|
Gustave Mesny
Gustave Marie Maurice Mesny (28 March 1886 – 19 January 1945) was a French Army general in command of the 5th North African Infantry Division who was captured during the Second World War. He was victim of a war crime, controversially killed in retribution for the death of German General Fritz von Brodowski while in French custody. Military career Mesny was a member of the military command of the eleventh region until 1939. Then, in 1940, he commanded the 5th North African Infantry Division. His unit was surrounded in the Siege of Lille (1940), and he fought with the group of General Jean-Baptiste Molinié until 31 May 1940 at Haubourdin. Mesny was taken prisoner and interned in the Königstein Fortress. Mesny was involved in the escape of General Henri Giraud in 1942. On 28 October 1944, German General Fritz von Brodowski was shot and killed under suspicious circumstances after he was taken prisoner by the French. On 8 and 9 November, Swiss and British media announced that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Le Puy-en-Velay
Le Puy-en-Velay (, ; , before 1988: ''Le Puy'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Loire Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of south-central France. Located near the river Loire, the city is famous for its Le Puy Cathedral, cathedral, for a Le Puy green lentil, kind of lentil, for its lace-making, as well as for being the origin of the ''Chemin du Puy,'' one of the principal origin points of the pilgrimage Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France, route of Santiago de Compostela in France. In 2021, the Communes of France, commune had a population of 18,629. History Le Puy-en-Velay was a major Diocese, bishopric by the early period of France in the Middle Ages, medieval France. Its foundation is largely legendary. According to a martyrology compiled by Ado of Vienne, published in many copies in 858, and supplemented in the mid-10th century by Gauzbert of Limoges, a priest named George accompanied a certa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henri Giraud
Henri Honoré Giraud (; 18 January 1879 – 11 March 1949) was a French military officer who was a leader of the Free French Forces during the Second World War until he was forced to retire in 1944. Born to an Alsatian family in Paris, Giraud graduated from the Saint-Cyr military academy and served in French North Africa. He was wounded and captured by the Germans during the First World War, but managed to escape from his prisoner-of-war camp. During the interwar period, Giraud returned to North Africa and fought in the Rif War, for which he was awarded the ''Légion d'honneur''. Early in the Second World War, Giraud fought in the Netherlands. In May 1940, he was again captured by the Germans, but made another successful escape from captivity in April 1942 after two years of careful planning. From within Vichy France he worked with the Allies in secret, and assumed command of French troops in North Africa after Operation Torch (November 1942) following the assassination of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colditz Castle
Colditz Castle (or ''Schloss Colditz'' in German) is a Renaissance architecture, Renaissance castle in the town of Colditz near Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz in the States of Germany, state of Saxony in Germany. The castle is between the towns of Hartha and Grimma on a hill spur over the river Zwickauer Mulde, a tributary of the River Elbe. It had the first wildlife park in Germany when, during 1523, the castle park was converted into one of the largest menageries in Europe. The castle gained international fame as the site of Oflag IV-C, a prisoner-of-war camp during World War II for "incorrigible" Allies of World War II, Allied officers who had repeatedly attempted to escape from other camps. Original castle In 1046, Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor, Henry III of the Holy Roman Empire gave the Burgher (social class), burghers of Colditz permission to build the first documented settlement at the site. During 1083, Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, Henry IV urged Margrave Wiprech ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oflag IV-C
Oflag IV-C, generally known as Colditz Castle, was a prominent German Army prisoner-of-war camp for captured Allied officers during World War II. Located in Colditz, Saxony, the camp operated within the medieval Colditz Castle, which overlooks the town. The word "Oflag" is an abbreviation of the German term ''Offizierslager'', meaning "officers' camp." The camp held officers who were deemed escape risks or who had already attempted escape from other prison camps. Known for its seemingly impenetrable structure, Colditz Castle became a site of numerous escape attempts, some of which were successful, earning a reputation for the ingenuity and daring of its prisoners. The camp's history and the elaborate escape plans conceived there have been widely covered in postwar memoirs, books, and media. Today, Colditz Castle has become a popular tourist destination, with guided tours, exhibitions and a museum dedicated to the prisoners' life. Colditz Castle This thousand-year-old fortress was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gottlob Berger
Gottlob Christian Berger (16 July 1896 – 5 January 1975) was a German senior Nazi official who held the rank of '' SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS'' (lieutenant general) and was the chief of the SS Main Office responsible for ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) recruiting during World War II. At the post-war Nuremberg trials, the Waffen-SSwithin which Berger was a senior officerwas declared to be a criminal organisation due to its major involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity. Berger was convicted as a war criminal and spent six and a half years in prison. While serving in the German Army during World War I, he was wounded four times and awarded the Iron Cross First Class. Immediately after the war, he was a leader of the '' Einwohnerwehr'' militia in his native North Württemberg. He joined the Nazi Party in 1922 but lost interest in right-wing politics during the 1920s, training and working as a physical education teacher. In the late 1920s, he rejoin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SS Main Office
The SS Main Office (; SS-HA) was the central command office of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) in Nazi Germany until 1940. Formation The office traces its origins to 1931 when the SS created the SS-Amt to serve as an SS Headquarters staff overseeing the various units of the '' Allgemeine-SS'' (General SS). In 1933, after the Nazi Party came to power, the SS-Amt was renamed the ''SS-Oberführerbereichen'' and placed in command of all SS units within Nazi Germany. Its leaders were Ernst Bach (December 1932 to June 1933), Siegfried Seidel-Dittmarsch (June 1933 to February 1934) and Curt Wittje (from February 1934). This agency then became the SS-HA on January 30, 1935. The organization oversaw the ''Allgemeine-SS'', concentration camps, the '' SS-Verfügungstruppe'' (Special-purpose troops), and the ''Grenzschutz'' (Border Control regiments). During the late 1930s, the power of the SS-HA continued to grow becoming the largest and most powerful office of the SS, managing nearly all aspe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Auswärtiges Amt
The Federal Foreign Office (, ; abbreviated AA) is the foreign ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany, a federal agency responsible for both the country's foreign policy and its relationship with the European Union. It is a cabinet-level ministry. Since December 2021, Annalena Baerbock has served as Foreign Minister, succeeding Heiko Maas. The primary seat of the ministry is at the ' square in the Mitte district, the historic centre of Berlin. The term was the name of the Foreign Office established in 1870 by the North German Confederation, which then became the German Empire's Foreign Office in 1871. It is still the name of the German foreign ministry today. From 1871 to 1919, the Foreign Office was led by a Foreign Secretary, and since 1919, it has been led by the Foreign Minister of Germany. History Early years Foundation The was established in 1870 to form the foreign policy of the North German Confederation, and from 1871 of the German Empire. The Foreign Off ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foreign Office (Germany)
The Federal Foreign Office (, ; abbreviated AA) is the Foreign minister, foreign ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany, a federal agency (Germany), federal agency responsible for both the country's foreign policy and its relationship with the European Union. It is a German Cabinet, cabinet-level ministry. Since December 2021, Annalena Baerbock has served as Minister for Foreign Affairs (Germany), Foreign Minister, succeeding Heiko Maas. The primary seat of the ministry is at the ' square in the Mitte (locality), Mitte district, the historic centre of Berlin. The term was the name of the Foreign Office established in 1870 by the North German Confederation, which then became the German Empire's Foreign Office in 1871. It is still the name of the German foreign ministry today. From 1871 to 1919, the Foreign Office was led by a Foreign Secretary, and since 1919, it has been led by the Foreign Minister of Germany. History Early years Foundation The was established in 1870 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reich Security Main Office
The Reich Security Main Office ( , RSHA) was an organization under Heinrich Himmler in his dual capacity as ''Chef der Deutschen Polizei'' (Chief of German Police) and , the head of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS). The organization's stated duty was to fight all "enemies of the Reich" inside and outside the borders of Nazi Germany. From its very inception, the RSHA was a central institution for the Nazis, playing a pivotal role in orchestrating and executing the Holocaust. Formation and development In 1934, the Nazi regime accelerated the centralization of state power, abolishing the sovereignty of Germany's federal states and subordinating them directly to the Reich government. Even before the formal creation of the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA), the Gestapo under Himmler had already asserted nationwide authority, laying the groundwork for a unified security apparatus. These moves toward central control were further reinforced by the establishment of the ''Volksger ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wilhelm Keitel
Wilhelm Bodewin Johann Gustav Keitel (; 22 September 188216 October 1946) was a German field marshal who held office as chief of the (OKW), the high command of Nazi Germany's armed forces, during World War II. He signed a number of criminal orders and directives that led to numerous war crimes. Keitel's rise to the high command began with his appointment as the head of the Armed Forces Office at the Reich Ministry of War in 1935. Having taken command of the in 1938, Adolf Hitler replaced the ministry with the OKW and Keitel became its chief. He was reviled among his military colleagues as Hitler's habitual " yes-man". After the war, Keitel was indicted by the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg as one of the "major war criminals". He was found guilty on all counts of the indictment: crimes against humanity, crimes against peace, criminal conspiracy, and war crimes. He was sentenced to death and executed by hanging in 1946. Early life and career Wilhelm Keite ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming Chancellor of Germany#Nazi Germany (1933–1945), the chancellor in 1933 and then taking the title of in 1934. His invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 marked the start of the Second World War. He was closely involved in military operations throughout the war and was central to the perpetration of the Holocaust: the genocide of Holocaust victims, about six million Jews and millions of other victims. Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn in Austria-Hungary and moved to German Empire, Germany in 1913. He was decorated during his service in the German Army in the First World War, receiving the Iron Cross. In 1919 he joined the German Workers' Party (DAP), the precursor of the Nazi Party, and in 1921 was app ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oberkommando Der Wehrmacht
The (; abbreviated OKW [oː kaːˈve] Armed Forces High Command) was the Command (military formation), supreme military command and control Staff (military), staff of Nazi Germany during World War II, that was directly subordinated to Adolf Hitler. Created in 1938, the OKW replaced the Ministry of the Reichswehr, Reich Ministry of War and had nominal oversight over the individual high commands of the Wehrmacht, country's armed forces: the army (), navy () and air force (). With the start of World War II, tactical control of the Waffen-SS was also exercised by it. There was no direct chain of command between the OKW and the other High Commands. Rivalry with the different services' commands, mainly with the Oberkommando des Heeres, Army High Command (OKH), prevented the OKW from becoming a unified German General Staff in an effective command hierarchy, chain of command, though it did help coordinate operations among the three services. During the war, the OKW acquired more and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
