Maricarmen

From the BBC:

“Dramatic eviction of woman aged 87 highlights Spain's housing shortage”

The dramatic eviction of an 87-year-old woman from the home in Madrid where she lived for seven decades has drawn attention to the depth of Spain's housing crisis. The tenant of the flat in the Retiro area of central Madrid, Maricarmen, was unable to pay the rent set by the investment firm that owns it. Maricarmen's father first rented the property in 1956 and she continued as the tenant after her parents died, during which time there was a cap on the rent.

However, the company that bought the property in 2018, Urbagestión, cited a legal glitch allowing it to raise her rent from €500 (£428; $572) to €2,650. It subsequently lowered the new rent to €1,650 but Maricarmen was still unable to pay it with her monthly pension of €1,350. Three previous attempts to evict her were blocked by the courts and the case has received increasing media attention.

Supporters of Maricarmen camped outside the building on Tuesday night, joined by celebrities including Javier Bardem's brother, Carlos, and the singer Ana Belén, who read out the poem Desahucio (Eviction) by Rafael Alberti. Several hundred people, mostly youngsters, had gathered by the morning in a bid to prevent the eviction from taking place, chanting "Maricarmen stays". Some activists blocked the stairs inside the building.

In a video posted on social media, a tearful Maricarmen thanked those who had come out to support her against "this cruel struggle by someone who wants to earn money". Police cordoned off a section of the street and removed people from the entrance to the building, including members of the media, striking some protesters with batons.

A representative of tenants' organisation Sindicato de Inquilinas shouted at the police through a megaphone: "Think for 10 seconds about Maricarmen, who could be your own grandmother.""There is a police deployment as if this were a military operation," said Beatriz Duro, Maricarmen's lawyer. "This is the fourth time [they've tried to evict her] but the first time they've come right to the door of the property. It's completely disproportionate."

In June, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights called for the pensioner's eviction to be halted and for her to be offered affordable alternative accommodation. The local government said she had declined its offer of a place in an elderly care home.The central government said Urbagestión had refused its repeated attempts to negotiate Maricarmen's situation. The BBC has attempted to contact the company.

The possibility of a last-minute reprieve for Maricarmen appeared when an anonymous donor offered to pay most of her rent. However, Urbagestión reportedly rejected the offer and the eviction went ahead. "Today is a very sad day, a very dramatic day, when it's plain to see the effects of unbridled speculation, of not wanting to control the market, of putting out the red carpet for the vultures and the speculators," said Housing Minister Teresa Rodríguez.

A shortage of available housing has been blamed for soaring rental costs in recent years, which have left millions of Spaniards struggling to find affordable homes.

In Madrid, rentals have increased by more than 100% over the last decade, according to property site Idealista, with a 10% rise over the last year. The Socialist-led government of Pedro Sánchez has frequently targeted companies whose investment pushes up housing costs. In January, the prime minister said he aimed to "protect those who are most exposed to that speculation and that greed". However, some critics of the government say it needs to work harder to build new homes, and others warn that its rhetoric discourages many owners from placing their properties on the rental market.

^ This is just plain disgusting and wrong. ^

 https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6vgy55lm8z1o

 

Helena Citronová

Helena Citronová

(Helena in her Auschwitz Prisoner’s Uniform taken by Wunsch during the War and Wunsch when he served at Auschwitz.)

Helena Citronová was born on August 22, 1922 in Humenné, Czechoslovakia (Present-Day: Humenné, Slovakia.)

Her Father was a Cantor (a Person who leads People in singing and prayers in a Synagogue.)

In March 1939 Germany invaded Czechoslovakia.

Germany split Czechoslovakia into two:

The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (in what used to be the Czech Republic) and was run by the Germans themselves.

The Slovak Republic (in what used to be Slovakia) and was run by a Catholic Priest Dictator, Jozef Tiso, who was a German Collaborator and Leader of the Slovakian Nazi Hlinka Party.

Tiso and his Hlinkas created the same Anti-Jewish Laws in Slovakia as Nazi Germany.

Starting in April 1939 Jews were forced to hand over their Land, their Businesses, the Net worth to the Hlinkas.

In 1940, Ústredňa Židov (or Jewish Centers) were created across the Slovak Republic to enforce the Hlinka’s Anti-Jewish Laws.

On September 9, 1941 the Hlinka created the “Jewish Code” based on Nazi Germany’s Nurenberg Laws and which contained 270 Anti-Jewish Articles.

All Jewish Men, Women and Children over 6 years old had to wear the Yellow Star of David, had a Curfew, could not live in certain areas, etc.

Tiso and the Hlinka made an agreement with Hitler and the Nazis to pay them 500 Reichsmarks ($4,137 in 2026 US Dollars) per Person that was deported out of the Slovak Republic and sent to Germany or any other German-Occupied Territory.

Helena was 21 years old when she arrived at the Auschwitz Death Camp in German-Occupied Poland on the first Transport from German-Occupied Slovakia on March 26, 1942.

Of the 997 Girls and Women who were sent with Helena on the First transport from the Slovak Republic to the Auschwitz Death Camp in German-Occupied Poland only 20 survived the War.

Helena was forced to work at Kanada (a Large Area of the Camp where all the belongings of those sent to Auschwitz were sorted, cleaned and then shipped to Families in Nazi Germany.)

In September 1942 Helena was forced to sing at an SS Guard’s Birthday

She sang the only German song she knew: “Liebe war es nie: ('It was never love'.)

It was Franz Wunsch’s Birthday and he noticed her singing and immediately fell in love with her.

Wunsche was a Guard at Kanada as well as at the Selections where the Men, Women and Children were selected to live as Forced Laborers or die by gas.

Wunsch started sending Helena presents and love letters.

Some time later Helena’s Sister, Roza, arrived at Auschwitz with her Husband and two Children (her 9 year old Daughter, Aviva and Infant Son.)

Helena sent Wunsch a secret letter and told him about her Sister and her Family.

Wunsch went to the Gas Chamber and removed Roza, but not her two Children who were gassed to death.

Wunsch was not able to save Helena’s Parents when they arrived and they were also gassed to death.

In January 1945, with the Soviet Red Army nearby, the Germans forced 58,000 Prisoners-  including Helena - on a Death March out of Auschwitz.

Before she left Wunsch gave her warm clothes to wear during the Death March (since it was cold and snowy.)

After the War Helena and Roza returned to Humenné which was now part of Czechoslovakia again.

In July 1945 they emigrated to the British Mandate of Palestine (Present-Day: Israel.)

The Catholic Priest Nazi Jozef Tiso was found guilty of Treason and Nazi Collaboration and hanged in 1947.

Helena married an Israel Defense Forces Soldier, David Tahori, changed her name to Zippora Tahori and had two Children.

Wunsch tracked Helena down in Israel and tried to contact her several times, but eventually gave uo and married someone else.

In 1972, Wunsch was put on Trial (in the Vienna Auschwitz Trial) for his role at Auschwitz and his Wife begged Helena to testify at his Trial.

Helena testified that she received help from Wunsch, but that she also witnesses him committing crimes on other People.

Wunsch was eventually released because the Statute of Limitations for his Crimes had expired in Austria.

In 2003 the Israeli Documentary “Love In Auschwitz” was released bringing Helena’s and Wunsch’s Story to the World.

Helena Citronová/ Zippora Tahori died on June 4, 2007 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

She was 84 years old.

Franz Wunsch died in Vienna, Austria on February 23, 2009.

In 2020, a Movie titled “Love Ot Was Not” was received about their Story.

Nicholas Winton

Nicholas Winton

(Nicholas Winton and Hansi Neumann at the Prague Airport in Czechoslovakia in January 1939 before flying to London, England and Nicholas Winton later in life.)

Nicholas Winton was born Nicolas George Wertheim on May 19, 1909 in London, the United Kingdom.

His Parents. Rudolph Wertheim and Barbara (née Wertheimer) were Jews from Germany who moved to the United Kingdom in 1907, converted to Christianity and changed their Last Name to Winton in order to integrate better into British Society.

His Mother was the Sister of the Psychiatrists Fredric Wertham and Ida Macalpine.

Nicolas was the middle of three Children.

He volunteered at the Midland Bank while taking Night Courses.

He then went to Hamburg, where he worked at the Behrens Bank and then the Wasserman Bank in Berlin.

In 1931, he moved to France and worked for the Banque Nationale de Crédit in Paris.

He also earned a Banking Qualification in France.

Nicolas then went back to London and became a Broker at the London Stock Exchange.

Right before Christmas 1938 he had planned to go on a Ski Trip to Switzerland, but instead went to Prague, Czechoslovakia (Present day: Prague, the Czech Republic) to help a Friend, Martin Blake, at the British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia.

The British Committee for Refugees from Czechoslovakia was created in September 1938 to help Refugees fleeing Nazi Germany and the Areas it Occupied like Austria (in March 1938 and the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia in October 1938.)

After Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass) in November 1938 where the Germans murdered 2,000 Jews, arrested 30,000 Jewish Men and destroyed 1,400 Synogauges and 7,000 Jewish Businesses across Germany and Austria the British House of Commons approved a Measure to allow Refugees younger than 17 years old into the United Kingdom provided they each had a Warranty of £50 (equivalent to £2,910 in 2026) and a place to stay in the UK.

Nicholas spent three weeks in Prague helping the Refugees and left in January 1939.

In March 1939 the Germans occupied all of Czechoslovakia including Prague.

Nicholas and a Group of other Hard Working British, American, Canadian and Czechoslovakian Men and Women worked to help get Jewish Boys and Girls out of Nazi Germany and German-Occupied Austria and German-Occupied Czechoslovakia.

Nicolas worked back in London to raise the Funds needed for each Child, to get each Child a place to stay and to get the British Government’s Immigration Permission for each Child.

669 Jewish Boys and Girls were able to escape the Nazis thanks to Nicolas’ help.

A last train of Children were supposed to leave Prague for the UK on September 1, 1939 but it was stopped because of Germany’s Invasion of Poland and the British declaration of War on Germany.

Of the 250 Children that were supposed to be on that train only 2 survived the Holocaust.

After War was declared Nicolas registered as a Conscientious Objector working as an Air Raid Precautions Section Worker and at a British Red Cross Ambulance Unit.

In1940 he rescinded his Conscientious Objector Status and joined the Royal Air Force.

By February 1945 he was promoted to the War Substantive Rank of Flying Officer.

In May 1954 he left the Royal Air Force with the Honorary Rank of Flight Lieutenant.

Following World War 2, Nicolas worked for the International Refugee Organization and then the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Paris.

In Paris he met  Grete Gjelstrup, a Danish Secretary.

They married in her Hometown of Vejle, Denmark on October 31, 1948.

They had 2 Sons (Nicholas Jr. and Robin) and a Daughter Barbara.)

Robin had Down’s Syndrome and instead of being sent to an Institution as was common at the time Nicholas and his Wife raised Robin at home.

Robin died of Meningitis the day before his 6^th Birthday.

In the 1983 Birthday Honours, Nicholas was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for "services to the community in Maidenhead, Berkshire,”

The World did not know about Nicholas’ work saving the 669 Children until February 1988 when he appeared on the British Television Show “That’s Life.”

He was awarded the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Fourth Class, by the Czech President Václav Havel in 1998.

In the 2003 New Year Honours, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for "services to humanity, in saving Jewish Children from Nazi-Occupied Czechoslovakia, 1938–39.”

In 2003, he also received the Pride of Britain Award for Lifetime Achievement.

In 2008 he was awarded the Cross of Merit of the Minister of Defense, Grade I by the Czech Government.

In 2009 a  statue of Nicholas was unveiled on Platform 1 of the Praha hlavní nádraží Railway Station in Prague.

In 2010, Nicholas was named a British Hero of the Holocaust by the British Government.

In 2013 he received the Wallenberg Medal.

In 2014, a book entitled “If it's Not Impossible... The Life of Sir Nicholas Winton’, written by his Daughter Barbara Winton, was published.

In October 2014, Nicholas was awarded the Order of the White Lion (Class I) by Czech President Miloš Zeman, the Czech Defense Ministry having sent a special Aircraft to bring him to Prague.

In February 2015 he was awarded the Freedom of the City of London.

Nicholas Winton died in his sleep from Cardiac Arrest on the morning of July 1, 2015 at the Wexham Park Hospital in Slough, England.

He was 106 years old.

On May 19, 2016, a Memorial Service for Nicholas was held at London's Guildhall, attended by 400 People, including 28 of those he saved, and Czech, Slovak and UK Government Representatives.

In 2024, the Movie “One Life” was made about Nicholas Winton’s saving the 669 Children.

Johnny Flynn played Young Nicholas and Anthony Hopkins played the Older Nicholas.

 

Bram Asscher

Bram Asscher

Abraham “Bram” Asscher was born on August 28, 1924 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

He was the Son of Eliazer Asscher (1878-1935) and Stephanie Fischer (1895-unknown).

He had an older Brother, Isaäc Jacques Asscher (1916), and a younger one, Jacob (Jeannot, Jean) Asscher (1925).

His Father was a Diamond Merchant and a Brother of Abraham Asscher (1880-1950), one of the two Presidents of the German-Appointed Jewish Council (Dutch: Joodse Raad and German: Judenrat) during the German Occupation of the Netherlands.

Bram’s Father died in 1945 in Paris, France.

The Germans invaded and occupied the Netherlands on May 10,1940.

The Germans forced all Jewish Children to leave Dutch Schools and were only allowed to attend a Jewish School.

Bram went to the Jewish Lyceum in Amsterdam for the 1941-1942 School Year.

It was in Class 4B2 that Bram met Margot Frank (the older Sister of Anne Frank.)

Margot had been a Student at the Jeker School in Amsterdam, but the Anti-Jewish Laws created by the Germans in the Netherlands forced her to the Jewish Lyceum.

In March 1941 Bram’s Mother married Dirk Leendert Tollenaar, a Gentile (ie. Non-Jewish.)

According to the German Anti-Jewish Laws she was now in a Mixed Marriage and had an Exemption from Deportation.

Her Children, however, were considered to be Full Jews since both their Parents were Jewish,

Bram’s Oldest Brother Jacques fled German-Occupied the Netherlands in April 1941.

He traveled by Train to Brussels, Belgium, Paris, France, then to Spain (which was Neutral during World War 2) and to Portugal (which was Neutral during World War 2) where he went to the United States (which was Neutral during World War 2 from September 1, 1939-December 8, 1941) to Canada and then arrived in Scotland, the United Kingdom in 1942 in order to fight with the Free Dutch Military against the Germans.

Together with his Brother Jacob, Bram was transported to the Westerbork Transit Camp in northern German-Occupied the Netherlands on September 29, 1943.

Bram was in the “Free’ Section of Westerbork, but met up with Margot (who was in the Punishment Section of Westerbork because she had been found in Hiding.)

Bram was allowed to write 1 Letter to his Mother every 14 days.

On August 25, 1944 Bram wrote his Mother that Margot, Anne and their Parents (who Bram’s Mother also knew) were in the Punishment Section of Westerbork.

In the Letter he wrote:

'Mama, do you know that Margot is here? That friend of Trees. You remember her, don't you? She's in the S with her Parents and Sister. Very sad!'”

Bram’s Letter is one of the few Personal Sources that refer to the Frank Family at Westerbork.

Also in his letters from Westerbork, Bram often wrote about his Fiancée Trees Lek, who was held at the Camp Vught together with her two Sisters, and her Parents, who were with him in Westerbork.

On September 3, 1944 Margot and her Family were deported on the last Cattle Car Train from Westerbork to the Auschwitz Death Camp in German-Occupied Poland.

On September 13, 1944 Bram and his Brother Jacob were deported from Westerbork to the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp in Germany.

On April 9, 1945 (9 days before Bergen-Belsen was liberated by the British) Bram and his Brother (along with 2,500 other Prisoners) were forced out of the Camp and made to walk 6 miles to the Train Station in Celle, Germany where they were put on a Train headed to the Theresienstadt Ghetto in German-Occupied Czechoslovakia.

On April 13, 1945 the Train stopped near Magdeburg, Germany and was liberated by the Allies.

After the War, he returned to the Netherlands.

Margot and Anne Frank and their Parents arrived at the Auschwitz Death Camp 3 days after their left Westerbork.

Of the 1,019 Passengers, 549—including all Children younger than 15—were sent directly to the Gas Chambers and murdered.

 The Men were separated from the Women. It was the last time Margot and Anne saw their Father.

Margot was forced to haul rocks and dig rolls of sod by day; by night, they were crammed into overcrowded barracks. Being outside all day she regularly saw People walking to their deaths in the Gas Chambers.

In October 1944 their Group was selected to leave Auschwitz and go to the Leibau Labor Camp, but Anne had contacted Scabies and so went to the Camp’s Hospital instead.

 Margot and their Mother volunteered to stay in Auschwitz to care for Anne.

On October 28, 1944, after recovering from Scabies, Anne, Margot and Mrs. Van Pels left Auschwitz and went to the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp in Germany.

Around March 1945, Anne died from Typhus at 15 years old a few days after her Sister, Margot who was 18 years old.

They were both buried in an unknown Mass Grave.

Kaliningrad

 

Kaliningrad City, Russia has been separated from the rest of Russia since the Soviet Union collapsed in December 1991 (35 years ago.)

Kaliningrad, Russia was known as Königsberg, East Prussia, Germany until 1945.

1,029,966 People live in Kaliningrad Oblast (489,359 in the City of Kaliningrad.)

 

Now Kaliningrad is surrounded by:

Poland (a NATO and European Union Member Country)

Lithuania (a NATO and European Union Member Country)

 

The Airspace needed to go from Kaliningrad, Russia to Minsk, Belarus (an ally of Russia) is blocked by:

Poland (a NATO and European Union Member Country)

Lithuania (a NATO and European Union Member Country)

Latvia (a NATO and European Union Member Country)

Estonia (a NATO and European Union Member Country)

Finland (a NATO and European Union Member Country)

Sweden (a NATO and European Union Member Country)

Not only is the Airspace closed to Kaliningrad, but also the Land and Rail Borders through Poland and Lithuania because of Russia’s War in Ukraine and Belarus’ frequent Violation of NATO and EU Airspace and Land Borders since 2021.

 

Kaliningrad City is only 290 miles from Minsk by car (2 hours by plane), but now it takes several more hours to go by plane only.

So all People, Food, etc. have to be flown in from Belarus or Russia via Russia.

 

Belarus has been ruled by the Dictator, Alexander Lukashenko since 1994 (32 years.)

Russia has been ruled by the Dictator, Vladimir Putin, since 2000 (26 years.)

Note 1: The United States closed its Embassy in Minsk, Belarus in 2022 because Belarus allowed Russia to invade Ukraine from Belarussian Territory.

There has not been an American Ambassador to Belarus since June 2022.

American Citizens are told not to travel to Belarus and Belarussian Citizens can no longer get American Visas.

Note 2: The United States closed its Consulate in Saint Petersburg, Russia in 2018, its Consulate in Vladivostok, Russia in 2020 and its Consulate in Yekaterinburg in 2021.

The US Embassy in Moscow, Russia is open, but only to help American Citizens inside Russia.

There has been no American Ambassador to Russia since June 2025.

American Citizens are told to not travel to Russia.

The US Embassy no longer gives Russian Citizens American Visas.

 

84: Wiesbaden And Frankfurt

 

84 years ago today (August 27, 1942) the Germans Rounded-Up 600 Jewish Men, Women and Children  - most of them Elderly and Sick from Wiesbaden, Germany.

(The Germans deporting the Elderly Jewish Men and Women from Wiesbaden. Germany in August 1942.)

On August 29, 1942 they were sent to Frankfurt where another 600 Jewish Men, Women and Children were added to the Round-Up.

On September 1, 1942 they left by Train for the Theresienstadt Ghetto in German-Occupied Czechoslovakia.

Later most were deported from Theresienstadt to the Auschwitz Death Camp in German-Occupied Poland.

Only 32 of the 1,200 from Wiesbaden and Frankfurt survived the War.

Jan Maletka

Jan Maletka

(Jan Maletka in 1941.)

Jan Maletka was born in 1921 in Poland.

He was from Mińsk Mazowiecki and was Roman Catholic.

He was a Railroad Worker during the German-Occupation of Poland during World War 2.

He worked at the Gravel Pit in the Village of Treblinka with his older Brother, Stanisław, and a Co-Worker, Remigiusz Pawłowicz.

The Village of Treblinka was 50 miles from Warsaw 2 miles from the Treblinka Death Camp.

At 10 am on August 20, 1942 Jan Maletka and Remigiusz Pawłowicz were working near the Train Tracks near a Cattle Car carrying Jewish Men, Women and Children from Warsaw to the Treblinka Death Camp was halted at the Station.

Jan and Remigiusz could hear the cries of the Men, Women and Children inside begging for water (it was a hot Summer day and the Germans had given them no food or water for the journey.)

Jan and Remigiusz decided to bring water to the locked Cattle Cars.

A German Guard shot and killed Jan Maletka throwing his body into one of the Cattle Cars and brought to the Death Camp.

His Supervisor asked the Germans not to burn his body, but to release it and allow it to be buried at the Parish Cemetery in Prostyń.

The Germans agreed to the request.

Jan Maletka was 21 years old and had a Fiancée.

Remigiusz Pawłowicz survived being shot by falling into a ditch.

Jan Maletka was commemorated by the Pilecki Institute under the "Called by Name" Program on November 25, 2021, in the Village of Treblinka, at the site of the Railway Station that no longer exists.

81: The End

 

81 years ago today (August 15, 1945) World War 2 ended with Victory Over Japan Day (V-J Day.)

 

75 Million Men, Women and Children died during World War 2 (1939-1945.)

55 Million of that Number were Civilians.

 

Canada:

In 1939 Canada had a Population of: 11,267,000

42,000 Canadian Soldiers died during the War.

1,600 Canadian Civilians died during the War.

53,174 Canadian Soldiers were Wounded during the War.

 

The United Kingdom:

In 1939 the United Kingdom had a Population of: 47,760,000 (not including British Colonies.)

383,700 British Soldiers died during the War.

67,200 British Civilians died during the War.

376,239 British Soldiers were Wounded during the War.

 

The United States of America:

In 1939 the United States had a Population of: 131,028,000 (not including American Territories of Alaska, Hawaii, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, etc.)

407,300  American Soldiers died during the War.

12,100 American Civilians died during the War.

671,801 American Soldiers were Wounded during the War.

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.)

 

Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall

(Berlin Wall in 1986)

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.

(East Berlin and West Berlin and East Germany and West Germany)

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.

(Building the Berlin Wall in 1961)

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 8^th 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.

(Peter Fechter)

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.

(Checkpoints between East Berlin and West Berlin)

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.

(Checkpoint Charlie in 1963)

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.

(November 1989)

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.

(Memorial of where the Berlin Wall used to be)

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.)

Off The Path

Off The Path

I have always been one who likes to travel off the beaten path.

I don’t go on Group Tours (unless they are 1 Day ones) and I don’t like travelling by myself.

I have used all sorts of different traveling methods: an Old Soviet Train with Uncomfortable Wooden Benches in Russia; Over-Crowded Ferries; a Plane that was held together with Duct Tape; High Speed Trains; a 3 Seater Arctic Hydro-Plane; Limousines; First Class Planes; Private Taxis; Public Taxis; a Private Jet; a Hired Car with a Private Driver; a Snowmobile; a Gondola in Venice; a Monorail; a Speed Boat; in a Hot Air Balloon; an Over-Crowded Plane with no Class Sections and random Animals on it (Not Service Animals); a Paddle Boat; a Helicopter;  a Bike; a Funicular in Ukraine; a Canoe and a Dog Sled.

I have stayed in all sorts of different places: in a Hostel that was a Former Jail in Canada; in the back of a Pick-Up Truck; at a 6 Star Resort; at a Haunted Motel; at a Soviet Khrushchevka in Ukraine;  at All-Inclusive Resorts; at a Hotel that was constantly bombed during the 30 years of The Troubles; in the Back Seat of my Car;  at a French Castle; at a Closed Rest Area with no Visitor’s Center during a snowstorm; in an Ice Fishing Hut; in a Wilderness Emergency Cabin; on the Beach; in a Tent; on the Bare Ground; on a Bench during the Russian Winter; in a Cave; on a Houseboat; on a Barn; in a Tree House and at an Irish Castle.

I have done many fun and exciting things: gone Sky-Diving; gone Bungee Jumping; gone Para-Gliding; jumped out of a Helicopter into the Mediterranean Sea; gone Skinny Dipping; went to the Blue Grotto in Malta; swam in the Blue Lagoon in Iceland; went to German, Croatian, French, Dutch, British and Austrian Christmas Markets; went Rock Climbing off a Scottish Castle on Loch Lomond; skied in the Austrian and German Alps; swam with Dolphins in the Bahamas; spent the night at Frankenstein’s Castle in Darmstadt, Germany; went to Raves; went to Euro Disney in Paris; went to Disney World in Florida; went to Lego Land;  went to the Cliffs of Mohr in Ireland; walked on an Alaskan Glacier; went to the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland; went to the Munich Oktoberfest; went to the Gullfoss in Iceland (where the European and Atlantic Tectonic Plates meet); went to the Gaeltacht (Irish-Speaking Area of Ireland); sat on the Throne at the Winter Palace/The Hermitage in Saint Petersburg; saw the Honours of Scotland (the Scottish Crown Jewels); saw the Crown Jewels of England; went into the World Trade Center many times over the years when my Mom worked there; went to the Pentagon several times when my Dad worked there, went to the Rosh Hanikra Caves in Israel; saw the Canadian Maple Crown; went inside Lenin’s Mausoleum on Moscow; went to Stonehenge; went to the Masada Fortress in Israel; went to Sherwood Forrest;  went to Peterhof Castle in Saint Petersburg; flew a small plane from West Germany to England; fed Shamu at Sea World in San Antonio; reenacted in a Revolutionary War Battle at Saratoga; went to the Prime Minister’s Question Time in Canada; went to the Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica; went up Magnetic Hill in Canada; took a tour of the White House; had a Colonial-Themed Meal at Colonial Williamsburg; swam in the Dead Sea; went to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem; visited the Oldest City in the World – Jericho and rode a Horse in the Rain Forrest in Costa Rica.

 I have travelled to many places most Americans haven’t: Several Hours North of the Arctic Circle in Alaska, Russia (living there 2 times and visiting there 3 times); Montenegro; Croatia; Bosnia & Herzegovina; Prince Edward Island, Canada; Cyprus; the West Bank Palestinian Territories; Iceland; West Germany; Campobello Island, Canada; Poland; the Isle of Skye, Scotland; the United Arab Emirates; Northern Ireland; Malta; Kuwait; Greece; Israel and Ukraine.

I have been very lucky and have gotten to do so many fun and interesting things in so many fun and interesting places.

I don't take any of that lightly.

For the past 17 years I have lived off-the-beaten path on my Mountain here in New England where the Arctic Circle gets more Visitors every year then we do