Who are the generally unknown heroes of WWII?
William Colby, who is much better known as a head of CIA in the 1970s, had a remarkable career in World War II. We mentioned him in the Norway chapter of our book, America Invades (www.americainvades.com)…“We conducted assorted air operations over occupied Norway. For example, we were part of the campaign to prevent a Nazi atomic bomb. The Germans were attempting to make heavy water for their nascent nuclear program and using a hydroelectric plant in Vermork, Norway, to do so. In 1943, this plant was hit by a 143-plane raid of USAAF B-17s that did extensive damage.But not all US operations in Norway during World War II were to be in the air. On March 24, 1945, a squadron of B-24 Liberators launched Operation RYPE (Norwegian for “grouse”) dropping a team of specially trained OSS forces near Jarlsbad in central Norway. The thirty-six-man group immediately linked up with Norwegian resistance forces. The 99th Battalion, who were proficient skiers and demolition experts, managed to destroy the Tangen bridge near Jorstad. On May 12, 1945, they took over Steinkjer from German forces. Major William Colby, who was later appointed head of the CIA by President Nixon, was the leader of the OSS team in Norway.”And also in the Sweden chapter…“On March 24, 1945, near the close of the war in Europe, the OSS launched Operation RYPE to infiltrate a battalion of skiing demolition agents into Norway (see “Norway”). A squadron of eight B-24 Liberators was flown from Scotland, but one went off course and dropped its agents by parachute in Sweden. With help from the Swedes, the crew eventually rejoined their unit of thirty-six men in Norway.The OSS battalion, commanded by Major William Colby (future head of the CIA), attacked infrastructure targets in Norway. On one occasion, after blowing up a bridge in Norway, they were spotted by Luftwaffe aircraft and pursued by Wehrmacht forces. According to Colby’s account, they skied non-stop over two days for forty miles and across the border into neutral Sweden. There they found Sugartop hill where they rested and dined on elk.After the war, Colby returned to Stockholm where he was the CIA station chief in the 1950s. There he worked on Operation Gladio, which sought to create stay-behind cadres that would resist Soviet occupiers in the event of a successful Russian invasion of Sweden. Fortunately, there was never to be such an invasion. There has been speculation, though, about how neutral Sweden really was during the Cold War.”
Why do Germans like to pretend Hitler wasn't part of their history?
Remember the movie Hitch where the girl was traumatized by him finding out about the mass murderer in her family? Same idea I think.
Do you have any war stories from your Grandma or Grandpa?
My new obsession is learning as much as I can about World War 2. Did your Grandma Grandpa or anyone tell you stories,when they were in WW2? ((((((((YOU DON'T HAVE TO READ MINE, THEY ARE LONG))))) but interesting :) My moms dad was in World War 2 and this German guy before he was killed asked my grandfather to get his wallet (I'm not sure what was in the wallet,but it must've been important) back to his family. My grandfather didn't get the chance,and my mom saw him crying in the basement with the wallet. My mom said he threw it away(the wallet) :[ My other grandpa in WW2 got punched in the face by the guy that owned that town (Some German guy, my grandpa lived in Norway and sadly the Germans took it over) because he didn't like the way my grandpa looked. He was a teenager. My grandpa was also a dare devil and stole meat from somewhere (to give to his grandma) but the guy that punched him was there so all the patrolling officers formed a circle around him. Keep in mind that the Germans had to wear a really big coat so they saved my grandpa :) They probably knew the guy that was in charge was not nice. They didn't even speak Norwegian! My grandma who also lived in Norway had relations with this German guy. He liked my Grandma and was going to come back to Norway to be with her, but I suppose he got killed, because he never did come back. :(
Why do the Chinese still care about the Nanjing massacre so much?
You need to look at it objectively：Many people say that most of Japan's prime ministers have apologized to China. Why does China still demand an apology from Japan? A list of Japanese apology on Wikipedia ：List of war apology statements issued by Japan - Wikipedia1、War is normal state action. No matter who is right or aggressive, no matter who is the winner or loser at last, they don't need to apologize. For example, Germany does not need to apologize for invading Russia in the Second World War, nor Britain does need to apologize for invading China in 1860,Just because it's war. Japan doesn't have to apologize for the war and military action in China. The China also did not ask Japan to apologize for the war.2、Japan must apologize to China for their cruel and antihuman crimes in china .These crimes against civilians such as the Nanjing Massacre, and Unit 731 experiments with cruelty to human beings in China, and they forced a large number of women to become “comfort woman”. These killings of civilians are the reason why China has demanded an apology from Japan. It is the same as the massacre of Jews by Germany. The Japanese government has never apologized for these crimes. They do not even recognize these things, and even find some reasons for these crimes.3、Japan must apologize to Chinese for their attitude toward war. In Japan's history books, they rarely mention the history of invading other countries during World War II, and even consider the war as a just cause for the prosperity of East Asia. They worshiped those who launched the second world war. I've seen a documentary on the streets visiting Japanese young people who know little about history. Chinese people always believe that only by looking at history objectively and absorbing experience and lessons from history to avoid future wars.There is a news link：What Japanese history lessons leave out - BBC News4、In the past 150 years, China has been invaded many times. The United Kingdom, France, the United States, Russia, Japan and many other countries have defeated China, but the Chinese can accept defeat and take an objective view of history. The Chinese love peace, so we also hope that the Japanese can look at history objectively. Only in this way the world can become more peaceful.