Ostensibly exploring the practice of law before the internet. Heck, before good highways for that matter.
Monday, March 4, 2024
Friday, February 2, 2024
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Thursday, September 28, 2023
Tuesday, September 28, 1943. George Ferdinand Duckwitz. Sometimes it takes only one righteous man.
German diplomat George Ferdinand Duckwitz warned the Danish resistance that Berlin had ordered Danish Jews to be deported starting on October 1. The information allowed the Danish resistance to help 8,000 Danish Jews, nearly the entire Danish population of the country, to leave the country, 7,200 of whom were taken by Danish fishermen to Sweden.
Duckwitz was a career German diplomat and remained in West Germany's service after the war, first as ambassador to Denmark and later to India. He became Secretary of State in the Foreign Office in 1966. Israel accorded him the honor of Righteous Among the Nations in 1971. He died in 1973 at age 68.
Luxembourg was declared "cleansed of Jew" by the Germans after the deportation of its remaining 674 Jewish residents.
The British 10th Corps, an element of the U.S. 5th Army, broke into the Plain of Naples at Nocera. The U.S. 6th Corps advanced towards Avelino.
Monday, September 18, 2023
Tuesday, September 18, 1973. The United Nations and the two Germanys.
The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic were admitted to the United Nations.
King Hussein issued a general amnesty for Palestinian terrorists held by Jordan.
Sunday, September 17, 2023
Friday, September 17, 1943. Breaking out.
The 5th Army, after having struggled to retain a beachhead at Salerno, began to advance out of it.
Some members of the 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian) rebelled in Villefranche-de-Rouergue. The rebellion failed as most of its members did not join the uprising and it was subsequently put down, resulting in the deaths of 150 rebels and the capture and eventual execution of the revolt's leaders.
In Yugoslavia, A British liaison team arrived to meet with Tito.
German Army General Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach, a prisoner of the Soviets, and head of the Bund Deutscher Offiziere, the League of German Officers, that was formed from German officer POWsproposed a German unit within the Red Army to include over 30,000 men. The proposal was never taken seriously, and in fact was wildly optimistic. The Soviets mostly used the offer for propaganda purposes.
Changing sides after his capture at Stalingrad, Seydlitz-Kurzbach was nonetheless tried by the Soviets for war crimes in 1950, having already naturally been tried in abstentia by the Germans during the war. He was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment, but in 1955 he was released to West Germany, where he was a pariah to his former colleagues. The Bundeswehr refused to restore his rank for retirement and also refused to grant him a pension. He died in 1976 at age 87.
Saturday, May 13, 2023
Saturday, May 13, 1943. The Germans lay down their arms in North Africa (after having sustained greater losses than they did at Stalingrad), Postwar careers of the Wehrmacht, Mary Wells born.
Today In Wyoming's History: May 13: 1943 A measles epidemic was raging in the state. As everyone in my family has the stomach flu today, I can sympathize with epidemics. Attribution: Wyoming State Historical Society.
Thursday, May 11, 2023
Friday, May 11, 1973. Charges dropped, sovereignty recognized.
Espionage charges against Daniel Ellsberg were dropped due to prosecutorial misconduct.
Ellsberg is still alive, but suffering terminal pancreatic cancer. He's 92 years old.
The Federal Republic of Germany ratified the Grundiagenvertrag treat with the German Democratic Republic, in which both countries recognized the sovereignty of the other. The Bundestag also voted to join the United Nations, accepting the condition that East Germany also be allowed to join.
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Sunday, March 21, 1943. A second assassination attempt.
Hard on the heels of a plot to kill Adolph Hitler by blowing his airplane out of the sky with explosives contained in a bottle of alcohol, Generalmajor Rudolf Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff attempted to kill him by detonating a time fused bomb on his person while escorting Hitler through an exhibition of Soviet war materials as the Zeughaus in Berlin. A detailed coup d'état was to follow the assassination.
It was expected that the tour would take thirty minutes, and Gersdorff set the fuse ten minutes prior to Hitler's arrival. Hitler rushed through the exhibit in two minutes, and Gersdorff defused the bomb in a restroom.
Gersdorff was, amazingly, never mentioned by the July 20 conspirators, even though he had participated in the plot. He therefore survived the war. His role becoming known post-war, he was denied admission to the Bundesherr and therefore devoted the remainder of his life to charitable causes, dying in 1980 at age 74. He was a paraplegic the last twelve years of his life due to a riding accident.
Sarah Sundin reports, in her blog:
Today in World War II History—March 21, 1943: Cornelia Fort becomes first WAFS member (precursor of the WASPs) to be killed, in a midair collision while ferrying a BT-13 in Texas.
She also notes that on this day the Rangers took Gafsa and New Zealanders bypassed the bypass the Mareth Line
Sunday, January 29, 2023
Heidi Brühl 1966 - Hundert Mann und ein Befehl
Wednesday, December 21, 2022
Thursday, December 21, 1972. Things German.
The Gurndlagenvertrag between the two Germany's was entered into, paving the way for wider recognition of both states by other nations.
It provided:
The High Contracting Parties,
Conscious of their responsibility for the preservation of peace,
Anxious to render a contribution to détente and security in Europe.
Aware that the inviolability of frontiers and respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all States in Europe within their present frontiers are a basic condition for peace,
Recognizing that therefore the two German States have to refrain from the threat or use of force in their relations,
Proceeding from the historical facts and without prejudice to the different view of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic on fundamental questions, including the national question,
Desirous to create the conditions for cooperation between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic for the benefit of the people in the two German States,
Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic shall develop normal, good-neighbourly relations with each other on the basis of equal rights
Article 2
The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic will be guided by the aims and principles laid down in the United Nations Charter, especially those of the sovereign equality of all States, respect for their independence, autonomy and territorial integrity, the right of self-determination, the protection of human rights, and non-discrimination.
Article 3
In conformity with the United Nations Charter, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic shall settle any disputes between them exclusively by peaceful means and refrain from the threat or use of force.
They reaffirm the inviolability now and in the future of the frontier existing between them and undertake fully to respect each other's territorial integrity.
Article 4
The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic proceed on the assumption that neither of the two States can represent the other in the international sphere or act on its behalf.
Article 5
The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic shall promote peaceful relations between the European States and contribute to security and cooperation in Europe.
They shall support efforts to reduce forces and arms in Europe without allowing disadvantages to arise for the security of those concerned.
The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic shall support, with the aim of general and complete disarmament under effective international control, efforts serving international security to achieve armaments limitation and disarmament, especially with regard to nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.
Article 6
The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic proceed on the principle that the sovereign jurisdiction of each of the two States is confined to its own territory. They respect each other's independence and autonomy in their internal and external affairs.
Article 7
The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic declare their readiness to regulate practical and humanitarian questions in the process of the normalization of their relations. They shall conclude agreements with a view to developing and promoting on the basis of the present Treaty and for their mutual benefit cooperation in the fields of economics, science and technology, transport, judicial relations, posts and telecommunications, health, culture, sport, environmental protection, and in other fields. The details have been agreed in the Supplementary Protocol.
Article 8
The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic shall exchange Permanent Missions. They shall be established at the respective Government's seat.
Practical questions relating to the establishment of the Missions shall be dealt with separately.
Article 9
The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic agree that the present Treaty shall not affect the bilateral and multilateral international treaties and agreements already concluded by them or relating to them.
[ . . . ]
The Federal Republic of Germany states for the record:
"Questions of national citizenship [Staatsangehörigkeitsfragen] are not regulated by the Treaty."
The German Democratic Republic states for the record:
"The German Democratic Republic proceeds from the assumption that the Treaty will facilitate a regulation of questions of national citizenship [Staatsangehörigkeitsfragen]."
[ . . . ]
The Federal Minister Without Portfolio in the Office of the Federal Chancellor
Bonn, December 21, 1972
To the
State Secretary of the Council of Ministers
of the German Democratic Republic
Dr. Michael Kohl
Berlin
Dear Herr Kohl,
In connection with today's signing of the Treaty concerning the Basis of Relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany has the honor to state that this Treaty does not conflict with the political aim of the Federal Republic of Germany to work for a state of peace in Europe in which the German nation will regain its unity through free self-determination.
Very respectfully yours,
Bahr
English translation: The Bulletin, vol. 20, n. 38. Published by the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government (Bundespresseamt), Bonn. © Press and Information Office of the Federal Government (Bundespresseamt). Posted here for commentary.
The West Germans always hoped for reunification of the country, and the treaty was seen as advancing that goal. In that, they proved to be correct.
Oddly enough, Paul Hausser, General of the Waffen SS, died on this day, perhaps putting some sort of weird point to events. He was 92 years old.
Hausser has served in the Imperial German Army during World War One, the Reichswehr after that, retiring in 1932 and joined the SS in 1934. During the Nuernberg trials he claimed that the Waffen SS was purely military, and he was one of the founders of the myth that the Waffen SS were soldiers like any others. He worked for the U.S. Army Historical Division after the war, at first as a POW and then later an employee. In 1950, he was active in the Hilfsgemeinschaft auf Gegenseitigkeit der Angehörigen der ehemaligen Waffen-SS ('Mutual aid association of former Waffen-SS members') which sought to rehabilitate the reputation of the Waffen SS.
Sunday, September 4, 2022
Movies In History: Kleo
Kleo is a new, just released, German Netflix series. I literally stumbled on it, as I haven't watched Netflix for a while, but I was temporarily idled due to medical fun and games and there was literally nothing worth watching on regular television. I started watching it as it the summation of it on Netflix suggested it'd be the sort of movie I might like. I like spy films and mysteries, and I'm not wholly adverse to shoot 'em ups, even when, or perhaps particularly when, they're superficial.
Well, it exceeded my expectation.
Set in the 1980s, the eight part series is frankly very difficult to describe. It follows the story of East German female Stasi (East German state police) assassin Kleo Straub as she goes from being an "unofficial agent" of the Stasi whose job is killing targets they designate, to being set up and imprisoned, to being released in 1989 as East Germany begins to collapse, at which time she's dedicated to finding those who wrongly accused her and killing them.
And that's all just in the first episode.
Added to that, we have a failed West German policeman who was present in The Big Eden, a nightclub, the night that Kleo performs her last killing for the DDR, who can never get quite over it and who, upon Kleo's release, realizes that she's the woman he identified as the killer the night of the murder.
All of that doesn't do it justice, however.
The film features far more twists and turns than most spy movies, and makes the tricky loyalties in the John Wick films look like child's play. Kleo, the assassin herself, played by Jella Haase, is impossible not to like, even though she's clearly partially unhinged and trying to get through life with a badly damaged soul. Sven Petzold, the detective, is dogged in his pursuit, but he's also hapless and somewhat incompetent in his job. Indeed, as an example, it's obvious about halfway through the film that Sven at first deeply likes Kleo and then is falling in love with her even though she's so messed up that he has to at one point make her promise to quit killing people, which she does simply because he requests it, not because she has any real concept of right and wrong beyond being a dedicated Communist.
None of this, however, comes close to actually describing the plot.
In terms of its history, which is why we review certain films here, this film does a good job of capturing the atmosphere of the times in Germany and Europe. The East Germans, whom in this film are mostly those associated with the Communist government, can hardly gasp what is happening to them as their government collapses. As many of them are its agents, they're dedicated to an institution that's collapsing for the most part, while some of them are rapidly moving on into capitalism. The West Germans are pretty willing to take advantage of the situation. More than that, however, West Germany is shown to have become a multicultural post Volk society, whereas East Germany has not, something even demonstrated by the actors chosen in the film. All of the East German characters are figures that we'd recognize from classic films involving the Germans of World War Two, even though that is not what they are portraying. They're all very German (although some of the actors actually are not). The West Germans, however, appear not only more modern and 1980s "cool", but many of them are clearly not ethnically German, that most obviously being the case for West German intelligence agent Min Sun, who is played by Chinese-born, but German raised, Yun Huang.
Backgrounds are correct for the period, including the funky German techno music that plays a role in the series. Clothing is as well, with that also providing a difference between the East and the West. Firearm wise the maker was careful to equip the East Germans with Soviet type handguns, whereas the West Germans carry the iconic German PPK.
The film includes reference to actual characters from the period, and not just in the greater sense of being background for the times. The head of the East German police is a character in the film and not fictionalized as to name, for instance. Margot Honecker, Erich Honecker's third wife, shows up as a character. These insertions are done so well, that offhand references to fictional events become difficult to distinguish from ones that didn't happen, as in references to the "woman who attempted to kill Reagan" and the details of that event, which never occurred.
This being a German movie, it should be noted that there is seemingly an obligation that Haase be seen topless at some point. In this case, the nudity is basically limited to a single scene, but it's quite graphic. There must be a clause in the contracts for German actresses that they have to appear nude at some point in a film.
Anyhow, It's very well done and with watching.
As a note, this is a German language movie, but it has well done English subtitles. An option to listen to it with British English dubbing is available, but I don't care for that much personally. The subtitles are very close translations of the German, with departures due to German idioms that don't granslate perfectly.
Friday, September 2, 2022
Saturday, September 2, 1922. Anthracite Coal Strike Ends.
Country Gentleman, for its Saturday issue, ran the second part of a story that it started the week prior.
It's interesting to note, FWIW, that in depictions of rural children from this era, such as this one, they're commonly depicted sans shoes. A lot of these illustrations, while romanticized, are fairly accurate, which would suggest that farm children, at least in some parts of the country, did typically omit footwear in the summer. That certainly doesn't ever seem to have been the case here, however.
The Saturday Evening Post came out with a portrait by Charles A. MacClellan of an attractive, but very serious looking, woman which is apparently entitled "Back To School"
Judge went to press with certainty that at least beer was going to be exempted from Prohibition.
Judge was correct, of course. Not only beer, but alcohol in general, would come back starting a decade later, although not all at once with a sudden repeal of Prohibition at the national level, as so often imagined.
Interestingly, this has a modern parallel in that what had been constitutionalized, a ban on alcohol, was reversed even though not everyone was in favor of that reversal, leaving the states to sort it out, which they did, but not instantly. The Dobbs decision effectively does that with another issue.
Whether allowed or not, today, even eventually, it's not now for me, as this is colonoscopy day.
I've been dreading it and really pondering changing course. It's not so much the procedure itself, it's the medications they require the day and early morning of which cause . . well. . . diarrhea. I hate being sick, and I'm not sure if it's worth it.
Having said that, according to something I read, 1 in 23 men get colorectal cancer, which sounds like a lot. But that's 4.35%, which doesn't. In an abstract fashion, I feel that everyone ought to get this simple diagnostic tool, but I'm hypocritical enough to be reconsidering it.
Again, it's the diarrhea medication that I'm dreading at the time I type this out. I'd rather skip eating several days prior, which seems like it ought to do the same thing.
The United Mine Workers and the Policy Committee of the Anthracite Coal Operators came to an agreement for a year, which brought to an end the dangerous strike that had been going on for some time.
Friedrich Ebert, President of the German republic, declared the Deutschlandlied to be the national anthem, but only the third stanza of the song. It remains the German national anthem today, having regained that position in the Budesrepublik in 1952, again starting with the third stanza. The militant first stanza was used during the Third Reich.
Thursday, September 23, 2021
Tuesday September 23, 1941. Dive bombers sink the Murat
On this day in 1941 the Germans achieved a first that we'd no doubt normally suspect some other nation had.
The Luftwaffe sank the Soviet battleship Murat with dive bombers. Ju87s, i.e., Stukas, to be more precise.
The Murat was a dreadnought that had entered Imperial Russian service in 1915 as the Petropavlovsk. After sinking, she was partially raised and used as gun battery in the siege of Leningrad.
For what it is worth, the Murat tends to be credited as a victory to Hans-Ulrich Rudel, Germany's most decorated World War Two serviceman. Rudel, interesting, was a ground attack pilot during the war, not a fighter pilot or something that would be generally regarded as being more glamorous. His career was spectacular, but he was only one of two German pilots to hit the Murat, which went down after being hit by just two bombs.
Rudel survived the war, ending up an American POW, but in 1946 fled to Argentina. He was a Nazi and may have feared what remaining in post-war Germany meant at the time. He returned to Germany in 1953 where he was involved in neo Nazi politics, so he never reformed or excused his views.
On the same day, the US Navy launched the USS Massachusetts.