|
Stalag Luft III Murders
The Stalag Luft III murders were war crimes perpetrated by members of the Gestapo following the " Great Escape" of Allied prisoners of war from the German Air Force prison camp known as Stalag Luft III on March 25, 1944. Of the 76 successful escapees, 73 were recaptured, most within several days of the breakout, 50 of whom were executed on the personal orders of Adolf Hitler. These executions were conducted shortly after the prisoners' recapture. Outrage at the killings was expressed immediately, both in the prison camp, among comrades of the escaped prisoners and in the United Kingdom, where Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden rose in the House of Commons to announce in June 1944 that those guilty of what the British government suspected was a war crime would be "brought to exemplary justice." After Nazi Germany's capitulation in May 1945, the Police branch of the Royal Air Force, with whom the 50 airmen had been serving, launched an investigation into the killings, having branded th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
War Crime
A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostages, unnecessarily destroying civilian property, deception by perfidy, wartime sexual violence, pillaging, and for any individual that is part of the command structure who orders any attempt to committing mass killings (including genocide or ethnic cleansing), the granting of no quarter despite surrender, the conscription of children in the military, and flouting the legal Indiscriminate attack, distinctions of Proportionality (law), proportionality and military necessity. The formal concept of war crimes emerged from the codification of the customary international law that applied to warfare between sovereign states, such as the Lieber Code (1863) of the Union Army in the American Civil War and the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 for int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank McKenna (RAF Officer)
Francis Peter McKenna OBE (28 February 1906 – 14 February 1994) was a British Royal Air Force service police detective, deputy to Wilfred Bowes who ran the Special Investigation Branch investigation into the murders of recaptured officers who had escaped in the 'Great Escape' from Stalag Luft III in March 1944. McKenna personally arrested over 20 of the "Gestapo" agents involved in the murders. Pre-war life McKenna was born in Accrington, Lancashire on 28 February 1906, one of six children of Margaret and police constable Francis McKenna. The family moved to Blackpool shortly after his birth when his father was transferred to the Borough of Blackpool Police Force, they resided at 2 Huntley Avenue, Layton. Educated at Sacred Heart School, Blackpool he and his younger brother John later joined the police force where they both became detective sergeants. Frank McKenna married on 30 December 1934 in Blackpool to Eunice Naomi. With the outbreak of the second world war, McKenna, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Non-commissioned Officer
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. In contrast, Officer (armed forces), commissioned officers usually enter directly from a military academy, officer training corps (OTC) or Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), or 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). Functio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cold Case
''Cold Case'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series. It ran on CBS from September 28, 2003, to May 2, 2010. The series revolved around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division that specializes in investigating cold cases, usually homicides. Premise The show is set in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and it follows Detective Lilly Rush ( Kathryn Morris), a homicide detective with the Philadelphia Police Department, who specializes in cold cases, or investigations which are no longer being actively pursued by the department. Rush was initially partnered with Detective Chris Lassing ( Justin Chambers) in the first five episodes and then with Detective Scotty Valens ( Danny Pino) for the remainder of the series. They work under Lieutenant John Stillman ( John Finn) and are assisted by other detectives from their squad—Nick Vera ( Jeremy Ratchford), Will Jeffries ( Thom Barry), and beginning in season three, Kat Miller ( Tracie Thoms). Usually ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herbert Massey
Air Commodore Herbert Martin Massey, (19 January 189829 February 1976) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He was the Senior British Officer at Stalag Luft III who authorised the "Great Escape". Flying career Massey entered the Royal Military College, Sandhurst in 1915, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment in April 1916. He soon after underwent flying training, and was posted as a pilot to No. 16 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps from July. He was promoted temporary captain and made a flight commander in December 1916. On 4 February 1917, Massey was wounded and his observer killed when their aircraft was shot down by German ace Werner Voss. Transferring to the newly created Royal Air Force in 1918, Massey continued his military career through the interwar period. He commanded No. 6 Squadron in operations during the Arab Revolt in Palestine, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order, and was a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protecting Power
A protecting power is a country that represents another sovereign state—the protected power—in a third country where the protected power lacks its own formal diplomatic representation (e.g., lacks an embassy or consulate). It is common for protecting powers to be appointed when two countries break off diplomatic relations with each other. The protecting power is responsible for looking after the protected power's diplomatic property and citizens in the hosting state. If diplomatic relations were broken by the outbreak of war, the protecting power also inquires into the welfare of prisoners of war and looks after the interests of civilians in enemy-occupied territory. The institution of protecting power dates back to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and was formalized in the Geneva Convention of 1929. Protecting powers are authorized in all four of the Geneva Conventions of 1949. In addition to sovereign states being appointed as protecting powers, the International Committ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kriminalpolizei
''Kriminalpolizei'' (, "criminal police") is the standard term for the criminal investigation agency within the police forces of Germany, Austria, and the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland. In Nazi Germany, the Kripo was the criminal police department for the entire Reich. Today, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany, the state police (''Landespolizei'') perform the majority of investigations. Its Criminal Investigation Department is known as the ''Kriminalpolizei'' or more colloquially, the Kripo. Foundation In 1799, six police officers were assigned to the Prussian ''Kammergericht'' (superior court of justice) in Berlin to investigate more prominent crimes. They were given permission to work in plainclothes, when necessary. Their number increased in the following years. In 1811, their rules of service were written into the ''Berliner Polizeireglement'' (Berlin Police Regulations), and in 1820, the rank of ''Kriminalkommissar'' was introduced for criminal investigat ... [...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] |
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] |
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful people in Nazi Germany. He is primarily known for being one of the main architects of the Holocaust. After serving in a reserve battalion during World War I without seeing combat, Himmler went on to join the Nazi Party in 1923. In 1925, he joined the SS, a small paramilitary arm of the Nazi Party that served as a bodyguard unit for Adolf Hitler. Subsequently, Himmler rose steadily through the SS's ranks to become by 1929. Under Himmler's leadership, the SS grew from a 290-man battalion into one of the most powerful institutions within Nazi Germany. Over the course of his career, Himmler acquired a reputation for good organisational skills as well as for selecting highly competent subordinates, such as Reinhard Heydrich. From 1943 onwards, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reichsführer-SS
(, ) was a special title and rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945 for the commander of the (SS). ''Reichsführer-SS'' was a title from 1925 to 1933, and from 1934 to 1945 it was the highest Uniforms and insignia of the Schutzstaffel, rank of the SS. The longest-serving and most noteworthy office holder was Heinrich Himmler. Definition was both a title and a rank. The title of was first created in 1926 by the second commander of the SS, Joseph Berchtold. Julius Schreck, founder of the SS and Berchtold's predecessor, never referred to himself as . Yet, the title was retroactively applied to him in later years. In 1929, Heinrich Himmler became and referred to himself by his title instead of his regular SS rank of . This set the precedent for the commander of the SS to be called . Prior to the Night of the Long Knives, the SS was an elite corps of the (SA or storm troopers), and the was subordinate to the SA's operating head, the . On 20 July 1934, as part ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which governed Germany from 1933 to 1945. He also served as ''Oberkommando der Luftwaffe, Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe'' (Supreme Commander of the Air Force), a position he held until the final days of the regime. He was born in Rosenheim, Kingdom of Bavaria, Bavaria. A veteran World War I fighter pilot Flying aces, ace, Göring was a recipient of the . He served as the last commander of Jagdgeschwader 1 (World War I), ''Jagdgeschwader'' 1 (JG I), the fighter wing once led by Manfred von Richthofen. An early member of the Nazi Party, Göring was among those wounded in Adolf Hitler's failed Beer Hall Putsch in 1923. While receiving treatment for his injuries, he developed an addiction to morphine that persisted until the last year of his life. Aft ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
