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Cato Bontjes Van Beek
Cato Bontjes van Beek (; 14 November 1920 – 5 August 1943) was a German member of the Resistance against the Nazi regime. Early years Born in Bremen, Cato was the eldest of three children. She spent her childhood and youth in the nearby Fischerhude artists' colony around her uncle Otto Modersohn. Her parents, the Dutch-born potter Jan Bontjes van Beek (1899–1969) and dancer and painter Olga Bontjes van Beek ( Breling; 1896–1995) offered their children considerable personal freedom while growing up. From 1929, Cato stayed abroad to attend the German school in Amsterdam, and in 1937, she spent time in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, as an au pair. Unlike many others, Cato did not join the League of German Girls (''Bund Deutscher Mädel'', BDM) youth organisation. Through her younger brother, Tim (1923-2013), she met ''Luftwaffe'' Sergeant Helmut Schmidt, the future Chancellor of Germany, who, from 1937, was stationed in Bremen-Vegesack for his military service and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bremen (city)
Bremen ( Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consisting of the cities of Bremen and Bremerhaven. With about 570,000 inhabitants, the Hanseatic city is the 11th largest city of Germany and the second largest city in Northern Germany after Hamburg. Bremen is the largest city on the River Weser, the longest river flowing entirely in Germany, lying some upstream from its mouth into the North Sea, and is surrounded by the state of Lower Saxony. A commercial and industrial city, Bremen is, together with Oldenburg and Bremerhaven, part of the Bremen/Oldenburg Metropolitan Region, with 2.5 million people. Bremen is contiguous with the Lower Saxon towns of Delmenhorst, Stuhr, Achim, Weyhe, Schwanewede and Lilienthal. There is an exclave of Bremen in Bremerhaven, the "Citybremian Overseas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Damals
''Damals'' is a German monthly popular scientific history magazine. The magazine has been issued since 1969 and aims primarily at students, teachers, university students, scientists and a readership interested in historical science. The German word ''damals'' means "at that time". The editors, being established historians, archaeologists, cultural scientists and philologists, write scientifically-based articles. Each month another focus theme is portrayed. This concept distinguishes ''Damals'' from other German publications of the kind, for example ''G/Geschichte''. The magazine also features brief book reviews, a historically-oriented television and radio programme, research news and articles on topics with a wide range of historical eras and themes. Moreover, it covers current exhibitions which are often featured in whole articles or even as theme of the month. The magazine, whose scientific advisory body includes historians Christian Meier and Jürgen Osterhammel, is publi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Libertas Schulze-Boysen
Libertas "Libs" Schulze-Boysen, born Libertas Viktoria Haas-Heye (20 November 1913 in Paris – 22 December 1942 in Plötzensee Prison ) was a German aristocrat and resistance fighter against the Nazis. From the early 1930s to 1940, Libs attempted to build a literary career, initially as a press officer and later as a writer and journalist. Initially sympathetic to the Nazis as her family had close links to the most senior levels of the regime, she changed her mind after meeting and marrying Luftwaffe officer Harro Schulze-Boysen. Starting in about 1935, the couple held regular discussion meetings with their friends, that would end as a party. As an aristocrat, Libs had contact with many different people in different strata of German society, which enabled her to recruit left-leaning members into the group. Through these discussions, resistance to the Nazi regime grew and by 1936, she and Harro began to actively resist the Nazis. During the early 1940s, Libs began to documen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red Orchestra (espionage)
The Red Orchestra (german: Die Rote Kapelle, ), as it was known in Germany, was the name given by the Abwehr Section III.F to anti-Nazi resistance workers in August 1941. It primarily referred to a loose network of resistance groups, connected through personal contacts, uniting hundreds of opponents of the Nazi regime. These included groups of friends who held discussions that were centred on Harro Schulze-Boysen, Adam Kuckhoff and Arvid Harnack in Berlin, alongside many others. They printed and distributed prohibited leaflets, posters, and stickers, hoping to incite civil disobedience. They aided Jews and resistance to escape the regime, documented the atrocities of the Nazis, and transmitted military intelligence to the Allies. Contrary to legend, the Red Orchestra was neither directed by Soviet communists nor under a single leadership. It was a network of groups and individuals, often operating independently. To date, about 400 members are known by name. The term was also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berlin S-Bahn
The Berlin S-Bahn () is a rapid transit railway system in and around Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It has been in operation under this name since December 1930, having been previously called the special tariff area ''Berliner Stadt-, Ring- und Vorortbahnen'' (Berlin city, orbital, and suburban railways). It complements the Berlin U-Bahn and is the link to many outer-Berlin areas, such as Berlin Brandenburg Airport. As such, the Berlin S-Bahn blends elements of a commuter rail service and a rapid transit system. In its first decades of operation, the trains were steam-drawn; even after the electrification of large parts of the network, a number of lines remained under steam. Today, the term ''S-Bahn'' is used in Berlin only for those lines and trains with third-rail electrical power transmission and the special Berlin S-Bahn loading gauge. The third unique technical feature of the Berlin S-Bahn, the , is being phased out and replaced by a communications-based train con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
French Prisoners Of War In World War II
During World War II, the French prisoners of war were primarily soldiers from France and its colonial empire captured by Nazi Germany. Although no precise estimates exist, the number of French soldiers captured during the Battle of France between May and June 1940 is generally recognised around 1.8 million, equivalent to around 10 percent of the total adult male population of France at the time. After a brief period of captivity in France, most of the prisoners were deported to Germany. In Germany, prisoners were incarcerated in '' Stalag'' or ''Oflag'' prison camps, according to rank, but the vast majority were soon transferred to work details (''Kommandos'') working in German agriculture or industry. Colonial prisoners, however, remained in camps in France with poor living conditions as a result of Nazi racial ideologies. During negotiations for the Armistice of 22 June 1940, the Vichy French government adopted a policy of collaboration in hopes for German concessions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gliding
Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word ''soaring'' is also used for the sport. Gliding as a sport began in the 1920s. Initially the objective was to increase the duration of flights but soon pilots attempted cross-country flights away from the place of launch. Improvements in aerodynamics and in the understanding of weather phenomena have allowed greater distances at higher average speeds. Long distances are now flown using any of the main sources of rising air: ridge lift, thermals and lee waves. When conditions are favourable, experienced pilots can now fly hundreds of kilometres before returning to their home airfields; occasionally flights of more than are achieved. Some competitive pilots fly in races around pre-defined courses. These gliding competitions test pilots' abilities to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Socialist Flyers Corps
The National Socialist Flyers Corps (german: Nationalsozialistisches Fliegerkorps; NSFK) was a paramilitary aviation organization of the Nazi Party. History NSFK was founded 15 April 1937 as a successor to the German Air Sports Association; the latter had been active during the years when a German air force was forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles. The NSFK organization was based closely on the para-military organization of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA). A similar group was the National Socialist Motor Corps (NSKK). During the early years of its existence, the NSFK conducted military aviation training in gliders and private airplanes. Leadership Friedrich Christiansen, originally a ''Generalleutnant'' then later a Luftwaffe ''General der Flieger'', was NSFK '' Korpsführer'' from 15 April 1937 until 26 June 1943, followed by ''Generaloberst'' Alfred Keller until 8 May 1945. Ranks, uniforms and other insignia The paramilitary rank system was in use by the NSFK between the year ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oberkommando Der Luftwaffe
The (; abbreviated OKL) was the high command of the air force () of Nazi Germany. History The was organized in a large and diverse structure led by Reich minister and supreme commander of the Air force (german: Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe) Hermann Göring. Through the Ministry of Aviation () Göring controlled all aspects of aviation in Germany, civilian and military alike. This organization was established in the peacetime period predating the German involvement in the Spanish Civil War. In early 1937, Göring announced the reorganization of the Reich Air Ministry into military and civilian branches. The military branch was to be led by the Air Force High Command () with its chief and general staff. However, the separation of military from civil aviation was incomplete and fragmented. Some parts of the military branch were left under the control of the General Inspector of the Air force, Field marshal general () Erhard Milch. These were: * Central Branch * General Ai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bremen-Vegesack
Vegesack is a northern district of the city of Bremen. Geography ''Vegesack'' is located about north from the centre of Bremen-city at the mouth of the river Lesum, beside the river Weser (). Abutting the district of Vegesack to the northwest is the district of Blumenthal, in the southeast the district of Burglesum. Across the river Weser is the Lower Saxony village Lemwerder, connected to Vegesack by a ferry service. History Vegesack was established long before the 14th century. At that time the mouth of the river Lesum and the small brook Aue to the river Weser was a preferred and protected berth for sailing ships in the winter time or in the stormy seasons. Therefore, the first buildings might have been a few workshops and accommodations and pubs for the sailors. After the first mention of a ferry across the Weser in the 14th century, the name "Vegesack" was first used in 1453. The source and the meaning of the name is unknown but might be derived from the pub "Thom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chancellor Of Germany
The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,; often shortened to ''Bundeskanzler''/''Bundeskanzlerin'', / is the head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the German Armed Forces during wartime. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Cabinet and heads the executive branch. The chancellor is elected by the Bundestag on the proposal of the federal president and without debate (Article 63 of the German Constitution). The current officeholder is Olaf Scholz of the SPD, who was elected in December 2021, succeeding Angela Merkel. He was elected after the SPD entered into a coalition agreement with Alliance 90/The Greens and the FDP. History of the office The office of Chancellor has a long history, stemming back to the Holy Roman Empire, when the office of German archchancellor was usually held by archbishops of Mainz. The title was, at times, used in several states of German-speaki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
