[Homer_J_Simpson]

Free Republic University, Department of History presents World War II Plus 70 Years: Seminar and Discussion Forum
First session: September 1, 2009. Last date to add: September 2, 2015.
Reading assignment: New York Times articles delivered daily to students on the 70th anniversary of original publication date. (Previously posted articles can be found by searching on keyword “realtime” Or view Homer’s posting history .)
To add this class to or drop it from your schedule notify Admissions and Records (Attn: Homer_J_Simpson) by freepmail. Those on the Realtime +/- 70 Years ping list are automatically enrolled. Course description, prerequisites and tuition information is available at the bottom of Homer’s profile. Also visit our general discussion thread

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Selections from West Point Atlas for the Second World War
German Invasion of Russia – Operations, 22 June-25 August 1941
The Mediterranean Basin
The Far East and the Pacific, 1941 – The Imperial Powers, 1 September 1939

[topher]

bmp

[CougarGA7]

• "It's impossible to say how long Russian resistance will last - three weeks or three months?" - British Lt. General Henry Pownall

• "That is the curse of the evil deed! If we turn near Minsk, there will inevitably be a stop there until the entire Belostok-Minsk pocket has largely been cleared. I wanted to take possession of the Dnepr or at least the Beresina bridges quickly, so as not to have to fight for them later - which unfortunately will now be the case!" - Field Marshall Fedor von Bock

• "The Russians are fighting bravely. Their command is functioning better than during the first few days." - Joseph Goebbels

• General of Panzer Troops Wihelm Ritter von Thoma reported that 3rd Panzer Group would only have 70% of its panzer forces in service by July 2

• Guderian's and Hoth's group make contact in the encirclement at Minsk

• In accordance to Stavka orders, Popov begins forming fifteen person militia divisions to man Leningrad defenses.

• Units of German Infantry Regiment 71 and Panzer Regiment 7 have to withdraw and allow Soviet forces to surge past them as they make a break out of the Minsk pocket to the east. Other Soviet units simply marches in small numbers through the porous line back to the Soviet front.

[tcrlaf]

Notice how fast the Socialists in America have become War HAwks, now that the Soviet Union has been attacked?

[tcrlaf]

The Iasi Train Of Death:

About 8 p.m. on Sunday, June 29, 1941, the 2,500 or so Jews who had survived the Iasi pogrom and were being held at the police station were transferred to the train station. Various accounts estimated 2,430-2,590 prisoners were herded into 33-39 windowless cars, with about 80-200 Jews in each. Ioanid uses the figure of 2,530.

Originally the “deportees” were to be sent to Tirgu Frumos; then Calarasi (Kalarash) was chosen. But that was just the beginning of the contradictory changes.

The first train left Iasi between 3:30 and 4:15 a.m. on the 30th; at 7:30 a.m. it passed Tirgu Frumos (40 km from Iasi), went to Pascani, Lespezi, returned to Pascani, then went to Roman, and stayed there from 11:45 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at which time it went to Tirgu Frumos again, arriving at 9:30 p.m.

The doors to the packed boxcars had been closed the entire time, and the prisoners had had no food or drink the entire trip. The conditions on the trip and the removal of the dead are described in horrifying detail in Ioanid’s book. The living in the last boxcar were allowed to disembark — barely 200 survivors of the 17-hour death train-and moved to a synagogue, where they were subjected to other tortures.

On July 1 Iasi gendarmes took charge and emptied the corpses and at approximately 4:00 p.m. the death train resumed its journey to Calarasi. The train stopped at Mircesti, 40 kms from Tîrgu Frumos, the next morning, where 327 corpses were unloaded. On July 3 the train passed through Sabaoani, 10m kms away, and then went to Roman, where it was not allowed to stop because of the smell.

Finally the train returned to Roman, where 53 more corpses were removed. On July 4-5 the train was at Marasesti (120 kms from Roman), where 10 additional dead bodies were removed. The next night, 40 more were removed at Inotesti. Finally at Ploiesti the surviving prisoners were give bread and water. On July 6, the train arrived at Calarasi, with 1,076 survivors, 69 close to death, and 25 more corpses.

The 500 km journey over a period of 6 1/2 days in excruciating heat, mostly without water, for the prisoners had yielded 1,400 fatalities.