Arthur Liebehenschel was born 25-11-1901 in Posen.   He studied economics and public administration. Too young to serve in World War I, in 1919 he was in the Freikorps “Grenzschutz Ost”; he served as a sergeant major in the German Reichswehr afterwards. In 1932, he joined the Nazi Party (member number 39 254), and in 1934 was commissioned in the SS, where he served in the Totenkopfverbände …. Read more »

Hitler’s mistress from 1932 to 1945 and his wife for one day.  Like most German women, Eva Braun cared little about politics or the war.  She was involved only through her association with Hitler to whom she was completely devoted. In fact, when a significant event in the war occurred, her general response was, “How… Read more »

The Battle for Berlin all but marked the end of World War II in Europe. The Battle for Berlin, along with the Battle of Britain, the Battle of the Atlantic and D-Day, was of vital importance in the European sector. It was fought between April and May 1945, and the Russian victory saw the end of Hitler’s Third Reich and the occupation of… Read more »

In the Netherlands, Liberation Day ( Bevrijdingsdag) is celebrated each year on May the 5th to mark the end of the occupation by Nazi Germany in World War II . The nation was liberated largely by the First Canadian Army   undewr Command of Brigade General Henry Crerar,  which included in addition to Canadian forces the British I… Read more »

Early in 1944, with an Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe becoming ever more likely, Field Marschal Erwin Rommel was assigned to improve the wall’s defences.   Believing the existing coastal fortifications to be entirely inadequate, he immediately began strengthening them. Rommel’s main concern was Allied air power. He had seen it first-hand when fighting the British and Americans… Read more »

In September 1936, Lieutenant Colonel Walther Warlimont of the German General Staff arrived as the German commander and military adviser to General Bahamond Francisco Franco. The following month Warlimont suggested that a German Condor Legion should be formed to fight in the Spanish Civil War.    The Condor Legion, upon establishment, consisted of the Kampfgruppe 88,… Read more »

Finally, on June 22, 1941, Germany and its allies launched Operation Barbarossa , a massive invasion of the Soviet Union from the Baltic shore in the north to the Black Sea in the South. The Soviets were caught by surprise. (The USSR knew Germany would attack eventually and had war gamed various scenarios but did… Read more »

The Battle of Monte Cassino (also known as the Battle for Rome and the Battle for Cassino) was a costly series of four assaults by the Allies against the Winter Line in Italy held by Axes forces during the Italian Campaign of World War II. The intention was a breakthrough to Rome. At the beginning of 1944, the western half of the Winter Line was being anchored by Germans holding… Read more »

On July 8, 1940, a brand new Mercedes-Benz convertible was driven from the Daimler-Benz AG factory in Stuttgart and delivered to the Reichs Chancellery car pool in Berlin. On July 19, Hitler used the car, a 7.7 litre straight eight engine with the registration number 1A 148697 , for the first time when he was… Read more »

The meaning of the word Freikorps  changed over time. After 1918, the term was used for the paramilitary organizations that sprang up around Germany as soldiers returned in defeat from World War I. They were the key Weimar paramilitary groups active during that time. Many German veterans felt disconnected from civilian life, and joined a Free Corps in search of… Read more »