Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Leslie Cheswyck]

US, USSR troops meet at Tougau, Germany on the River Elbe, April 25, 1945.


http://www.usmlm.org/home/russians/wwii-torgau.htm

[Ya-ta Boy]

That's a good pic.

Too bad it took another 50 years for them to step across that chasm between them.

[gypsyfish]

When I lived in Germany in the early '80's I worked with a German who was on the Russian side when he wanted to surrender. He said he and his squad walked until they found a bridge with an American officer on it and told him they wanted to surrender. The officer said that they had an agreement with the Russians that anyone on the Russian side had to surrender to the Russians and Egon, my friend, told him if that were the case they would continue to fight. He said the officer winked, pointed downriver, showed him where they could cross, come back and surrender to him and that's what they did.

[Leslie Cheswyck]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/deathofhitler.htm


April 30, 1945

[Leslie Cheswyck]

Photo taken 2 May 1945 in Berlin shows a Soviet soldier raising the Red Flag over the Reichstag.


http://www.dean.usma.edu/history/web03/atlases/ww2%20europe/ww2%20europe%20pages/ww2%20europe%20map%2082.htm

[funplanet]

60 years ago this past week my father was still flying missions over Germany cleaning up, but not much left to bomb

[Cthulhu]

There was an impressive special on History Channel the other night following U.S. military film crews through the last few months of the war in Germany. It included footage of towns being taken, either through bombardment and street fighting or without a shot being fired, depending upon the attitude of the officer in charge of the local German defenders. A lot of lives lost and historic buildings destroyed due to the fanaticism of some of the defenders.

They also liberated a few minor labor camps and the footage of that alone would be enough for a war crimes tribunal, to say nothing of the far greater horrors of the concentration camps. Small wonder the soldiers forced the locals to arrange the bodies.

With the numbers of WWII vets still living dwindling rapidly, I hope the memories of their sacrifice doesn't die out among those who never had to go through it.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[Leslie Cheswyck]

[Summer Wine]

Sixty years ago, my grandfather was sitting in a hospital ship being told his best mate was killed 2 weeks before the war ended. He lost a 3rd to more of his platoon mates and all the officers and sergents in his platoon.

War is hell!

[joe_doufu]

[canuckistan]

My grandfather took great delight in tormenting the German troops who'd often search Dutch homes for shortwave radios. He'd wait until the Germans were way down the lane running behind the houses, pull out his hidden shortwave, and let it blast for a few moments, making it clear to the Germans they'd missed at least 1. Because of the sound bouncing off so many walls, they could never be sure where it was coming from. My grandmother would get furious with him for doing that.

[khyber]

hooof...relatives in the "Great war"

my grandfather escaped from a concentration camp (or perhaps internment camp) in northwest germany

my aunt hid jews...

[Ya-ta Boy]

My dad was sitting on Saipan waiting for the expected invasion. He had no qualms about Hiroshima/Nagasaki.

[bucheon bum]

my grandfather was a military gov. of some spot in Italy (not sure where he was at the time of the bombing). Soon after the war he ran Trieste for a couple years. Later on he killed his military career by causing a stink at panmunjon and the peace talks during the Korean War.