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Heinz Schweizer
Heinz Schweizer (18 July 1908 Berlin – 5 June 1946 Biesenthal) was a German officer in the ''Luftwaffe'' of the ''Wehrmacht'', last in the rank of ''Hauptmann''. From about 1940, Schweizer belonged to a house demolition and bomb disposal command (''Sprengkommando'') in Düsseldorf-Kalkum. For his work, Schweizer was stylized by the Nazis as the hero of bomb disposal saving life and described by the propaganda press as a "man with nerves of steel", but near the end of World War II, he saved around 100 to 150 political prisoners in forced labour from certain death interned at a detention subcamp near Düsseldorf. Background From Schweizer's youth in Berlin, not much is known. In the 1930s he became an officer in the ''Reichswehr'', later in the ''Luftwaffe'', which was newly founded in 1935, and in 1936, he volunteered for service in the Spanish Civil War with the Condor Legion. Around 1940, Schweizer came to Düsseldorf-Kalkum as a specialist in explosives and was in charge of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's States of Germany, sixteen constituent states, Berlin is surrounded by the Brandenburg, State of Brandenburg and contiguous with Potsdam, Brandenburg's capital. Berlin's urban area, which has a population of around 4.5 million, is the second most populous urban area in Germany after the Ruhr. The Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region, Berlin-Brandenburg capital region has around 6.2 million inhabitants and is Metropolitan regions in Germany, Germany's third-largest metropolitan region after the Rhine-Ruhr and Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Rhine-Main regions. Berlin straddles the banks of the Spree (river), Spree, which flows into the Havel (a tributary of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Condor Legion
The Condor Legion (german: Legion Condor) was a unit composed of military personnel from the air force and army of Nazi Germany, which served with the Nationalist faction during the Spanish Civil War of July 1936 to March 1939. The Condor Legion developed methods of strategic bombing that were shortly afterward used widely during the Second World War. The bombing of Guernica was the most infamous operation carried out by the Condor Legion. Hugo Sperrle commanded the unit's aircraft formations and Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma commanded the ground element. History of military aid to Spain After the military coup in Spain on 17 July 1936 started the Spanish Civil War, the Nationalists requested the support of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. The first request for German aircraft was made on 22 July, with an order for 10 transport aircraft. The German Führer Adolf Hitler decided to support the Nationalists on 25 or 26 July, but was wary of provoking a wider European war.Westwell ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Delay-action Bomb
A delay-action bomb is an aerial bomb designed to explode some time after impact, with the bomb's fuzes set to delay the explosion for times ranging from very brief to several weeks. Short delays are used to allow the bomb to penetrate before exploding: "a delay action bomb striking the roof of a tall building will penetrate through several floors before bursting". A short delay would also prevent a fighter-bomber or ground-attack aircraft getting caught in the blast of its own bomb after a low-altitude attack. Longer delays were intended to disrupt salvage and other activities, to spread terror in areas where there could still be live bombs and to attack bomb disposal workers. Such bombs were used widely by British, American, and German forces during World War II. One use was to hamper and delay reconstruction and repair of bombed airfields. Towards the end of the war both British and German bombs became ''de facto'' mines, with a secondary fuze mechanism activated by light tilti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was founded by Arthur B. Sleigh in 1855 as ''The Daily Telegraph & Courier''. Considered a newspaper of record over '' The Times'' in the UK in the years up to 1997, ''The Telegraph'' generally has a reputation for high-quality journalism, and has been described as being "one of the world's great titles". The paper's motto, "Was, is, and will be", appears in the editorial pages and has featured in every edition of the newspaper since 19 April 1858. The paper had a circulation of 363,183 in December 2018, descending further until it withdrew from newspaper circulation audits in 2019, having declined almost 80%, from 1.4 million in 1980.United Newspapers PLC and Fleet Holdings PLC', Monopolies and Mergers Commission (1985), pp. 5–16. Its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Chastise
Operation Chastise or commonly known as the Dambusters Raid was an attack on Nazi Germany, German dams carried out on the night of 16/17 May 1943 by No. 617 Squadron RAF, 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, later called the Dam Busters, using special "bouncing bombs" developed by Barnes Wallis. The Möhne Reservoir, Möhne and Edersee Dam, Edersee dams were breached, causing catastrophic flooding of the Ruhr (river), Ruhr valley and of villages in the Edertal, Eder valley; the Sorpe Dam sustained only minor damage. Two hydroelectric power stations were destroyed and several more damaged. Factories and mines were also damaged and destroyed. An estimated 1,600 civilians – about 600 Germans and 1,000 forced labourers, mainly Soviet – were killed by the flooding. Despite rapid repairs by the Germans, production did not return to normal until September. The RAF lost 53 aircrew killed and 3 captured, with 8 aircraft destroyed. Background Before the Second World War, the British A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sorpe Dam
The Sorpe Dam (german: Sorpetalsperre) is a dam on the Sorpe river, near the small town of Sundern in the district of Hochsauerland in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Together with the Biggesee, the Möhne Reservoir, and the Verse reservoir, the Sorpe Reservoir is one of the major artificial lakes of the Sauerland's ''Ruhrverband'' reservoir association. It serves as a water supply, drives hydroelectric generators, and is used for leisure and recreation. Geography The Sorpe Dam is situated to the north of the ''Homert'' natural park, south-west of the city of Arnsberg in an area belonging to the borough of Sundern (Sauerland) between the villages of Langscheid (at the dam) and Amecke. It is supplied by the Sorpe stream. About once a year in spring, the reservoir runs over into the spillway, generating massive whitewater down the cascades to the stilling basin that draws crowds of spectators for a few days. Neighbouring municipalities *Balve *Sundern History The majo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haldern
Rees is a town in the district of Kleve in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the right bank of the Rhine, approximately 20 km east of Kleve. The population in 2005 was 22,559. Founded in 1228, Rees is the oldest town in the lower Rhine area. Geography Rees is administratively organized in eight communities: * Community of Bienen * Community of Empel * Community of Esserden * Community of Haffen * Community of Haldern * Community of Mehr * Community of Millingen * Community of Rees The neighbouring municipalities are Oude IJsselstreek (province of Gelderland, NL) and Isselburg (district of Borken) in the North, Hamminkeln and Wesel in the East, Xanten in the South (all district of Wesel), and Kalkar and Emmerich in the West. History The origin of the town is a Frankish settlement established between 500-800 AD. The name Rees most probably goes back to the Franconian term "Rys", which means "willow grove". The Lower Rhine area was Christian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lancaster Bomber
The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirling, all three aircraft being four-engined heavy bombers adopted by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the same wartime era. The Lancaster has its origins in the twin-engine Avro Manchester which had been developed during the late 1930s in response to the Air Ministry Specification P.13/36 for a medium bomber for "world-wide use" which could carry a torpedo internally, and make shallow dive-bombing attacks. Originally developed as an evolution of the Manchester (which had proved troublesome in service and was retired in 1942), the Lancaster was designed by Roy Chadwick and powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlins and in one of the versions, Bristol Hercules engines. It first saw service with RAF Bomber Command in 1942 and as the strategic bombing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bouncing Bomb
A bouncing bomb is a bomb designed to bounce to a target across water in a calculated manner to avoid obstacles such as torpedo nets, and to allow both the bomb's speed on arrival at the target and the timing of its detonation to be pre-determined, in a similar fashion to a regular naval depth charge. The inventor of the first such bomb was the British engineer Barnes Wallis, whose "Upkeep" bouncing bomb was used in the RAF's Operation Chastise of May 1943 to bounce into German dams and explode under water, with effect similar to the underground detonation of the Grand Slam and Tallboy earthquake bombs, both of which he also invented. British bouncing bombs After the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, Wallis saw strategic bombing as the means to destroy the enemy's ability to wage war and he wrote a paper entitled "A Note on a Method of Attacking the Axis Powers". Referring to the enemy's power supplies, he wrote (as Axiom 3): "If their destruction or paralysis ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prisoners Of War
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war in custody for a range of legitimate and illegitimate reasons, such as isolating them from the enemy combatants still in the field (releasing and repatriating them in an orderly manner after hostilities), demonstrating military victory, punishing them, prosecuting them for war crimes, exploiting them for their labour, recruiting or even conscripting them as their own combatants, collecting military and political intelligence from them, or indoctrinating them in new political or religious beliefs. Ancient times For most of human history, depending on the culture of the victors, enemy fighters on the losing side in a battle who had surrendered and been taken as prisoners of war could expect to be either slaughtered or enslaved. Ea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Non-commissioned Officer
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enlisted personnel, are of lower rank than any officer.) In contrast, commissioned officers usually enter directly from a military academy, officer candidate school (OCS), or officer training school (OTS) after receiving a post-secondary degree. The NCO corps usually includes many grades of enlisted, corporal and sergeant; in some countries, warrant officers also carry out the duties of NCOs. The naval equivalent includes some or all grades of petty officer. There are different classes of non-commissioned officers, including junior (lower ranked) non-commissioned officers (JNCO) and senior/staff (higher ranked) non-commissioned officers (SNCO). Function The non-commissioned officer corps has been referred to as "the backbone" of the arme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buchenwald Concentration Camp
Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or suspected communists were among the first internees. Prisoners came from all over Europe and the Soviet Union— Jews, Poles and other Slavs, the mentally ill and physically disabled, political prisoners, Romani people, Freemasons, and prisoners of war. There were also ordinary criminals and sexual "deviants". All prisoners worked primarily as forced labor in local armaments factories. The insufficient food and poor conditions, as well as deliberate executions, led to 56,545 deaths at Buchenwald of the 280,000 prisoners who passed through the camp and its 139 subcamps. The camp gained notoriety when it was liberated by the United States Army in April 1945; Allied commander Dwight D. Eisenhower visited one of its subcamps. From August 194 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_16_-_17_May_1943_C(AM)1603.jpg "Click for more on -> Operation Chastise")
