PartI Click to 1800-1921

  WESTERN CIVILIZATION:  ACT III

                                                         

GREATER EUROPE:  PART 2
FROM WWI TO POTSDAM

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Western Civilization - and its tantalizing thrusts of Mystery, Majesty, Malevolence, Magnificence, Dynasties, Democracies, Dictatorships - creating enigmas and questions.  Its mighty achievements and dismal failures, its frenzies for freedom and its relapses to brutal repression - form a core of Power and Progress.  And in that mix of contradictions and complexities, the portion of the world known as Western Civilization remains as a power core of the world.

SPANNING THE CENTURIES

The Civilization of this portion of the world stands on the almost incomparable poles of power and decency. And stretches to a past catalyzed in the gore and savagery of the Gladiators and the Crusaders. A civilization built with bridges of expectation and expertise to the 21 Century and blindness to and ignorance of the past. Yet always the understanding, knowledge, sensitivity of ordinary citizens striving to de-emphasize the thousands of years of human abuse. And across the centuries, the clear and consistent enabling ability of ordinary humans to seize upon those recurring moments of challenge and opportunity to exercise extraordinary compassion and courage.


                                             WESTERN CIVILIZATION:  ACT III                            

  INTER-WAR YEARS

  WWII

  HITLER'S DEATH CAMPS

  UTUBES PART II. WWI, TREATY, INTERWAR YEARS, RISE OF HITLER TO PARTS OF WWII

  <      UTUBES PART III: WWII , HOLOCAUST, AFTERMATH, COLD WAR, TO THE "FALL" OF THE SOVIET UNION

   FOR UTUBES POST WWII, GO TO END OF THIS WEB BOOK

INTERWAR YEARS
AND THE RISE OF NAZI GERMANY

History does not easily lend itself to tight, terse time and category compartments. Few events begin or developments end on the day a decade begins or ends. All time divisions and groupings are arbitrary.  This observation particularly applies to the so-call Interwar Years.  Thus I do not break this section into categories.  This listing has some chronological significance and probably would be most helpful read, surfed in the order of appearance.

THE DECADES

Interwar Years
"Some historians regard World War I as only the first part of a "European Civil War" during the first half of the 20th century while others see the world wars as two completely separate events. Either way, one cannot deny that the second war's origins were affected by the end of the first war: a resounding German defeat. Because the surrender was on the part of the government, the German soldiers didn't know their military force had been ruined and were told that they were forced to stop by liberal political forces, which began the bitter resentment towards certain people. The war ended with Germany signing five treaties with hundreds of articles, which blamed them for the entire war and gave them  punishments for their actions. In addition to substantial monetary compensation to Europe ( which was never paid for the most part), their military was reduced to a skeleton force (approximately 100,000 men in 7 infantry divisions and 3 cavalry divisions), their air force was dismantled, their frontier fortification was eradicated and their high seas fleet eliminated."  Others remind us that the destruction of Belgium and a huge portion of France was surely partly the responsibility of a new nation, Germany, which was neither invaded nor bombed during WWI.
WWII Timeline:  PBS Interactive Allmost Indispensable Site - A SPECIAL SITE
Read for 1919 to 1945.  Arranged as time lines with explanations and brief history of each major event along the way.  Excellent way to get an overview of these years.
Britannia History Focus: Disorder:  Europe in the 1920s, The Swastika and the Nazis, Era of Despair in Europe,   Precarious Peace

VERSAILLES AND THE TREATIES

The Paris Peace Conference
"In January 1919, world diplomats gathered at the famed château of Versailles near Paris to negotiate a peace treaty to end the Great War. By the time they set to work, it was clear that the pre-war map required drastic revision. The high cost of the war, both in terms of human life and money, made the work of the conference difficult, and it is not surprising that the resulting treaties have long since been the subject of contentious analysis, opinion and debate. "  A range of information and categories.
The Treaty of Versailles: Mirror of Europe's Postwar Agony
Excellent paper.  "This paper seeks to make one point: The Treaty of Versailles was in no fundamental sense a success or failure. The accord was merely another chapter in the long history of multilateral peace conferences summoned to terminate multilateral wars, a history which extends from 1648 to the annual summits of the dominant industrial powers of our day and conveys an impression of extensive efforts succeeded by major failures. The large cast and the large agenda, rather than ill will or outright incompetence, may account for the shortcomings of these grand affairs."
The Press and the Paris Peace Conference
Article.  "This paper examines how the press influenced decisions made at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. Using the sociological theory of a society shaped by the media and exploring the ways in which journalistic bias defined the events surrounding the end of the Great War, the paper concludes that newspaper accounts, and the perspectives that journalists created to support the necessity of war, helped to define the viewpoints and attitudes of American, French and British societies at the conclusion of hostilities. The presence of the press, and the secretive influence offered by the participating politicians, doomed the Conference to operate within the realm of censorship, with the resulting secret negotiations determining the context of the final peace treaties."
The Avalon Project - From Yale University - The Versailles Treaty June 28, 1919 - The Documents
 Pictures of the Documents
The Plain Truth About the Treaty :  KEY SITE
Justification from the French article. "Great and unprecedented in its scope: for the first time in history entire nations had fought. Seventy million men had been mobilized, thirty million had been wounded and nearly ten million had died. Nothing in the past could compare with it. The dead alone outnumbered all the Armies of Napoleon. Great and unprecedented in its complexity: nation having fought nation, there had been brought into play the sum total of all national forces: agricultural, industrial, commercial and financial. All these potent factors of international life had to be taken into account in making the Treaty. 
       The map of the world had to be remade, and under what conditions Germany's persistent savagery had left more ruins in the victorious countries than the invasions of the barbarians had ever made in the lands they overran and conquered. The resources of all the belligerents had been equally exhausted by the duration of the struggle, and as the damages rightly demanded by the creditors rose, the capacity for payment of the debtors fell. . . .The execution of the peace terms thus became not a matter of months but of years. It implied a lasting union of the forces which had won the war. Not the victors alone but the whole world had to be given the certainty that Germany would not repeat her offense.....
       "Thus in the very hour when every national entity wrought up by suffering and by victory aspired to the full satisfaction of their every hope, the Treaty could be but a compromise not only between conflicting claims but a compromise too between principles which are plain and facts which are complex---a compromise between glories and miseries, between memories and hopes, between strength and weakness---an average of security, of justice, and of solidarity which doubtless did not realize and could not realize complete security, full justice nor absolute solidarity but which nevertheless contained enough of security, enough of justice, enough of solidarity to make it the power towards which turn all, in their search for peace, both those who have most severely criticized it and those who have most inadequately enforced it."
League of Nations Fight
Versailles Treaty
Documents, chronology, maps and charts
WWI Casualty Lists - Awesome
Russian Revolution
Covers large area of interest, with information and analysis.

THE BITS/PIECES ABOUT THE 1930'S

Fall of the Weimar Republic Why the German Republic Fell - B y an Austrian Journalist
Das Lied Der Deutschen - Background to the controversial German anthem.
How was Hitler able to become Chancellor in January 1933? - Good Terse Summary
"Hitler's rise to power was based upon long-term factors - resentment in the German people, the weakness of the Weimar system - which he exploited through propaganda (paid for by his rich, Communist-fearing backers), the terror of his stormtroopers, and the brilliance of his speeches.  
During the 'roaring twenties' Germans ignored this vicious little man with his programme of hatred. But when the Great Depression ruined their lives, they voted for him in increasing numbers. Needing support, and thinking he could control Hitler,  President Hindenburg made the mistake in January 1933 of giving Hitler the post of Chancellor."
Reichstag Fire - Who Did It and Why.
Art of Adolf Hitler
"Before amassing his fortune with the enormous royalties from the publication of his hugely popular Mein Kampf, Hitler earned a living by using his artistic skills to produce paintings that were sold to the public or used for postcards. Hitler was a great student of the fine arts and studied music, opera, painting, sculpture, and architecture. While living in Vienna under conditions of poverty, he read voraciously and still managed to spend whatever meager income he had to attend lectures, concerts, opera, and the theater. Even when he barely had enough money to survive, he refused to compromise and always purchased the best paints, brushes, paper, and canvas. As a remarkably prolific artist, he is estimated to have created between 2000 and 3000 drawings, watercolors, and oil paintings." ALERT - this is an organization that presents a "neutral" picture of Hitler, and possibly very positive.  It should not surprise you that it contains a "fine" collection of Hitler's artistic endeavers.
Eugenics and the Third Reich
Without a doubt, the link with atrocities committed during the Third Reich is the greatest cross which contemporary eugenics has to bear. Is this this legitimate association fully or partially justified, or is it a case of guilt by association? Historical data can put this question into proper prospective.  A thorough analysis of the purported relationship between National Socialist policies and eugenics evinces four basic elements:  I. The attempted extermination of European Jewry  II. Euthanasia  III. Attempts to breed a biological elite through (a) Lebensborn, and (b) SS selection and marriage criteria IV. Negative eugenics claims to have been quantitatively and not just quantitatively different from similar policies elsewhere in the world.
Nazi Olympics, Berlin, 1936 - Outstanding site. Covers the range of issues and information.
Online version of an exhibition created by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum that was exhibited at the Museum from July 1996 - June 1997.
G E R M A N Y, and Nationalism, Police State, Racism, Antisemitism.
S P O R T S, and Race Hygiene, Regimentation, Sport as Military Training, Indoctrination of Youth, Nazi Control of Olympics, Exclusion of Jews, Persecution of Athletes.  B OY C O T T and The Debate, American Antisemitism, American Jewish Boycotters, World Responses.  THE OLYMPICS and Preparations, Winter Games, Remilitarization, Nazi Propaganda, Facade of Hospitality, Opening of the Games, Athletic Competition, African American Athletes, Jewish Athletes.
THE AFTERMATH and Persecution, War, Holocaust.
Leni Riefenstahl "Olympiad" (1936) - Go here for good UTubes on Leni and the Film
The Riefenstahl Propaganda Films:  Pictures from
And her brief biography here.
Nazi & Soviet Art
Presents works of art that expose some of the best and worst that art can achieve. Stark contrasts of good and evil.

AGGRESSION AND APPEASEMENT

Mussolini and Ethiopia
Timeline Interwar Years to 1945
By date, topic, maps, documents. Begins 1917, and then year by year to 1945.
Austria and the Anschluss:  An Outline
Anschluss of 1938 and HERE Outline, timeline, context.
Infamous Munich Pact
"Treaty concluded at the four-power Munich conference of Sept. 29-30, 1938, by Neville CHAMBERLAIN and Edouard Daladier, prime ministers of Britain and France, and Adolf HITLER and Benito MUSSOLINI, dictators of Germany and Italy. The pact represented the high point of the policy of appeasement by Britain and France of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy before WORLD WAR II. Its immediate result was the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia."
Munich Pact, September 19, 1938 - Text, declaration, annex to the pact.  Vital from the Yale Law School Avalon Project.
The Munich Crisis - Exceptional Site
Brief outline of this event in history with sound bites from the period which provide actual events as they occurred - from radio. 
Neville Chamberlain Speaks - Architect of Appeasement
British prime minister, whose policies failed to avert the outbreak of World War II in Europe in 1939.
Webcorp -- Neville Chamberlain Kisses Butt
What did appeasement sound like? The image and sound of Prime Minister Chamberlain pathetically waving the worthless treaty with Hitler in the air, "Peace in our time." Then go HERE.  Finally, Chamberlain's radio statements in GermanyHERE.
The Spanish Civil War and Revolution-
 Excellent, helpful, photop montage, writings by poets and a range of interesting insights. Some see this war as "the most important social revolution of the 20th Century. Even Leon Trotsky noted that it surpassed the Russian Revolution as a truly 'proletarian revolution.' Today unfortunately it is seen as a historical blip, if it is even considered at all, coming prior to WWII. To some who would downplay the social revolution, it was simply a percursor to World War II and an idealistic anti-fascist struggle. But to those on the Left,  it is an important social revolution that saw workers organize self managed factories, and indeed whole cities, and peasants mobilize the 'voluntary' collectivization of villages and farms."
The Spanish Civil War  - HELPFUL UTubes
Also,  "In a longer historical perspective the Spanish Civil War amounts to the opening battle of World War II, perhaps the only time in living memory when the world confronted—in fascism and Nazism—something like unqualified evil. The men and women who understood this early on and who chose of their own free will to stand against fascism have thus earned a special status in history. Viewed internally, on the other hand, the Spanish Civil War was the culmination of a prolonged period of national political unrest—unrest in a country that was increasingly polarized and repeatedly unable to ameliorate the conditions of terrible poverty in which millions of its citizens lived. Spain was a country in which landless peasants cobbled together a bare subsistence living by following the harvests on vast, wealthy agricultural estates. The hierarchy of the Catholic Church, identifying more with wealthy landowners than with the Spanish people, was in full control of secondary education; education for women seemed to them unnecessary and universal literacy a danger rather than a goal. Divorce was illegal. The military, meanwhile, had come to see itself, rather melodramatically, as the only bulwark against civil disorder and as the ultimate guarantor of the core values of Spanish society."
Spanish Revolution of 1936
Nazi-Soviet Relations, 1939-1941
Yale Avalon Project with all the major documents.

THE COUNTRY STUDIES:  Interwar Years and a Few Third Reich or Stalin Years

People generalize.  Historians generalize.  We have to. We have a realistic need to talk about Europe as a whole.  These needs and habits, however, do not always contribute to accuracy or understanding.  At the very least,  the history of the INTERWAR YEARS in Europe is the composite of the individual histories of each country and region.  Understanding demands some knowledge of what happened in the differing situations in each country.  A good beginning place to use is the Library of Congress Country Studies .  Scroll down from 1919-1945.  You will find a great deal of assistance for any country listed.

Albania - LC Country Study
 Austria - LC Country Study
 Bulgaria - LC Country Study
Czechoslovkia - LC Country Study
 East Germany - LC Country Study
 A Forgotten Chapter:  Holland Under the Third Reich "The German Occupation was to have many lasting effects both in Holland and how the Dutch were to see the world."  Outstanding lecture.
Hungary - LC Country Study
 Poland - LC Country Study
Romania - LC Country Study
World War II in Ukraine The Ukrainian Experience in World War II With a Brief Survey of Ukraine's Population Loss of 10 Million.  Long and detailed article.  Needs to be read with care. 
Yugoslavia - LC Country Study

WWII: SAVING DEMOCRACY FOR THE WORLD
"War is eternal, war is universal.
There is no begining and there is no peace.
War is life...War is the origin of all things." - Hitler

STARTING POINTS

Nazis "Seizure" of Power
"For the following hours,  Hitler talked to Oskar von Hindenburg on his own. His arguments were the old ones: he alone would be able to rescue Germany from the threat of Communism. No government would be able to survive without his support. Were he to become Chancellor, he would strictly observe the prerogatives of the Reich President under Article 49 and his supreme command of the armed forces. He would also adhere to the constitution. Supported by his own party which commanded one third of the Reichstag seats and by other "patriotic" forces on the Right and in the Center, he, through the passage of a parliamentary enabling act, would be able to achieve a constitutional prorogation of the Reichstag, etc. etc. However, it appears that Hitler blended such arguments, which were designed to win Oskar von Hindenburg over to his side, with open threats: if, he added, he were not made Chancellor, a criminal investigation might have to be reckoned with against the President concerning his role in the Osthilfe transactions."  Detail by days as to how Hitler managed to become Chancellor. 
How was Hitler able to become Chancellor in January 1933?
"Hitler's rise to power was based upon long-term factors - resentment in the German people, the weakness of the Weimar system - which he exploited through propaganda (paid for by his rich, Communist-fearing backers), the terror of his stormtroopers, and the brilliance of his speeches.  
During the 'roaring twenties' Germans ignored this vicious little man with his programme of hatred. But when the Great Depression ruined their lives, they voted for him in increasing numbers. Needing support, and thinking he could control Hitler, President Hindenburg made the mistake in January 1933 of giving Hitler the post of Chancellor."
Reichstag Fire - Who did it and why.
The Best - The BBC Site on Britain and WWII
Covers soooooooo much.  Probably the best on WWII for a range of issues.
Neville Chamberlain's Radio Address Finally Declaring War
Listen to him.  Most believe "he was blind and foolhardy in trying to deal with Nazi Germany. Through the takeover of Austria, the Munich crisis and eventually the invasion of Poland, England's prime minister, Neville Chamberlain attempted to negotiate with the obsessed and erratic Adolf Hitler."   His was a policy of appeasement. When he had taken office in May, 1937, his focus was on a European solution to German expansionism. . . .Chamberlain also felt that Hitler would set his sites on the East, an opinion that helped him in his decision to abandon Czechoslovakia during the Munich Crisis. But ultimately, Hitler would have none of it. And so, with the invasion of Poland, a sadly reluctant Chamberlain announced that England was at war with Germany."
Past Men of the Year: The Time Men of the Year
For 20th Century Europe, these in-depth articles are invaluable. From 1931. If I wanted to begin or to brush up on the history of the world from 1931 to today, I would read every one of these (I have). Few realize that most of the annual article is about the issues in the world for that year, not about the man or (the woman?-Wallace Simpson). Time writers are not always right, but it is fascinating to watch their predictions. Hitler was Man of the Year and Stalin was twice, for example. To understand the Balkans today, read about the oil crisis.  Or the traiter Laval in 31, Hitler in 38, Stalin in 39 and 42, Adenauer in 53, the Hungarian Freedom Fighters in 56, Khrushchev in 57, Willy Brandt in 70, Gorbechev in 87, Churchill in 49. Graphics, links.

 

THE DICTATORS AND THE NASTIES

A FEW GOOD HITLER UTUBES:  How Hitler Came to Power and Why did Hitler become Chancellor and Hitler: Chancellor to Dictator  and Adolf Hitler - Who voted for the Nazis and Why so little opposition to the Nazis?

Adolph Hitler:  Biography, the Nazi Years, Road to Power, WWII
"A gifted, charismatic orator possessed of a profound personal presence, Hitler is regarded as one of the most significant leaders of world history. The military-industrial complex he fostered pulled Germany out of the post-WWI economic crisis and, at its height, controlled the greater part of Europe."  Good beginning of the full subject.  Clicks to information on a range of issues.  Perhaps a good start here.
Hitler, Discovery of Antisemitism in Vienna: Original Source
Adolph Hitler:  Perverse Genius
Listen to him speak, read his quotes, scan his history.
The Rise of Adolf Hitler - Great Site
Hitler's Obituary - NYT, May 2, 1945 - Excellent Biography
Mussolini
Good, brief biography.  "He centralized all power in himself as the leader (il duce) of the Fascist party and attempted to create an Italian empire, ultimately in alliance with HITLER's Germany. The defeat of Italian arms in WWII brought an end to his imperial dream and led to his downfall." Socialism, birth of Italian Facism, dictatorship, military aggression, defeat.  Ethiopian War.
Benito Mussolini in Pictures - Extensive Mussolini site.
Stalin Brief Biography
"The undisputed leader of the USSR from 1929 until his death in 1953. Helped to convert communism in the USSR from an egalitarian, revolutionary movement into an authoritarian, bureaucratic governmental system. Helped to turn Russia into a great industrial nation, to defeat HITLER in WORLD WAR II, and, after the war, to establish Communist regimes throughout eastern Europe. However, he institutionalized terror and was responsible for the death and deprivation of millions of people."
The Josef Stalin Archive
"Who was Stalin? Was he a good man, a bad man, an evil man, or somewhere in between? Did he serve his society well, or did he practically destroy it? Did Stalin save the world single-handedly from the scourge of Nazism, only to replace it with something similar, or perhaps even worse? Private life? Was he an outcast, a loner? Were his companions truly loyal, or just looking for an excuse to remove him and assume leadership of the Soviet Union in his stead?" Extensive year-by year biography, Stalin quotes, sources, links, news.
Problems of Organizational Leadership
A lecture on Leadership by Joseph Stalin, 1934!
Heinrich Himmler - The Chicken Farmer
Josef Mengele:  The Angel of Death
Adolph Eichmann:  A Biography
Rudolph Hess - Deputy Fuhrer
Reinhard Heydrich - The Blond Beast
Hermann Goering
Judgement:  Goering -The Nuremburg Indictment
Josef Goebbels - Master Propogandist
Principal Functionaires of the Third Reich - If you want to know what happened to all of them, the Nuremberg Decisions are here.

THE PLAYERS

Churchill Biography
Good summary of deeds, accomplishments, and importance.   "A career that had no parallel in British history for richness, range, length, and achievement." "The leader of the united British nation and Commonwealth who resistedthe German domination of Europe, inspirer of the resistance among free peoples, and architect of victory. In this, and in the struggle against communism afterward, he made himself an indispensable link between the British and American peoples.  He foresaw that the best defense for the free world was the coming together of the English-speaking peoples." And Here.
Sir Winston Churchill, 1874-1965
Winston Churchill  One of the major contributions made by Churchill to eventual victory was his ability to inspire the British people to greater effort by making public broadcasts on significant occasions. A brilliant orator he was a tireless source of strength to people experiencing the sufferings of the Blitz . After Pearl Harbor,  Churchill worked closely with Franklin D. Roosevelt to ensure victory over Germany and Japan. He was also a loyal ally of the Soviet Union after Adolf Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa in June, 1941.   Churchill held important meetings with Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin at Teheran (November, 1943) and Yalta (February, 1945). Although Churchill's relationship with Stalin was always difficult he managed to successfully develop a united strategy against the Axis powers. Despite intense pressure from Stalin to open a second-front by landing Allied troops in France in 1943, Churchill continued to argue that this should not happen until the defeat of Nazi Germany was guaranteed. The D-Day landings did not take place until June, 1944 and this delay enabled the Red Army to capture territory from Germany in Eastern Europe."
Speeches of Winston Churchill Sound Page
Complete WWII Broadcasts,   Pre and Post-WWII & Iron Curtain Speeches. Listen in!
Charles DeGaulle:  Biography
Charles de Gaulle
President of France, leader of the Free French movement during WWII and the chief architect of the Fifth Republic.
General Dwight Eisenhower
American general who was the principal architect of the successful Allied invasion of Europe during WWII and of the subsequent defeat of Nazi Germany.
General George Smith Patton, Jr. - US WWII Major General
General Bernard Law Montgomery - British Field Marshal, one of the leading Allied commanders of WWII.
General Henri Petain, 1856-1951 Biography
The French General hero during WWI but who was convicted after World War II of dealings with the enemy while head of the collaborationist Vichy regime.
General Erwin Rommel - Brief Biography
Franklin Roosevelt - and WWII
General Karl von Rundstedt
(1875-1953), German army officer who became one of HITLER's ablest generals.. Known as "a high priest of strategy." At the time of the Allied D-Day invasions of June 1944, Rundstedt was German supreme commander in western Europe.

DIPLOMACY, ALLIANCES, STRATEGY

Vital American/British War Alliance
Major Conferences of World War II
Crisp chart with all of them - place, code name, main participants, major decisions. Great help for students and faculty.
Diplomacy of WWII :  A Vital Site for Everyone
Critical to the "real" understanding of WWII.  Three major divisions: "the story of the expansion of the war from 1939 through 1941; the period of transition from 1941 through 1943, when the Axis powers exploited their conquests but also suffered reverses; and the Allied search for agreement on postwar policies, producing rising tension within the coalition as it approached victory, 1943-1945.
EXPANSION OF THE WAR - 1939-1941. Poland, the Baltic States, Scandanavia.  German Mastery over Western Europe. Intervention of Italy. Diplomatic Reverses for the Axis Powers.   Nazi-Soviet Friction. German Attack on the Soviet Union. United States Abandonment of Strict Neutrality. Japanese Steps Toward War. FROM AXIS MASTERY TO ALLIED RECOVERY: 1941-1943. Greater East Asia Coprosperity Sphere.   Hitler's Europe.   Search for Solidarity in the Western Hemisphere. Consolidation of the Allied Coalition.   First Crack in the Axis: Surrender in Italy.   False Approaches to Peace. ALLIED WAR AIMS AND POLICIES FOR PEACE: 1943-1945.   Basic Problems. Creation of the United Nations.   Poland and Central-Eastern Europe.  Soviet Aid Against Japan and Far Eastern Policy.

CAMPAIGNS, MILITARY AND MILITARY PLANNING

The Road to War
The Nazi War in 1940 - Detailed Information, Statistics
The German Decision To Invade Norway and Denmark
"The German invasion of Norway was a dramatically daring military  operation. The decision to embark on the venture was made by Adolf Hitler as Chief of State and Commander in Chief. Since the war,  the decision has been both praised and condemned; here it is presented as an example of decision-making in a developing situation.  Even though the occupation of Norway and Denmark had no significant  effect on the outcome of the war, it established a milestone in the  history of warfare by demonstrating the effective reach of modern  military forces. Although lacking the resources to capitalize on it, the Germans had made a move of potential value to them in the development of  a global strategy. It confronted the United States as well as Great  Britain with a strategic threat. It brought Germany, theoretically at  least, into a position to strike outward from the mainland of Europe  toward Iceland, Greenland, and possibly the North American continent."
Norwegian Collaboration - The Quislings
"Norway can be considered to have been a puppet state during WWII, controlled between the forces of the German occupation and Quisling's NS party. The NS was given some authority within Norway, and in this manner formed a great number of formations and units under complete Norwegian control. Although an occupied nation under the direct control of Germany, Norway was allowed some degree of freedom through the NS party, and it was in this respect that Norway served as an Axis Ally during WWII - although at best a puppet state. The history of its formations and units is none-the-less and important facet of the Axis cause in WWII."
Norway and the Holocaust
"There were approximately 1,700 Jews in Norway at the time of the German invasion, including about 200 German and Austrian Jewish refugees who had found safe haven there in the 1930s. Restrictions on Jews initially were sporadic, but with the German invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, numerous Jews in the northern part of the country were incarcerated. Arrests of Norwegian Jews began in the fall of 1942 with Norwegian police and paramilitary formations supporting SS and German police units. In early October, the authorities arrested all male Jews in Trondheim, a northern Norwegian port city. On October 26 and 27, 260 male Jews were arrested in Oslo, Norway's capital. During the night of November 25-26, 1942, all remaining Jews in Oslo, including women, children, the sick, and the handicapped, were arrested and interned. They were deported on the "Donau," a ship requisitioned by the Quisling government, which took them to Germany. From Germany, they were deported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. In the weeks that followed, despite protests by Norwegian church leaders and some segments of the population, the internment and deportation of Jews from Norway continued intermittently.  After the war, 25 returned from Auschwitz.
The Battle of Stalingrad, 1942
"The Battle of Stalingrad was the bitter siege that had been sustained in and around that Russian city from August of 1942 to February of 1943. The defeat of the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad not only dealt a crippling blow to Hitler's campaign in the East but also marked a strategic turning point of WWII, and has come to be recognized as one of the greatest military debacles of all time. Over the years, the terrible fighting at Stalingrad has also come to symbolize the senseless sacrifice of human life to individual hubris and political whim."
The Italian Campaign
Overview of the Italian Campaign from the invasion of Sicily to the end of the war in Europe.
Einsatzgruppen
"On June 22, 1941, the German army invaded Soviet territory. They did not enter alone - small units of SS and police, some three thousand men in all, were also dispatched on special assignments. Their task was to kill the Jews on the spot, but not only Jews; communists, Gypsies, political leaders, and the intelligentsia were also killed. Order Police battalions, Waffen SS units, the Higher SS, and Police Leaders also carried out the mass executions." Nikor Project's collection of documents, testimonies, trial transcripts and photographs documenting the brutal history of the Einsatzgruppen mobile killing units. Explores early German antisemitism and has articles on modern antisemitism and hate groups as well as rebuttals to holocaust denial, and. Michael Philips' excellent spoof on "Revisionist" methodology, How to be a Revisionist Scholar." Key site on the trials HERE.
German Armed Forces in WWII
Units, organization, formation. "Focuses on all aspects of the German military during World War II.  Emphasis on the units, formations, and organizations of the German fighting forces and its Axis Allies, 1939-1945." Massive site.
WWII Theatres: First Rate Maps
Strategic Bombing, 1939-1945
"World War II was a war no country was fully prepared for - even Germany. But the vast manufacturing capacity of the belligerents was utilized to the fullest extent to forge weapons and mass production yielded them in quantities sufficient for the immense scale of the Second World War. Strategic bombing reached new levels of power and achievement during the war. But it also failed in one major aspect and that is in the role visionaries saw for it: being the primary instrument
 WWII Analyzed ! !
Battle reports - raids, commanders, battlefields, units, weapons. Extensive info on six battles and raids. Vignettes of Patton, Mountbatten, Rommel, Bradley, Skorzeny, Montgomery, MacArthur, Himmler, et. al. All the weapons used in WW II combat operations.  Everything about those 20 or so famous allied and axis units of WWII. Tactics.

SUMMARIES, SOUNDS, SAMPLES OF WWII

History Place:  WWII in Europe
Outstanding. From 1919 to 1945.  Arranged as time lines with explanations and brief history of each major event along the way.  Excellent way to get an overview of these years. Hundreds of archival photos, documents, text.

THE FIRST BLOW - POLAND

The Nazi Occupation of Poland Eyewitness Account, Photos
Warsaw Uprising
August 1, 1944 - October 2, 1944. Largest single operation organized and executed by a partisan organization in WWII. Lasted 2 months, killed 200,000 people, left Warsaw in ruins. Background, history, maps, photos. "The tragedy of the Warsaw Uprising lies not only in the bloody 63 day struggle but also in the immediate and long term aftermath. The Germans were the first to punish Warsaw and its people for daring to defend its freedom. Hitler ordered the city to be all but wiped off the face of the earth and special units were brought in to systematically detonate any building of the remotest importance to Polish culture. The city was effectively destroyed block by block, and when the Russians finally crossed the Vistula to liberate the city, they inherited only ruins." 
Later, in the years directly following the War, as the Poles tried to rebuild their shattered country under Communist leadership, it was forbidden to talk of the brave soldiers of the Uprising. The movement was denounced as illegal and every effort was made to slander those involved. Keen to behead Polish society of its heroes and intelligentsia Stalin sent many of the surviving members of the AK to Siberia for lengthy spells of hard labour, whilst he executed those whom he perceived as particularly dangerous. The fact that nobody was able to honour these brave soldiers for fifty odd years is partly why there is so much renewed interest in the Uprising today."
And Then There is the Dreadful Last Ditch Warsaw GHETTO Uprising
"The Germans had planned to liquidate the Warsaw ghetto in three days, but the ghetto fighters held out for more than a month. Even after the end of the uprising on May 16, 1943, individual Jews hiding out in the ruins of the ghetto continued to attack the patrols of the Germans and their auxiliaries. The Warsaw ghetto uprising was the largest, symbolically most important Jewish uprising, and the first urban uprising, in German-occupied Europe. The resistance in Warsaw inspired other uprisings in ghettos  and killing centers - Treblinka and Sobibor."

THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN

The Battle of Britain
Rich site on Battle of Britain with a LIFE Photo Gallery  A picture is worth 100 words! Click on all the pictures for a visual impact. "What General Weygand has called the Battle of France is over. The Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science." And the London Blitz of 1940.
The Battle of Britain - Good BBC Site Detailed
"The end of the Battle of Britain allowed the Luftwaffe just enough time, before the invasion of Russia, to make good some of its losses. However, although it could replace equipment, it could not replace the skilled pilots and aircrew who had been killed or captured. Hitler had already made one bad mistake, when he'd switched his tactic to focus on the bombing of British cities, just at the time when he was winning the air battle over England. Invading Russia was an even worse blunder. And the Luftwaffe that attacked Russia was not the Luftwaffe of 1940. The RAF had seen to that."
The Battle of Britain Home Site
Exceptional overview and catalogue of the official reports of the most important event in Royal Air Force history, the Battle fought over Britain between the 10th July and 31st October 1940.
Coventry Blitz
"This raid was named Operation Moonlight Sonata because a bright moonlit night was necessary for success. The aim was to totally wipe out Coventry’s war production. It was also from this raid that the Nazi’s created a new word 'Coventrieren' meaning to totally destroy. Almost 500 bombers were gathered together from the German occupied parts of Europe especially for this raid. "
The Blitz
"Blitz, the German word for 'lightning', was applied by the British press to the tempest of heavy and frequent bombing raids carried out over Britain in 1940 and 1941. This concentrated direct bombing of industrial targets and civilian centres began on 7 September 1940, with heavy raids on London."
Sir Winston Churchill Speaking on Britain's "Finest Hour" - (Loads slowly but stick with it and listen to the whole speech)
The Battle of Britain, 1940
"This battle that took place entirely in the air owes its success to the brave, yet many inexperienced pilots that took on the might of the German Luftwaffe and won. Here is the story of that famous battle and the peoples battle that followed.....The Blitz on London, the city that would not die." Core site.
Could Britain have repulsed 'Operation Sealion' in September 1940?
"In Sept 1940, Hitler was hoping to launch his invasion (Operation Sealion). Could Britain have stopped him if he had decided to invade? The easy answer is ‘hardly at all.' !!!. There is a story (probably apocryphal) that the stretch of coast earmarked by Hitler for his main invasion attack was guarded by a Home Guard platoon with a machine gun!"
Another Very Good Battle of Britain Site
"Hitler wanted to invade Britain. He called his plan ‘Operation Sealion’. He had detailed plans of who would rule Britain after it was conquered. His propaganda machine had already made a newsreel of the ‘victorious’ German soldiers and the British they had ‘captured’.  But Britain was defended by the Royal Navy, which was much stronger than the German Navy. If Hitler was going to mount an invasion of Britain, he would have to find a way to defend his invasion barges from attack. The German airforce – the Luftwaffe – could defend the invasion, but, to do that, Hitler would first have to knock out the Royal Air Force (RAF). That is how the Battle of Britain came about. The Battle of Britain was really the first part of Hitler’s invasion of Britain. Four developments laid the foundations of Britain’s survival: ...!!

THE FALL OF FRANCE AND THE VICHY RESULT

France in WWII  - Range of Issues, Information
The Vichy Web Page
The themes of WWII in France.  Helps if you read French.
Maginot Line
Good history, site, preservation, diagrams, function, links to other fortresses. And HERE.
Liberation of Paris
"The liberation of Paris, in theory, was only a matter of time after the success of DDay in June 1944. The taking of Paris and its liberation would have been a massive morale boost not to just those who lived in Paris but to French people in general, but it did not seem to be a high priority to Allied Leaders." Good summary on YouTubes.
The Klaus Barbie Trial

THE BALKANs and CENTRAL EUROPE

German Campaigns in the Balkans, Spring 1941
Valuable Mini-Book and Research covers the Military/Political Situation by country, the Yugoslavia Campaign with strategy and tactics, the German Campaign in Greece, the seizure of Crete, Relationship Betweem Balkans Campaign and Attack on Russia, Chronology.
German Anti-Guerrilla Operations in the Balkans, 1941-1944
"Describes briefly the German campaign against the guerrillas in the Balkans during the period of the European Axis occupation, from the end of hostilities against Greece and Yugoslavia in April 1941 to the capture of Belgrade by the Soviet forces and the Partisans in October 1944.  Activities of Germany's Italian, Bulgarian, Croatian, and other allies, as well as the British, Soviet, and United States forces in the area, are treated only to the extent that they affected German operations. Material for this study obtained from German military records now in the custody of The Department of the Army."
Slovakian Axis Forces in WWII
And then Axis Hungary, then Croatia
Slovakia, 1939-1945

THE CRUCIAL BATTLES AND CAMPAIGNS

Battle for Stalingrad. Extensive details on the battle itself HERE
Barbarossa
Called by some, the Russian-German conflict of 1941-1945 as the greatest land battle mankind has ever fought
WWII Study of the North African Campaigns
Covers the desert front.
Battle of the Bulge :  Details.
Battle of the Bulge - the Ardennes Offensive
Market Garden: A Bridge Too Far
The Battle of Arnheim, billed as the "largest airborne operation in history. Quite a site. Huge - maps, photos, sound, video, 300+ links, carefully conceived. More than you ever wanted to know about this one battle.
The Ten Top Turning-Point Battles of WWII :  One author's opinion

PROPAGANDA

Poster Persuasion
On a range of subjects, including Nazi Brutality, women on the home front, spies.
Powers of Persuasion:  Poster Art of WWII
Propaganda Leaflets of WWII
Nazi and East German Propaganda :  Excellent Collection
Propaganda Archive
Fascinating collection of propaganda posters from a range of countries during WWII.  

LABOR AND INDUSTRY

German Industry and the Third Reich
"The great majority of German businessmen behaved in a decidedly unheroic manner during the Nazi era. Most of them, especially leaders of larger companies, not only refrained from risking their lives to save Jews, but actually profited from the use of forced and slave labor, the "Aryanization" of Jewish property, and the plundering of companies in Nazi-occupied Europe."
Companies Affiliated With Concentration Camps
Striking list of companies including Ford, IG Farben, Krupp, and of course, Volkswagen.

THE SOVIETS AND WWII

The Library of Congress Soviet Archives Exhibit
"Vital source for understanding the Soviet Union from its inception. This Library of Congress Soviet Archives exhibition is important for what it represents, what it contains, and what it suggests. Represents a new Russia, willing and anxious under its first democratically elected president, Boris Yeltsin, to affirm the core democratic value of open access to information. Exhibit, also shown in Moscow, is a milestone in this process -- the first public display of the hitherto highly secret internal record of Soviet Communist rule. This exhibit is also remarkable for what it contains: the first significant number of documents ever shown anywhere from what may be the most important new source of primary materials for understanding the history of the twentieth century. An unprecedented inside look at the workings of one of the largest, most powerful and long-lived political machines of the modern era. Covers the entire range of Soviet history from the October Revolution of 1917 to the failed coup of August 1991. Illustrates both the domestic and the foreign policy of Soviet rule. First section covers internal politics and aspects of Soviet reality that were hidden or falsified in official propaganda. Includes the unannounced decisions and votes of the higher organs of the Communist Party, as well as the repressive activities of the Soviet security organs and various organs charged with controlling literary freedom and organized religion. The material suggests that totalitarian practices of terror and forced labor began earlier and more deliberately than have often been assumed. The ruthlessness, originality, and complexity documented in these records suggests bureaucratic dictatorship cut off from the people--and provides many hints of why Communist rule both lasted so long and fell apart so fast."
Soviet Women Pilots in the Great Patriotic War
Great site.

WOMEN AND WWII

Rosie the Riveter and other Women World War II Heroes
The important impact upon women.
War, Women, and Opportunity
"World War II opened a new chapter in the lives of Depression-weary Americans. As husbands and fathers, sons and brothers shipped out to fight in Europe and the Pacific, millions of women marched into factories, offices, and military bases to work in paying jobs and in roles reserved for men in peacetime.   For female journalists, World War II offered new professional opportunities. Talented and determined, dozens of women fought for--and won--the right to cover the biggest story of their lives."
What Did You Do in the War, Grandma?
Women and WWII.

THE COUNTRY STUDIES:  WWII

Participation in WWII By Country
Excellent brief summaries, well done and very valuable.

People generalize.  Historians generalize.  We have to. We need to talk about Europe as a whole.  These needs and habits, however, do not contribute to accuracy or understanding.  At the very least the history of WWII in Europe is the composite of the individual histories of each country and region.  Understanding demands some knowledge of what happened in the differing situations in each country.  Another very good place to use is the Library of Congress Country Studies.  Open for each country marked "LC Country Study, " click to WWII and then click on each item that follows.  Clicking on WWII only, gets you "only" the first brief article.

Albania - LC Country Study
Austria - LC Country Study
Bulgaria - LC Country Study
Czechoslovkia - LC Country Study
East Germany - LC Country Study
A Forgotten Chapter:  Holland Under the Third Reich "The German Occupation was to have many lasting effects both in Holland and how the Dutch were to see the world."  Outstanding lecture.
Hungary - LC Country Study
Poland - LC Country Study
Romania - LC Country Study
World War II in Ukraine The Ukrainian Experience in World War II With a Brief Survey of Ukraine's Population Loss of 10 Million.  Long and detailed article.  Needs to be read with care. 
Yugoslavia - LC Country Study

 WAR CRIMES AND TRIALS - GERMANY

Nuremberg Documents:  German Jewish Response - to the Nuremberg Laws (September 24, 1935)
And The "record" and debate! in the Reichstag .  
Nuremburg War Crime Trials
The Yale Law School Avalon Project. The widest range of documents, supplementary trials, evidence, rules of procedure.  Special site search engine. Here is where to really learn about what went on in Nazi Germany.
November 20, 1945:  The Nuremberg Trials Begin
A list the the indictments against each of the defendants.  Even more important from my perspective was the dreadful revelations from The Doctors Trial - here are the indictments against each of the "Doctors."  And move on to critical Exerpts from the trial.  From the Opening Statement of the Prosecuter:  "The defendants in this case are charged with murders, tortures, and other atrocities committed in the name of medical science. The victims of these crimes are numbered in the hundreds of thousands. A handful only are still alive; a few of the survivors will appear in this courtroom. But most of these miserable victims were slaughtered outright or died in the course of the tortures to which they were subjected. For the most part they are nameless dead. To their murderers, these wretched people were not individuals at all. They came in wholesale lots and were treated worse than animals. They were 200 Jews in good physical condition, 50 gypsies, 500 tubercular Poles, or 1,000 Russians. The victims of these crimes are numbered among the anonymous millions who met death at the hands of the Nazis and whose fate is a hideous blot on the page of modern history."
The War Crime Indictments:  Counts One, Two, Three, Four
The Nazi Doctors and Human Experimentation
Pre-War | Wartime Experimentation | Post-War ] - Dr. Horst Schumann (sterelization and Xray); Dr. Karl Clauberg (sterelization); Dr. Rauscher (freezin and high altitude); Dr. Hohann Kremer (phenol injections).  Of course, Dr. Mengele and the twins. Gas chambers and crematoria, pre war euthanasia programs. Details on the range of experiments.
T4 Medical Killing Program
The camouflage organization created for the medical killing of adults was known as the Reich Work Group of Sanatoriums and Nursing Homes.
Doctors Trial
Opening statements, indictment, testimony, sentences.  Years ago, I (Site's Professor) read the entire files in the National Archives.  This trial is as bad as it gets and is a must.
The Trial of Adolf Eichmann
Guide to accompany PBS documentary.  Thorough material covers it all.
Lidice Massacre
" The Nazis were skilled practitioners of collective responsibility, the murder of an entire community as a reprisal for individual acts of resistance. Reprisals were taken against Jews and non-Jews throughout Nazi-occupied Europe. It was an effective tactic in stifling popular enthusiasm for resistance. The annihilation of the Czech town of Lidice is one of the most notorious instances of the Nazi practice of reprisal."
Project Paperclip
The Nazi scientists brought to the US to work on NASA projects.  

WAR CRIMES AND ATROCITIES - JAPAN

Under The Sun:  Japanese War Crime Trials
The trial of Yamashita.  "General Tomoyuki Yamashita was hanged in Manila on February 23, 1946. The fate of this officer, a first-class fighting man,affirmed something new in the annals of war. For Yamashita did not die for murder, or for directing other men to do murder in his name. Yamashita lost his life not because he was a bad or evil commander, but simply because he was a commander, and the men he commanded had done unspeakably evil things."
Tokyo War Crimes Trials
Indictment, China war crimes, verdict, counts of indictment, sentences. "MAY 3, 1946 to NOVEMBER 12, 1948.  All Japanese Class A war criminals were tried by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE) in Tokyo. The prosecution team was made up of justices from eleven Allied nations: Australia, Canada, China, France, Great Britain, India, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, the Soviet Union and the United States of America. The Tokyo trial lasted two and a half years, from May 1946 to November 1948. Other war criminals were tried in the respective victim countries. War crime trials were held at ten different locations in China."
Researching Japanese War Crime Trials, 1945-46 - Critical Evidence and essays from the National Archives
"The American public largely ignored the war crimes trials in Tokyo and throughout Asia in 1946-1948. Unlike the charismatic Nazi leadership, who were infamous throughout Europe, the Japanese leadership was not well known. That was due in part to the Allied propaganda, which did not want to criminalize the Emperor. If the Allied public saw him as a criminal, they would demand his removal, which would have prolonged the war."
THE NANJING MASSACRE
Another issue where so much is written, so many sources.  Active efforts from many organizations.  A sampling here.
Breaking the Silence
Japanese Army's Atrocities -- Nanjing Massacre
Archive of historical documents and still photographs. Very graphic and gruesome. Speechless. Clear, stark.
History: We Shall Never Forget (China: 1931-1945) 
Nanking 1937 - Commemorating the Massacre
Nanjing Massacre
In December 1937, Nanjing fell to the Japanses Imperial Amry. That army launched a massacre for six weeks, brutally slaughtering about 300,000 people - with over 20,000 cases of rape reported. Many of those were gang raped and then killed. Additionally women captives were sent to army brothels - the infamous "comfort women." This hall built to commemorate the victims of an event sometimes termed, "The Other Holocaust." Reading Room contains many links to documents, extracts, records, articles, images, photos, the political controversy.
Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre (1937-1938)
"According to the records of several welfare organizations which buried the dead bodies after the Massacre, around three hundred thousand people, mostly civilians and POWs, were brutally slaughtered. Over twenty thousand cases of rape were reported. Many of the victims were gang raped and then killed. The figure did not include those captives who were sent to army brothels (the so-called "comfort stations"). The actual Memorial Hall is built to commemorate the victims. "
The Rape of Nanking - Death Toll

NAZI GOLD

Frontline's Major Site on Nazi Gold and the Swiss in WWII:  The Documents
The investigations.
Our mandate from the President in preparing this report was to describe, to the fullest extent possible, U.S. and Allied efforts to recover and restore this gold and other assets stolen by Nazi Germany, and to use other German assets for the reconstruction of postwar Europe. It also touches on the initially valiant, but ultimately inadequate, steps taken by the United States and the Allies to make assets available for assistance to stateless victims of Nazi atrocities. It is in the context of this mandate that the report catalogues the role of neutral countries, whose acceptance of the stolen gold in exchange for critically important goods and raw materials helped sustain the Nazi regime and prolong its war effort. This role continued, despite several warnings by the Allies, even long past the time when these countries had any legitimate reason to fear German invasion.
Among the neutral countries, Switzerland receives the most attention in the report. . . Switzerland figures prominently in any history of the fate of Nazi gold and other assets during and after World War II because the Swiss were the principal bankers and financial brokers for the Nazis, handling vast sums of gold and hard currency. " The conclusions ARE FAMILIAR BUT CHILLING.
Holocaust Claims and Processing Office
Of the NY State Banking Department
More About the Gold Connections
"With the recent publication of a list of inactive Swiss bank accounts, the issue of Nazi gold and the Swiss banks has again been in the headlines. No less a figure than the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland, Madeleine Kunin, was surprised to find her mother's name on the list!."
Assets Transferred to Overseas Banks by Nazis During WWII  
International Commission on Reporting Holoaust Era Insurance Claims

OTHER HELP TO THE NAZIS BY THE NEUTRALS, CORPORATIONS AND THE ALLIES

"Historians have known for decades of Nazi use of Hollerith tabulators - the mainframe computer of its era. But Black's book last year opened up debate on the little understood role of how central IBM technology may have been in allowing Nazis to systematically identify and help select victims of the Holocaust. "
"Sweden's crucial role in supplying Nazi Germany iron ore and military facilities. Especially notorious for their support to the Nazis were the Wallenberg family, SEB bank and SKF factory. The Swedish government was responsible for the most iron ore the Nazis received. Kiruna-Gällivare ore fields in Northern Sweden were all important to Nazi Germany.These massive deliveries of iron ore and military facilities from Sweden to Nazi Germany lengthened World War II. Casualties of the war have been estimated at 20 million killed in Europe. How many of them died due to Sweden's material support to Nazi Germany, is not known."
A Survey of Nazi and Pro-Nazi Groups in Switzerland: 1930-1945.  "Few other countries have had such a great number of extreme right-wing associations per capita and size of their geographical territory as had Switzerland during the Hitlerian era. If today one may count perhaps nine of these groups1, in the 1930s and 40s there were well in excess of three dozen. The main ones are discussed hereafter, and a more complete list follows later in this report.In addition, most of these societies published their own bulletins, newspapers, and in some cases, magazines, pamphlets and books. All the Swiss organizations discussed hereafter fell into one of two categories: pro-Nazi/fascist, or super-patriotic nationalistic of a fascistic tendency. They had one thing in common, which they made no attempt to conceal: their antisemitism."  And HERE:  Switzerland's Role in WWII. And finally HERE:  Researching Swiss Refugee Policy.  Vital for anyone doing research on Switzerland and the Final Solution.
 
"A reappraisal of the role of the neutral nations. What exactly did it mean to be "neutral" in World War II? Was neutrality just a cover for collaboration with the Nazis? Did countries who refused to take sides help or hurt the Allied cause? And how did the neutrals treat people who were vulnerable to the Nazis?In this first study of Nazi Germany's to the five European neutrals: Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden and Turkey, Christian Leitz shines a light on their wartime record. Questioning the true commitment to neutrality of the five states, the he details not simply the development of relations to Germany, but also the contribution they made to Germany's war effort. He shows how the Nazi regime benefitted in large measure from permitting these five countries to remain neutral. "
Ford Rejects Auschwitz Allegations
The Ford Motor Company and the Third Reich. 
"Today, with corporate power magnified by the global economy and its international trade agreements, it is worthwhile to reflect on the behavior of "American" corporations at a time when fascism threatened to plunge the world into an anti-human abyss. The experiences of 60 years ago are a potent reminder of corporate power and greed that transcends national borders or patriotic allegiances.Writing about the Big Three automakers’ dealings with Nazi Germany, Bradford Snell observed: "these firms retained the economic and political power to affect the shape of governmental relations both within and between these nations in a manner which maximized corporate global profits. In short, there were private governments unaccountable to the citizens of any country yet possessing tremendous influence over the course of war and peace in the world."  General Electric, Ford, et. al.
"A large volume of documentary evidence exists that reveals that many of the richest, most powerful men in the United States, and the giant corporations they controlled, were secretly allied with the Nazis, both before and during World War II, even after war was declared between Germany and America. This alliance began with U.S. corporate investment during the reconstruction of post-World War I Germany in the 1920s and, years later, included financial, industrial and military aid to the Nazis. "
"It came as an unpleasant surprise to discover that the enemy was also driving trucks manufactured by Ford and Opel — a 100 percent GM-owned subsidiary ..."    Evidence of a range of cooperation by US companies.
Kodak's Nazi Connections
Trade and Slave Labor. "Kodak was not the only US firm that maintained relations with the enemy; others involved included Standard Oil, ITT and Ford."

SURRENDER AND PEACE?

Surrender Documents 
All the major documents.  Important to read through for Italy, Germany, Japan, et.al.  Impacts on future.
WWII - Behind Closed Doors:  Stalin, The Nazis, and the West
Really first rate site.  Great videos, great summaries.It clarifies the causes and roots of the crises and difficulties since the end of WWII - and have strong bearing on the Eastern Europe today.
The Yalta Conference, February 1945
Protocol of Proceedings of Crimea Conference. The formal conclusion document.

>

THE CHRONOLOGY AND COST OF WAR

Population Losses in World War II by Country Thought-provoking.   An even better analysis HERE.
Costs, Casualties, and Other Data
Military  and Civilian Casualties. Industrial Conversion and War Production. Shipping Losses. US Armed Forces total strength and casualties in WWII 1941-1946. Armed forces peak strengths and battle deaths of the principal allied powers and of the Axis powers.  US budget expenditures, July, 1940-August 1945.  And HERE.

TREATIES, DOCUMENTS

"Holds 15,000+ pages of original source material on WWII. Speeches, communiques, war plans, chronologies, etc, all taken from  the original documents. The mission of this site is to provide the full text of important documents, rather than the ". . ." you see so  often. Strips away the decades of "reinterpretation" blocking most people's access to the original words and facts. Although by no  means fancy, this web site offers the most information in the form of original documents of any web site around. Many myths have  died here!"
Words of Peace, Words of War
One of richest collection of organized documents for WWII on the Web.  Treaties, speeches, correspondence. Arranged
 chronologically.
Primary Documents: Germany
Important primary documents from the end of the classical world through the 20th Century. Includes Poland statements-1939,
 WWI, tripartite agreements of Axis powers, Wannsee Protokoll, holocaust, Nazi Era, surrender documents, East Germany. Most
 in translation and/or transcription.
Wannsee Protocol, January 20, 1942: Original Document

HITLER'S DEATH CAMPS:

THE SANITY OF MADNESS

This subject is so important that it is presented almost without comment. I began teaching the Holocaust in colleges and universities more than 30 years ago. When I wrote the first book on the concentration camps, Hitler's Death Camps, I felt I needed another 30 years to learn. This site is simply a starter, a yeast, for students, just plain folks. I leave it unadorned. Many splendid Holocaust sites exist on the Web and are easy to find. Use this site carefully with the much more advanced information on my old Eastern Europe Site on the Web of this "Internet Book."

A MAJOR WEB CENTER
Cybrary of the Holocaust

HOLOCAUST CENTERS

The Simon Wiesenthal Center
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Yad Vashem - The Holocaust memorial of the Jewish people. Established in Jerusalem in 1953 before anyone else cared, before all the other monuments and museums. A major source.

THE CAMPS AND SURVIVORS

Auschwitz- Endstation Vernichtung HOMEPAGE - Excellent Auschwitz source.
Links Zur Ausstellung - Excellent site on Nazi Germany and the camps.
Majdanek Bibliography
Vorwort der Lagergemeinschaft Auschwitz - Good on Auschwitz. Test your German!
"Dark Secret" of the Holocaust 1941-1945 in Former Yugoslavia

"Following the Nazi invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia in April 1941, the Independent State of Croatia was established. Dedicated to a clerical fascist ideology combining Roman Catholic extremism, Nazi eugenics and Croatian chauvinism, the Ustasha regime commenced on a systematic policy of racial extermination of all Serbs, Jews and Romanies (Gypsies) living in those territories. To do this the Directorate for Public Security under Eugen Kvaternik was ordered to create a series of concentration camps throughout Croatia. It was at the largest of these, Jasenovac, where some 700,000 Serbs, 30,000 Romanies and 25,000 Jews were systematically murdered between August 1941 and April 1945. Of all of the death camps during the Holocaust Jasenovac was the third largest overall in terms of victims. In terms of size it was probably the largest, spread out over 240 square kilometers (150 sq. miles) and encompassing actually a series of five major and three smaller "special" camps. Jasenovac holds one more ghastly distinction: it is likely that more children were murdered there (20,000) than at any other camp during the Holocaust."
"But the lessons of Jasenovac are many. And we now know how much was lost in not examining these lessons earlier. A high price was paid by the Yugoslav peoples for the suppression of historical truth.
Knowledge of Jasenovac may not have prevented the reemergence of fascist racial ideology in the Balkans; but it would have made it more difficult. Think how many lives might have been saved!"  Important, however, is new research not covered at conference about the Serbian killing of the Jews in their areas. I must also point out that it is not a secret.  I have been to Jasenovac several times and written about it for 25 years, as have a few others.

 
In 1963, I first went to the Anne Frank House.  I crawled up to the attic and sat there for 4 hours and imagined.  It never left me.  Site is excellent.  Pictures of the house, of Anne Frank. History.  The young girl's diaries - "I so glad I brought you along," and "After the War, I would like to publish a book called The Secret Annex." And, of course, "the time will come when we are people again and not just Jews."

        A FEW IMPORTANT PLACES

Holocaust Timeline
Timelines of the holocaust from 1933 through the 1961 Eichmann trial.
Holocaust Related Links
German site.
Holocaust - Understanding & Prevention
"Can it Happen Again?" Online magazine. A link to autobiographical memoirs of Holocaust survivors.
A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust - Extensive Sources
Holocaust Museum
Holocaust Pictures Exhibition
Lest We Forget: A History of the Holocaust
Very good, comprehensive.
Nazi Persecution of the Gays
"One Day They Were Simply Gone"
The Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals - "To the survivor's comment that "one day they were simply gone" we might add "and  today are all but forgotten.""
Exhibit to Detail Nazi Persecution of Gays
"The exhibition, titled, "The Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals: 1933-1945," joins a growing body of work on gays that is
 emerging after years of intense focus on Jewish victims, including scholarly books, such as Claudia Schoppmann’s "Days of
 Masquerade," and films, such as the documentary, "Paragraph 175."
NewsHour Online: Prof. Daniel Goldhagen
Outstanding and central:  "Hitler's Willing Executioners: Well, there are many things that people believe about the Holocaust
 which need to be revised. First of all, there are many more people involved in the extermination of Jews, many more Germans
 involved than people commonly believe and understand. The minimum estimate that I've come up with--and this is a minimum--is
 100,000 people. In fact, the number was probably far higher."
Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion
And HERE.
Resistance and Rescue: Denmark's Response to the Holocaust
and HERE (Be careful here. The so-called help is a bit overdone.)
To Save a Life: Stories of Jewish Rescue
Witnesses to Nuremberg :  Critical Nuremberg Site
Gypsies in the Holocaust
"Because they were strangers to many of the people they moved among, strong prejudices grew up, and indeed continue to this
 day. Although they were indisputably "Aryan" according to the Nazi racial typology, they were pursued relentlessly."
Association of Gypsies/Romani International, Inc.
Then They Came for the Gypsies


ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Fact Sheet: Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide
"The Armenian Genocide was carried out by the "Young Turk" government of the Ottoman Empire in 1915-1916 (with
 subsidiaries to 1923). One and a half million Armenians were killed, out of a total of two million Armenians in the Ottoman
 Empire." Strong, compelling site.
                

POST WAR
STILL SAVING THE WORLD FOR DEMOCRACY?

THE FALL OF BERLIN
 
THEN THE MARSHALL PLAN
AND THEN THE BERLIN PROBLEM  
YouTube - The Rise and Fall of the Wall 2

Major Web College Courses: Western Civilization

Professor KF

COURSE CENTERS AND WEB INTERNET BOOKS

 History 4A - WESTERN CIVILIZATION: THE ANCIENT WORLD - Act I: From Prehistory to the Fall of Rome - (All Quarters, including summers) -

 History 4B - WESTERN CIVILIZATION:  MEDIEVAL, RENAISSANCE, REFORMATION - Act II:  From the Byzantine Empire to the French Revolution - Winter

History 4C - WESTERN CIVILIZATION: THE MODERN WORLD - Act III: From The French Revolution to the Fall of the Berlin Wall - Fall, Spring, Summer

4 Quarter Units Each.

DEDICATION, COPYRIGHT, AUTHOR, THANKS

 THIS CHALLENGING PROJECT IS DEDICATED TO :

The stunning student Teaching Assistants who have assisted the courses and helped catalyze the quality of the student work at Foothill. AND

Those remarkable humans across Eastern Europe who have struggled, perserved, grown in stature in the midst of decades of unspeakable abuse; the many survivors of the Holocaust who I have counted as my friends for so many years and to whom I owe so much; and to the 10,000 students who have studied Western Civ, Holocaust, Nazi Germany, and Eastern Europe in seminar with me for 30 years.


  Internet Book and Site Created, Designed, Executed, Managed
By Dr. KFeig, Professor of History and Political Science. Author, Hitler's Death Camps: The Sanity of Madness.
Site Copyright, Dr. K. Feig, 1996. Revised regularly. 2011-2012
Internet Books and Sites on loan to Foothill College for Web Courses


  

I created this site for folks in the Web World who enjoy ihistory as much as I do: the "public," history buffs, students, faculty. I have tried to be intensely aware of others' work and respect copyrights. I wanted this site to be available for public use, personally or in a classroom - and as a resource for teachers at all levels.  Thus no passwords are required. I only ask that if you refer your students to this site from yours, that you credit me properly for the years of work this entailed.

GRAPHICS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: I remain in awe of the talent and skill of the accomplished Web graphic artists who devote so much ability to making the Web such a special place. While I have made many of my own graphics, I have used "good" ones from others. It is difficult, however, to know who created what. I would like to thank and highlight every artist whose work I have used. If you see your graphic on this site, please let me know with your site identification and URL - so I may give you special credit.

Created for Netscape and then for Internet Explorer
May Not Be Reproduced