend Lease, Protected against Japanese
Invasion, Built US Bases, etc.)
The
US Fought in the Pacific Theater from 1941-1945 (Fought the Japanese Island-To Island,
The American Territories of the Philippines and Guam were Occupied by the
Japanese from 1942-1945, Bombed Japan including the Doolittle Raid, Battle of
the Coral Sea, Battle of Midway, Battle of Guadalcanal, Sank Japanese Subs,
Burma Campaign, Battle of Saipan, Liberation of the Philippines, Battle of Iwo Jima, Battle of Okinawa,
Dropped Atomic Bombs, etc.)
The Berlin Wall
The
Berlin Wall (German: Berliner Mauer and Russian: Берлинская стена) was created
65 years ago today (August 13, 1961.)
After the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 Germany was split into 4 Occupation Zones: the British, the French, the American and the Soviet.
Berlin,
laying 100 miles inside the Soviet Occupation Zone, was also split between the
British, the French, the Americans and the Soviets.
In
1948 the British, the French and the American Occupation Zones of Germany became
the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland) also called
West Germany (German: West Deutschland.)
In
1948 the British, the French and the American of Berlin became West Berlin
(German: West Berlin.)
In
1949 the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany became the German Democratic Republic
(German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik) also called East Germany (German: Ost
Deutschland.)
In
1949 the Soviet Occupation Zone of Berlin became East Berlin (German: Ost
Berlin.)
In
1949 the Inner-German Border (German: innerdeutsche Grenze) separating West
Germany with East Germany was closed.
858
Miles of Border Fortifications were built by the East German and Soviet
Communists to stop East Germans from fleeing to the West and Freedom.
The
Inner-German Border was a continuous line of high metal fences and walls,
barbed wire, alarms, anti-vehicle ditches, watchtowers, automatic booby traps
and minefields.
The
Communists moved People away from the Border Zone and even destroyed whole
Villages to make a Buffer Zone (it was 6% of East Germany’s total area.)
50,000
East German Border Guards along with hundreds of Soviet Troops guarded the
Inner-German Border and had orders to shoot and kill any person fleeing East
Germany (German: Republikflucht or Republic Flight.)
20,000
West German Border Guards and hundreds of British and American Troops guarded
the Inner-German Border to make sure the East Germans and the Soviets didn’t
try to invade.
40,000
Men, Women and Children successfully fled East Germany into West Germany
through the Inner-German Border from 1949-1989.
371
Men and Women were murdered by the Communists trying to flee East Germany into
West Germany through the Inner-German Border from 1949-1989.
Thousands
more were arrested and imprisoned by the Communists.
From
1949-1961 Berlin was a Loop-Hole between Communism/Dictatorship and Capitalism/Freedom.
East
Germans could go to East Berlin and then just walk across into West Berlin.
3.5
Million East Germans did just that from 1945-1961.
From
August 1-11, 1961 16,000 East Germans fled into West Berlin.
On
August 12, 1961 2,400 East Germans fled into West Berlin.
These
Men, Women and Children were: Doctors, Teachers, Engineers, etc. and caused a
major Brain Drain and costing East Germany $9 Billion US Dollars.
On
August 13, 1961 the East German and Soviet Communists decided to close the
Berlin Loop-Hole and built the Berlin Wall.
Without
any warning and done overnight on a Sunday the Communists closed the Border
between East Berlin and West Berlin.
The
initial Barbed Wire Barrier was built up into the Wall proper, the first
concrete elements and large blocks being put in place on August 17, 1961.
Immediate
effects of the Wall included the separation of Families (some never seeing
their Relatives ever again) and the loss of jobs by East Berliners who worked
in West Berlin.
While
publicly the British, the French and the Americans acted surprised by the building
of the Berlin Wall in private they were glad that there would no longer be any
more Military Confrontations with the Soviets.
US
President John F. Kennedy replied: "A wall is damn better than a War."
British
Prime Minister Harold Macmillian said: "The East Germans are holding up
the flow of refugees and entrenching themselves behind an even tighter Iron
Curtain. There is nothing illegal about this in itself."
On
August 19, 1961, the Kennedy sent1,500 American Troops from the 8th
US Infantry Division in Mannheim through the Transit Route in East Germany and
to West Berlin to show America’s commitment to protect the West Berliners (but
not to help the East Berliners.)
The
Communists officially called the Berlin Wall the Anti-Fascist Protection
Rampart (German: Antifaschistischer Schutzwall.)
The
Berlin Wall was 96 miles long and included guard towers placed along large
concrete walls, accompanied by a wide area (later known as the "Death Strip")
that contained anti-vehicle trenches, beds of nails and other defenses.
From
1961-1989 100,000 Men, Women and Children tried to flee over, through or under
the Berlin Wall.
5,000
succeeded in fleeing to West Berlin.
239
were murdered by the Communists while trying to flee.
Ida
Siekmann, 58 was the first person who died trying to flee her apartment in East
Berlin on August 22, 1961 when she
jumped out of her window and died on the way to the Hospital in West Berlin.
On
August 17, 1962 Peter Fechter, 18, was shot by the East German Border Guards
while trying to flee into West Berlin.
His
murder was witnessed by hundreds of West Berliners who saw him shot, fall back
to the East German Death Strip where he cried out for help for an hour before
he bled to death.
Winfried
Freudenberg, 32, was the last person who died while trying to fly a Hot Air
Balloon over the Berlin Wall on March 8, 1989.
94,761
People were arrested by the Communists and sent to Prison for trying to flee.
From
1961 until 1964 no West German or West Berliner was allowed to visit East
Germany or East Berlin.
From
1961 until 1964 no East German or East Berliner was allowed to leave East
Berling or East Germany to go to West Berlin or West Germany.
In
November 1964 the East German Government allowed East German Pensioners to
visit West Berlin and West Germany.
Starting
in 1972 the East German Government officially allowed the rest of the East
Germans to apply for permission to leave East Germany to visit West Berlin and
West Germany.
Very
few East Germans were given official permission to travel to West Berlin and
West Germany from 1972-1989.
Those
who were allowed were Members of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (German: Sozialistische
Einheitspartei Deutschlands) the Communist Party that ran East Germany and they
had to have an Immediate Member of their Family stay behind as a Hostage.
An
average of 100,000 applications to temporary leave East Germany to visit West
Berlin and West Germany were submitted every year from 1972-1989 with 1% of the
applications being approved by the Communists.
Those
East Germans who were allowed by the East German Government to visit West
Germany or West Berlin could not bring out any Non-East German Marks so the
West German Government created the Begrüßungsgeld (Welcome Money) Program in which from 1970 until December 1989.
Initially
every East German was given 30 West German Marks twice a year.
In
1988 it was changed to 100 West German Marks a year.
From
1970-1988 260 Million West German Marks were paid to visiting East Germans.
From
November to December 1989 4 Billion West German Marks were paid to visiting
East Germans.
West
Germans entering East Germany had to exchange a Minimum of 25 West German Marks
into the worthless East German Marks per day they stayed.
They
weren’t allowed to exchange the East German Marks back into West German Marks
when they left East Germany.
There
were 9 Border Crossings between East and West Berlin.
These
allowed visits by West Berliners, other West Germans, Western Foreigners and
Allied Personnel into East Berlin, as well as visits by East German Citizens
and Citizens of other Communist Countries into West Berlin, provided that they
held the necessary permits.
The
most famous was Checkpoint Charlie), which was restricted to Allied Personnel
and Foreigners.
Another
way to officially leave East Germany was to be “bought” by the West German
Government.
This
was called the Freikauf (literally the Buying of Freedom.)
Between
1964 and 1989, 33,755 East German Political Prisoners were ransomed.
A further 2,087 East German Prisoners were
released to the West under an amnesty in 1972.
Another
215,000 East Germans including 2,000 Children cut off from their Parents, were
allowed to leave East Germany to rejoin their Families.
In exchange, West Germany paid over 3.4 Billion
DM – nearly $2.3 billion at 1990 prices – in goods and Hard Currency to the
broke East German Communist Government.
West
Germany paid 1,875 DM for an East German Worker and 11,250 DM for an East German Doctor.
On
November 9, 1989 an unplanned announcement at an East Berlin Conference live on
East German Television said that East Germans could immediately travel freely
into West Berlin with no restrictions.
Thousands
of East Berliners went to the Border Checkpoints where the East German Border
Guards had not received any orders (except to shot to kill.)
Eventually,
the East German Border Guards opened the Borders and the East Berliners fled
into West Berlin.
East
Germans started going into West Germany through the Inner-German Border in
November 1989 too.
1
Million East Germans went into West Berlin or West Germany in the first few
days after November 9, 1989
On
December 24, 1989 West Berliners and West Germans were officially allowed, by
the East German Government, to visit East Germany without needing a Visa first.
On
July 1, 1990 East Germany officially stopped using the East German Mark and
started using the West German Mark.
All
Border Controls between East Berlin and West Berlin and East Germany and West
Germany ended that day too.
East
Berlin and East Germany ceased to exist on October 3, 1990 when they became part
of West Germany (the Federal Republic of Germany.)
