The world’s third most-wanted Nazi suspect has died before he could be brought to trial, a German court said today. Samuel Kunz, the 89-year old former Nazi death camp guard accused of participating in the murder of 430,000 Jews, died on 18 November 2010 Bonn’s state court said in a statement. Kunz was indicted on… Read more »

The Nazi rise to power brought an end to the Weimar Republic, a parliamentary democracy established in Germany after World War I. Following the appointment of Adolf Hitler as chancellor on January 30, 1933, the Nazi state (also referred to as the Third Reich) quickly became a regime in which Germans enjoyed no guaranteed basic rights. After… Read more »

Wilhelm Stemmermann, born 23 October 1888  joined the Württemberg Army on 26 June 1908 as a flag-youngster. He came to Badisches Fußartillerie-Regiment No. 14. On this he was promoted to lieutenant on 19 November 1909. As such, he was then employed as a battery officer in the Badisches Fußartillerie-Regiment No. 14.  During the First World War, he… Read more »

Hans Eppinger, born January 5th 1879, was the son of the physician Hans Eppinger senior (1846-1916), professor of pathological anatomy at Graz. He received his education in Graz and Strassburg and became doctor of medicine in Graz in 1903. He  became an assistant at the medical clinic in Graz in 1903 and in 1908 in Vienna… Read more »

Homing pigeons  have long played an important role in war. Due to their homing ability, speed, and altitude, they were often used as military messengers. Carrier pigeons of the Racing Home breed were used to carry messages in World War I and World War II and 32 such pigeons were presented with the Dickin Medal.  They… Read more »

The Dunkirk evacuation, code-named Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers  from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the north of France, between 26 May and 4 June 1940. The operation commenced after large numbers of British, French, and Belgian troops were cut off and surrounded by German troops during… Read more »

If there was ever any indication how warped the Nazi ideology was , it is probably best illustrated in the execution of Dr Sigmund Rascher. Dr Sigmund Rascher was one of the most ruthless and brutal Nazi physicians in many ways even worse then Josef Mengele the “Angel of Death”. Among the worst atrocities committed at the… Read more »

After finishing school, August Heißmeyer joined the Prussian military. In World War he was a leutnant and was decorated with, among other things, the Iron Cross , First Class. Previously married with six children in his custody, Heißmeyer  married Gertrud Scholtz-Klink – the “Reich Women’s Leader” (Reichsfrauenführerin) –   who had two previous marriages herself. After giving… Read more »

Emil Haussmann was the son of an accountant in Ravensburg. Haussmann joined the NSDAP  in January 1930 – three years before the Machtsergreifung – at the age of 19. He was a grade school teacher. In 1937, he became a full-time employee of the Sicherheitsdienst  (SD), and took over the SD Oberabschnitt  Southwest, based in the Judenreferat in Stuttgart During… Read more »

In an attempt to gain a stronger hold in the German parliament, Chancellor Adolf Hitler convinced President Paul von Hindenburg to dissolve the current parliament and call for a new election, which was to take place on 5 Mar 1933. If the Nazi Party could gain two-thirds majority in the parliament, Hitler would be able… Read more »