Now the joke is on me since I am, apparently, more German than they are!

Now I would have to travel to Munich, the main city hall and archives, to get more info as to why, how, and when he emigrated here, and why we landed and settled in Switzerland.

That’s Karma!

and it explains my comments and thoughts about China, and India in my previous blog from earlier today.

February 27, 2002

Now Russia will be excluded from SWIFT. This is the ultimate madness and will come back like a boomerang.
We shoot ourselves into the greatest supply crisis of all time and will wake up to a world where the West faces the rest of the world !!
It’s madness, pure madness what’s happening and Germany’s stupidest and worst government of all time is right in the middle of it instead of staying neutral like Switzerland.

To explain this in practice

to all hysterics and morally outraged sanction drivers:

When Russia pulls out of the Western banks-controlled SWIFT international payment processing system, here’s what will happen:

The Russians don’t give a fuck. It can not be said otherwise.
The Russians have long since discussed the option with China, and the Chinese have been waiting for this for years.
Then a new payment system will emerge between the world’s largest supplier of raw materials — Russia — and the world’s most dynamic economic power — China.
Without dollars, without euros.

Brazil will follow ( Bolsonaro was in Moscow a few days ago )
India will join (Mori needs Russia’s raw materials and China’s technology)
Africa will follow (there the morally snooty Americans and the decadent Europeans are hated anyway)
And the rest of the world will follow.

The US will always be big –

it controls an entire continent, has the raw materials in Canada, and cheap labor in Mexico and Central America.

But Europe – the decadent,

weak, and disunited Europe is then FUCKED. (excuse my expressions)

Nobody needs us – nobody wants us – and we’re shooting ourselves in the knees with two machine guns right now!!
The worst, most incompetent, and stupid politicians, along with the media whores, are hysterically enjoying their moral outrage at the Russian President.
They gamble each other up in their statements and demands and in their boundless incompetence and stupidity have no idea what consequences their actions will have for all of us.
Social media is full of hysterical women masturbating between latte macchiatos about how they “would be willing to sacrifice part of their wealth for solidarity”.
First of all, these civil failures mostly did not earn the prosperity that they sacrificed themselves for but rather inherited it.
And then these chatterers in their do-it-yourself hubris don’t think for a second that half of our fellow human beings have no wealth that they can sacrifice!!
The Greens and the Neos, these decadent phenomena with their self-righteous moral nonsense – reading or listening makes me puke!
Mr. Scholz, Ms. Baerbock, Mr. Habeck, and the rest of the “I can’t do anything” – do you have any idea that there are millions of people in Germany who don’t know how to make ends meet on a monthly basis anyway!!
How are they supposed to cope with hyperinflation and mass unemployment in the wake of the looming mega-economic crisis – a crisis that YOU are intentionally causing – you lunatics!
Politics is not moral, war is not moral.
Putin was provoked to the point of no longer and is now doing exactly what power politicians do.
The civilian population of Ukraine is now paying a terrible price for the failure of politics on all sides.
It’s horrible, it’s cruel and it’s unfair.
But Ukraine is lost, Putin has already won the war.

Sad but reality.

Now it’s about realpolitik and damage limitation.
How can we give help and support to the people of Ukraine – ALL people there?
There are many options.
But the economic nuclear bomb SWIFT exclusion is not an option.
It’s Hara-kiri – with a run-up !!
It’s the SuperGau – FOR US !!

Stop this madness!!

The whole thing is only intended to drive and justify inflation!
If the loans from Russia can no longer be paid – since SWIFT payment is no longer possible – our banks will fall like dominoes, the only question will be: which bank will fall first?
How did Mr. Schwab put it so beautifully? You will own or have nothing more and be happy – here we go…

Oh, Europe, the Old Country, the continent of iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum, The Louvre, The Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, the Acropolis & Parthenon to name a few. Every country is rich in culture, history, art, cuisine, and architecture. In the pre-COVID days, roughly 700 million inbound tourists visited Europe. And a big chunk of those tourists were Americans. Many of the American tourists to their surprise experience culture shock, the lifestyle in many European countries is nothing close to what you find in the States. Let’s take a Euro trip and check out some of the most shocking testimonies Americans have given about their time in Europe.

1. Switzerland

After living in the USA for over 30 years, coming back to Switzerland meant to readjust. Ice is a commodity here, you only get it if you insist, in a restaurant or bar. The freezer compartment in most Swiss households is the size of a shoebox. To dispose of your garbage you have to purchase a roll of 20 – 35lt. bags, when full, placed in a specific spot by the street on a specific day. The water and electric bills are all issued  “aKonto”, they estimate your consumption according to your last month’s usage, then send you a bill quarterly accordingly. Income taxes are estimated as well, here you get a bill before you even start a job!  you get an estimated bill during the year, then it is adjusted with the final bill after submitting your tax return. Every Swiss household, with a radio and or TV, has to pay a CHF 300 tax every year, for the privilege of owning it. When you move out of a rental apartment in Switzerland, the owners, or a hired firm by them, will inspect your apartment in detail, with magnifying glasses! They even expect you to remove the electrical outlet covers and clean them inside! (240V!!) God help you if you didn’t use that toothbrush to clean. Or you could be paying CHF 2000-3000 for a three-bedroom apartment if you hire someone to do the cleaning for you.

2. It’s Just Smaller

The standard of living in the majority of the countries in Europe is not that different from that in the US. As a matter of fact, some countries have it better. However, one thing that surprises many US tourists is that everything is just tiny. Well if you compare it to the good ol’ US of A. The cars are small, grocery stores are smaller and there is no giant Double Gulp! There are also bicycles everywhere!

3. Oranges

Speaking of giant Double Gulp, remember getting a Fanta in one of those?  And as soon as you take a sip of it you find out that it tastes like cold artificial orange chemical liquid. Well, the Fanta in Europe tastes like…Oranges! The giant soda company, Coca-Cola, uses a different recipe for Fanta in Europe. For some reason, they concluded that Europeans would like the taste of real oranges and not artificial flavoring.

4. Fiesta

Lisbon is the beautiful, romantic, and breathtaking capital of Portugal. The people are friendly, the food is great, and the air is fresh Atlantic Ocean air. What can be better? The locals love their dinners late with a glass of Port wine. “There we were, feeling like the locals, entering the main dining neighborhood with all of the restaurants dead empty. By the time we were done eating at 10 p.m., all of those restaurants were packed like there is a fiesta going on.”

5. Poseidon Is Real

“We were standing on a pier looking at the breathtaking Rio-Antirio bridge that leads to the mainland. It was our first time in the eastern Peloponnese in Greece. Next to us, there were a bunch of fishermen setting up their rods.” “Next thing we know, out of nowhere one fisherman casually runs up to the edge of the pier and throws an actual trident into the water! In the same second, he ecstatically screams something in Greek and dives off the pier. Once he got out of the water he still had the octopus on the trident.”

6. Soccer

“Together with a friend, we went to watch a soccer match in Italy. When we were buying the tickets the cashier needed to know what team we were rooting for to determine where to give us seats. We laughed and told her that we were not fans of either.” “She gave us the tickets with a funny expression and told us not to say that in the stadium. We saw five fights, trash thrown at the pitch during the game, and things were set on fire.”

7. Germans

“During my gap year together with a high school buddy, we went backpacking in Europe. We felt like we were discovering the world and ourselves”We ended up sharing an apartment with some German kids who would always laugh at us when we drank the tap water as a “cure” to our hangovers. To us, it felt like the cleanest tasting water, to them it was toilet water.” But what we wanted was to party. Germany was just the right place for that.” 

8. Sunday

Sunday is worship day for many people in America. But capitalism is king and almost everything is still open. In Europe, they take their Sundays seriously and this couple from Florida learned it firsthand. “We were staying in an Airbnb apartment and had our own kitchen. My husband went to the grocery store to get some food for breakfast. He came back with nothing half an hour later, it turns out even the grocery stores are closed.” In Switzerland, everything is on hold, from 12 noon to 2 pm. It is against the law to mow your lawn or use any equipment, between those hours. 10 pm is “lights out” time!!

9. Fish and Chips

American movies for some weird reason always portray British food as bad, boring, just boiled, overcooked. As if fish and chips are the best they have out there. Let’s not forget that the UK has people from all over the world. All of these people brought their amazing cuisine with them. When visiting the UK you definitely will be amazed at the variety of food. From many different chicken tikka flavors to masala kabab food, there is pure joy.

10. The Beer Republic

The Czech Republic, the country is beautiful, the people are great and the beer they make is just as good. The country has an amazing brewing history that started all the way back in the 6th century. And these college kids had a taste of that history. “On a visit to Prague, a bunch of us went to a restaurant to try out some local food and of course the famous Pilsner Urquell beer. When we got the bill we noticed that the beer cost less than the bottled water!”

11. McBeer

While we are on the subject of beer. Remember the last time you got a cold one in a McDonald’s in the States? No right? That’s because they don’t serve it there. Well, that is not the case in France. You can be 16 and buy beer at a McDonald’s! Back in the US, you would have to make a fake ID and not shave for a week to pass off for a 21-year-old.

12. Recycling

“Growing up in Germany was a great experience. I got to experience a different culture, make great friends, learn a language and so much more. But when I was 13 we moved back home to Boston.” “It’s back in Boston that I realized that Germany is good at recycling. Like really good, there is a group of trash cans on every street corner. With each one of them for a specific type of waste.”

13. Bread

Beautiful weather, romantic language, rich culture, friendly people, sangria, paella, Café Con Leche, bread, tapas, and olive oil with each meal. For all of those reasons, Spain is truly an amazing country.

14. Sweden

Most Americans know Sweden because of IKEA, ABBA, Swedish meatballs, Volvo, and lately Spotify. But something that Sweden is not famous for and should, is the hospitality and politeness of its people. Just like this couple experienced.“We stayed at an amazing historical hotel and went to check out the restaurant that was part of our vacation package. The restaurant was beautiful, the food was great but we were the only people there. We asked why it was so empty and the waitress explained that it was a holiday and they were open specially for us!”

15. Quality

Grabbing a beer in McDonald’s is great but having that beer with your Big Mac meal is even better. You will also realize that the taste of fast food in Europe is much better than what it is in the States. The reason for that is because the quality of the food is just so much better! This goes to every fast-food chain that America is known for. Ironically KFC tastes better in Liverpool than in Kentucky.

16. Canadian

“When I backpacked across Europe I met a lot of different people. The conversations I had with these people were some of the most interesting conversations I ever experienced in my life.” “It’s during these conversations I noticed the somewhat negative attitude towards Americans many people had. It was more or less the same in every country. But something that really surprised me was that people would treat me nicer if I told them I was…Canadian!”

17. Pisa

“Being a typical silly tourist I was posing next to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The pose I struck? You guessed it. As if I am leaning against the tower to support it.” “An extra two seconds of my friend figuring out the angle and the wet ground caused me to slip and fall on my wrist. Two doctor visits, two x-rays, and a nurse treatment later I paid 25 euros. Back in the States, the vet would charge me 10 times more for “ 

18. Hygge

“We had a sudden desire to travel. My wife who just read a book about the Danish concept of hygge decided that Denmark is going to be the place we go to.  “We traveled the country for two weeks and in every town we visited we would have conversations with random people that were always in this weird state of contentment. We never had to talk about what we do for a living or school. It would always just be pleasant conversations about life.”   

19. Tips

Unless you are Mr.Pink from Reservoir Dogs, in the US you automatically tip the waiter. The waiters in the US can’t support themselves just from the salary they get. They work long, hard hours and still end up paying taxes from their tips. In Europe, that is not the case. Being a waiter is almost considered a profession there and the waiters get paid a living wage. Tipping is of course nice and welcoming but they don’t need to rely on tips to survive. An average basic monthly salary for a waiter is approx. CHF 3000-3500, plus gratuities in Switzerland.

20. Taxes

Since we spoke about paying taxes from your tips let’s discuss taxes just a bit more. The whole world has probably heard by now about the complexity of the tax system in the US. Europe makes things easier. Sure they still have crazy taxes as well but when something costs 10 euros, it’s exactly that. They include the tax in the price for you. You don’t need to add up the taxes when you get a bill or look up the price of something.

21. Butter

The French love their butter and you would too. It’s nothing like the butter you get in the US. It might have the same name but it’s like a whole different dairy product. It’s just so creamy and when you bite that baguette spread with butter, life is beautiful. The French dairies do magic with their butter, the slow churn of the cream makes a type of “double butter” giving it an amazingly rich taste and smooth texture.

22. Big Birds

“During a road trip in Spain, we noticed huge bird nests on the highway poles and sometimes in the electric towers. We never saw anything close to that back at home. At one point we noticed that there were giant birds in them!” “We stopped near one of those poles and like little kids started taking pictures of those birds with long beaks. Later we found out that those were storks! In Europe they don’t have the smaller wood storks, they have a different type that is at least twice the size.”

23. The Irish

The Irish are famous for a few things, having a drink or two, their pubs, their fighting spirit, and Saint Patrick’s Day. All of this caused these backpackers from New York to think they would be just fine getting drunk and hitting the streets of Dublin. “I and my friend were goofing around on the streets of Dublin after having more than one delicious Guinness. The next thing we knew, we were fined for public intoxication.”

24. Downgrade

Coming back from any vacation trip is always a weird feeling. You feel sad it’s over, you feel tired and don’t really want to resume your everyday life. This tourist experienced a different feeling when he came back home to the States from Europe. “Everything felt like it was a downgrade. Everything was much bigger, but it was not better. The billboards seemed to be full of crappy advertisements, the food was just like the advertisements.”

25. Integrated

A lot of things in Europe are old. But they still work and are integrated into everyday life. There are restaurants, bars, and coffee shops that have been operating for a few centuries. Some houses have the same family living in them for hundreds of years and there is nothing wrong with that. It’s always just amazing to see the blend of old architecture with modern technologies installed in them.

26. Portions

“When we visited Milan we ordered some real Bolognese pasta. When the waiter served us the food we felt cheated. The portion was at least half the size of what you get in any New York Pasta place.” “We didn’t feel like complaining or being labeled as those “American tourists”. So we decided we would order another one. The pasta was so rich in flavor and quality was off the charts! We felt stuffed and the second pasta we ordered was packed to go.”

27. Finnish Mindfulness

“I was an exchange student in Finland and for the first week there I felt that people were super unfriendly. You smile at them and say “Good morning, how are you?” they give you a “Good morning” back and that’s it.” “It took me a month to realize that they are actually super nice people. They don’t engage in conversations much not because they are rude but because they are mindful. They are just ok with silence, keeping their distance, and respecting your private space.”

28. Vacation

“Last year I went on a vacation to Holland, Belgium, and France. I haven’t been this happy in a while and wanted to make the most out of my 15-day vacation. After all, I waited two years to get those 15 days.” “On my vacation, I met someone who, just like me, is a manager in an IT company. The guy was on a 25-day paid vacation. Unlike me, he didn’t have insurance from his company. But he didn’t need one because he had public healthcare!” In Switzerland, most employers, by law, give 5 weeks’ vacation.

29. Perspective

“I was on a business trip to London and had a few days to myself to enjoy the city. On the third day, I decided to catch a train to Dover to check out some castles.”After visiting a castle, a lighthouse, a tower, and a museum something struck me. All of these places had something in common. They were all built some 400 years ago, but what boggled me is that it’s 157 years older than the United States itself.”

 30. Public Transportation

“On that same business trip, it baffled me how easy it was getting around Central London. All you have to do is just take one glance at the well-designed, easy-to-use map of the subway, they call it Tube.” “Everything was just organized and clean. Coming from New York and using the subway all my life this seemed like an upgrade. Prior to this, I thought that public transport couldn’t really be any better or more organized.”

In Switzerland, there are 29,000 km of train, bus, and boat lines, plus 90 urban-area systems that incorporate trams, trolleybusses, cable cars, and ferries, and they are punctual to the minute! unless there is an avalanche or flooding blocking a line!

31. “Gold”

So Europe has a lot of great things. But it’s not all that good, there are downsides as well. Many tourist places have lots of scammers hanging around targeting tourists. Either in public squares or around historical monuments, there will always be someone who will approach you. They will try to sell you a “gold” watch or a “gold” opportunity. Sometimes it will just be Gypsy kids that will want to bump a buck from you.

32. The NHS

“We sent our son to a summer camp in Manchester, UK. Part of the camp’s curriculum was soccer classes! During a game, one kid accidentally collided with our son and broke his leg. The staff quickly helped our son, and took him to the hospital where he got all of the medical attention needed.” “We were sure the medical bill would cost us as much as the camp program if not more since our son was not insured. Trunks out the UK National Health Service, to a degree, covers non-citizens as well!”

33. Fun City Of Barcelona

The capital of Catalonia, Barcelona, is a beautiful and really fun city. The fun part is especially at night. Everyone goes out drinking, singing and amazing finger food is in every bar. When you are heading back home after a night like that, the streets are filled with garbage from all the drunk people. But by eight in the morning all of it is gone. A brigade of vacuum mobiles, street scrubbers, and municipal workers with water hoses make the city spotless.

34. Gibraltar

“It was our 10-year wedding anniversary and we decided to go on a trip to the Mediterranean. The most romantic option was an ocean liner that departed from New York. After almost five days of crossing the Atlantic Ocean, we approached the Straits of Gibraltar.” ‘We stood on the deck and the view was breathtaking, Europe emerged on the left, and on the right, we saw North Africa. We felt like we were passing through part of history, both of our grandparents sailed to America from Italy through this passage.”

35. Dogs

Everyone loves dogs. But in Europe they really love them. There are tons of drinking bowls in public places that are attached to the walls and have hooks so you can leash your dog. But if you don’t feel like it, that’s fine. Most indoor places allow you to go in with your dog, it doesn’t matter if it’s a service dog or not. Good behavior is what allows for this to happen, good behavior of dog owners of course.

36. Holland

“Together with a friend we went to Amsterdam and had a blast. We visited just about every coffee place they have there and they have many. When we were walking around the city we noticed that everyone was cycling. It didn’t matter if it was cold, windy, or raining.”  “But what really amazed us were the couple of hundred parked bicycles outside the Amsterdam Central Station. We just couldn’t understand how one can know which one is his after you parked it there.”

37. Siesta

Siesta is not a myth. Most people joke around when they talk about siesta. What responsible adult goes and casually takes a nap in the middle of the day? Well, the Spaniards do and so do the Greeks. After lunch, everything literally shuts down for a few hours in the middle of the day. Even the busiest tourist places are filled with different kinds of shops and other small businesses. In Switzerland, all retail shops, businesses, and Government Offices are closed from 12 noon until 2 pm every day.

38. Parental Advisory

In America, everything is “Parental Advisory”. You don’t see newsstands selling pornographic magazines in the open. You don’t have public statues that are exposed and no one is sunbathing topless casually on a regular beach. Europeans are more in touch with their inner self. There is nothing wrong with blatant nudity, it’s only natural. When you are in Europe you realize how absurd it is that a big part of the US society is very prudish.

39. Contactless

“It was 2015 and we went on a family trip to Germany, Austria, and Hungary. We didn’t want to carry cash with us and didn’t mind the fees of using our credit cards abroad.” “We would always get a confused look from every cashier that we handed a credit card to be swiped. At this point, Europe has adopted the contactless credit card system for a good few years and no one was swiping their credit cards.”

40. On Point

Everything is on point and on time and there is no nonsense involved. If your train is at 8:30 you don’t need to show up half an hour early to make it. The security check will not take you forever. It’s a quick organized process that will take a few minutes and is just as good as it is in the States. If you show up 30 minutes earlier you can just grab a drink and wait on the platform.

41. Germans

“Germans are famous for having some wild drinking parties. But how wild? How about 2 days in a row? During an exchange semester in Munich, that’s all we did for half a year.” “Sure we studied and did our papers but when it was 9 p.m. it meant it was beer o’clock and the locals made sure we tagged along. When it was Friday we didn’t stop until it was Sunday and we don’t have any recollection of the entire month of October.”

elaborated and re-posted by Ulrich Koepf

The point and intentions of this blog are for the younger generation, and for the non-believers, to see and understand why and how a human race can be manipulated in doing such inhuman acts, the worst part of it is that the rest of the world was watching and waiting too long to interact and end this disaster. It is hard to believe that during the construction of dozens of concentration camps being built, with gas chambers, ovens, and torture chambers, which must have taken months if not years to build with thousands of workers that it hasn’t brought it to peoples attention outside of Germany!Today’s generation

can not allow such events to ever happen again, and that brings me to a previous blog in which I expressed my own opinion, that the globe needs to have a nation in charge in order to keep peace and democracy all over the world. Oppressive and dictating nations like North Korea, Russia (Crimea & Ukraine), Iraq during Saddam (Kuwait), have to be watched and kept in check.

To understand Part 2 of my blog, please go to Part 1 first: The World-Changing Events of the 1940s – Part 1

Below is an outline of events, that spanned over a 12 year period, during which this maniac was able to bring himself to power and turn an entire nation; these are the  subsequent turns of events that lead to the 2nd World War:

• Hitler’s Upcoming Struggle, December 20, 1924 –

• Adolf Hitler has been freed after only eight months in Landesberg Prison, where he was serving a sentence for High Treason after a failed attempt at a coup with Erich Ludendorff and other sympathetic members of the police and military last year. The coup had been modeled on Mussolini’s “March on Rome,” and Hitler had hoped to make his own “march on Berlin,” but several important factions withdrew their support at the last hour. Hitler’s imprisonment was turned into something of a publicity stunt by the ambitious leader of the Nazi Party. His original sentence was for five years, but after having found favor with the judiciary, prison guards, and other influential supporters, it was cut short. Adolf Hitler’s time in prison was predominantly spent
• dictating his book Mein Kampf (My Struggle) to his deputy Rudolf Hess. The book is both an autobiography and a political manifesto.

°     Germany, August 29, 1933,  

• Adolf Hitler now has total constitutional power in Germany and changes are underway throughout the nation with the abolition of all other political parties. It has also been confirmed that the Oranienburg concentration camp, which will be used to confine any political opponents and jews found to be in the way of Hitler’s vision for a new Germany, has been opened outside Berlin. Under new laws, such citizens may now be imprisoned without a trial or any right of appeal. Similar camps in Dachau in southern Germany, Buchenwald in central Germany, and Sachsenhausen near Berlin will all serve similar purposes. New laws allow anyone to inform on any person toward whom they have a grudge, and warrants state only: “In Article One of the Reich President for Protection of People and State of 28 February 1933, you are taken into protective custody in the interest of public security and order. Reason: Suspicion of activities inimical to the State.” Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor of Germany on January 30 this year and the passing of his Enabling Act on March 23 ended democracy for Germany. The act was passed in the Kroll Opera House in Berlin following the burning of the Reichstag building (the traditional seat of the German government).

   

  The only man to oppose Hitler on that was Otto Wells, the leader of the Social Democrats, who said, “We Germans Social Democrats pledge ourselves solemnly in this historic hour to the principles of humanity and justice, of freedom and socialism. No enabling act can give you the power to destroy ideas that are eternal and indestructible.” Hitler was enraged and responded with ” You are no longer needed! The star of Germany will rise and yours will sink! Your death knell has sounded!”

• Germany, August 2, 1934, 

• Following the death of President Paul von Hindenburg, age 86, Adolf Hitler, proclaims himself Führer and Dictator of Germany, making him both Head of State and Chancellor within two months’ time.  Leaving a clear route for Adolf Hitler to merge his current position as chancellor into one. The armed forces are forced to swear an oath of allegiance.
• Berlin, Germany, November 9, 1933,
•  Jewish shops, homes, and synagogues are looted or destroyed as Hitler’s anti-Jewish scheme is unleashed throughout Germany.
• Germany, March 22, 1933,
• The first Nazi concentration camp at Dachau, near Munich, begins operation.
• Berlin, Germany, April 1, 1933,
• The nazi government uses violence to orchestrate its boycott of Jewish business, forcing stores to close and barring professionals from their offices.
• Berlin, Germany, April 11, 1933,
• The nazis decree “non-Aryans” to include anyone descended from non-Aryan, particularly Jewish parents or grandparents.
• Germany, August 29, 1933,
• Jews and socialists are herded into concentration camps.
• Berlin, Germany, January 1, 1934
• , A nazi law forcing people with genetic defects to be sterilized comes into effect in Germany.
• Berlin, Germany, January 15, 1934,
• Germany and Poland sign a 10-year non-aggressive pact following a period of tension.
• Nuremberg, Germany, September 15, 1935,
• The Nuremberg decree legalizes the Nazi prosecution of Jews.
• Germany, March 7, 1936,
• France decides a large military force will be needed after German troops reoccupy the Rhineland.
• Germany, November 25, 1936, Germany signs an anti-Comintern pact with Japan to protect the country’s common interests.
• Rome, Italy, August 3, 1938

  , Mussolini introduces his anti-semitic laws into <italy, following the lead of his German allies.

• Munich, Germany, September 30, 1938, The Munich Agreement made by Germany, Italy, Britain, and France, allows Hitler to take Sudetenland, and Hungry and Poland to take border districts from Czechoslovakia. Another resolution is signed to resolve future disputes between Britain and Germany peacefully.
• Czechoslovakia, October 5, 1938,
• Hitler’s army marched into Czechoslovakia, on March 16th occupies Prague, and becomes a Nazi protectorate.
• Berlin, Germany, November 9, 1938, Jewish shops, homes, and synagogues are looted or destroyed as Hitler’s ant-Jewish scheme is unleashed throughout Germany.
• Rome, Italy, May 22, 1939,
• Mussolini signs a military pact with Hitler, obligating Italy to fight alongside Germany.

• Moscow, USSR, August 23, 1939,

• Hitler and Stalin sign a nazi-Soviet pact of non-aggression that divides Eastern Europe between Germany and the USSR.

• Poland, on September 1, 1939,

• German forces invade Poland from Germany in the west, East Prussia in the north, and Czechoslovakia in the south.

• Europe, September 3, 1939,

• Britain & France declare war on Germany in accord with treaty obligations to Poland. They are followed by New Zealand, Australia, and India.
• Poland, September 29, 1939,
• Warsaw surrenders; 700,000 Polish troops are taken, prisoners.
• Germany, October 1939,
• The Nazis begin a program to euthanize the sick and disabled in Germany.

• Finnland, November 30, 1939,

• The USSR attacks Finland after their strategic negotiations on November 12 fail.
• Europe, February 20, 1940

  ,Hitler orders his U-boat captains to attack all shipping, Allied vessels, and neutral ships alike.

• Europe, May 10, 1940,

• After invading Norway and Denmark on April 9, Germany now invades Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, and France.
• Berlin, Germany, September 27, 1940

  , Japan, Germany, and Italy sign a 10-year pact. They met in Berlin to sign an agreement recognizing each other’s spheres of interests, as well as promising to come to one another’s aid should one of them be attacked by any state “not now a belligerent.” This is being seen as a warning to both the United States and the USSR to remain neutral in the current conflict. Article 6 of what is now being referred to as the Three-Power-Pact states it will come into effect “immediately upon signing and shall remain in force 10 years” from that day.

• The UK, November 30, 1940

  , Germany is mass bombing regional cities, Glasgow, Birmingham, Coventry, Manchester, and Sheffield have been hit.

• London, England, December 29, 1940,
• The city burns from more than 10,000 German firebombs.

• Yugoslavia, April 17, 1941,

• The country surrenders after Germany occupies Sarajevo.

• Greece, April 30, 1941,

• Most of Greece is under German and Italian occupation, German forces took Athens on April 26.
• Crete, Greece, June 1, 1941,
• German forces take the island of Crete in a bloody battle, Allied troops are evacuated to Egypt.

• USSR, June 22, 1941

  , Germany invades the USSR, breaking the Nazi-Soviet pact.

• Honolulu, Hawaii, December 7, 1941,

• Japanese planes make a surprise attack on the US fleet at Pearl Harbour.
• Washington DC, USA, December 8, 1941

  , The USA, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand declare war on Japan.

• The USA, December 11, 1941

  The USA reciprocates  Germany’s and Italy’s declaration of war.

• Central America, December 11, 1941,

• Cuba, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic declared war on Germany and Italy.
• Europe, December 12, 1941,
• Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria declared war on the USA.

• Hongkong, December 25, 1941,

• Japan seizes HongKong
• St.Petersburg, USSR, December 25, 1941,
• Over 3000 people have starved to death since the German siege on the city began in September.
• Washington DC, USA, January 1, 1942,
• The Declaration of the United Nations to pledge support for the Atlantic Charter is signed by 26 countries.
• Berlin, Germany, January 20, 1942,
• In the meantime, Nazi leaders at the Wannsee Conference structure the “final solution of the Jewish question,” aiming to exterminate over 11 million European Jews.
• Italy, July 25, 1943
• Premier Benito Mussolini is ousted. New Marshal Pietro Badoglio places him under arrest. Badoglio declares Italy is no longer a fascist state.
• Italy, October 13, 1943,
• Badoglio declares war on Germany.
• Poland, on January 27, 1944,
• Soviet forces seize the concentration camp at Auschwitz, find 50000 starving prisoners left near death, the remainder having already herded out.
  Milan, Italy, April 28, 1945,
• Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci are strung up for public display after being shot dead.
• Germany, April 1945,
• Allied forces discover dens of horror in the Nazi concentration camps, finding starved, critically ill, captives, and grounds piled with rotting corpses.
• Berlin, April 30, 1945
• Hitler suicide in his bunker by shooting himself. His newlywed wife, Eva brown, poisons herself and dies.
• London, England, May 8, 1945,
• Crowds of spectators jam London’s street to hear Churchill’s broadcast announcing the war in Europe will end at midnight. Around 50,000 gleeful revelers take to the streets, singing, dancing, and embracing.
• Reims, France, May 7, 1945,
• Germany signs its surrender after the foreign minister gives notice in a radio broadcast.

• Japan, August 6 -9, 1945

  , The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagaski.

• Japan, August 15, 1945,

• Japan signs an unconditional surrender to the Allied powers.

      Your blogging friend Ulrich Koepf

LINKS: History Stories – The Holocaust 

LINKS: The Pictures that Defined World War II

The World process in a big context

A closer look at the past events of the 1940s shows almost a temporal symmetry: in the first five years, from 1940 to May 1945 (in Asia until the beginning of September), there was war, while the second half of the decade was dominated by peace, more precisely, remained: full of attempts to keep the world at peace. That is the unusual symmetry: five years of war, five years of peace.

The limitation that the “second” five years had been filled with attempts to keep the world at peace is necessary because the years from 1945 to 1950 entered the memory of contemporaries less than the early years of peace than the years of the so-called cold war, the years of severe tensions in relations between the United States and the Soviet Union. In the area of ​​the economy, it is the years of the beginning of an unprecedented boom.

One could also call them the years of the beginning of the triumphal march of the engine with all its revolutionary influences, or the years of the beginning of new dimensions in the world in which the continents quickly came closer, and also in the cultural field the limitation of the national standards and Conditions were partially suppressed.

This general, global upturn in the second half of the 1940s was not only a blatant contrast to the terrible conflict during the war years; it already indicated a contradiction. By this allusion, I mean the contradiction between the results of technical and natural economic progress, which have broken all previous dimensions and transformed the world into one, as well as the ongoing political turmoil of the world, and it’s a threat to all possible manifestations of violence.

From European to World War 

Let us first follow the abrupt events in the five war years of the decade from a European and worldwide aspect. Hitler’s Armies flooded into Denmark and Norway and occupied both countries. A few weeks later, on the 10th, they attacked France, which was sitting behind a fortress wall, which was named after its builder and was considered to be the insurmountable Maginot Line, in the meantime the Germans attacked and raided Holland, Belgian and Luxembourg. The immobility of the “drôle de Guerre” had turned into the stormy force of the motorized war of aggression on land and in the air. Within a few weeks, France surrendered and then, under Marshal Pétain, the legendary former defender of Verdun Fortress in the First World War, formed a new government, after an armistice with Hitler was signed on June 22.

French General de Gaulle, meanwhile, escaped to England, where Winston Churchill had become Prime Minister. And he didn’t think of making peace with Hitler. Mussolini, the dictator of fascism from Italy, panicked that he might be late in the redistribution of the world, therefore quickly declared war on collapsing France and annexed areas around Nizza. Except for the neutral states of Switzerland, Greece, Turkey, and Spain (which were heavily depressed after the civil war), Hitler now controlled the European continent, all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. The resistance was embodied by Britain, on its own, in Great Britain. Hitler, whose navy was inferior to the British, tried to seize England with all of his strong air force in September. But the Brits, equipped with all of the most modern radar equipment, were able to withstand the Germans from the air and repel them. They won the Battle of Britain. On their side standing, the states of the British commonwealth and, in terms of support with money and war material, the United States of America.

The next chapter followed, which is conditioned by the principle that successful, violent folding of powers stimulates the hunger for more power. The war spreads rapidly, first in Europe, then beyond Europe. When Italy entered the war, it also spread to Africa. The Britons drove the Italians out of their possession in the Libyan Cyrenaica, in spring 1941 from Eritrea and afterward from Abyssinia.

The losses in Libya forced Mussolini to ask Hitler for help in fighting the English in Africa. But soon, in October, the Italians brought the war into southern Europe: they attacked Greece, but soon got stuck there as well, so German troops once again had to come to their aid. In April 1941 Hitler’s troops attacked Yugoslavia and occupied it. There, the war was then called the “Kleinkrieg” (small war).

Then, on the night of June 21-22, 1941 Hitler gave the order to attack the Soviet Union. This marked the German Reich, being in a two-front war, which Hitler himself described in his book “Mein Kampf” as the worst strategic mistake of imperial Germany including the First World War.

By late autumn 1941, the German armies managed to advance in a stormy, aggressive way, right up to Moscow. But they didn’t get any further.

That success prompted the officer-ruling Camilla in Japan, who had already embroiled the country in a war with China and had also sealed a three-power pack with Hitler and Mussolini in 1940, in the early morning of December 7, 1941, to attack and destroy the American naval base in the port of Pearl Harbor on the island Hawaii with submarines, and from the air, inflicting massive destruction and loss of lives.

Overnight the United States was drawn into the war. Hitler, Mussolini, and the Japanese campaigners stood now at the peak of their power. The Allies, i.e. Great Britain and the states of its Commonwealth, the United States of America, the  General de Gaulle entrusted, free French and colonial associations, and the other European states at war with Germany were the challenging ones and were on the defensive front. The situation lasted until the summer of 1942. Then the turn began with the penultimate section of the Second World War.

The Turn

The turn came thanks to the British’s inner resilience and determined resistance and the brutal challenge of the Americans. Until the (video) Pearl Harbor attack, the idea of ​​America entering the war had by no means been very popular. The nefarious blow of the Japanese changed the mood quickly and thoroughly. America unfolded its huge potential for wartimes. It mobilized people, materials, and skills. The war economy pounded out of the ground was sufficient to equip armies within a few months, to build up the air force and the fleet according to the latest achievements, and also to a large extent to supply weapons and ammunition to the Allies, to the Britons, the French and above the Persian Gulf, to the Soviet Union.

Then, however, the counter-strikes began in all locations. In the summer of 1942, the Americans won the naval and air battles in the Coral Sea and Midway Islands, causing heavy losses to the Japanese. At the end of November, the Russians were able to encircle several army units near Stalingrad. The terrible Winterschlacht (Winterbattle) ended in early February 1943 with the death of 146,000 and the capture of 91,000 German soldiers – an event that triggered a shock in Germany.

In May 1943

the German-Italian army group capitulated at El-Alamein. Over 200,000 men were captured here. The transition from Africa to Sicily stood now open for the Brits and Americans.

The situation had now turned into its opposite, and the Americans were gradually recovering areas in the Pacific Ocean that the Japanese had occupied. In the European theater of war, the Germans retreated. In the south, the Allies seized Italy. Fascism collapsed on July 25, 1943, Mussolini was arrested and later executed

The new government declared Italy to have left the war on September 8, and from autumn onwards the Russians slowly but surely pushed the Germans back to the borders of the Reich. The Western Allies landed on June 6, 1944, on the French Channel coast. At the same time, the devastating air raids on the German cities, and the centers of their war productions, began. An assassination attempt against Hitler on July 20, 1944, attempted by conspiratorial officers and underground opposition politicians, failed and was cruelly avenged by Hitler afterward.

From the winter of 1944, the end of the war in Europe was only a matter of time. The war was now at the borders of Germany and had already exceeded some of them.

The Collapse

The last chapter followed in Europe, characterized by the state of the agony of the Third Reich. Hitler committed suicide in Berlin on April 30, 1945, while the final battles with the invaded Russians took place in the city. On May 8, 1945, Grand Admiral Dönitz, who had been appointed by Hitler as his successor, signed the unconditional surrender. The fighting in Asia continued until the Americans dropped atomic bombs on two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in early August. The terrible effects of these bombs led to the unconditional surrender of all Japanese troops on September 2, 1945 – after the European war, the world war had finally come to an end.

The Calamity of Power

The Second World War was a major political and economic disaster. Do catastrophes such as war make sense? Today we hardly ask this question anymore when it comes to natural disasters: natural disasters are caused by forces that are beyond human influence.

In such disasters as water shortages, fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, or tornadoes, people see the punishing hand of God and they accept it as a warning.

Could you imagine what this world be like if the combined forces of the Allies hadn’t removed Hitler from power?!

Read part two of World changing Events here

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a German writer (1749-1832), novelist, diplomat, statesman, and civil servant born on August 28th, 1749 in Germany. Some of the notable works he did include the Sorrows of Young Werther, Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship, Faust, and many more. In addition, numerous literary and scientific fragments, more than 10,000 letters, and nearly 3000 drawings by him exist. A literary celebrity by the age 0f 25, Goethe was ennobled by the Duke of Saxe-Weimar in 1782. Goethe’s poems were set to music throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by a number of composers, including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Charles Gounod, Richard Wagner, Hugo Wolf, Felix Mendelssohn, Hector Berlioz, Gustav Mahler, and Jules Massenet.

Where he stayed during his Travels

( Hotel Zum Schwarzen Loewen is under new ownership since 2020)

, , Hotel Zum Schwarzen Loewen in Altdorf, Switzerland! A small boutique-style hotel in the middle of this quaint, small town of approximately 10,000 inhabitants, Goethe, on his tour to Italy, during which his first major scientific work, the Metamorphosis of Plants, was created and then published, had to travel through Switzerland in order to get to Italy across the Gotthard pass by means of horse and carriage, those days that was the only way to get to the south of Europe. That is when he stayed at the Hotel Zum Schwarzen Loewen around 1788, the room in which he stayed is still available today and looks just like the days Goethe visited, the only difference today is the TV and of course the light switch on the wall, however, if you prefer candles as he used then they are available at the front desk for sale, Yankee Candles that is, from the USA!

Since 1532!

This Hotel was built in 1532, and over the course of the years, it has undergone several renovations, including in the year 1799, when most of the City of Altdorf burnt down. The Hotel is situated a few yards away from the Wilhelm Tell monument, the famous Swiss hero. There are 16 rooms on two floors, one of which is named after the famous poet “The Goethe Room”. Room rates range from the middle of October until the middle of May, from CHF 130 to 200, and from the middle of May through the middle of October, from CHF 150 to 270. Prices include a continental breakfast, which really turned out to be a full-size little buffet with selections of cheeses, cold cuts, boiled eggs, fruit salad, yogurt, and beverages. The latest renovations were done in 2012, including a new bar, lobby area, and restaurant, which combines this almost 500-year-old design with today’s modern architecture. During the summer months, guests can enjoy a beautiful terrace behind the hotel for their dining pleasure. The food at the hotel is superb, consistent, and innovative. There is a choice of menus for lunch, and an à la carte menu with daily specialties for dinner, ranging from such items as premium cuts of meat, fresh seafood, game specialties, pasta, and the famous Flammkuchen, a flatbread pizza. Should you visit or travel through Switzerland, I highly recommend that you take a side trip to Altdorf. Whether you decide to take the train through the longest tunnel in the world, the Gotthard Tunnel, (which just opened in June 2016) it’s 9.3 miles long and takes about 8 minutes from Goeschenen, Switzerland to Airolo, the Italian part of Switzerland, or if you prefer to drive through the tunnel by automobile, or over the Gotthard pass either way it will be an unforgettable experience!

Website: www.hotel-loewen-altdorf.ch Email: info@hotel-loewen-altdorf.ch Address: Tellsgasse 17, 6460 Altdorf, URI       Phone: +41(0)41 874 80 80 Swiss Train Schedule info: fahrplan.sbb.ch/bin/query.exe/e Airolo Info: www.myswitzerland.com/de/airolo.html Altdorf Tourism Info: www.uri.info/en/localita-turistiche/altdorf Andermatt Vacation Resort: www.andermatt.ch/en

The Dining Room and Bar

Front View of the Hotel

Wolfgang von Goethe

The Lobby and Reception area