Today In History

I belong to these people who were born in Germany and who have to live with the "legacy" of our grandparents.

Like so many things in life, you have to consider this topic from several perspectives.
Of course, our generation has nothing to do with anything what 2 generations ago had happened.

But there is one quotation, that will always keep its significance:

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it",
George Santayana

To keep the memory what happened and to practise a tradition to commemorate the anniversaries of so many atrocities from the Nazis and also the bitterly-fought victories (primarily by the Allied troops, but also by resistance fighters) should be one of the values of our modern civilasation.
At least this is my opinion.

The role that our generation nowadays here in Germany is belonging to, is the circumstance that we have to live with a seriously damaged reputation regarding so many people in foreign countries.

I am not talking about countries (and/or governments), which could consider Germany still to be hostile or in any other way unfriendly.
That is not true (and not practised, either)...

But there are still especially older people in some countries, who still see these bad Nazi-terrorists in everything that is German. They are coined by their very bad experience, I cannot even blame them for that. It is really impossible for us nowadays, to imagine what they had to suffer once.

Another point is, that you have to consider, what originally was planned with the defeated Germany.
As a part of the original Marshall Plan , Germany never should have got the possibility again to produce any kind of millitary armament, all the industrial facilities should have been dismantled, the German population should have never got the chance to become more than farmers...

But instead, Germany actually WAS granted the chance to recover its economical strength, and this is a point the German citizens still should show their respect for.

Additionally, I for myself show my deepest respect to everyone, who was risking or even losing his life for the liberation from the Nazi Terror which was covering like a deep shadow most of Europe.

I emphasize, that my words here have no political motivation, it is just my opinion to that topic, regarding everybody who is still involved (by being a German) in this issue...

Regarding Nikita's thread, I say thank you Nikita, I completely agree with you.

On the other side, I say, all these demonstrations to commemorate the Terror of the Nazis are welcome. Because what happened, DID happen, there is no doubt. And to remind people about the terror that actually did have happened in European countries, it is a duty, that these countries should keep their efforts to remind the world about it. Even if the terrorists, who had committed all these crimes, are already dead (most of them long ago now).
No one of us today is able to imagine what this generation once had to suffer... And these countries, that were occupied by the Nazis, they were helpless victims of the unbridled holocaust.

I guess, I understand the organisers of these demonstrations.

Unfortunately it is in the nature of mankind, to forget too easily.

betteryouthanme wrote:

Nikita wrote:
They so want to apologize for what had made their grandparents

Now they definitly just want to remember about Nazis' war crimes. Maybe it's just translated wrong or words and meaning just doesn't match like so many times before.

Maybe it's that, Bytm. As i said to Morty, nazism was a crime against humanity so it belong to the whole humanity to remember it.

Well, don't know if i have to post this in History or in Make us smile, but here's the story...

August 23, 1305

William 'Braveheart' Wallace is executed in London. According to the English Wikipedia, i quote : "He was hanged, drawn and quartered — strangled by hanging but released while he was still alive, castrated, eviscerated and his bowels burnt before him, beheaded, then cut into four parts."

Nice. ( Are you sure, gentlemen, that he doesn't move anymore...? ôÔ )

Make me think about that, extract from The Visitors :



Here's the English translation of this sweet lullaby ( take away the children ) :

"And we will peel him the rush as to the bailiff of Limousin, whom we hung on a beautiful morning, whom we hung with his guts."

My conclusion : In this story, the French people have nothing to envy to the English people, unless it is the opposite...

23 August 1942, the dawn of an apocalypse:
Battle of Stalingrad

Another article


story of this photo
Barmaley Fountain









Родина-мать зовёт! Rodina-Mat' zovyot!

"Only the dead have seen the end of war", George Santayana

The descriptions vary a little bit, but between the 23.-24. August 1921 one of the largest catastrophes in the history of aviation in its time took place above the river Humber near Hull:

R38 (ZR-2) class airship



During its 4th test flight, the static structure collapsed and the whole airship broke down.
Originally, the R38 was planned regarding the Admiralty's requirement (as one of four airships) for 6 days scouting patrols.



But when the R38 was nearly finished, WW1 stopped all these plans. And if the US Navy wouldn't have bought it (renaming it ZR-2), it probably would never have been completed.



The 4th test ended into a desaster, after the structural collapse, most of the crewmen died (although parachutes were available for each) only 5 of 49 survived.



Most of them died tragically by parachuting into their landing zone which was consisting of burning petroleum.





The R38/ZR-2 was the largest airship at its time (212m long).