In 1943, the tide of World War II began to turn against Nazi Germany. Losses in North Africa and the massive defeat at Stalingrad destroyed the myth of German military invincibility and stiffened anti-Nazi resistance, even in the killing centers and concentration camps of occupied Europe. In the Treblinka death camp last commander Kurt Franz… Read more »
28 year old Vera Salvequart was born on the 26th of November 1919 in Wonotsch in Czechoslovakia and had trained as a nurse. She had also served several periods in prison for having relationships with Jewish men. She had not been an SS guard, but rather a prisoner herself in Ravensbrück. She was sent to Konzentration… Read more »
The 102nd Infantry Division, nicknamed “Special Designation” soldiers, under command of 2* Major General Frank Augustus Keating , had arrived in Gardelegen on the evening of April 14th and had accepted the surrender of the Luftwaffe air base. The German troops were most anxious to surrender to the Americans, rather than to the Russians who were only a… Read more »
Stalag Luft III was a Luftwaffe-run prisoner of war camp during World War Ii that housed captured air force servicemen. It was in the German province of Lower Silesia near the town of Sagan, 100 miles (160 km) southeast of Berlin. The site was selected because it would be difficult to escape by tunneling. For sheer planning, risk, and scale,… Read more »
Douglas Bader was born in London in 1910. Douglas won a scholarship to St Edward’s School in Oxford. Followed by a place to the RAF College in Cranwell where he captained the Rugby team and was a champion boxer. Douglas was commissioned as an officer in the Royal Air Force in 1930 but… Read more »