Replies

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.

Selections from West Point Atlas for the Second World War
North Africa, 1941: Pursuit to Tunisia, November 1942-February 1943
Tunisia 1942: Axis Initiative-Situation 14 February 1943, and Operations Since 1 January
Southwest Russia, 1942: Soviet Winter Offensive, Operations, 13 December 1942-18 February 1943
The Far East and the Pacific, 1941: Status of Forces and Allied Theater Boundaries, 2 July 1942
India-Burma, 1942: Allied Lines of Communication, 1942-1943

January 20, 1943:

"In a letter to the Reich minister of transport, SS chief Heinrich Himmler requests additional trains so that the 'removal of Jews' from across Europe can be speeded up."

Ernst Kaltenbrunner

"The successor to Reinhard Heydrich, Ernst Kaltenbrunner devoted himself to completing his predecessor's agenda of hate.

"Born near Hitler's birthplace of Braunau, Austria, Kaltenbrunner enjoyed the advantages of wealth, earning a degree in law.
A fierce antisemite, he joined the Austrian Nazi Party in 1932 and subsequently became a member of the SS.
His Nazi activities led to imprisonment, but with the Anschluss (Germany's annexation of Austria) Kaltenbrunner was rewarded with an appointment as minister of state security.
He cooperated with boyhood friend Adolf Eichmann to force the emigration of Austrian Jews.
Following Heydrich's death in 1942, Heinrich Himmler promoted Kaltenbrunner to head the Reich Security Main Office in 1943.

"An imposing figure with a huge facial scar, Kaltenbrunner preferred the shadows of anonymity.
He hid in the Austrian Alps at the end of the war, but was captured and indicted.
At the Nuremberg Trials, he pleaded ignorance and innocence.
He could not escape, however, the fact that the position he held from 1943 to 1945 gave him extraordinary power to carry out the 'Final Solution.'
Witnesses placed him at the Mauthausen gassings, and he was charged with ordering the executions of Allied POWs.
Judged guilty, Kaltenbrunner was executed on October 16, 1946."

Nazis Now Building Two U-Boats For Every One The Allies Sink

It is true that U-Boat production was peaking in 1943. However, the vastly improved resources the Allies were able to throw into the Battle of the Atlantic would turn the tide and allow the Allies to sink almost as many as were produced in 1943.