Tag Archive | Germany
Decemer 7th, 1917…American Declares War on Who?
I read the other day that on December 7th, 1917 the US declared war on Austria-Hungry. I did not know that and noted the December 7th irony because that’s the day the US declared war on the Empire of Japan in 1941 following Pearl Harbor. I guess the declaration of war on Austria-Hungary is a […]
The Massacre at Nemmorsdorf
General William Tecumseh Sherman remarked that “war is hell” as his Army marched through a crumbling Confederacy in his famous March to the Sea. Certainly the Southerners in the path of Sherman’s Army would have agreed as they saw their lives turned upside down and in some cases lost to Sherman’s “bummers” as his western […]
What did you do in the war dad? Part 6_Giessen
Dad spent most of his tour of duty in Cologne, Germany in 1946. For a time his unit, or at least a portion of it, was transferred to Giessen, Hesse, Germany. Giessen is smaller than Cologne and is located about 50-60 miles SE of Cologne and about 15 miles north of Frankfurt. Frankfurt would host […]
Addendum #1 to What did you do in the war dad?
For those of you who have been following my series on my dad’s time spent in Cologne, Germany right after the war as a military policeman I’d like to call your attention to an excellent website. It’s called Dierk’s Page and features a photographic record of prewar Cologne, war-time Cologne as well as post-war. This […]
What did you do in the war dad? part 3
Among the pictures my dad sent home to his father from Cologne, Germany in 1946 are significant number of pictures of bombed out Cologne. Wiki notes this: Cologne was one of the most heavily bombed cities in Germany during World War II. The bombing reduced the population by 95% and destroyed almost the entire city. […]
What did you do in the war dad? part 2
In the packet of pictures my dad sent home to his father from Germany (1946) were two of unusual size compared to the smaller pictures that were taken with whatever small cameras they had back then. Both pictures are of his military police unit and are interesting in their own right. The first one is […]
The First World War in the East
I’ve read little about World War One and the little I’ve read has been around American involvement that began in April, 1917 when America entered the war on the side of France, Britain and the Commonwealth countries. But the fact is the war had been going on since August, 1914 and all sides, Allied powers […]
From Pommern to Milwaukee 1
One of my interests is genealogy and although I’ve looked into it here and there over the last 12 years I am still a beginner. I started to research my side of the family starting with my great-grandparents because I had a working knowledge of their names. On my dad’s side are the Roeders/Nehls. Here’s a […]
War and Hatred of the Enemy
My father was drafted in the last year of World War 2. He was in basic training (really a combination of basic training and advanced infantry training) just after the war with Germany ended. His training then revolved around the still raging war with Japan. My dad told me that they were taught to “hate […]
History and Hobbies 
The Constitution is in Danger
My dad served with the 504th Military Police Battalion in occupied Germany from 1945-1946. I remember fondly how he’d share with me some of the experiences he had during his time of service. One of the things he told me more than once was “none of the krauts would admit to being Nazis.” Dad did not wonder […]