36: Reunification

Today is German Unity Day (German: Tag der Deutschen Einheit.)

It remembers when West Germany united with East Germany in October 1990 – when Communism collapsed in the East.

After Nazi Germany was defeated in May 1945 Germany was split into 4 Occupation Zones (French, British, Soviet and American.)

Berlin, located 100 miles inside the Soviet Occupation Zone, was also split between the French, British, Soviet and Americans.

In 1949 the western French, British and American Occupation Zones joined together to become the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland)  - it was also known as West Germany.

Its Capital was Bonn.

In 1949 the eastern Soviet Occupation Zone of Soviet became the Democratic Republic of Germany (German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik)  - it was also known as East Germany.

Its Capital was East Berlin.

West Germany was a Democracy while East Germany was a Communist Dictatorship.

West Germany joined NATO in 1955 while East Germany joined the Warsaw Pact in 1955.

West Germany used the West German Mark (German: Deutsche Mark) – which was Internationally Traded - while East Germany used the East German Mark (German: Mark der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik) from 1951-July 1990 – which wasn’t Internationally Traded -  and then the West German Mark from July 1990-October 1990.

East Germany closed travel between East Germany and West Germany from 1945-1990 with the Inner-German Border (German: innerdeutsche Grenze) and between East Berlin and West Berlin from 1961-1990 with the Berlin Wall (German: Berliner Mauer) and killed or arrested any East Germans trying to flee to freedom.

German Reunification (German: Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) began when the Berlin Wall was unexpected opened (on November 9, 1989) to East German Citizens for the first time in 28 years.

The first Free Elections in East Germany (since before the Nazis took power in 1933 or the Communists took power in 1945) occurred in March 1990 and resulted in Pro-Unification Parties gaining power over the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (German: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands) Communist Party that had been the only allowed Political Party since 1945.

East Germany, which had always been a poor Communist Country full of Rationing and Shortages of Basic Things entered into a Monterrey Union with West Germany in July 1990 to use the stable West German Mark.

East Germany withdrew from the Warsaw Pact in 1990.

East Germany dissolved itself and merged with West Germany on October 3, 1990 under the Declaration of Accession (German: Beitrittserklärung) and the Reunification Treaty (German: Wiedervereinigungsvertrag) between East Germany and West Germany.

East Berlin joined with West Berlin and became Berlin  - the Capital of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Large Construction Projects were made to bring the Former East Berlin and the Former West Berlin into a Unified City and Capital for the first time in 45 years.

The Former East German Federal States also merged with the West German Federal States.

The current Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is not a Successor State of West Germany, but is a continuation of West Germany founded in 1949.

A Reunited Germany continued West Germany’s Seats in the United Nations, NATO,

The Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany (German: Vertrag über die abschließende Regelung in Bezug auf Deutschland) was signed by the French, the British, the Soviets and the Americans in September 1990 in which each Occupation Force gave up all control over every part of Germany - East Germany and West Germany – back to the German People.

The British, French and Soviets did not initially want to allow for German Reunification, but America worked with each Country and West Germany to get the required approval.

There was little to no Lustration in Reunited Germany after 1990.

Most of the Communist Leaders, Stassi Officers, East German Border Guards, etc.were allowed to either continue in their previous Jobs or were not brought to justice for their Crimes (just like West Germany did with its Nazis from 1949-1990.)

After Reunification eastern Germany faced a Brain Drain with Former East German Doctors, teachers, Highly Skilled Workers and the Young moving to western Germany leaving eastern Germany with High Unemployment and a Lack of Skilled Professions.

The Last Russian Troops left Reunited Germany on August 31, 1994 (after 49 years of Occupation.)

Even after 36 years of German Reunification there is still a distinct difference between weatern and eastern Germany.

It is often referred to as the "Wall in the Head" (German: Mauer im Kopf.)

Ossis (Easterners) are stereotyped as Racist, Poor, and largely influenced by Russian Culture, while Wessis (Westerners) are usually considered Snobbish, Dishonest, Wealthy, and Selfish.

The Reunited German Government spent a total of $2 Trillion US Dollars ($24 Trillion US Dollars in 2026) to bring the Standard of Living of eastern Germany to that of western Germany.

Most of the money came from the Solidarity Surcharge (German:  Solidaritätszuschlag) that was paid by western Germans to support eastern Germans.

Even after 35 years of Reunification there is Ostalgie (Nostalgia for East Germany) by Former East Germans who want the Old Products, TV Shows, Music and Dictatorial Structure that they had in Communist East Germany.

In 2025 40% of Former East Germans continue to identify as East Germans instead of just Germans.

Unity Day

 

Old Tactics

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

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.

Welland Canal

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.)

35: Simpsons

 

Even "The Simpsons" support Ukraine on Ukrainian Independence Day today.

Diane Mumpher Klutz

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: Monument

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.

35: DC

 

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.

35: Canada First

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: Baltic Way

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

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.

Russian Rape

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.

60: Battle Of Long Dan

 

(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

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: Schuman

 

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: Fronts

 81: All Fronts

2026 is the 81^st 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.)