Soldiers view
Audie Leon Murphy was one of the most decorated World War II combat soldiers from America. He was born on June 20th, 1925 to a large family in Hunt County, Texas. Audie was awarded every U.S. military combat award available from the U.S. Army, and was decorated by France and Belgium. He served in the Mediterranean and European Theater of Operations. The Theater of Operations was a sub-area within the wars perimeters. Murphy received the Medal of Honor for his defensive actions against German troops on January 26, 1945, at the Colmar Pocket near Holtzwihr, France. He was only 19. For an hour, he stood alone on a burning tank destroyer firing a machine gun at the attacking German soldiers and tanks. Audie was then wounded and out of ammunition, Murphy climbed off the vehicle, refused medical attention, and led his men on an effective counterattack.
Murphy then received orders on June 8, 1945, to report to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, for temporary duty and reassignment. When he got there on June 13, he was one of four assigned to Fort Sam Houston Army Ground & Services Redistribution Station and sent home for 30 days, with permission to travel anywhere within the United States. While on leave, Murphy was honored with parades, banquets, and speeches. He received a Good Conduct Medal on August 21 of that same year. He was discharged with the rank of first lieutenant at a 50 percent disability classification on September 21, and transferred to the Officers' Reserve Corps. Murphy then developed insomnia and episodes of depression due to his military service. He slept with a loaded pistol under his pillow. Audie then
dealt with long-term health problems the rest of his life from the war. He died on May 28, 1971.
Murphy then received orders on June 8, 1945, to report to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, for temporary duty and reassignment. When he got there on June 13, he was one of four assigned to Fort Sam Houston Army Ground & Services Redistribution Station and sent home for 30 days, with permission to travel anywhere within the United States. While on leave, Murphy was honored with parades, banquets, and speeches. He received a Good Conduct Medal on August 21 of that same year. He was discharged with the rank of first lieutenant at a 50 percent disability classification on September 21, and transferred to the Officers' Reserve Corps. Murphy then developed insomnia and episodes of depression due to his military service. He slept with a loaded pistol under his pillow. Audie then
dealt with long-term health problems the rest of his life from the war. He died on May 28, 1971.
Charles Coward was born in 1905, his birthday is not remembered. Coward joined the Army in June 1937. He was captured in May 1940 near Calais while serving with the 8th Reserve Regimental Royal Artillery as Quartermaster Battery Sergeant Major. He managed to make two escape attempts before even reaching a prisoner of war camp, and then he made seven further escapes, on one occasion he managed to be awarded the Iron Cross while posing as a wounded soldier in a German Army field hospital. When he was a prisoner he was equally troublesome. He organized numerous acts of sabotage . Finally, in December 1943, he was transferred to Auschwitz III camp only five miles from the better-known extermination camp of Auschwitz II. Monowitz was under the direction of the industrial company IG Farben, who were building a Buna. A Buna is synthetic rubber. They were also building a liquid fuel plant there. It housed over 10,000 Jewish slave laborers, as well as POWs and forced laborers from all over occupied Europe. Coward and other British POWs were housed in sub-camp E715, administered by Stalag VIII-B. Charles Coward died in 1976 in Edmonton, London where he had lived sinc
Animals used in WWII
A pigeon flew 150 miles to deliver news of D-Day’s success during World War II. During World War II, the United Kingdom used 250,000 homing pigeons. The highest possible valor award given to a nonhuman "soldier" was given to 32 pigeons.
Dogs would be used in World War II for tracking the enemy, and for protecting it's countries troops. These dogs would be trained in the United States, and then would be sent over to war zones. They would contribute their backs to carry food, and weapons during first-hand combat.
Women in the war
Nancy Wake was born in Australia and raised in New Zealand (Women Warriors). Nancy Wake was a
journalist in New York and London and then married a wealthy Frenchman and was
living in Marseille when Germany invaded (Women Warriors). Wake immediately went to work for the
French resistance, hiding and smuggling men out of France and ferrying
contraband supplies and falsified documents (Women Warriors). She was once captured and questioned for days, but she didn't give any secrets away (Women Warriors). Wake managed to escape to Britain in 1943, and joined the Special Operations Executive (SOE), a British intelligence agency. After training with weapons and parachutes, she was airdropped back into France -as an official spy and warrior. Wake had no trouble shooting Nazis or blowing up buildings with the French guerrilla fighters known as maquis in the service of the resistance. She once killed an SS sentry with her bare hands. After the war, Nancy Wake was awarded the George Medal from the British, the Medal of Freedom from the U.S. Nancy then learned that her husband was captured and killed in 1943 because he wouldn't tell the enemy of Nancy's whereabouts (Women Warriors).
journalist in New York and London and then married a wealthy Frenchman and was
living in Marseille when Germany invaded (Women Warriors). Wake immediately went to work for the
French resistance, hiding and smuggling men out of France and ferrying
contraband supplies and falsified documents (Women Warriors). She was once captured and questioned for days, but she didn't give any secrets away (Women Warriors). Wake managed to escape to Britain in 1943, and joined the Special Operations Executive (SOE), a British intelligence agency. After training with weapons and parachutes, she was airdropped back into France -as an official spy and warrior. Wake had no trouble shooting Nazis or blowing up buildings with the French guerrilla fighters known as maquis in the service of the resistance. She once killed an SS sentry with her bare hands. After the war, Nancy Wake was awarded the George Medal from the British, the Medal of Freedom from the U.S. Nancy then learned that her husband was captured and killed in 1943 because he wouldn't tell the enemy of Nancy's whereabouts (Women Warriors).
Elsie Ott was the first woman to receive the U.S. Air Medal. Already a trained nurse, she
joined the Army Air Corps in 1941 and was sent to Karachi, India (Women Warriors). The Army Air
Corps was considering using airplanes to evacuate injured military as they
delivered fresh troops (Women Warriors). Elsie was then assigned to the first evacuation flight with
only 24 hours notice, she had never flown before (Women Warriors). On the planes she flew there was no medical equipment more in depth than just a first aid kid, which she couldn't use to aid people with diseases (Women Warriors). There was only one army medic on the plane with her to help her care for the soldiers and other people (Women Warriors). Elsie was promoted to captain in 1946 for her heroic efforts in World War II (Women Warriors).
joined the Army Air Corps in 1941 and was sent to Karachi, India (Women Warriors). The Army Air
Corps was considering using airplanes to evacuate injured military as they
delivered fresh troops (Women Warriors). Elsie was then assigned to the first evacuation flight with
only 24 hours notice, she had never flown before (Women Warriors). On the planes she flew there was no medical equipment more in depth than just a first aid kid, which she couldn't use to aid people with diseases (Women Warriors). There was only one army medic on the plane with her to help her care for the soldiers and other people (Women Warriors). Elsie was promoted to captain in 1946 for her heroic efforts in World War II (Women Warriors).
Capturing the perfect shot
Scientists
Rudolf Peierls was the son of a Jewish business man and was born in Berlin, Germany on June 5th, 1907 (Spartacus).He studied nuclear physics under Werner Heisenberg and in 1929 he conceived the theory of positive carriers to explain the thermal and electrical conductiveness of semi-conductors (Spartacus). In 1940 Peierls and Frisch wrote a paper that explained how a uranium fission bomb could become a weapon that could win the Second World War (Spartacus). In 1943 Peierls joined the Manhattan Project (Spartacus). Over the next two years Rudolf worked with Robert Oppenheimer, Edward Teller, Otto Frisch, Felix Bloch, Enrico Fermi, David Bohm, James Chadwick, James Franck, Emilio Segre, Eugene Wigner, Leo Szilard and Klaus Fuchs in developing the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Spartacus). Rudolf Peierls died on September 19th, 1995 (Spartacus).
Glen Seaborg was born in Ishpeming, Michigan on 19th April, 1912. His family were poor and he had to work his way through college as a stevedore, fruit-packer and laboratory assistant (Spartacus).After graduating from the University of California in 1934, Seaborg completed his Ph.D. at Berkeley. During the Second World War Seaborg worked at the University of Chicago's Metallurgical Laboratory, where he helped to develop plutonium in uranium reactors (Spartacus). In 1946 Seaborg was appointed as professor of chemistry at the University of California and five years later was awarded the Nobel prize for his discovery of plutonium (Spartacus). Seaborg returned to the University of California in 1971 (Spartacus).
Henry Tizard was born in 1885. He went to school at Westminster School and Magdalen College, Oxford, he served in the Royal Air Force in the First World War and in 1918 became assistant comptroller of aeronautical research (Spartacus). In 1933 Tizard was appointed as chairman of the Aeronautical Research Committee and stayed in that position for most of World War II (Spartacus). After the war Tizard served as chairman of the Defense Research Policy Committee and president of the British Association (Spartacus). Henry Tizard died in 1959 (Spartacus).
Resistant Members
French
Resistance leader Emmanuel d'Astier de la Vigerie observed, that the Résistance had been composed of social outcasts or those on the edges of society, saying "one could be a resister only if one was maladjusted." Although many, including d'Astier himself, did fit this description, most members of the Résistance came from traditional backgrounds. They were "individuals of exceptional strong-mindedness, ready to break with family and friends" in order to serve a higher purpose.
Berty Albrecht: Conscious of the reality of Nazism and hostile towards the Munich Accords, she founded a welcome center for
German refugees. There, she met Captain Henri Frenay, and participated in all of his Resistance initiatives, despite their political differences. Albrecht was close to the Communists. Together with Frenay, they successively produced three journals: “Bulletins d’informations et de propagande” (Information and Propaganda Bulletins), “Les Petites Ailes” (Little Wings) and the “Vérités” (Truths), before becoming directors of the “Combat” network. She was captured and released once by the French police, she was arrested in 1943 by the Gestapo and transferred to Fresnes Prison, where she was tortured. She then committed suicide by hanging herself. After the war, her body was buried in the crypt of the French Resistance members in Fort Mont-Valérien (List of People Involved).
Donald Caskie: Donald Currie Caskie was a minister in the Church of Scotland, best known for his exploits in France during World War II. During World War II he helped an estimated 2,000 Allied sailors, soldiers and airmen to escape from occupied France. Mainly through Spain. (List of People Involved).
Cristino Garcia: After The Spanish Civil War, he escaped to France where he was part of the French Resistance as a member of the Agrupación de Guerrilleros Españoles (List of People Involved). Highly successful in fighting the German occupiers. He took part in the battle of Madeleine and in the attack of the prison in Nîmes (List of People Involved). At the end of the War, he returned to Spain to work with Resistance groups to get rid of the dictator, Francisco Franco. Captured on October 15, 1945, he was tortured and was executed on February 21, 1946 (List of People Involved).
German refugees. There, she met Captain Henri Frenay, and participated in all of his Resistance initiatives, despite their political differences. Albrecht was close to the Communists. Together with Frenay, they successively produced three journals: “Bulletins d’informations et de propagande” (Information and Propaganda Bulletins), “Les Petites Ailes” (Little Wings) and the “Vérités” (Truths), before becoming directors of the “Combat” network. She was captured and released once by the French police, she was arrested in 1943 by the Gestapo and transferred to Fresnes Prison, where she was tortured. She then committed suicide by hanging herself. After the war, her body was buried in the crypt of the French Resistance members in Fort Mont-Valérien (List of People Involved).
Donald Caskie: Donald Currie Caskie was a minister in the Church of Scotland, best known for his exploits in France during World War II. During World War II he helped an estimated 2,000 Allied sailors, soldiers and airmen to escape from occupied France. Mainly through Spain. (List of People Involved).
Cristino Garcia: After The Spanish Civil War, he escaped to France where he was part of the French Resistance as a member of the Agrupación de Guerrilleros Españoles (List of People Involved). Highly successful in fighting the German occupiers. He took part in the battle of Madeleine and in the attack of the prison in Nîmes (List of People Involved). At the end of the War, he returned to Spain to work with Resistance groups to get rid of the dictator, Francisco Franco. Captured on October 15, 1945, he was tortured and was executed on February 21, 1946 (List of People Involved).
Other
Although Norway did not have any major battles beyond those of the Norwegian Campaign, a number of military operations served to fight against the Nazi authorities and contribute to the larger war effort (Memorial Museum). Milorg started out as a small sabotage unit and ended up building a full military force in time for the liberation. Company Linge was a special operations unit that specialized in coastal insertions and combat (Memorial Museum). There were repeated raids in Lofoten, Måløy, and other coastal areas. Norwegian spotters aided in the destruction of numerous German warships, such as the battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz. The Norwegian resistance also smuggled people in and out of Norway during the war (Memorial Museum). They went through Sweden or by fishing boats to Shetland (Memorial Museum).
The first wider resistance movements occurred in northern Greece, where the Bulgarians annexed Greek territories (Memorial Museum). The first mass uprising occurred around the town of Drama in eastern Macedonia, in the Bulgarian occupation zone. The Bulgarian authorities had initiated large-scale Bulgarization policies, causing the Greek population's reaction (Memorial Museum). During the night of 28–29 September 1941 the people of Drama and its outskirts rose up (Memorial Museum). This badly-organized revolt was suppressed by the Bulgaria Army, which retaliated executing over three thousand people in Drama alone (Memorial Museum).
Nazis
Hanns Heinz Ewers was a German poet, philosopher, and actor. He was born on November 3, 1871 in Dusseldorf, Germany (Spartacus). During the last years of the Weimar Republic, Ewers became involved with the burgeoning Nazi Party, attracted to its Nationalism, its Nietzschean moral philosophy, and its cult worship of Teutonic culture, and he joined the NSDAP in 1931 (Spartacus). He did not agree with the party's anti-Semitism (his character Frank Braun has a Jewish mistress, Lotte Levi, who is also a patriotic German) and this plus his homosexual tendencies soon ended his popularity with the party management (Spartacus). In 1934 most of his works were banned in Germany, and his assets and property seized (Spartacus). Ewers remains out of favor in bourgeois literary circles (especially in the English-speaking world and Germany) because of his association with the Nazis. As a result, post-World War II editions of his works are often difficult to find, and earlier editions can command a premium price from collectors. He died on June 12th, 1943 (Spartacus).
Arnold Fanck was born on March 6th, 1989 (Spartacus). He was a German film director. He was most famous for launching the careers of several filmmakers during the Weimar years in Germany (Spartacus). During the National Socialist period, Fanck got in trouble with propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, since he refused to cooperate — apparently because of the necessity of joining the party. Arnold died on September 28th, 1974 (Spartacus).
Max Amann was born in Munich on November 24th, 1891 (Spartacus). Max was a German official with a very high honorary rank (Spartacus). He served as Feldwebel (equivalent to the US Army Staff Sergeant) in the Royal Bavarian 16th Infantry Regiment (Spartacus). He was actually one of very few friends of Adolf Hitler. He also lead the Nazi's publishing house. Soon after the creation of the Nazi state, Amann was named president of the Reich Media Chamber and Reich Press Leader (Spartacus). In this role, he established National Socialist control over the industry, closing down or seizing newspapers that did not fully support Hitler's regime. Amann died on March 30, 1957 (Spartacus).
Richard Baer was born on September 9th, 1911 (Spartacus). Richard was most famous and known for being the commander of the Auschwitz concentration camp from 1944 to1945 (Spartacus). Baer was the cause of thousands of Russians just the one year he was in charge of this concentration camp (Spartacus). After the war he lived in Hamburg and worked as a forestry worker. Richard died on June 17th, 1963 (Spartacus).
Women Nazis
Irma Grese was employed at Ravensburch death camp and Auschwitz death camp during her career as a German Nazi (Memorial Museum). She was the warden of the women's section at Bergen-Belson (Memorial Museum). Grese was convicted for crimes against humanity at the Belsen Trial and sentenced to death. Executed at age 22 and 67 days of age, Grese was the youngest woman to die judicially under English law in the 20th century. She was nicknamed "the Beast of Belsen", "The Beautiful Beast", "The Blonde Angel of Auschwitz" and "Die Hyäne von Auschwitz" ("The Hyena of Auschwitz") (Memorial Museum).
Maria Mandl was born on January 10th, 1912. She was known for her key role in the Holocaust as a top-ranking official at the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp where she is believed to have been directly associated in the deaths of over 500,000 female prisoners (Memorial Museum). She quickly impressed her superiors and, after she had joined the Nazi Party on April 1st, 1941, was elevated to the rank of a SS-Oberaufseherin in April 1942 (Memorial Museum). She oversaw daily roll calls, assignments for Aufseherinnen and punishments, such as beatings and floggings. Maria died on January 24th, 1948 (Memorial Museum).
War Journalists
Margaret Burke-White was the first war correspondent (Memorial Museum). She was born on June 14th, 1904 was an American photographer and documentary photographer (Memorial Museum). She is best known as the first foreign photographer permitted to take pictures of Soviet industry, the first female war correspondent and the first female photographer for Henry Luce's Life magazine, where her photograph appeared on the first cover (Memorial Museum). She died of Parkinson's disease about eighteen years after on August 27th, 1971 when she developed her first symptoms (Memorial Museum).
Alexander Clifford was a British journalist and author (Memorial Museum). He was born in 1909. Clifford was the war correspondent for the Daily Mail. Clifford died in 1952 and is buried on the headland near Portofino, Italy (Memorial Museum).