Illuminati-R-Us

April 16th, 1999 - birth of my eldest son. His 21st is considerably more subdued than I’m sure he could ever have imagined.

Also Culloden and the start of the death of the Highlands in 1746.

*raises glass to the west*

Culloden, aye that was a shitstorm of fuckwittery.

75 years ago today, the capitulation of the Ruhrgebiet and the end of battle of Seelow Heights brought marked two important waypoints towards the uncinditional surrender of the German Reich.

Alfred Hitchcock died 40 years ago today.

On the same day 35 years earlier, American troops liberated Dachau concentration camp, taking another deep look into the abyss.

75 years ago today, Adolf Hitler did his one and only service to Germany by finally committing suicide.

75 years ago today, Reichssender Hamburg broadcasting station began to operate under British control. It had been the venue for Lord Haw Haw's bile-spewing against the British until April 30. The British couldn't resist the temptation andhad Lord Haw Haw hanged for high treason under shoddy justification in 1946.

I am against the death penalty on principle, but I dare say he wasn't a great loss.

50th anniversary of the Kent State Massacre as well.

The death of Joyce was no loss at all.

75 years ago today, the end of the downfall, the day of liberation, V-E day. In Germany, we call it Die Stunde Null, Hour Zero, not quite appropriately.

There was a sparse and subdued remembrance ceremony in Berlin, short and with only 5 participants, one for the 5 institutional arms of the Grundgesetz: The President, the President of the Bundestag, the (Vice) President of the Bundesrat, the President of the Constituional Court, and the Chancellor.

The President gave a very short speech saying remembrance of these times may never be allowed to end. And he said something that I find remarkable in its precision and succinctness: You can only love this nation with a broken heart. Those who are unable to bear this truth and try to "put an end" to our remembering not only repress the catastrophe but negate all the good things that came after it.

I must say, I am impressed. That is a good way to put it.

To all non-Germans on the planet: Happy V-E Day!"

Germany almost always does these things well.

I avoided all of it, it was just too jingoistic and a wee bit xenophobic. My Dad’s view of VE Day was “Great, now I’ll get sent East for the invasion of the Japanese Home Islands” on the basis he was a tankie who was trained on Hobart’s Funnies and had landed on D-Day. Too many people yesterday were talking about VE Day as the end of the war.

Heid the Ba wrote:Germany almost always does these things well.

I avoided all of it, it was just too jingoistic and a wee bit xenophobic. My Dad’s view of VE Day was “Great, now I’ll get sent East for the invasion of the Japanese Home Islands” on the basis he was a tankie who was trained on Hobart’s Funnies and had landed on D-Day. Too many people yesterday were talking about VE Day as the end of the war.

And he might well have been. Da Bomb probably spared him that.

Oh he definitely was going, they were in training for a landing in Europe and were ordered to the Far East but VJ happened before they shipped out.

I avoided it all too. Last thing I need is yet more British jingoism and English exceptionalism rammed down my throat. I see the Daily Mail said that the German media discuss the response to COVID-19 in scientific terms because they lost the war.

And the Russians as the actual country who defeated Germany use witchcraft and denial? Actually they probably do.

100 years ago today, birth of Karol Wojtyla, the late Pope John Paul II.

70 years ago today, birth of Thomas Gottschalk, later to become the closest thing to an entertainer brand Germany has.

The two make a nice contrast for the purpose of this thread.

Indeed they do.

6th June 1944, my father hit a beach in Normandy. He didn’t hate the Germans, he was just doing his job. As I have said before he had worse days but this is the one I think, “What if . . .”

21 June, 1960. Armin Hary is the first human to run 100 m in 10.0 seconds. He'll win Olympic Gold in Rome a few months later.

And at the Olympics he was representing both Germanys.

True. For the last time, wasn't it, in 30 years.

On 20 June 1941, Soviet archaeologists opened Timor’s tomb, and found a curse on whomever disturbed his grave written within.

On this day in history, two days later, the forces of the Third Reich invaded the Soviet Union.

Judge for yourself the effectiveness of the curse.

That is a heavy duty curse.

30 years ago, the Deutsche Mark was introduced in the GDR, together with the main body of economic and social laws. For the German lovers: Wirtschafts-, Währungs und Sozialunion. It was widely regarded as a mistake, and made a lot of people very angry. Not most, though.

On this day in 1945, Hiroshima was lit up.

As a documentary yesterday, called it, the day the Sun fell from the sky.