I have just read a interesting article from a woman who was a prisoner at Sachsenhausen as a child and who was looking for other people who might have been there as children as well.
I am looking for children-survivors, boys and girls, who were in Sachsenhausen near Oranienburg, between December 1944 and April 1945, when the camp was liberated by the Russians. We, a group of around 20 children, were living in what was called “the Revier” barracks where sick inmates where taken (possibly only women in the barrack I was staying ). Only nurses and doctors took care of us, and some people in street clothing, SS -men guarded us
Here is the part that surprised me.
The Red Cross inspected the building at least twice. We children were told to be very quiet or we would die. Another time, we were sent to a fenced-in yard—the only time we were allowed to play—while watched over by SS-men. Some of the boys found ammunition shells that were at least as long as an adult arm. I was later told by my uncle that only one area produced and used such shells, nearby Oranienburg.
When you search for information about the Red Cross inspection of the camps you will usually find information on Theresienstadt, and how it was a "model concentration camp". But here we are talking about Sachsenhausen. And it's 44-45! So Sachsenhausen already has a gas chamber at this point, in a big building with crematorium smokestacks coming out of it next to a big execution shooting pit. There is a hard labor "extermination camp" brickyard. There had already been mass executions of 10 000 Soviet POWs, experimentation, etc etc. This is a main camp at the height of the war, and here the Red Cross are visiting it multiple times and walking around inside.
I find it hard to think that the camp could be "cleaned up" and everything hidden from view. And the Red Cross investigators were being thorough with their jobs, right? I mean ... what were they doing? It must have been more than just being shown a few rooms and then saying "Let's call this a day".
I found an article that said the Red Cross didn't want to speak out about things (usually referencing the Holocaust), for fear of being denied access. But .. surely .. the whole point of having access is to see if atrocities and inhumane treatment were happening, correct?
If you actually see that .. then why remain silent in order to have the chance to see if there is any more? And if you can't find evidence of this stuff while walking around Sachsenhausen in 1945..? Well.. I just don't get it.
So ... at this point was the Red Cross aware of the reality of the concentration camps?
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I know that he is considered the author of the document, but was the final draft written by his hand or was a scribe hired to do the actual writing?
This question could also apply to any large handwritten document. I ask because comparing the rough drafts that were presumably actually written by Jefferson to the final draft I can see a significant difference in style.
Additionally, I would like to know how one would go about writing such a large document by hand. Were there any techniques at the time to correct errors, or would the author have to start again entirely if s/he made a mistake? Was it common for politicians and other important people to be trained extensively in penmanship?
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What about lighter looking Hispanics, or those (if there were any) that spoke fluent English?
I'm sorry for the purposefully vague "segregation era", but I'm sadly ignorant of racial relations in the south, and don't really know how else to specify the time I'm thinking about. I hope you guys understand what I'm trying to talk about.
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I read this online, is it bs?
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It seems a little bit too large considering the era, especially when most European armies in the 1700's couldn't field that large a force.
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Whenever I go about researching this, what always comes up is that either US doctrine did not call for heavy tanks like the German Tiger or the Russian IS-2 or that the US Army did not consider practical to ship heavy tanks to Europe.
My question is different though; since the US evidently had the funds and the capacity to employ tanks that would offer better protection to their crews than the vulnerable M4 Sherman, why didn't they? Even the excellent M4A3E2 "Jumbo", was produced in very limited numbers, and the M26 Pershing came very late in the war and wasn't considered too reliable, if I recall correctly.
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How did Saddam Hussein's invasion influence the early coalescence of the Islamic Republic's government in Iran? Did it empower some revolutionary groups within the country over others? Did it contribute to the religious nature of the country?
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The article in question. I had a teacher mention this in class and I decided to do some fact checking. I've tried the standard google searches and can get no references, so I'm wondering whether it's a made up example or an actual event.
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Did people in Middle ages/dark ages ate whole bread or white bread or both
How did people extract yeast for bread making in the middle ages/dark ages
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I'm essentially trying to find what these kids grew up and learnt more about what occurred during the Third Reich, and about what they were a small part of, and if there is a feeling of guilt or victimhood etc? I've read about different responses from German adults but haven't found much about children, and particularly the Hitler Youth seems to me the most interesting.
Edit: Did not expect to see so much response to this question, really appreciate all the answers, including the ones that were deleted. Shoutout to /u/Shino336 and /u/Lightning14 for their answers, and also to /u/Nyxisto 's comment about freedom of speech in the FRG.
Mods seem to have been busy so thanks for the effort, one of the reasons I love this sub
3 Answers 2016-03-05
Anthony Bourdain is the guy who has many series of shows traveling the world where he experiences culture and food in tandem with each other in a really cool way. Every time the topic of cheese comes up, he refers to the cheese market, or regulation, or industry in general as "an evil fascist dictatorship that ruins lives (sarcastically).
To ask more directly, what happened in the history of cheese to make him say stuff like that?
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To my understanding, in ancient societies such as Rome, children wouldn't "move out" of their family's household when they reached maturity, and activities such as raising children were a much more communal affair. However today, the idea of a nuclear family is the norm, when children are expected to find their own home when they become adults. When and why did this change happen?
1 Answers 2016-03-05
I once heard that backpacks are a remarkably recent invention (like post-1700). Is that true? What is the earliest known example of a backpack? By backpack I mean a large pack carried by straps over each shoulder.
1 Answers 2016-03-05
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligarchy :
Especially during the fourth century BC, after the restoration of democracy from oligarchical coups, the Athenians used the drawing of lots for selecting government officers in order to counteract what the Athenians saw as a tendency toward oligarchy in government if a professional governing class were allowed to use their skills for their own benefit.[5][page needed] They drew lots from large groups of adult volunteers that pick selection technique for civil servants performing judicial, executive, and administrative functions (archai, boulē, and hēliastai).[6] They even used lots for posts, such as judges and jurors in the political courts (nomothetai), which had the power to overrule the Assembly.[7]
This sounds to me like an extreme thought experiment in democracy, it's hard to imagine it actually taking place! Any interesting stories about what happened as a result?
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Specifically, prior to the influx of Chinese cultural influence during the Sui and Tang dynasties. So pre-600-700s.
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Think of the drill sergeant you see in Full Metal Jacket, angry and yelling at soldiers. Did that position exist in medieval Europe?
2 Answers 2016-03-05