N1104 In the final weeks of World War II, as Germany collapsed and surrendering troops filled the roads, one man disappeared without a trace. His name was Hans Kammler, an SS engineer who had built some of the Reich's most secret weapons. Some said he took his own life. Others swore he was captured by the … Read more
Le bouchon de champagne sauta et tout le monde applaudit. Enfin, presque tout le monde. Je me tenais dans un coin du salon de mes parents, un verre de vin pétillant à la main que je n’avais même pas demandé, regardant ma petite sœur Maya savourer la gloire d’être l’héroïne de la famille. “À Maya,” … Read more
Wilhelm Keitel was the eldest son of landowner Carl Keitel and his wife Apollonia. He was born on September 22, 1882, in Helmscherode, then part of the German Empire. Young Wilhelm spent his childhood on the family estate. In 1889, when he was six years old, his mother died of childbed fever after the birth … Read more
J’ai pris le carton avec mon nom et je suis sortie. La salle continuait de bourdonner derrière moi, les verres, les rires, les serveurs qui passaient avec des plateaux. Personne ne m’a arrêtée. Personne n’a appelé mon nom. J’ai marché jusqu’à ma voiture, je me suis assise sur le siège conducteur, et j’ai posé les … Read more
Wilhelm Ruppert was born on February 2, 1905, in Frankental, then part of the German Empire. He was married, had one child, and worked as an electrical engineer. His path to becoming a perpetrator of Nazi atrocities began amid the economic collapse of the Great Depression, which started in 1929. Widespread unemployment, poverty, and rising … Read more
La réunion de famille était prévue pour le 2 janvier. Ma mère n’avait même pas attendu la fin des célébrations du Nouvel An pour nous convoquer tous à la maison, comme si nous étions des adolescents rentrés après le couvre-feu. J’étais assise dans le salon où j’avais grandi, à regarder maman faire les cent pas … Read more
When Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933, the Nazi regime moved quickly to strip civil and human rights from Jews and others deemed enemies of the state. It also opened the first concentration camp, Dachau, near Munich. Among those arrested were not only Jews and political prisoners but also thousands … Read more
When Germany surrendered in May 1945, the Luftwaffe collapsed almost overnight. Thousands of German aircraft were left abandoned on airfields stretching from Norway to Austria. Some stood intact, while others had been stripped for parts or damaged by bombing. Fuel shortages, scattered command structures, and destroyed infrastructure had already grounded many units for weeks. By … Read more
Erano passati tre anni da quando mio marito era morto, ma quel dolore non era diventato più leggero, solo diverso. Più sordo. Un peso costante che portavo ogni giorno cercando di non affondare, soprattutto per mia figlia di cinque anni. L’ultima cosa che volevo fare quel sabato, il terzo anniversario della sua scomparsa, era vestirmi … Read more
On March 15, 1939, six months after the annexation of the Sudetenland, Nazi Germany invaded and occupied the Czech provinces of Bohemia and Moravia in violation of the Munich Agreement. Adolf Hitler arrived in Prague, and on March 16 he established the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia by proclamation from Prague Castle. Konstantin von Neurath, … Read more