History Of Europe

derwolfsmantel: Photographs of a devastated post-war Berlin in...

Tue, 21 May 2013 02:28:56 +0200

Photographs of a devastated post-war Berlin in the summer of 1945.

“When Allied observers came to Germany after the war, most of them expected to find destruction on the same scale as they had witnessed in Britain during the Blitz. Even after British and American newspapers and magazines began to print pictures and descriptions of the devastation it was impossible to prepare for the sight of the real thing. Austin Robinson, for example, was sent to western Germany directly after the war on behalf of the British Ministry of Production. His description of Mainz while he was there displays his sense of shock:

That skeleton, with whole blocks level, huge areas with nothing but walls standing, factories almost completely gutted, was a picture that I know will live with me for life. One had known it intellectually without feeling it emotionally or humanly.

British Lieutenant Philip Dark was equally apallaed by the apocalyptic vision he saw in Hamburg at the end of the war:

[W]e swung in towards the centre and started to enter a city devastated beyond all comprehension. It was more than appallaing. As far as the eye could see, square mile after square mile of empty shells of buildings with twisted girders scarecrowed in the air, radiators of a flat jutting out from a shaft of a still-standing wall, like a crucified pterodactyl skeleton. Horrible, hideous shapes of chimneys sprouting from the frame of a wall. The whole pervaded by an atmosphere of ageless quiet… Such impressions are incomprehensible unless seen.

Berlin was “completely shattered - just piles of rubble and skeleton houses.” Between 18 and 20 million German people were rendered homeless by the destruction of their cities - that is the same as the combined prewar populations of Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg. These people lived in cellars, ruins, holes in the ground - anywhere they could find a modicum of shelter. They were entirely deprived of essential servies, such as water, gas, electricity - as were millions of others across Europe.”

(Text via Savage Continent: Europe in the Aftermath of World War II by Keith Lowe; photographs via)

derwolfsmantel: “Berlin lies strewn about, Dust blows up, then...

Thu, 09 May 2013 14:29:31 +0200

A woman sifts sand in bombed out Berlin in 1948.

Makeshift tracks were laid on the streets to speed up rubble removal.

Oncee the old bricks were collected, they had to be meticulously cleaned and sorted so they could be reused.

derwolfsmantel:

“Berlin lies strewn about, Dust blows up, then a lull again… the great rubble woman will be canonized…” (Günter Grass)

Berlin, December 1948: With German cities in ruins after World War II and the country’s male population decimated, it fell to the women to clean up the rubble. The so-called “Trümmerfrauen,” or “rubble women,” worked with their bare hands and whatever tools they could find.

The Trümmerfrauen phenomenon was launched by Allied orders requiring women between the ages of 15 and 50 to report for duty. A law passed by the military government allowed local authorities to employ women in clearing rubble. Up to 80 percent of the historic centers of German cities had been destroyed by Allied bombs during the war; Liselotte Kubitza recalls emerging as an 11 year old from her shelter of three weeks to a scene of destruction in Berlin, where “[o]ne whole wall between us and the neighbouring flat had collapsed, parts of the ceiling had come down and all the windows were gone.” Once the violence ceased, unsafe buildings were torn down. Bricks and other materials were carefully sorted so they could be used again.

At one stage, it was estimated that it would take 25 years to clear the city rubble, with 42,000 workers continuously at work. Munich, Kiel and Stuttgart were the fastest; by 1949, Munich had cleared 80 percent of its rubble, and by 1952, Stuttgart had cleared 88 percent.

The post-war blockade of Berlin by the Soviets meant that not as much construction material could get through to the city. As a result, a higher number of workers had to turn to rubble clearance.

“We had to do something,” says Naß. “First and foremost because at the back of the mind you had that thought, ‘When my brother comes home, or when my husband gets home, it can’t be like this.’ And who else would do it? So the women did it together.” Physical hardship was the norm for Naß and her peers and they carried out their exhausting work with bare hands alone. “We had no hammers, no shovels, no buckets, no gloves,” she says.

The work though was a distraction from the bitter disappointment and emotional turmoil Berlin’s survivors felt. As a young woman who had grown up almost exclusively under the Third Reich, Frau Naß admits the end of the war threw all her beliefs into question: “We were totally disillusioned, because as girls we had gone through the Hitler Youth,” she says. “You have to imagine how you would react if the whole system you had been brought up in simply didn’t exist anymore. People just couldn’t grasp it.”

Read more here. (via)

hard-sophoclean-light: Shaffron of Henry II of France when...

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 20:30:20 +0100

hard-sophoclean-light:

Shaffron of Henry II of France when Dauphin, ca. 1495, Italian.

Shaffron is that piece of armor that goes on horse’s face. Apparently, young Dauphin here wanted to ride a dragon instead.

In the Renaissance, elaborate parade armor of fanciful design was often employed in tournaments, ceremonial entries, and court pageants. This shaffron, shaped as a fierce dragon’s head, is among the earliest surviving examples of parade armor in the “heroic” style, which alluded to the heroes of literature and legend. The shaffron was redecorated in 1539 with gold-damascened motifs including a fleur-de-lis, the letter H, and dolphins, indicating that it was refurbished for use by the French dauphin Henry (1519–1559), who assumed the throne as Henry II in 1547. The shaffron can probably be associated with the ceremonies connected with the tour of France made by Emperor Charles V in 1539, during which the dauphin was in constant attendance. The reuse of an older piece of armor, redecorated for this occasion, suggests that there was considerable haste in assembling the necessary equipment for the ceremonies.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

derwolfsmantel: A Jewish business destroyed during...

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 23:42:01 +0100

derwolfsmantel:

A Jewish business destroyed during Kristallnacht in Magdeburg, Germany; November 9th, 1938. (via)

Ludwig van Beethoven’s ‘Symphony No 3 in E Flat...

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 20:32:26 +0100

Ludwig van Beethoven’s ‘Symphony No 3 in E Flat Major’ was completed in 1804. The piece was originally titled ‘Bonaparte’ but he vehmetly scratched that out once he learned that his hero had proclaimed himself Emporor Napoleon I.

On January 15, 1867 several hundred people were ice skating on...

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:57:00 +0100

On January 15, 1867 several hundred people were ice skating on the frozen lake in London’s Regent’s Park when the ice broke. Tragically, 40 of the skaters drowned.

The Castle of the Moors was built in the 8th century high in the...

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 23:48:00 +0100

The Castle of the Moors was built in the 8th century high in the Sintra mountains of Portugal. Built by Muslims, conquering Christians built a chapel in the fortress, which was later used by Jewish worshipers as well.

A 1755 earthquake damaged both the castle and the chapel considerably, although it had already been abandoned by that time.

It is now a National Monument.

(photo via)

derwolfsmantel: A double amputee of the French army learns to...

Sat, 09 Mar 2013 21:10:35 +0100

derwolfsmantel:

A double amputee of the French army learns to write again with prosthetic arms and the assistance of a Red Cross nurse. (via)

derwolfsmantel: German officers before the church of St....

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 00:54:36 +0100

derwolfsmantel:

German officers before the church of St. Nicholas, in Brest-Litovsk, Russia; 1915. (via)

nationalpost: ‘Beyond reasonable doubt’: King Richard III’s...

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 23:56:33 +0100

nationalpost:

‘Beyond reasonable doubt’: King Richard III’s remains found buried beneath England parking lot
He wore the English crown, but he ended up defeated, humiliated and reviled. Now things are looking up for King Richard III. Scientists announced Monday that they had found the monarch’s 500-year-old remains under a parking lot in the city of Leicester — a discovery Richard’s fans say will rewrite the history books.

University of Leicester researchers say tests on a battle-scarred skeleton unearthed last year prove “beyond reasonable doubt” that it is the king, who died at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, and whose remains have been missing for centuries.

“Richard III, the last Plantaganet King of England, has been found,” said the university’s deputy registrar, Richard Taylor. (AP Photo/ University of Leicester)

mapsontheweb: Satirical map of Prussia by William Harvey (alias...

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 10:01:56 +0100

mapsontheweb:

Satirical map of Prussia by William Harvey (alias Aleph). From Aleph’s 1869 “Geographical Fun, or Humorous Outlines of Various Countries” published in London by Hodder and Stoughton.

europeanfolklore: Costumes of Zanavykija Region,...

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 10:01:37 +0100

europeanfolklore:

Costumes of Zanavykija Region, Lithuania

source

derwolfsmantel: As early as 1915, Germany began requisitioning...

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 21:18:07 +0100

derwolfsmantel:

As early as 1915, Germany began requisitioning materials for the war effort. Church bells weren’t spared and were melted down and turned into cannon. The same fate befell the replacement bells in WW2. In total, approximately 85,000 bronze church bells were seized and melted down to make armaments during both wars. (via)

vivelareine: Details from a 1793-1795 engraving of the...

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 08:29:25 +0100

vivelareine:

Details from a 1793-1795 engraving of the execution of Louis XVI

image:Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Estampes et photographie

derwolfsmantel: “Soldatengrab mit Pickelhaube”; a pickelhaube...

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 07:12:20 +0100

derwolfsmantel:

“Soldatengrab mit Pickelhaube”; a pickelhaube rests atop a crude crucifix, marking the grave of a fallen soldier. (via)

heysawbones: World War 2’s Soviet Night Witches “Night...

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 11:08:02 +0100

Marina Raskova

Yevdokiya Bernshanskaya

Irina Sebrova

Nadezhda Popova

Natalya Meklin

Yevgeniya Rudneva

Vera Bjelik (center foreground)

Polina Gelman

heysawbones:

World War 2’s Soviet Night Witches

“Night Witches” is the English translation of Nachthexen, a World War II German nickname (RussianНочные ведьмы), for the female military aviators of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, known later as the 46th “Taman” Guards Night Bomber Aviation Regiment, of the Soviet Air Forces. The regiment was formed by Colonel Marina Raskova and led by Major Yevdokia Bershanskaya.

^…

The regiment flew in wood and canvas Polikarpov Po-2 biplanes, a 1928 design intended for use as training aircraft and for crop-dusting, and to this day the most-produced biplane in all of aviation history. The planes could carry only two bombs at a time, so multiple missions per night were necessary. Although the aircraft were obsolete and slow, the pilots made daring use of their exceptional maneuverability; they had the advantage of having a maximum speed that was lower than the stall speed of both the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, as a result, the German pilots found them very difficult to shoot down. A stealth technique of the night bombers was to idle the engine near the target and glide to the bomb release point, with only wind noise to reveal their location.

Above:

Marina Raskova - Founder

Yevdokiya Bershanskaya - Commander

Irina Sebrova - Commander

Nadezhda Popova

Natalya Meklin

Yevgeniya Rudneva

Vera Bjelik

Polina Gelman

unhistorical: Jacques de Molay, tu es...

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 19:50:07 +0100

unhistorical:

Jacques de Molay, tu es vengé!

January 21, 1793: Louis XVI is executed.

Louis XVI’s trial, which began in December of 1792, came to an end when (despite the king’s best efforts) the National Convention unanimously affirmed his guilt and convicted him of treason. In some ways he was lucky to have been tried in the first place; most Jacobins in the Convention opposed granting the king a trial, including Maximilien Robespierre, who claimed that to put Louis on trial would mean undermining the entire Revolution itself:

Louis cannot be judged, he has already been judged. He has been condemned, or else the republic is not blameless. To suggest putting Louis XVI on trial, in whatever way, is a step back towards royal and constitutional despotism; it is a counter-revolutionary idea; because it puts the Revolution itself in the dock. After all, if Louis can still be put on trial, Louis can be acquitted; he might be innocent. Or rather, he is presumed to be until found guilty. But if Louis is acquitted, if Louis can be presumed innocent, what becomes of the Revolution?

But the trial took place anyway, even if it ended the same way. It seemed as though regicide, even during a revolution, was not an undertaking many were willing to plunge straight into - at least not without a trial first. Of the 721 voters who were to determine the king’s fate, 334 voted for imprisonment versus 387 for death, and this relatively narrow margin decided that the pitiable former king (stripped of his titles and now called “citizen Louis Capet”) would become the first and last King of France to be executed by his own people. His overthrow and death meant the end, at least temporarily, of the Capetian Dynasty, which had ruled France continuously since the 10th century.

On the morning of January 21, 1793, “Louis Capet” was taken to Revolution Square, which had once been named after his own grandfather, Louis XV. According to eyewitness accounts, the king declared his innocence up until his beheading by guillotine, whereupon one of his executioners lifted the king’s freshly severed head by the hair and displayed it to the crowd, who burst into cheers at the sight. The crowd’s cheers and the artillery salute that rang out in celebration were supposedly loud enough to reach the ears of the surviving members of Louis’ family, imprisoned in Paris’ Temple fortress. The same year, Louis’ widow, Marie Antoinette, was executed by guillotine as well.

derwolfsmantel: Spanish Nationalist field gun crew, the Battle...

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 23:00:48 +0100

derwolfsmantel:

Spanish Nationalist field gun crew, the Battle of Guadalajara, Spain; March of 1937. (via)

heysawbones: Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova (Russian:...

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 03:04:53 +0100

heysawbones:

Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova (Russian: Валенти́на Влади́мировна Терешко́ва; born 6 March 1937) is a retired Soviet cosmonaut and the first woman to have flown in space, having been selected from more than four hundred applicants and five finalists to pilot Vostok 6 on 16 June 1963.

Before being recruited as a cosmonaut, Tereshkova was a textile factory assembly worker and an amateur parachutist. After the dissolution of the first group of female cosmonauts in 1969, she became a prominent member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, holding various political offices. She remained politically active following the collapse of the Soviet Union and is still revered as a heroine in post-Soviet Russia.

…

…

Valentina Tereshkova later became a prominent member of the Soviet government and a well known representative abroad. She was made a member of the World Peace Council in 1966, a member of the Yaroslavl Soviet in 1967, a member of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union in 1966–1970 and 1970–1974, and was elected to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet in 1974. She was also the Soviet representative to the UN Conference for the International Women’s Year in Mexico City in 1975. She also led the Soviet delegation to the World Conference on Women in Copenhagen and played a critical role in shaping the socialist women’s global agenda for peace. She attained the rank of deputy to the Supreme Soviet, membership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Central Committee, Vice President of the International Woman’s Democratic Federation and President of the Soviet-Algerian Friendship Society. She was decorated with the Hero of the Soviet Union medal, the USSR’s highest award. She was also awarded the Order of Lenin, Order of the October Revolution, numerous other medals, and foreign orders including the Karl Marx Order, United Nations Gold Medal of Peace and the Simba International Women’s Movement Award. She was also bestowed a title of the Hero of Socialist Labor of Czechoslovakia, Hero of Labor of Vietnam, and Hero of Mongolia. In 1990 she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. Tereshkova crater on the far side of the Moon was named after her.

Valentina Tereshkova became the first and still remains to be the only female general officer in both Soviet and Russian armed forces.

A full list of Tereshkova’s insane number of awards and medals can be found here.

alexschmidt: Wilhelm II, King of Prussia and German Kaiser

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 19:49:02 +0100

alexschmidt:

Wilhelm II, King of Prussia and German Kaiser