N1104 Gustav Willhaus was born on September 2, 1910, in Forbach, then part of the German Empire. He came from a Protestant family and, after completing elementary school, trained as a construction mechanic. From 1924 to 1928, Willhaus was a member of the SA, the Nazi paramilitary force also known as the Stormtroopers or Brownshirts. He … Read more
When German forces launched Operation Barbarossa on June 22, 1941, the invasion of the Soviet Union opened a new and brutal phase of the Second World War. Armies advanced rapidly across vast territories, and cities fell within days. Behind the front lines followed a system of terror aimed not only at defeating an enemy but … Read more
Un anno dopo l’inizio del mio matrimonio, tutto sembrava finalmente stabile. Ma poi un fulmine ha colpito la mia vita altrimenti tranquilla. Mio marito Merrick mi disse, con un tono che non gli avevo mai sentito prima, che avrei dovuto occuparmi di mio suocero. Costretto a letto a causa di un grave incidente. Tutto qui. … Read more
High above the Lungau valley floor, the tower of Mauterndorf Castle rises 44 meters into the Alpine air. From the watch platform, visitors can see the Radstädter Tauern pass to the north and the first slopes of the Hohe Tauern to the south. On a clear midday, the panorama stretches across roughly 60 kilometers of … Read more
When Nazi Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, it ignited the Second World War and imposed a brutal occupation regime. In the weeks and months that followed, German special units, police, and military forces targeted thousands of Polish civilians, while millions more faced persecution, forced labor, deportation, and death. By 1942, the Nazi regime … Read more
At 22 years old, Irma Grese stood in a German execution chamber and spoke a single word: "Schnell" — quickly. The executioner placed a white hood over her head. The drop fell. After 20 minutes, her body was taken down and placed in a coffin. Eight months earlier, she had been overseeing as many as … Read more
La sala da ballo si era zittita nel giro di un secondo. Non servirono colpi di gola né richiami del cerimoniere: bastò il rumore del mio palmo contro la sua guancia. Un suono secco, pulito, che rimbalzò tra i lampadari e morì nel silenzio. Rimasi immobile, il palmo ancora caldo per l’impatto, mentre Michael portava … Read more
La prima volta che sentii la voce di mia madre al telefono, quella mattina, capii che qualcosa non tornava. Non c’era stato un litigio, non c’era stato un avviso, solo quella frase secca, quasi allegra: “Tuo padre dice che dovremmo prendere la stanza al piano di sopra, quella con vista sul mare. ” Rimasi in … Read more
On April 30, 1945, Berlin was no longer the capital of an empire. It was a city being crushed from above and below, and in every street in between. Soviet artillery shook the ground. Tank shells tore through ruined streets. And beneath the city, inside the leader's bunker, Adolf Hitler listened as the world he … Read more
Quella mattina di Natale avrebbe dovuto essere calda, piena di gioia, con il profumo di pino e cannella, il rumore della carta strappata e le risate dei bambini. Ma a casa dei miei genitori non si parlava mai di famiglia, si trattava di potere. Avevo venticinque anni, stavo in piedi nell’angolo del soggiorno con i … Read more