I am not a sheep, I have my own mind
I have had enough of being told what and how to think
Whilst we are still allowed the remnants of free speech, I will speak out.
I also reserve the right to discuss less controversial matters should I feel the urge.
In 2005, an 83 year-old World War II pilot is surprised to see 16mm footage of his 1944 Spitfire crash for the first time.
SPITFIRE
944 was put on YouTube as part of the Sundance Film Festival Memorial
Day observance through from May 22 through June 5, 2013 (UPDATE,
ShortsHD is allowing the film to stay on youtube for the moment:) The
Sundance portal is here: http://www.sundance.org/stories/artic...
'Haj Amin Al-Husseini (1895-1974), Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, is a man of
the past, at the same time he is a man of the present. Not only was he
one of the best Arab friends the Nazis ever had, he also worked for them
and was handsomely paid by them in the crucial war years between 1941
and 1945 when he lived in a villa in Berlin. Today, he is a model for
many radical Muslims who share his views on the Jews, Sharia law and the
West. He was the father of Palestinian nationalism. Why did he feel so
deeply attracted to Nazi ideology? Why did the Nazis see the Grand Mufti
as their close friend and ally?'
' March 5, 2012 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - "It was a very hot day in June or July 1944 when I was at work in Monowitz, also known as Auschwitz III. And then I suddenly noticed a group of people who looked like actors. They were wearing long robes and strange headgear.
Occasionally, internees did perform a play in the camp. I wanted to find out myself and as I walked towards that group I was stopped by a high ranking SS-officer whom I didn't know. He was from the main camp (Auschwitz I) or Birkenau (Auschwitz II). The officer asked me, 'What do you want?' 'I just wanted to know whether these people are actors or not. Is there going to be a stage performance tonight?' 'These people aren't actors,' the SS-officer told me. 'They are the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and his retinue.' I then asked him, 'What is he doing here?' 'He is paying a visit to the camp,' the SS-officer said. 'He lives in Berlin where he enjoys Hitler's personal protection. He is now paying a visit to Monowitz to see how the Jews are working themselves to death in factories. He is also in Auschwitz to see the gas chambers. When we have won the war he will return to Palestine to build gas chambers and kill the Jews who are living over there.'"'
The Battle of Graveney Marsh happened when a Junkers 88 bomber crash-landed after being attacked by two RAF Spitfire fighter planes. One of the bomber’s engines had already been knocked out by anti-aircraft fire when the second was put out of action by the Spitfires. The pilot was forced to land on Graveney Marsh in Kent. The crash was seen by members of the London Irish Rifles’ who were 'holed up' in the Sportsman Inn in Seasalter, a hamlet near Whitstable, and they were dispatched to the downed bomber. They expected the four-strong Luftwaffe crew to give themselves up without a fight but as they approached the aircraft the Germans opened fire with the aircraft’s two machine guns. Some of the British servicemen dived to the ground and returned fire, whilst another group crawled along a dyke to get within 50 yards of the plane before they started shooting. The Germans soon surrendered and the battle was over with few injuries and no deaths.
Last night's 6:30 Radio 4 news had as its last item an investigation into David Cameron's comments that 1940 was Britain's finest hour. The BBC forensic investigation of David Cameron's remarks standing in stark contrast with their complete lack of interest in David Miliband's comment that
"We were not a junior partner. We stood alone against the Nazis. How can a British prime minister who bangs on about British history get that so wrong? It is a slight, not a slip."
Britain stood alone did we? What about the Poles and American Eagle squadrons? What about the soldiers from Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand etc. fighting for the Commonwealth?
The second 'oh no hear we go moment' came this morning when I heard that next Tuesday Radio 4 will be broadcasting a programme about Mossad. I think we all know how this one will go and the website preview does nothing to dispel my fears:
'The Mossad, or 'Institute of Special Tasks', is one of the most feared and fabled security services in the world. It has been lauded for daring operations and accused of cold-blooded murder. It is widely thought to have been behind the assassination of a leading member of the group Hamas earlier this year.
...
They insist they follow a strict ethical code but others question whether their methods are in breach of international law.'
The delegitimising of the State of Israel continues apace on the BBC.
One of the most moving and remarkable scenes of all yesterday’s national rejoicing was that which took place just before 6 o’clock in the evening when Mr. Churchill spoke from a balcony in Whitehall to a great crowd, whose self-disciplined orderliness and gaiety were so typical of the proud, unconquerable spirit of London through the dark and perilous days now left behind….
Mr Churchill’s appearance was greeted with a loud cheer, and this was renewed when the crowd heard his voice – carried resonantly by the loud-speakers, saying “God bless you all.” After further cheering, waving, and singing by the crowd, Mr. Churchill said:- “This is your victory! It is the victory of the cause of freedom in every land. In all our long history we have never seen a greater day than this. Everyone, man or woman, has done their best. Everyone has tried. Neither the long years, nor the dangers, nor the fierce attacks of the enemy, have in any way weakened the independent resolve of the British nation. God bless you all.”
The Prime Minister’s words were heard distinctly throughout Whitehall, and when he had done there was another great outburst of cheering. With Mr. Bevin beating time, the crowd sang “For he’s a jolly good fellow,” and Mr. Churchill repeatedly waved acknowledgements. Mr. Bevin called for “three cheers for victory,” and the crowd responded with three fervent and deep-throated cheers.'
"I remember the terrible smell. The stench of cordite burning buildings but most of all was the stench of dead animals. There were hundreds of them laying dead on their backs. It was a hot day and the smell was terrible, never have I seen such terrible slaughter of animals. It made you feel sick. We pulled into a orchard for a rest for a few hours and have a meal. We hadn't eaten since we left Tilbury....
More and more animals were being killed, towns and villages were being destroyed and hundreds of men were being killed or wounded but we still had to carry on. We had to eat and sleep when we could, washing was a thing of the past and eating was rare. Every section, which consisted of nine men, had their own rations which we had to cook and eat when we could. By now I had been in action for about 3 weeks and at no time had any of us taken our clothes off or had a decent meal. You slept when and where you could. We lost a lot of our tanks by anti-tank guns, one being the 88mm. The Shermans we had were called Tommy cookers because after being hit they would blow up. Sometimes the crew were able to get out and sometimes they were killed or wounded but the very worse was when a crew member was wounded and couldn't get out their screams were terrible and it was terrible to listen to, knowing we couldn't do anything to help. I remember when one of our carriers hit a mine the driver lost both his legs and it was terrible but thankfully over quick. We buried him in his carrier which was a wreck. He was only 21. We had two brothers in our company. The elder one was badly wounded and sent back via the mobile hospital. He was put on a landing craft which was to carry him and the other wounded soldiers to the hospital ship laying off shore. We later heard that the landing craft hit a mine and no one survived. The younger brother was devastated but he had to go on."
and this reminiscence by a then 18 year old sapper, including this passage:
"We landed on Sword beach at approx 7.30 and a major Barber, originally in the Northamptonshire Regiment, said “Well done engineer” when he saw that I was still with them as we cleared the beach to move inland. Sometime later I was lying next to him and his batman when he told him to wait there whilst he went to see what was happening. Seconds later I heard a shell or mortar coming . It landed between the two and both were killed instantly."
Here's a piece of video from the History Channel about D-Day...
Here's an interesting piece of German propaganda about the D-Day landings...
And here's a piece of video produced as a tribute to the men that fought on 6 June 1944 whether they survived or died...
The WW2 People's War is an online archive of wartime memories contributed by members of the public and gathered by the BBC. The archive can be found at bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar
