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Las 999 mujeres de Auschwitz: La extraordinaria historia de las jóvenes judías que llegaron en el primer tren
Par Heather Dune Macadam. 2020
Una increíble historia de amistad, sororidad y supervivencia. La historia de las primeras 999 mujeres judías que fueron enviadas al…
campo de exterminio. «Todo comenzó con las chicas», dice Giora Amir, de 91 años. El 25 de marzo de 1942, cientos de jóvenes mujeres judías y solteras abandonaron sus hogares para subir a un tren. Estaban impecablemente vestidas y peinadas, y arrastraban sus maletas llenas de ropa tejida a mano y comida casera. La mayoría de estas mujeres y niñas nunca habían pasado ni una noche fuera de casa, pero se habían ofrecido voluntariamente para trabajar durante tres meses en época de guerra. ¿Tres meses de trabajo? No podía ser algo tan malo. Ninguno de sus padres habría adivinado que el gobierno acababa de vender a sus hijas a los nazis para trabajar como esclavas. Ninguno sabía que estaban destinadas a Auschwitz. Los libros de historia han podido pasar por alto este hecho, pero lo cierto es que el primer grupo de judíos deportados a Auschwitz para trabajar como esclavos no incluía a combatientes de la resistencia, ni a prisioneros de guerra, no. No había ni un solo hombre prisionero en esos vagones de ganado. Era un tren de 999 chicas solteras, vendido a la Alemania nazi por una dote de 500 Reich Marks, el equivalente a 200 euros. Sabemos que la historia está escrita por el vencedor. Casi todas las figuras poderosas en ambos lados de este conflicto eran hombres. Estas 999 mujeres jóvenes fueron consideradas indignas e insignificantes, no sólo porque eran judías, sino también porque eran mujeres. Estas chicas eran peones en un gran plan de destrucción humana, pero frustraron ese plan al sobrevivir y dejar su testimonio a sus familiares. Este libro da voz a esas mujeres y niñas que la historia olvidó. La crítica ha dicho...«La historia olvidada de las jóvenes judías que llegaron al campo en el primer tren, allá por marzo de 1942.»El País «Un relato conmovedor que ofrece las claves precisas para entender todo el horror –y toda la solidaridad entre sus víctimas– que encierra la barbarie.»La Vanguardia «Heather Dune Macadam cuenta las historias que ha logrado reunir, 75 años después, de aquellas chicas judías que llegaron en el primer tren a Auschwitz.»El Mundo «Una historia que, según la autora, ha sido "escondida o pasada por alto" cuando, en realidad, "estuvieron allí más tiempo que cualquier hombre judío".»20 minutos «Macadam nos cuenta lo que los libros de historia nunca nos han contado.»The Objective«Un texto difícil pero necesario para que esas historias no se pierdan y esas mujeres sean recordadas como se merecen.»Ataques de pánico «Es un libro extremadamente duro, pero necesario.»Lectora lila «Una lectura dolorosa pero muy interesante que recomiendo a todos aquellos que les interese esta temática o suceso en particular.»Leer es viajar «Es un libro tan impresionante como necesario, porque todo lo que se escriba sobre aquel horror siempre será insuficiente, tanto como memoria histórica como de advertencia para el futuro, pero que en este caso además cuenta con una excepcional habilidad y calidad narrativa.»Anika entre librosThe Butcher of Poland: Hitler's Lawyer Hans Frank
Par Garry O'Connor. 2013
The life of the Bavarian Hans Frank, one of the ten war criminals hanged at Nuremburg in 1946, who converted…
to Catholicism before he died, has not received the full attention the world has given to other Nazi leaders. In many ways he warrants it more. His life symbolises Germany's hubristic and visionary ambition to an alarming degree much better than anyone else's, perhaps because he was an intellectual of the highest calibre: ‘Can’t they see,’ he said of his fellow accused at Nuremberg, ‘that this is a horrible tragedy in the history of mankind, and that we are the symbols of an evil that God is brushing aside?’ As he recognised by the end he was a primary - if not the exemplary - symbol of evil, his remorse, self-pity, and arrogance knew no bounds as they vied with his contrition.Author Garry O'Connor brings his skills as a playwright, biographer and novelist to this harrowing account of Histler's lawyer, the man who formalised the Nazi race laws.K.O. Auschwitz: La sobrecogedora historia de los presos que tuvieron que boxear para sobrevivir
Par José Ignacio Pérez. 2022
La sobrecogedora historia real de los presos que tuvieron que boxear para sobrevivir en el infierno nazi. K.O. Auschwitz es…
un libro magistral, escrito por José Ignacio Pérez, periodista del diario Marca que fue galardonado por partida doble por el reportaje Los púgiles de Auschwitz, un texto publicado en 2019 en el diario deportivo del que nació este libro inolvidable.** Premio online Journalism Awards en la categoría de deportes. ** Premio Nacional de periodismo deportivo Manuel Alcántara. En el mayor matadero de inocentes jamás conocido... Auschwitz. Cuentan que allí, al otro lado, detrás de la alambrada, justo ahí donde el hombre nunca fue hombre, sino bestia, una vez un nazi preguntó: ¿Quién sabe boxear? Unos dijeron que sí y otros dijeron que no; pero ya fuera sí o no... Allí no era vivir, sino morir. Cuentan que allí, donde el hombre por no tener no tenía ni nombre, sólo era número, triángulo o estrella y un color, un SS aburrido, cansado de matar, buscaba diversión; un rato de asueto para distraer el sopor de asesinar. Y entonces volvió a preguntar: ¿Quién sabe boxear? Y cuentan que allí, detrás de la alambrada, donde los presos no eran presos, sino carne de cañón; seres humanos, más de un millón, todos asesinados y convertidos en humo, ceniza y carbón; unos hombres buenos subieron al ring por obligación, para entretener al maldito SS que buscaba diversión. Y quizá esa fue su salvación, porque allí, entre mugre, hambruna, enfermedad y mucha mezquindad, en los combates de boxeo se ganaba un poco de sopa, mantequilla y pan. Así lo recuerdan Noah Klieger y los otros «boxeadores de Auschwitz». Sobrecogedores testimonios de los que se pusieron los guantes para sobrevivir en el campo de concentración nazi.Noah, aquel nonagenario con la mirada clara y la piel marcada por la desgracia. Manchada por ese tatuaje infame y añejo, desgastado, que empañaba su antebrazo. 1-7-2-3-4-5, el número de la muerte. Noah, el superviviente que durante su visita a Madrid, un día del mes de enero de 2018, vestía todo de gris, claro, oscuro y marengo, quizá como un recuerdo de lo que le tocó vivir. Tiempos color ceniza. Su cuerpo de nonagenario estaba encogido, encorvado por la edad, pero su mente despejada. Dispuesta para recordar. Noah, el que cuenta que allí, al otro lado, detrás de la alambrada, un día escuchó: O sabes boxear o vas a la cámara de gas. En este libro se narra la desgarradora historia de los presos que tuvieron que boxear para sobrevivir en Auschwitz, un relato concebido con los recuerdos de Noah Klieger, Tadeusz Pietrzykowski, Jacko Razon, Judah Vandervelde, Solomon Roth, Salamo Arouch, Andrzej Rablin... y muchos más. La crítica ha dicho...«Un libro inolvidable. Corran a comprarlo.»Alberto R. Barbero, Marca «Una maravilla.»José Félix Díaz, periodista «Un relato duro, que nació como un reportaje periodístico, pero con entidadsuficiente para extenderse por las más de 300 páginas de este libro que habla de víctimas y del deporte como salvación.»La Razón «Es una auténtica maravilla. Gran trabajo de José Ignacio Pérez. Enhorabuena, Córner. No todo es futbol.»Angel Cárceles, periodista en TeleDeporte«Magistral libro.»Jesús Elorza, Reportero 24 «Con una excelente ambientación, bien escrito, el autor logra transportarnos a ese infierno de humo, carbón y ceniza al que quedó reducido la vida de miles de personas.»Más LeerDisasters Underground
Par N. J. McCamley. 2004
The rapid expansion of the RAF during the mid/late 1930s necessitated a massive storage requirement for high explosive bombs and…
other ordinance. Drawing on the experience of the Great War ammunition factories, the authorities set about identifying underground sites around Britain safe from the threat of air attack. Unfortunately in the haste of the moment safety arrangements were not a high priority and, as a result, there were a number of appalling accidents; the most serious occurred in November 1944 when 3,800 tons of HE bombs detonated at the same time resulting in the deaths of 68 people in a Staffordshire quarry.Pocket Battleships of the Deutschland Class: Warships of the Kriegsmarine (Warships Of The Kriegsmarine Ser.)
Par Gerhard Koop, Klaus-Peter Schmolke. 1990
A concise, authoritative, heavily illustrated summary of this class of German WWII-era warships, covering their design histories and careers. …
The Deutschland class included three ships of a design so revolutionary that it defied conventional categories. Deutschland (later renamed Lützow), Admiral Scheer, and Admiral Graf Spee were simply termed Panzerschiffe (armored ships) by the Germans, but they were known to their opponents by the far more evocative term Pocket Battleships. Part of a six-volume series on the German Navy&’s WWII-era warships written by Gerhard Koop and illustrated by Klaus-Peter Schmolke, this book contains an account of the development of the Deutschland class, a detailed description of the ships with full technical details, and an outline of their service, heavily illustrated with plans, battle maps, and a substantial collection of photographs.The book describes how Lisa Meitner, of Jewish heritage, found herself working as a physicist at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute…
in Berlin when the Nazis came to power in 1933; how she was hounded out of the country and forced to relocate to Sweden; how German chemists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman continued with the project – on the effect of bombarding uranium (the heaviest known element at the time) with neutrons, a project which Lise herself had initiated, being the intellectual leader of the group. It describes how Hahn and Strassmann, with whom she kept in touch, came up with some extraordinary results which they were at a loss to explain; how Lise, and her nephew Otto Frisch, who was also a physicist, confirmed what they had achieved - the ‘splitting of the atom’, no less, and provided them with a theoretical explanation for it. This laid the foundation for nuclear power, medical-scanning technology, radiotherapy, electronics, and of course, the atomic bomb - the creation of which filled Lise with horror. It describes the crucial part that Lise played in our understanding of the world of atoms, and how deliberate and strenuous attempts were made to deny her contribution; to belittle her achievements, and to write her out of the history books, even though Albert Einstein said she was even ‘more talented than Marie Curie herself’. The author is fortunate and honoured to have been granted several interviews with Lise’s nephew Philip Meitner – himself a refugee from the Nazis - who with his wife Anne, provided much valuable information and many photographs.Confessions of a Special Agent: Wartime Service in the Small Scale Raiding Force and SOE
Par Ernest Dudley, Jack Evans. 1957
Many are the tales of young men lying about their age to join the Army, yet Jack Evans sought far…
more at the age of just possibly just seventeen to act behind enemy lines as an agent of the Special Operations Executive.Evans had joined the RAF in 1940, despite being well under the legal age, and two years later was recruited into the SOE as a member of the Small Scale Raiding Force. Evans related his experiences with the SOE to author Ernest Dudley in the 1950s, in which he describes his training, including learning how to jump by parachute in preparation for an operation into France though he was withdrawn from the operation when his true age was disclosed. He then joined the SSRF, taking part in a number of raids upon Occupied France.Evans was then transferred to the Brandon Mission in Africa. This involved an eight-man team being parachuted into Tunisia to attack a railway line. In 1943 he was promoted to the rank of captain and parachuted into France, only to be captured by the Germans and imprisoned in Stalag Luft III for the remainder of the war.Evans suffered considerable mental trauma from his time behind enemy lines and his internment at the hands of the Germans and was unable to settle into normal civilian life. His astonishing story, written so soon after the end of the war, was considered in many respects to be ahead of its time.Germany's High Sea Fleet in the World War
Par Reinhard Scheer. 2014
Anglo-German naval rivalry before 1914 had been expected to culminate in a cataclysmic fleet action in the North Sea once…
war was declared, a battle upon which the outcome of the war would depend: yet the two fleets met only once, at Jutland in 1916, and the battle was far from conclusive. In his own account of the war in the North Sea, first published in 1920, Admiral Scheer, the German commander at Jutland, gives his own explanation for the failure of either fleet to achieve the decisive victory expected of it, particularly the failure of his own operation plans that resulted in the battle of Jutland. This book is an invaluable account of one of the most important theatres of the First World War, written by one of its most senior commanders.Stopping Hitler: An Official Account of How Britain Planned to Defend Itself in the Second World War
Par Captain G.C. Wynne. 2017
&“[A] unique account of British threat responses to potential German conflict . . . Strongly recommended&” (Firetrench). In the immediate aftermath…
of the First World War, it was expected that international disputes could be settled by arbitration through the creation of the League of Nations. Consequently, the British government concluded that there would not be another war in the foreseeable future and therefore the country&’s armed forces could be correspondingly scaled back. The rise of Nazism in Germany in the 1930s, however, prompted politicians and military leaders to contemplate the frightening prospect of another global conflict. The Chiefs of Staff of the three services were instructed to bring Britain&’s armed forces up to a standard where they could resist a revitalized and powerful aggressor, and to put in place plans for the defense of the country. When that war became a reality, the Chiefs of Staff then had to devise schemes to prevent a German invasion and, as the war progressed, to counter the bombers of the Luftwaffe and the flying bombs and rockets that followed. Reproduced here in its entirety is an official account drawn up by Capt. G. C. Wynne of the Historical Section, Cabinet Office in 1948. Arranged in four parts, corresponding to the four different threats that developed with the changing situations of the war, it details the various plans made for home defense between 1939 and 1945. &“A detailed study of the preparations and actual measures taken to prevent invasion during the Second World War.&” —Britain at WarNo Room for Mistakes: British and Allied Submarine Warfare, 1939–1940
Par Geirr H Haarr. 2015
A new book from this bestselling author covering the events at sea in the early years of World War II,…
in which he has compiled comprehensive research and insight into a highly readable and detailed account of British and Allied submarine warfare in north European waters at the beginning of the war. The early chapters describe prewar submarine development, including technical advances and limitations, weapons, tactical use and life onboard, and examine the men who crewed them and explore their understanding of the warfare that they would become involved in.The core of the book is an account of the events as they unfolded in 'home waters' from the outset of war to the end of 1940, by which time the majority of the Allied submarines were operating in the Mediterranean. It is a story of success, triumph, failure and tragedy, and it tells of the tremendous courage and endurance shown by a small group of men learning how to fight a new kind of war in claustrophobic, sub-sea vessels with limited information about the enemy, or what they would meet off the alien coasts to which they were heading. Extensive primary sources are used to document the many aspects of this war, some of which remain controversial to this day. Max Horton, Vice Admiral Submarines 1940, said: 'There is no room for mistakes in submarines. You are either alive or dead.' This book makes plain how right he was.Sailor in the Air: The Memoirs of the World's First Carrier Pilot
Par Richard Bell Davies. 2008
Richard Bell Davies was one of the most important characters in the history of naval aviation. Despite a traditional naval…
education - he was among the last cadets to be trained under sail - he was quick to grasp the potential of aircraft, and backed his vision by privately learning to fly. This allowed him to join the Naval Air Wing in 1913 and he enjoyed a very active, but hair-raising career during the Great War, including winning the VC for a daring rescue of a fellow pilot while under heavy fire. Because of his unique breadth of experience he was transferred to experimental work, where he played a major part in crucial developments like arrestor gear, deck barriers and the 'island' superstructure that define the modern aircraft carrier. As the first man to regularly land and take off from such ships, he did much to prove the value of shipboard aviation. After the war, in an Admiralty post, he continued to promote the flying interests of the Navy, and the book provides a first-hand chronicle of the struggles with the Air Ministry over policy and control. Although he retired in 1941, he accepted a lower rank to command one of the newly invented escort carriers, so his service ended as it had begun, at the cutting edge of naval aviation. This wonderfully active, and hugely significant career is related with a charm, modesty and humour which make the book enthralling and memorable.A concise, authoritative, heavily illustrated summary of this class of German WWII-era warships, covering their design histories and careers. …
The Admiral Hipper class was among the largest heavy cruisers to serve in World War II. Intended to be a class of five, they enjoyed contrasting fortunes: Seydlitz and Lützow were never completed; Blücher was the first major German warship sunk in action; Admiral Hipper became one of the most successful commerce raiders of the war; while the Prinz Eugen survived to be expended as a target in one of the first American nuclear tests in 1946. Part of a six-volume series on the German Navy&’s WWII-era warships written by Gerhard Koop and illustrated by Klaus-Peter Schmolke, this book contains an account of the development of the Admiral Hipper class, a detailed description of the ships with full technical details, and an outline of their service, heavily illustrated with plans, battle maps, and a substantial collection of photographs.Fight the Good Fight: Voices of Faith from the Second World War
Par John Broom. 2016
The Second World War challenged many of the concepts that had provided stability and unity in the world. As totalitarian…
regimes in Europe and Asia attempted to impose their world view on their neighbours, a struggle for what Winston Churchill described as `Christian civilisation took place on many fronts. On the home front, on land, on sea and in the air, as well as in the horrific concentration camps of Europe and prisoner of war camps in the Far East, people of a Christian faith found their beliefs challenged. However, for many this challenge provided an affirmation of that faith, as it provided a rock amidst the ever shifting sands of circumstance. This book contains the accounts of twenty such individuals, many drawn from previously unpublished sources. Their testimonies provide evidence that during a time of discord, disruption, dislocation and death, the Christian faith remained a key force in sustaining morale and a willingness to fight the good fight.Interesting Facts King George VI called National Days of Prayer during Britains darkest days in 1940Had Michael Benn survived the war, he would have become the 2nd Viscount Stansgate, meaning his brother, Tony, would not have had to fight to renounce his peerageBill Frankland avoided near certain death at the Alexandra Hospital Massacre by the toss of a coinStanley Warren only found out about the rediscovery of his Changi Murals during a chance work conversation in the 1950sAs a boy, Ken Tout was told by his parents to cross the street to avoid walking past the Catholic church. As a man he was invited to a private audience with Pope John Paul II.Horses of the Great War: The Story in Art
Par John Fairley. 2015
Horses of the Great War explains the contribution of countless innocent houses using superb contemporary painting by artists such as…
Sir John Lavery, Sir Alfred Munnings and Stanley Spencer. These works supported by informed commentary tell how the horses were rounded up; how the cavalry halted the German advance in 1914 and again in 1918; how the turks were overwhelmed in the deserts of Palestine and Arabia. Most significantly the Western Front relied on horses for supply of everything from shells and ammunition to food and water in atrocious and perilous conditions. While the vets kept the surviving horses alive and well, in the end, vast numbers were slaughtered or sold.The Grand Alliance: The Second World War, Volume 3 (Winston S. Churchill The Second World Wa #3)
Par Winston S. Churchill. 2010
The British, Soviets, and Americans unite in this chapter of the six-volume WWII history by the legendary prime minister and…
Nobel Prize recipient. The Grand Alliance describes the end of an extraordinary period in British military history, in which Britain stood alone against Germany. Two crucial events brought an end to Britain&’s isolation. First was Hitler&’s decision to attack the Soviet Union, opening up a battle front in the East and forcing Stalin to look to the British for support. The second was the bombing of Pearl Harbor. US support had long been crucial to the British war effort, and here, Winston Churchill documents his efforts to draw the Americans to aid, including correspondence with President Roosevelt. This book is part of the six-volume account of World War II told from the unique viewpoint of a British prime minister who led his nation in the fight against tyranny. In addition to the correspondence with FDR, the series is enriched with extensive primary sources. We are presented with not only Churchill&’s retrospective analysis of the war, but also memos, letters, orders, speeches, and telegrams, day-by-day accounts of reactions as the drama intensifies. Throughout these volumes, we listen as strategies and counterstrategies unfold in response to Hitler&’s conquest of Europe, planned invasion of England, and assault on Russia, in a mesmerizing account of the crucial decisions made as the fate of the world hangs in the balance. &“A masterly piece of historical writing . . . complete with humor and wit.&” —The New YorkerIt Is Impossible to Remain Silent: Reflections on Fate and Memory in Buchenwald
Par Elie Wiesel, Jorge Semprún. 2020
A conversation between Elie Wiesel and Jorge Semprún about what they experienced and observed during their time in the Buchenwald…
concentration camp.On March 1, 1995, at the time of the fiftieth anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps, ARTE—a French-German state-funded television network—proposed an encounter between two highly regarded figures of our time: Elie Wiesel and Jorge Semprún. These two men had probably crossed paths—without ever meeting—in the Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald in 1945. This short book, published in association with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, is the entire transcription of their recorded conversation. During World War II, Buchenwald was the center of a major network of sub-camps and an important source of forced labor. Most of the internees were German political prisoners, but the camp also held a total of ten thousand Jews, Roma, Sinti, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and German military deserters. In these pages, Wiesel and Semprún poignantly discuss the human condition under catastrophic circumstances. They review the categories of inmate at Buchenwald and agree on the tragic reason for the fate of the victims of Nazism—as well as why this fate was largely ignored for so long after the end of the war. Both men offer riveting testimony and pay vibrant homage to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Today, seventy-five years after the liberation of the Nazi camps, this book could not be more timely for its confrontation with ultra-nationalism and antisemitism.Tank Warfare on the Eastern Front, 1941–1942: Schwerpunkt
Par Robert Forczyk. 2020
The author of Case White: The Invasion of Poland delves into the strategy and weaponry of armored warfare during the…
early years of the Russo-German War. The German panzer armies that swept into the Soviet Union in 1941 were an undefeated force that had honed their skill in combined arms warfare to a fine edge. The Germans focused their panzers and tactical air support at points on the battlefield defined as Schwerpunkt—main effort—to smash through any defensive line and then advance to envelope their adversaries. Initially, these methods worked well in the early days of Operation Barbarossa and the tank forces of the Red Army suffered defeat after defeat. Although badly mauled in the opening battles, the Red Army&’s tank forces did not succumb to the German armored onslaught and German planning and logistical deficiencies led to over-extension and failure in 1941. In the second year of the invasion, the Germans directed their Schwerpunkt toward the Volga and the Caucasus and again achieved some degree of success, but the Red Army had grown much stronger and by November 1942, the Soviets were able to turn the tables at Stalingrad. Robert Forczyk&’s incisive study offers fresh insight into how the two most powerful mechanized armies of the Second World War developed their tactics and weaponry during the critical early years of the Russo-German War. He uses German, Russian and English sources to provide the first comprehensive overview and analysis of armored warfare from the German and Soviet perspectives. His analysis of the greatest tank war in history is compelling reading. Includes photosAir Battle of Malta: Aircraft Losses and Crash Sites, 1940–1942
Par Anthony Rogers. 2017
In the Second World War, Malta was besieged for nearly two and a half years, during which time a decisive…
air war was waged between Britain, Italy and Germany.This is part of that story, from the early days in June 1940, when only a few Gladiator biplanes were available to combat Italian bombers and fighters, to the intervention of the Luftwaffe and the tenuous defense by outclassed Hurricanes, culminating in the desperate months of fighting following the arrival on Malta of the Spitfire in March 1942.What became of the many aircraft destroyed over the Maltese Islands, and what was the fate of their pilots and crews?More than a thousand aircraft were lost. Many crashed into the Mediterranean; others came down on Malta and the neighboring island of Gozo. This book focuses on the latter some 200 British, Italian and German machines, and the fate of their pilots and crews. It reveals where those airplanes fell, thus providing a record that will continue to be valued by future generations.This comprehensive volume documents all known aircraft crash sites in and around the Maltese Islands and provides the circumstances of each loss are related in detail with accounts from both sides.In Germany especially there are many still unaware of the fate of family members who never returned after the Second World War. This book reveals what happened to some who even today are still officially listed as missing.The Battle of the River Plate: A Grand Delusion (Campaign Chronicles)
Par Richard Woodman. 2008
A study and reassessment of the major World War II battle in the South Atlantic between the British and German…
navies. The Battle of the River Plate was the first major naval confrontation of the Second World War, and it is one of the most famous. The dramatic sea fight between the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee and the British cruisers Exeter, Ajax, and Achilles off the coast of South America caught the imagination in December 1939. Over the last sixty years the episode has come to be seen as one of the classics of naval warfare. Yet the accepted interpretation of events has perhaps been taken for granted and is ripe for reassessment, and that is one of the aims of Richard Woodman&’s enthralling new study.Praise for The Battle of the River Plate: A Grand Delusion &“This author has made it all so very riveting, it really is a book which is hard to put down until finished.&” —Royal Geographical Society &“Graphic, thought provoking—highly recommended.&” —Britain at WarFallschirmjäger: German Paratroopers, 1942-1945 (Images of War)
Par François Cochet. 2019
The second volume following the World War II exploits of the famed German parachute unit—from the battle of Crete to…
the surrender of the Third Reich. As elite troops, the German Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers) were regularly engaged in front line combat during the Second World War. Their famed actions such as the fighting in Scandinavia, the taking of the Belgian fortress Eden-Emal in May 1940, and the Battle for Crete just a year later, have given them the reputation of being determined, courageous and loyal soldiers. This book continues the pictorial history of the Fallschirmjäger, focusing on the period following the bloody Battle for Crete. Used as elite infantry, first in the USSR and then in Africa, the Fallschirmjäger were able to reconnect with their glorious past, whether in Italy or on the Greek Islands, as they jumped from their Ju 52s to engage the enemy. Their hard fighting in Italy helped to cement the legend of &“the Green Devils,&” with the British General Harold Alexander describing them as &“tenacious, highly trained men, hardened by their many actions and combats.&” However, during the fighting in Normandy, the Ardennes and on the Eastern Front, the number of veterans decreased, meaning it was the young German paratroopers who finally surrendered the Third Reich on 8 May 1945. &“François Cochet&’s two-volumes in the Images of War series are not only an excellent introduction to this force and its combat history in the war, but also much, much more.&” —Avon Napoleonic Fellowship