Posted on 03/12/2008 5:50:45 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
I really enjoy all of them. It was no nonescence reporting. Journalists wasn’t a bad word back them. Some of the old recordings sound metallic due to them being digitized but they are still well worth listening to.
Think truth is copromised when we search for a match to historical Nazism and Hitler against what is our modern political nomenclature and interpretation. Nazisim is first defined by it's name. . .'National Socialist Party'. We know that socialist's of 'yesterday' share many of the inclinations of today's Lib/Progressives.
We know that by it's 'lights' or lack thereof; that current, American Liberalism has a Marxist root embedded in totalitarian thinking. We know, that then as now. . .Islamic fascism and Nazism share the same totalitarian rootbed as well. (Perhaps this is why the Left can neither see, nor hear; much less speak of our 'enemies' who 'will' to destroy us.)
There are overlays that can be made; arguments for 'distinctions'; but by and large. we are left with the current proscriptions of a 'progressive Liberalism resonating with other historical 'isms' which we know by full name..
I started doing two or three a week beginning Jan. 27. If you can figure out how to search for my posts you can check them out. I tried searching "Real Time + 70 Years," but nothing came up. My interest in WWII was first raised when I tried to re-construct my father's army experience (New Guinea/Leyte Island, 1943-45). So, yes, if I last that long I will cover the Pacific Theatre. I posted a couple articles about the Sino-Japanese conflict that got hot in July '37. There did not seem to be much interest on this forum, but I will continue to follow the news on it and post significant stories.
Homer writes: “My interest in WWII was first raised when I tried to re-construct my father’s army experience (New Guinea/Leyte Island, 1943-45).”
Hmmmmmm...
My father also served in New Guinea and Leyte Island, with the 33 Infantry Division. He wore their “golden cross” patch on the right arm of his uniforms for the next 30 years.
I asked about the Pacific Theater because it is often forgotten or just glossed over by historians. For example, Dec 12 of ‘37 was the rape of Nanking. This was before the starting point of most historians who mark ‘39 as the start of the war. I am one of those that mark the date war started as September 18th, 1931 when two Kwantung Army officers (and troops) attacked a Manchurian Railway 5 miles north of Mukden, China. This was the first assault in Japan's expansionism. (Unless you count the assassination of Prime Minister Osachi Hamaguchi in Nov. 1930 which pretty much put the Japanese Army in control of things).
My father was born just a few days before Hiroshima, but both of my grandparents served in the war. In both theaters. My granfather on my dad's side was one of Murrel’s Muraders, and my mom's dad was a nose gunner in a B-24 Liberator in missions over N. Italy and S. Germany.
At any rate, if you have a ping list, please put me on it.
My father was in 32nd ID - "Red Arrow Div." I didn't remember anything about a 33rd Div, but now I see they arrived on Luzon in Jan '45. My father was recovered from MIA and hospitalized on 1/3/45 on Leyte.
I've read that in 1939 both Britain and the US were spending about 4% of their GDP’s on national defense.
Most curious, that's the same figure as the US today.
Both countries defense spending was heavily focused on their navies, and secondly air forces.
Relatively speaking, their armies were pathetic. Where Hitler was building over 100 divisions to invade Poland, the British expeditionary contribution to France in 1939 was planned as ten divisions.
But the point is, Britain and the US were diplomatically going out of their ways to appease, accommodate and smooth over relations with Hitler, not to oppose him.
The French did have 100 divisions in 1938. And standing against them, on their western front, the Germans had “five fighting divisions and seven reserve divisions,” according to German chief of staff General Alfred Jodl. (Ferguson page 362) But the French had no intention of acting alone.
As for US sentiments, please consider this: “By 1940 American direct investment in Germany amounted to $206 million, not much less than the $275 million in Britain and far more than the $46 million in France.” (Ferguson, page 333).
Homer writes: “My father was in 32nd ID - “Red Arrow Div.” I didn’t remember anything about a 33rd Div, but now I see they arrived on Luzon in Jan ‘45. My father was recovered from MIA and hospitalized on 1/3/45 on Leyte.”
By the way, you know, I’m certain, that both the 32nd and the 33rd were scheduled to land on the beaches of Japan, in September (?) 1945.
Right you are. The 32nd was to be part of Operation Coronet, preliminarily set for 1 March '46. Objective Tokyo and surrounding region. The 33rd was set for Operation Olympic, about 1 Nov. '45. Objective Kyushu and Shikoku Islands. My father would have missed the former. He was not discharged from army hospitals until April '46. My source for the above is West Point Atlas for the Second World War-Asia and the Pacific
This is partly an allusion to the customs union negotiated with Germany in 1931. The agreement was eventually struck down by the International Court at the Hague as a violation of the 1919 peace treaties; but the French government, unwilling to wait that long, brought pressure which brought on financial crisis in Austria (incidentally contributing to the onset of the Depression). In 1938, France was presented not with a customs union, but with a total annexation; behold the French response.
It should be emphasized that Schuschnigg's regime was a dictatorship as well, just not as ruthless as Hitler's - and for just that reason, at a great disadvantage. Schuschnigg and his predecessor Dollfuss had held on to power as long as they did only by making an alliance with Mussolini; but in 1938 Mussolini could no longer protect the Austrian regime, and perhaps didn't want to.
If only that had been true.
The Frank family had left Germany well before this. Unfortunately, they didn’t get far enough away.
In September 1937 Mussolini had visited Germany and was treated to the full sales pitch by the Hitler, including visits to armament factories, reviews of SS and other Wehrmacht units and culminating at a mass rally in Berlin where Hitler and Mussolini gave speeches to a million Germans. He returned to Rome with the firm idea that he had seen the future of Europe.
Lincoln writes:
“It should be emphasized that Schuschnigg’s regime was a dictatorship as well, just not as ruthless as Hitler’s...”
Your posts seem informed and balanced. Much appreciated.
Do you know, or can comment on, if Austrians would have voted in favor of, or against, union with Nazi Germany?
I’ve often heard they favored it.
Do you know, or can comment on, if Austrians would have voted in favor of, or against, union with Nazi Germany?
All I can say with confidence is that some were in favor of the annexation and some were opposed; I don't know which side had the greater numbers, and I doubt that there's any way to tell at this late date. There was a plebiscite, which of course was similar to other totalitarian "elections".
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