Germany

  • First and Last

    So following on from my article on the Armistice, what led to it and how it came about, I now want to focus on the impact the procedure and its application had on the men on the ground. As we have seen, the German forces were already in a state of confusion; their efforts were failing and they were losing ground fast. The American belligerent forces had joined the war effort on the side of the Allied Powers early in 1917 during the Spring Offensive, at a time when the Entente were still counting the cost of the futile Somme offensive of 1916. Germany had hoped to follow up the…

  • Peace Treaties

    In honour of Armistice, today I am writing about an important part of the Great War…. The Road to the Armistice, The reason why this topic is often considered reactionary is that although the Armistice was a pre-arranged agreement, first approached at the beginning of 1918 with President Woodrow Wilson’s “Fourteen Points” for achieving peace in Europe, it did nothing to prevent further casualties as the conflict continued until after the Politicians and the Leaders had finished hashing out their terms and conditions, and a Treaty was signed. During this period of negotiation, tens of thousands of the world’s young men continued to be slaughtered. The contents of the final…

  • Nazi Gold Train – Fact or Fiction?

    It’s well known that during WWII, agents from the Third Reich acting on behalf of the ruling Nazi Party of Germany plundered many cities. Most notably by military units known as the Kunstschutz. In addition to gold, silver and currency, cultural items of great significance were stolen, including paintings, ceramics, books, and religious treasures. Most of these items were recovered by agents of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program (MFAA)(Monuments Men), on behalf of the Allies. Thousands of items remain missing. One of the most popular legends where the treasures ended up are The Nazi Gold Trains. If the legends are true, it would be one of the greatest…

  • Witch Superstitions

    Since the beginning of time, humanity has feared what is different.  Certain people were called out as having “powers”.  Some of these were “cunning folk” who used herbs to heal the ailments of people against the advice of learned doctors.  Some were people who just didn’t fit the mold of normalcy- eyes too bright, too outspoken, too bright.  These were all labeled as “witch” and in the hysteria of the medieval times were sacrificed for the supposed good of the community.  However, what exactly labeled one as a witch?  And no Virginia, it is not someone who is made of wood and weighs the same as a duck (if you…

  • Ramstein

    We’ve all heard of the German Heavy Metal band Rammstein, I’m sure. Their famous offerings including ‘Ich Will’, ‘Feuer Frei’ and ‘Sonne’. But there’s a story behind their name, and that story is the Ramstein Airshow Disaster. The band initially named Rammstein-Flugschau (Ramstein Airshow- the extra ‘m’ was a spelling mistake which they kept) have since stepped away from the association, claiming the name came from the “ramming stone” of the same name – a large stone doorstop affair found on old gates but the initial addition of the ‘flugschau’ berates that story. But that’s not really the topic for today. In the Summer of 1988, my friends and I…