German Military Leaders/Nazi Era/von Manstein

"Field Marshal Erich von Manstein"

If you have only had limited interest in World War Two, you may not have heard of, or recall the name of, Erich von Manstein, but he is generally considered to have been one of the best German generals of the war, and there are those who argue he was THE best German general. The future general was born in Berlin to a German general of "Germanized" Polish heritage, and his true family name was Lewinski, but he was adopted by family agreement by von Manstein relatives of his mother, who were childless.

He served in World War One and remained in the treaty-limited army after the war, eventually serving as an officer with the General Staff, a high-level part of the army where many of the theories about the strategy and tactics of warfare, as well as planning, were developed. He was a staff officer to General von Rundstedt (a future field marshal) during the war in Poland in 1939. With France and Britain at war with Germany, the Germans were trying to develop a plan to score a major victory in western Europe. Von Manstein came up with such a plan (with input from others), the essentials of which were adopted by Hitler and the German high command. The plan entailed German armored and mobile forces advancing through the rough and forested terrain of the Ardennes (principally in Belgium), where they were least expected, and then making a run for the English Channel, cutting off the main body of French and British troops to the north.* The plan worked, and France was knocked out of the war. Von Manstein's prestige soared.

During the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, von Manstein at first commanded a Panzer corps in the northern area of Russia. Later that year he took command of the German 11th Army in southern Russia and was given the task of capturing the Crimea, including the famous Black Sea naval base fortress of Sevastopol.** The siege of the fortress brought together some of the heaviest artillery pieces ever produced, including an 800 mm railway gun, "Heavy Gustav," sometimes referred to as "Dora" (although Dora was actually a second such gun not present in the Crimea). This gun was so huge, it required hundreds of men to assemble it at its firing sight (it traveled disassembled), hundreds more to prepare its firing sight, rail lines, and loading operation, plus a few hundred more men in anti-aircraft (Flak) units to protect it from air attack. It took upwards of an hour to load one of its huge shells for firing. Its shells came in two types, high explosive and armor piercing (for piercing armor-plated fortifications), with the shells weighing between 5 and 7 tons, the "smaller" capable of being hurled at targets nearly 30 miles away. Also available were 600 mm mortars. The barrage unleashed by the Germans against Sevastopol in 1942 was so intense, it was reported that many a Soviet defender experienced ruptured blood vessels from the concussion of the shells exploding so closely together. The fortress fell to von Manstein's troops, after which the general was transferred to northern Russia to prepare for the capture of Leningrad, which had been cut off for the better part of a year. The attack never took place, and von Manstein was sent south again in late 1942 to take command of German forces attempting to break through to the encircled German army in Stalingrad. The attack failed, certainly hindered by Hitler's refusal to allow the surrounded garrison to launch its own attack to link up with von Manstein's approaching forces, and the Germans inside the embattled city surrendered in the early part of 1943.

Von Manstein's skill at preventing a complete disaster along the southern German front during this time period is seen by many as one of his greatest achievements. A skillful counterattack by von Manstein in late February of 1943 inflicted a punishing defeat on the, up until then, victorious advancing Soviet forces, and the German situation stabilized, setting up a major showdown in the summer of 1943. Manstein preferred other options, but Hitler wanted a major assault to "clip off" a huge Soviet bulge in the front lines around the city of Kursk. It was during this battle that the famous German tank, the Panther, was first used, although experts warned the ferocious, furious Führer the tank still had "bugs" to be worked out. Von Manstein's attack on the southern part of the "bulge" was essentially successful, but the northern attack failed. This failure, along with the Allied invasion of Sicily at that time,*** brought failure to the German offensive, and spelled the end of major German offensive operations on the Eastern Front for the rest of the war. From then on for the Germans, it was a matter of delaying inevitable defeat. Von Manstein's forces continued to withdraw across the Ukraine, but inflicted heavy losses on the Soviets. The field marshal's strategic withdrawals and his desire for a professional military man to be put in charge of the Eastern Front, instead of Hitler, came into serious conflict with the ferocious, furious Führer, and Hitler relieved him of command in late March 1944, and he did not command again. While aware of the plot against Hitler by a number of military officers, he did not participate, but he also kept the plotters' secret.

Von Manstein surrendered to the British and was held for trial in the late 1940s; the trial was held in the British occupation zone of Germany. The "political situation" of those times,**** brought much support from western military and political leaders, including Field Marshal Montgomery and Winston Churchill, as it was primarily the Soviets who wanted von Manstein put on trial. The field marshal had signed or counter-signed various orders that were then used to suppress the civilian population, including Jews, in the Soviet Union, and von Manstein acknowledged such, but played down his actual enforcement of these policies. He was acquitted of many of the charges against him, but was given a prison sentence, which brought howls of protest from his supporters. The sentence was commuted and, in fact, he was released after only a few years. He then served as an advisor to the then West German Army. He was highly respected within the German military (both Nazi era and post-war era) and even by his former foes. He died in the early 1970s.

* It was through this same area in December 1944 that Hitler launched another major offensive, which came to be known as "The Battle of the Bulge."

** The Crimea and the fortress of Sevastopol became famous during the war in the mid 1800s there, as press coverage was extensive for those times. This was the war where Florence Nightengale became famous for nursing the wounded. It was also the war of the famous, "Charge of the Light Brigade."

*** The invasion of Sicily forced Hitler to withdraw several key units from Russia and send them to Italy.

**** Generally speaking, the increased tensions between the "West" and the Soviet Union, and its satellite states in eastern Europe, lessened interest among many (but not all) in western Europe and America about the Nazi past of many German military people, as the battle had by then become "the West versus Soviet Communism."

WORD HISTORY:
Maw-Once a common word for "stomach" in English for humans and beasts, it is now more of a dialect or archaic term for the same, often used in America (not sure about Britain) for a pig's stomach. I see it occasionally in a grocery store meat case usually labeled "pork maw" or "hog maw." Its origin is uncertain, and it "could" be a Germanic invention. Old Germanic had "mago," which meant "stomach." This gave Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "maga," which then became "mawe," before the modern spelling. The loss of the "g" is not unusual, as for instance "morning" was once spelled "morgen," as it still is in close relative German, but even in German the 'g' is not always very prominent, depending upon the speaker.^ Forms of "maw" are common in the other Germanic languages: West Frisian "mage," Dutch "maag," Low German Saxon "Maag," some Low German dialects "Moag," standard German "Magen," Icelandic "magi," Norwegian and Swedish "mage," and Danish "mave."

^ Many years ago during trips to Wiesbaden, I stayed at a hotel where the owner, upon entering the dining area during breakfast, would say to everyone, "Guten MorGen," with a very prominent "g." I always got kind of a kick out of that. That means "good morning," by the way.

German Military Leaders/Nazi Era/Rommel

"Field Marshal Erwin Rommel"

No doubt about it, this is the most famous German general of World War Two in western Europe and in the United States. Rommel was born in Württemberg, then a kingdom within the German Empire. As an officer in the Alpine troops in World War One, he served primarily in Italy, a country then allied with Britain and France. Rommel remained in the treaty-limited army after the war, where he developed many ideas about tactics for tanks and infantry, which he set down in writing in a couple of books, which became highly popular in military circles inside and outside of Germany.*

About a year before the invasion of Poland, Rommel was named commander of Hitler's personal escort battalion, an army unit which provided protection for Hitler in his military travels. During the war in Poland, Rommel, recently promoted to major-general (Generalmajor), commanded Hitler's military headquarters. When German forces launched their offensive in western Europe, Rommel was in command of a panzer division (the 7th), which was one of the units that helped break through Belgian and French lines to cut off British forces. What was to become Rommel's famed "lead from the front" style, started in this campaign, as he often personally led hard charging attacks that demoralized enemy troops. His division was dubbed "the Ghost Division," since Rommel pushed it so hard, it seemed to burst upon rear area enemy positions from nowhere. The downside was, he was so often right up front, he was out of communication with his command staff, as well as with his superiors.

By early 1941, the defeat of Mussolini's army in Libya (then an Italian colony) by British and Commonwealth forces, brought a German commitment of military forces to help their struggling ally avoid the entire loss of Libya.** Called the "German Africa Corps" (Deutsches Afrikakorps), the corps would become one of the most famous units of the war on any side. Rommel's take charge attitude and his ability to assess a situation to exploit enemy weaknesses, brought a surprise German-Italian offensive success just weeks after his arrival in Libya. The offensive carried the Axis forces back across Libya, clear to the Egyptian border, trapping some Allied forces in the port city of Tobruk. The Allies then launched an attack of their own which broke the siege of Tobruk and caused Rommel to retreat to his original starting point. This was not the end, however, as Rommel launched a new attack of his own in 1942, throwing the Allies back, capturing Tobruk, driving deep into Egypt, and threatening to capture the Suez Canal. Stiffening Allied resistance, lack of supplies and sheer exhaustion halted Rommel's offensive at the little railway station of El Alamein in Egypt. The capture of Tobruk brought Rommel promotion to field marshal by Hitler.

Rommel had met, and was befriended by, Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels in the late 1930s. The desert war captured the imagination of the German public and Goebbels made Rommel a household name throughout Germany and occupied Europe with many newsreels depicting the combat in North Africa. Rommel, by then dubbed "the Desert Fox" (Der Wüstenfuchs***), became a hero to many a German, and a much feared opponent among Allied troops, although the fear also had a certain admiration to it. One British commander was so alarmed by Rommel's reputation with British troops, that he ordered his commanders to quash Rommel's "bogeyman" image among their soldiers.

By late October of 1942, the Allied forces, now under the command of General Bernhard Montgomery, launched a devastating attack on the German-Italian positions in and around El Alamein. After terrible losses of men and equipment, and in spite of Hitler's order to hold his positions,**** Rommel ordered a retreat. Thousands of Axis prisoners were taken by the Allies. Meanwhile, the Americans and British forces landed troops in the French North African colonies of French Morocco and Algeria, which were far to the rear of Rommel's retreating army. Hitler and Mussolini rushed troops to Tunisia, another French colony sandwiched between Rommel's retreating forces in Libya and the Allied forces which had just landed. French resistance to the landings was relatively light, and the struggle then centered on Tunisia. While Rommel inflicted a punishing defeat on the Americans at a place called "Kasserine Pass" in February 1943, the German and Italian forces surrendered in May 1943. The war in North Africa was over.

Rommel was given command of some forces in Greece and then in northern Italy before being transferred to France to take command of the area seen as the most likely for the anticipated Allied invasion. He found the German fortifications wanting, and he immediately set upon a course to strengthen those defenses, especially along the beach areas, as he believed the Allied landing had to be crushed on the beaches as they attempted to land, not after they had already landed. This idea was not universally accepted among other German generals, including Field Marshal von Rundstedt, the overall commander of German forces in western Europe. Rommel wanted all sorts of mines and obstacles along the water's edge to hamper the landings, so that his forces could then finish off the survivors (he also had obstacles placed further inland to prohibit or hamper paratroop or glider landings). He also wanted German armored forces (the Panzer divisions) stationed close to the beaches so that they could quickly be dispatched to mount attacks on any Allied troops who made it ashore, before they could be reinforced. Other generals argued the armor should be kept further back until a definite location of the landings was determined. Remember, the Germans did not know exactly where the Allies would land in France. In the end, there was sort of a compromise, as one Panzer division, interestingly stationed in Normandy (which came to be the site of the invasion), was moved relatively close to the beaches, but others were kept further back. This was complicated by the fact that these divisions could not be committed to any attack without the direct personal permission of the fanatical, ferocious, furious Führer.

On June 6, 1944, the Allies landed in Normandy during a brief lull in a period of bad weather (rain, wind, choppy seas). Rommel was away in Germany for his wife's birthday, having been convinced the Allies would not dare to cross the English Channel under such weather conditions. While some German forces, especially in the area known as "Omaha Beach," put up stout resistance, with Rommel away, the German reaction to the invasion was (thankfully) slow to develop. Hitler and others believed the Normandy landings were a ruse to draw German forces there, to allow an easier major landing somewhat further north. With the Allies having gained a foothold in France, the battle became a slogging match for almost two months; the Germans trying to contain the Allies in Normandy. In mid July, Rommel's car was strafed by Allied aircraft, the car crashed and the field marshal was severely injured. This was the end of Rommel's days of command, as he was hospitalized for quite some time and then sent home to recuperate. Just three days after the strafing of Rommel's car, a bomb, planted by an army officer, Klaus von Stauffenberg, exploded in Hitler's military headquarters in northeastern Germany (Rastenburg, East Prussia). The fanatical, ferocious, furious Führer, now VERY furious, survived the attack, and the Gestapo sought out anyone involved in the slightest way in the plot. Under interrogation and torture, Rommel's name was mentioned a few times by officers in custody, and by October 1944, Hitler dispatched some army officers to Rommel's home in southwestern Germany, where the field marshal was convalescing. Rommel was given the choice of taking his own life, with protections for his wife and son, or of being arrested, put on trial, and then executed, with no protection for his family. He chose to die, and after just a short time to say goodbye to his wife and son, Rommel got into a car accompanied by the other officers. The car traveled a short distance and Rommel took poison. Hitler and the Nazis could ill afford the true story to come out about such a prominent general, so it was announced by the Nazi press that Rommel had died of his wounds. He was given full military honors, and Hitler did keep his word about Rommel's family.*****

After the war, Rommel was held in high regard, even by his former enemies. His eventual opposition to Hitler, which only came out after the war, only enhanced his stature. He is best remembered as "the Desert Fox," during the war in North Africa, a war, that while brutal like all war, was not consumed by hatred, ideology or racism, such as happened in the Soviet Union, especially. Rommel forbade the execution of any captured troops of Jewish heritage or of legitimate Allied commandos, which ran counter to Hitler's orders.

* If you've seen the movie "Patton," you may recall General Patton shouting, upon defeating Rommel's forces in one battle, "Rommel, you magnificent bastard, I read your book!!!" While this was only a scene in a movie, it has much truth in it, because many of the successful commanders of the war read the works of military men from other countries in an effort to learn anything and everything they could about strategy and tactics.

** Rommel and the German forces were actually under the overall command of the Italians, which caused some friction, especially due to Rommel's independent personality. In late 1941, a German command structure was implemented for southern Europe and North Africa under the command of Albert Kesselring, but North Africa remained under overall Italian command.

*** German "Wüste," meaning "desert, wasteland," is closely related to English "waste," which we also use in the context of "barren, desert" land in the compound "wasteland." For those studying German, the noun is feminine; thus, "die Wüste," but when combined with the masculine noun "Fuchs" (fox), it becomes "der Wüstenfuchs," as German compounds take the grammatical gender of the last word in compounds. Aren't you glad English gave up using gender a long time ago?

**** In typical Hitlerian nonsense, the fanatical, ferocious, furious Führer ended his order to Rommel to hold fast with, "Ihrer Truppe aber können Sie keinen anderen Weg zeigen als den zum Siege oder zum Tod." (You can but show your troops no other path than the one to victory or death.")

***** Rommel was never all that involved in the plot to actually kill Hitler. He wanted Hitler arrested and put on trial for Germans to see the criminality of the nutcase-in-chief, and so as not to make the fanatical, ferocious, furious Führer a martyr. The major plotters decided that a live Hitler, even one under arrest, would be too much of a threat to German unity, as fanatical Nazis would resist, possibly bringing about a civil war. They wanted and needed someone of Rommel's stature to aid them with the German public, once Hitler, and hopefully SS Chief Himmler, and or Hitler's designated successor, Hermann Göring, had been killed.

WORD HISTORY:
Arm (2)-This is the noun meaning "weapon," which is more commonly used in the plural, "arms." This goes back to Indo European "ar," which had the notion of "fit or join together." This gave its Latin offspring^ "arma," which meant "tools, tools of war; thus, 'weapons.' " Old French, a Latin-based language, had "armes," which was then borrowed into English with the same spelling during the early 1200s. It was a couple of hundred years before the English spelling "arms" developed. The verb form, meaning "to supply or equip with weapons," was borrowed in the 1200s from French "armer," which traces back to Latin "armare," a derived form of "arma," mentioned above. In English the verb was initially spelled "armen," before the modern spelling.

^ Latin is an Indo European language related to English, but further down the family tree, although English and many other non Latin-based languages have borrowed much vocabulary either directly from Latin or from one of the Latin-based languages; in the case of English, from French.

German Military Leaders/Nazi Era/Kesselring

"Field Marshal Albert Kesselring"

Kesselring was born in Lower Franconia (Unterfranken), now a part of Bavaria. German uses the name "Albert," but also the variant, "Albrecht," and I "believe" Kesselring used that second form. He served in World War One and remained in the treaty-restricted army after the war. Not long after Hitler became chancellor of Germany, Kesselring became involved in German aviation, then restricted by the Versailles Treaty to non military use, but in reality, this was evolving into the "Luftwaffe," or airforce, although it didn't come out from under cover until a couple of years later. He learned to fly during this period, when a middle-aged man, and he moved up through the ranks of the expanding Luftwaffe, serving in several different command positions.

The invasion of Poland in September 1939 found Kesselring as commander of a "Luftflotte"* (air fleet) supporting the German attack. He was then transferred to a similar command for the offensive in western Europe the following spring, the successful conclusion of which brought him promotion to field marshal. His air units were then committed to what became known as the "Battle of Britain," after which he and his units were transferred to Poland for the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, where they scored many victories over the Red Air Force during the drive toward Moscow.

The joint German-Italian military operations in North Africa in 1941 against the British and Commonwealth forces there had opened a whole new theater of operations in the Mediterranean area, and Kesselring was sent to assume the command of all German ground, air and naval forces in this southern theater in late 1941, and as such, he was Rommel's superior. Kesselring remained in command in southern Europe and the Mediterranean through the defeats in North Africa, the invasion of Sicily, and the invasion of Italy, although his strategic decisions and the tenacious defense put up by his forces earned him high marks, even among his Allied opponents.** In the fall of 1944, Kesselring was severely injured in an auto accident, which kept him out of service until early 1945. Hitler had such confidence in Kesselring, he pulled him out of Italy in the spring of 1945 and made him commander of the German forces in western Germany. When the Western Allies met the Soviets in eastern Germany, cutting the German forces in two, Kesselring was made commander of the forces in the southern part.

Kesselring surrendered to the Americans and later was put on trial for war crimes a couple of years later. During the German withdrawal up the boot of Italy, some Italians, encouraged by the Allies, joined a resistance movement and attacked German facilities and personnel. The Germans took reprisals, including the execution of prisoners and Jews.*** Jews were also used as forced labor to build German fortifications.**** Kesselring was found guilty and sentenced to death, but some Allied military leaders came to his defense, arguing that Kesselring had fought a tough, but fair, war. That seems to be the case, but remember, the charges against him were not about "battle crimes," but crimes committed behind the front lines, largely against Italian civilians. Eventually the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, but his supporters, many of them military people in Britain, continued to press for his early release, which happened in 1952 when he had throat cancer. He released a couple of books he had been working on during his imprisonment, and he argued that the average German soldier should not have been lumped in with true war criminals. He also said and wrote that his orders against Italian civilians were not war crimes, a position which was highly controversial, especially in Italy. Kesselring died in 1960 in the German state of Hessen, in western Germany.

* A German "Luftflotte" typically contained 500 to 1500 aircraft of all types, depending upon their mission.

** Kesselring's command was always secondary to the operations against the Soviet Union, which consumed huge amounts of men and resources, and then was later moved further down the list, as the Germans prepared for an Allied invasion of France.

*** While Italy is not a country many associate with Jews, due to its Catholic tradition, Rome especially had a Jewish population dating back many centuries.

**** To Kesselring's credit, he did not permit the destruction of many ancient Italian sites and artifacts, in fact, he went out of his way to have such things protected. Later, he generally did not accept Hitler's orders to destroy German infrastructure.

WORD HISTORY:
Arm (1)-This is the noun for the body part, although "arm," meaning "weapon," is from the same ancient source, but with a different history thereafter (more in the next installment). It goes back to Indo European "ar," which had the notion of "fit or join together." This then produced a variant, "arem/aram," with the meaning "arm," which has remained for all of these centuries, although this is not surprising for such a prominent body part. This gave its Old Germanic offspring "armaz, which in turn gave its offspring, Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "earm," and then the modern spelling. Common throughout the other Germanic languages: German and Low German "Arm," Dutch "arm," West Frisian "earm," Icelandic "armur," Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish "arm."

German Military Leaders/Nazi Era/Model

"Field Marshall Walter Model"

Model* was born in Saxony (Sachsen), although the area of his birth is now in Sachsen-Anhalt. He served in World War One, and he was retained by the army as an officer in the Versailles Treaty-limited army after the war. During the early years of World War Two, Model served in the campaigns in Poland, France and the Soviet Union. In the initial invasion of Russia, Model commanded a panzer division, which was much to his liking, since he had been heavily involved in the developing technologies of warfare. He was highly decorated, but in spite of the fact his hard charging manner in offense earned him these decorations, it was his prowess in defense for which he is most remembered, and it was some defensive battles in Russia that really made Hitler take notice of Model. After several promotions, Model was sent to lead the German forces in northern Russia, where Soviet forces had broken the siege of Leningrad and were advancing into Estonia. The front stabilized and Model was sent south to command forces in the northern Ukraine, where Soviet forces were also advancing. This area too was stabilized, and Model was put in charge of German forces in White Russia (now essentially "Belarus"), where a massive Soviet offensive had obliterated the German front line,** and had opened the way for a Soviet advance into Poland. With the help of hastily transferred units, even small ones, the front was put back together, and Model was sent westwards to help duplicate the same feat, as the German armies were in both retreat and disarray after the Allied breakout from Normandy. Some thought the war would be over by Christmas, but Model and Allied supply problems halted the German retreat, or perhaps more precisely, the Allied advance.***

In mid September 1944 the Allies carried out a large para drop behind the German lines in Holland. The operation aimed to secure important bridges for a simultaneous ground offensive that, the Allies hoped, would carry them right into northern Germany and perhaps end the war. The drop almost succeeded in capturing Model, whose headquarters, by coincidence, was nearby, but the Field Marshal escaped to command another day. The Allied plan failed, and the Germans won something of a victory, giving their troops a temporary boost in morale. Hitler wanted a major offensive mounted to turn the tide against the Allies, but Model was skeptical that such an attack could succeed, considering the tremendous losses suffered by the Germans over the summer on all fronts. He did his duty and carried out the attack, which came to be known as "The Battle of the Bulge." The defeat of this offensive brought the Allies into Germany itself, and Model's forces were encircled in the Ruhr industrial region, where Model was ordered by Hitler to hold on at all costs, and to destroy the infrastructure of the region; something Model chose NOT to do. Most of the German forces surrendered and Model committed suicide by shooting himself. Within a couple of weeks, the Germans signed the overall surrender and the war ended.

Model was a cigar smoking general known for leading from the front and bypassing his superiors to the point of insubordination. In these things, plus his "colorful language," he was sort of the German version of General Patton. Further, when Patton was low on infantry, anyone in sight might be ordered to get a rifle and go to the front, and this was also true of Model, who was much feared by rear area service troops for this reason. Model was outspoken, at times even to Hitler, but he was also considered too close to Hitler by some of the other generals. Like so many of the German military people during the war, Model was tarnished by atrocities committed in his areas of command, especially in Russia, and the Soviets wanted him put on trial after the war, but his suicide removed that option.

* Pronounced as if one syllable, with a long 'o,' "modl," not two distinct syllables, "mo-del."

** While badly outnumbered in men, tanks, artillery, and planes, the German situation during the Soviet offensive in White Russia in 1944 was made far worse by the "nutcase in chief," Hitler, who earlier had declared areas around certain cities in the region to be "fortified places" (Festerplätze), where any retreat was forbidden without his personal permission. Many German units collectively with tens of thousands of men were simply surrounded by the Soviets and destroyed.

*** The Allied advance had been so dramatic, their supplies could not keep up with their advancing units, as they were having to move those supplies all the way from Normandy to the front, which was moving further and further away.

WORD HISTORY:
Wont-Now not an overly common word, except in phrases like, "as I am wont to do," this word means "accustomed, by habit, be used to." It is closely related to "wean;" that is, "to grow accustomed to doing without something," originally used of a "baby being weaned from its mother's milk." The origins beyond Germanic are uncertain, and even the actual Old Germanic root is more than a bit confusing (it may actually be more specifically, West Germanic), but it "seems" to go back to "wunjanan," which meant "to dwell, to grow accustomed to a place by remaining there; thus reside or dwell there." This gave Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "wunian," with the same basic meaning, but with the 'grow accustomed to' element broadened beyond living space, and later the "dwell" notion died out in English. This then later became "wonen," and its past participle has come down to us a "wont." German has "wohnen" (to dwell, to reside) and "gewöhnen" (to get used to, become accustomed to); Low German Saxon has "wahnen" (reside, dwell); some Low German dialects have "wone," Dutch has "wonen" (dwell, reside); Frisian has "wenne" (become accustomed to), but the verb form with the "dwell, reside" meaning apparently has died out, but forms of the word survive, for instance, "went(e)," a noun, means "residence."

German Military Leaders/Nazi Era/Guderian

"Colonel General Heinz Guderian"

Guderian (pronounced goo-dair-ee-on) was born in the region then known as "West Prussia," which is now part of Poland. He served in World War One and remained in the Versailles Treaty-limited army after the war, where he eventually became involved with mobile warfare tactics, which included armored forces. It was in this field of mobile and armored warfare that Guderian made his lasting mark, as he read anything and everything he could lay his hands on about the subject. He developed theories of armored warfare and set them down in writing in a book in the 1930s. The German army used much of Guderian's thinking to organize their, then still to become famous, Panzer forces, along with much of his overall view of warfare, later dubbed "Blitzkrieg" ("lightning war").*

Guderian was able to implement some of his theories when he commanded a corps during the German invasion of Poland in 1939. By the spring of 1940, Guderian led the forces that broke through the French lines and drove to the English Channel, trapping the predominantly British forces at Dunkirk. When Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in the summer of 1941, Guderian commanded a force dominated by tanks and motorized infantry, and his units made dramatic advances in the push toward Moscow. Hitler ordered Guderian to halt his advance on the Soviet capitol, and to turn his forces southward to help capture Kiev in the Ukraine. This brought the general into conflict with Hitler, as he disagreed with Hitler's order, although he carried it out, and a huge German victory was scored at Kiev, but at the expense of time for the continued advance on Moscow. By the time the offensive resumed, winter was approaching, and the respite had given the Soviets time to bring in reinforcements. The German drive was halted just outside Moscow, and the Soviets launched an offensive of their own in the winter conditions. Guderian was dismissed by Hitler and sent home. He wasn't recalled to service until the spring of 1943, when he was made "Inspector General of Panzer Troops," where he developed tactics and helped in tank design. By this point, Guderian was deeply disappointed at how German armored divisions had been so watered down, although they could still pack a powerful punch.**

After the unsuccessful attempt on Hitler's life in July 1944, Guderian was made "Chief of the Army General Staff" (Chef des Generalstabs des Heeres) which had major responsibilities for the war against the Soviets, the "Eastern Front." It was during this time that Guderian got involved in several heated confrontations with Hitler,*** ending with his dismissal in March 1945, just prior to the final Soviet assault on Berlin. The general was taken into custody by the Americans in 1945 and held for a couple of years, but he was not put on trial, although there was evidence of war crimes committed in Poland and the Soviet Union under his command. This is not to defend Guderian, or any other German general for that matter, but the same could be said for just about all German military commanders under Hitler. It has to be stated for the record, however, Guderian did support Hitler and the Nazi system (although with some disagreements), and he did not support the military people involved in the plot to kill Hitler. Guderian suffered from heart problems and died in 1954.

* Part of Guderian's ideas involved the use of motorized infantry and motorized artillery to give support to advancing tanks.

** One of the criticisms of Hitler's handling of the military was that he loved to create new units, rather than keep existing, experienced units up to strength.

*** If I remember correctly, Guderian and others said that during one of these violent arguments, Hitler's face turned purple, he was so angry with Guderian. Such was the ferocious, furious Führer.

WORD HISTORY:
Out-This common word goes back to Indo European "ud," which meant "up, out." This gave its offspring, Old Germanic, "ut," which then gave Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "ut," which then later became "out." The verb form in Old English was "utian," and meant "drive out, expel." German has "aus"^ Low German "ut" (some Low dialects have "üt"), Dutch "uit," Frisian "út," Danish "ud," Icelandic "út," Norwegian and Swedish "ut."

^ One of the distinguishing features of High German came after the Germanic dialects that became English had already taken root in England, this being the "t" eventually becoming an "s." This sound shift did not occur in Low German, Dutch, Frisian or English, only in Old High German. The German "au" is pronounced like English "ou," or the "ow" in "how."

German Military Leaders/Nazi Era/Jodl

"Colonel General Alfred Jodl"

Jodl* was born in Würzburg, then part of Franken (Franconia), since the end of World War Two a part of Bavaria. The dialect is not Bavarian, but Frankish. He was an artillery officer prior to achieving his most noted position as Chief of the Operations Staff of the Armed Forces (Chef des Wehrmachtführungsstabes) in 1939, which did the military planning. Like much of the military, Jodl supported Hitler's prewar expansion of the armed forces, and his position put him in close contact with Hitler throughout the war. I can't recall the specifics, but Jodl had a disagreement with Hitler in 1942 over operations in the Soviet Union, in which he used Hitler's own words to support his position. Hitler denied ever having said whatever it was, and thereafter ordered a stenographer present to record every word. Hitler had a long memory about people who opposed him, and he was never as close with Jodl after this, although the general remained loyal to Hitler. Jodl was much more respected by his fellow generals than was Field Marshal Keitel, his nominal superior, "perhaps," at least in part, due to the just mentioned confrontation he had with Hitler, although he too was seen as too close to Hitler, but he was also seen as competent.

Jodl signed the the surrender on behalf of the German military and government at the Allied headquarters in Reims, France in May 1945.** Like Keitel, Jodl countersigned many orders issued by Hitler, and he was put on trial at Nuremberg, with the most serious charges against him relating to the Hitler orders about the execution of Soviet commissars and Allied commandos. He was found guilty, sentenced to death and hanged at Nuremberg in October 1946, his request for a firing squad having been denied.

* Pronounced pretty much like "yodel," a word borrowed from German for the sing-song warbling and calling of the mountaineers of Switzerland, Austria, and Bavaria.

** The Soviets required a separate signing two days later, and Field Marshal Keitel did the signing for Germany then.

WORD HISTORY:
By-This goes back to Indo European "ambhi," which meant "around." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "umbi," with the same basic meaning. Old Germanic's offspring, West Germanic (English is West Germanic), kept the base word,^ but also separated the second syllable, which then gave Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "be/bi," which meant "near, about, around," and should not be confused with the verb "to be." It eventually changed to "by" and has remained so for hundreds of years. Common in the other West Germanic languages, German has "bei" (pronounced like the English word), Dutch has "bij," West Frisian has "by," Low German has bi/by/bie (depending upon dialect). Swedish, a North Germanic language has "bi," which it borrowed from Low German.

^ Old English had "ymbe," meaning "around, about," which has survived as "umb(e)" in some dialects in England and Scotland.

Rising Tide of the Wealthy Swamping Boats

In 1980, then presidential candidate Ronald Reagan gave a speech to reassure skeptical Americans that the conservative movement of those times was NOT going to return to the "survival of the fittest," "dog-eat-dog" capitalism of earlier times, and he said, "a rising tide lifts all boats," and "we won't leave anyone behind." Well, after more than thirty years of prevailing conservative economic philosophy, we've found out the only rising tide has been for the very wealthiest Americans, who didn't need help in the first place, and that the boats of other Americans are being swamped by the rising tide of the wealthy. The boats of the American middle class are sinking, if they haven't already sunk. Reagan began with big tax cuts (for those times) for just about everyone, but tilted toward the wealthy, a conservative feature which has only grown in scope, as later, the tax cuts of George W. Bush were more than tilted toward the rich, they were an avalanche. It doesn't stop there, folks. The wealthy, or more likely their financial advisers and hedge funds, often plow that money into commodities; you know, like oil and gasoline, and many food products, driving up prices, and drawing money out of your pockets and into their investment accounts, keeping the cycle going. When you have the likes of Warren Buffett, one of the world's richest men, telling us to " stop coddling the rich," you better "take that to the bank" yourself! There are other wealthy Americans sounding the alarm, too. To my knowledge, Buffett is a Republican, as I saw a clip the other day where he mentioned having been president of the College Republicans in his younger days. Of course, that may have been when progressive Republican Teddy Roosevelt was President...ah....just kidding Warren. Today's Republican leaders have virtually nothing in common with Teddy, aka, "the Trust Buster," and might prefer to be known collectively as "the Trust Builders." Just this summer, Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter, Jr. of California told a conservative group that Ronald Reagan was too moderate and could not be elected today. Watch out Americans! Your boat might just get swamped next!

WORD HISTORY:
More-This word goes back to Indo European "meis," which had the notion of "big, large, great." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "maiz(on)," which was used as a comparative; that is, "larger, bigger;" thus, "more." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "ma" (long "a") and "mara" (first "a" long) meaning "more" (it is closely related to "most."). Later it became "mare," not the horse, and again, the "a" was long, before the modern spelling/pronunciation. Common in the other Germanic languages: German has "mehr," Low German has "mea/mear," West Frisian has "mear," Dutch has "meer," Icelandic has "meiri," Danish, Swedish and Norwegian have "mer."

German Military Leaders/Nazi Era/High Level Generals

"High Level Generals"

This article will consist more of a narrative about events during the pre-war Nazi era, with some info and comments about the German generals involved.

When Hitler was appointed chancellor in January 1933, he was NOT in charge of the German armed forces, then known as the Reichswehr. Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg was the legal supreme commander ("Oberste Befehlshaber") of the Reichswehr, by virtue of his position as the elected president of Germany. When von Hindenburg died in August 1934, with virtually all opposition silenced, Hitler abolished the elected presidency and combined its functions into the chancellorship, thus making him the new supreme commander of the Reichswehr, which he renamed the "Wehrmacht" within a short time. He appointed Werner von Blomberg, then a colonel general (Generaloberst),* as commander in chief of the Reichswehr (later called the Wehrmacht), and promoted him to field marshal the very next year. Von Blomberg was born in Pomerania, then a province in northern Germany, and a part of Prussia, but since the end of World War Two a part of Poland, and he came from the "army" branch of the Wehrmacht. He had been the Defense Minister (later renamed the "War Minister") from the early days of Hitler's chancellorship. The expansion of the German Wehrmacht was undertaken by von Blomberg with great vigor, and he was seen by many as too close to Hitler, who seemed to genuinely like him. Von Blomberg, however, was in the way of high ranking Nazi Hermann Göring, who wanted von Blomberg's position for himself. In early 1938, von Blomberg married, with both Hitler and Göring as witnesses. Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS and police, provided Göring with evidence of the young lady's past, construed to be prostitution, but to my knowledge, never proven. Göring went to Hitler with the evidence, presenting it to Hitler with the idea that a scandal had to be avoided, especially since Hitler had been a witness at the marriage. Hitler told von Blomberg to get an annulment, but he refused, instead choosing to resign his office. This all tied into a manufactured scandal, this time involving the commander in chief of the army (Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres) , Werner von Fritisch.

Von Fritsch was born just outside Düsseldorf, an area later incorporated into Düsseldorf proper. He was a "Freiherr," which equates to "baron." He was favorable toward Hitler and the Nazis early in Hitler's rule, and he was appointed commander in chief of the army a couple of years thereafter, and he was promoted to colonel general. Von Fritisch gradually grew skeptical of Hitler's aggressive foreign policy, fearing the Führer would get the country into war before it could fully prepare. As with von Blomberg and almost simultaneously with the accusations about von Blomberg's new wife, Göring and Himmler accused von Fritsch of homosexual activities (this was before the "gay" terminology). The general resigned, but chose to fight the matter in court, where he was acquitted! Still a supporter of Hitler, von Fritsch served in Poland during that campaign in 1939. Not long before it ended, von Fritsch was hit by Polish gunfire and killed. The belief by many is that he wanted to die in battle to restore his damaged honor.

These events involving von Blomberg and von Fritsch gave Hitler an opportunity to expand his own power within the German military, as the move to "nazify" the Wehrmacht accelerated. Hitler, the supreme commander, did away with the War Ministry and set up the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, the High Command of the Armed Forces. He appointed Wilhelm Keitel** as Chief (Chef) of the Wehrmacht. Keitel was born near Braunschweig (Brunswick) in northern Germany. He was never all that popular or respected by his fellow generals, since he rarely opposed Hitler, and some made a play on his name with the German word "Lakai," which means "lackey,"*** and is pronounced "lahki," with a long "i," calling him "Lakeitel." Even when he was not in agreement with Hitler, he always quickly gave in. Keitel signed off (literally) on Hitler's military policies, and he was tried at Nuremberg as a major war criminal,**** where he was convicted, sentenced to death and hanged in late 1946. He wrote his memoirs in prison during the last weeks of his life. Since Hitler assumed many of the functions of the commander in chief of the Wehrmacht, Keitel really operated more as Hitler's chief of staff. Overall, in my opinion, Keitel was pretty inconsequential, since he failed to influence Hitler on military matters and policies, especially given Keitel's position in the military hierarchy. I'm not saying that would have been easy to do. I guess you could say though, Keitel was consequential by being inconsequential.

After von Fritsch resigned as commander in chief of the army, Hitler appointed Walther von Brauchitisch, who had been born in Berlin, and was a long time friend of Keitel, to replace von Fritsch. He was promoted to colonel general by Hitler at that time, and to field marshal after the defeat of France in 1940. Like many of the generals, he wasn't totally committed to the Nazis, but he loved the idea of expansion of the military, particularly the army, and the increased prestige this expansion helped to give Germany. Von Brauchitsch was on the periphery of serious opposition to Hitler, but he could never bring himself to cross over and commit to the circle of army conspirators against the regime, and he was against killing Hitler. While the Germans inflicted serious defeats on the Soviets during the opening months of the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, by December they had failed to take Moscow or to bring about a collapse of the Soviet military. This brought severe criticism of von Brauchitsch from Hitler, as the Führer was never one to take responsibility for his own decisions. In the midst of a major Soviet counteroffensive, von Brauchitsch suffered a hear attack, and was relieved of his command in December 1941. This brought about more intervention by Hitler, as he named HIMSELF as the new commander in chief of the army. So now Hitler was the supreme commander of the armed forces, had assumed most of the functions of commander in chief of the armed forces, and was the commander in chief of the army. Von Brauchitsch was basically respected within the military, and he was given high marks for operational planning, but he just couldn't stand up to Hitler, or to fully join the other side and oppose the Führer. He was to be tried for war crimes (not as a major criminal, see note below), but for signing off on Hitler's various orders early in the war. He died before his trial was held in 1948.

* There is no such rank in the American military, and while the various general ranks don't completely correspond between the two countries, it is essentially equivalent to a four-star general, and a field marshal is equivalent to a five-star general.
** Pronounced as one syllable with a long "i" sound, "kitl," not like the actor Harvey Keitel, who pronounces it in two syllables as, "ki-tel."

*** Both the English and German words are borrowed from French "laquais."

**** The most famous Nuremberg Trials were those of the upper leadership of the Nazi Party, the German government, and the German military, and usually called the "trial of the major war criminals" (and there were some acquittals). Most of these leaders never pulled a trigger at an execution, dropped poison gas canisters into gas chambers in concentration camps, or worked slave laborers to death or near death, BUT they developed plans to implement some or all of these policies, making all of these things (and more) possible. There were also trials of people who operated below these top leaders, as well as perpetrators of specific crimes, but just because they weren't termed "major war criminals," doesn't lessen the crimes they were charged with.

WORD HISTORY:
See-This goes back to Indo European "sekw/sek," which meant "to see, to follow with the eyes, to notice." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "se(k)hwanan," which meant "to see." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "seon" ("to see") which then became "sen," and then "seen," before the modern spelling.^ Common throughout the other Germanic languages: German has "sehen," Low German Saxon "sehn," West Frisian "sjen," Dutch "zien," Swedish, Danish, Norwegian "se," Norwegian also has "sjå" in some dialects, and Icelandic "sjá." Just to further show the close relationship between English and German, both West Germanic languages, English has "saw" for the past tense form of "see," while German has "sah(en)."

^ The West Germanic languages typically used "n," "an," or "en" on the end of verbs in their infinitive forms; thus meaning "to" + whatever the action meaning was, in this case, "to see." As you can tell, the other West Germanic languages have more commonly retained that form through time.

You Won't Need A Time Machine

I'm republishing this article with a "Word History" and a few minor changes to update it. It was first published in June 2007, and unfortunately, it remains relevant.

We've all read books or seen movies where people get into a time machine and go off to the past. In fact, didn't the little guy on the "Bullwinkle" series use a time machine, "Mr Peabody," wasn't it? Well, the way things are developing for working people in this country, in the not too distant future, working folks will be able to experience what working folks haven't experienced since about 1925! I'm not a labor historian, but I've got to believe that its been about that long since American big business people and wealthy investors (essentially the same thing) so dominated American workers. As unions continue to decline, the bulwark against "the Interests" is eroding. You may not always agree with unions, but folks, without them, I shudder to think where American working people would be, however, "serfdom" is not too far from the answer.

Unions have benefited all workers, because they gave us a floor for wages in many industries, and because they achieved much in the way of health insurance and other benefits, they also gave non-union workers a chance to shoot for many of the same benefits, although perhaps on a somewhat smaller scale. Let me tell you something, if unions lose much more influence, or certainly if they pretty much disappear, look out America!!! It is no coincidence that as unions have declined, the OPPOSITE situation has developed, as wages have been slashed in many fields, jobs outsourced, and corporate power, and the overall power of the wealthy, has increased.

If you aren't a union member and you think that you're pretty secure in your income and benefits, wait until the aforementioned time comes. If you think unions are unimportant to your life, think again. If you indeed make a decent living with good benefits, you probably have that lifestyle because of unions setting the standards. Without unions to provide standards, how long do you think it will take our American wealthy and business people to begin to cut wages and benefits even more than they are doing now? We will need to dig up Lincoln just to sign an "Emancipation Proclamation For Working People." This isn't brain surgery, nor is it Einstein's Theory, it is happening. It is happening right as you read this, as unions are sadly in decline, and wages are stagnant, at best, and various benefits are being cut for many, many workers. Huge oil and gas profits continue to drain money from the pocketbooks of most Americans into the bank accounts of the wealthiest Americans.

If you're not a wealthy investor, CEO, or some such title, you are a working person! You should not be ashamed to be called a "working person;" indeed, you should be proud. Working people need to really get with it and unite against the common threat that is coming our way (actually already upon us). In the end, people will have to make very serious choices. It will NOT be painless. If you thought our ancestors had already fought the tough battles and made the sacrifices to get worker rights, benefits, and decent wages for all time, you are sadly mistaken. They certainly fought those battles, but the wealthy interests are turning the clock back at an astounding pace, just as certainly. Again, we will all have to make choices: Do we stand together against this terrible threat, or do we side with the "lords of the manor?" This is a choice that everyone will have to make. It will be difficult, since the wealthy control so much of this great country. They are making it VERY tough for many people to oppose them, and they will continue to do so. In fact, just as serfs did so many, many years ago, some folks will just be grateful to the lords for having a job and some wages, whatever pitiful sum it may be. The choices will also fall on law enforcement. Will they stand with their fellow workers in the country, or will they continue to prop up and protect the wealthiest 5 or 6% of the population? If you're retired and feel that you really don't have a dog in this fight, think again. What about your children, grand children, or great grandchildren? I'm telling you flat out, when the wealthy get total control, it will be miserable. And they and their stooges will come after your retirement benefits, so you are NOT safe!

Of course, maybe the ruthless, money-grubbing, egomaniacs will all see the light, and we'll all live happily ever after. Unfortunately, this is NOT a fairy tale. The sacrifices of those who have gone before us are being lost. The situation is deteriorating so much, that even the working conditions of 1925 may look good in the not too distant future, as we look at things from the perspective of people's conditions from let's say...1215. Hey, anybody need help at a castle? "Will work for food."

WORD HISTORY:
Money-The ultimate origins of this word are unknown. It goes back to the Roman goddess "Juno," and a title she carried, "Moneta." Her temple was used to mint coins, and the term eventually transferred to the minted coins as "moneta." Where her title of "Moneta" came from is uncertain, but "some" have speculated it came from Latin "monere," which meant "to advise," thus the title would be "advisor." Even if correct, where Latin got "monere" is unknown. Anyway, Latin "moneta" was inherited by Old French as "moneie," meaning "coins, money," and this was borrowed into English during the 1200s with the same meaning and even initially with the same spelling, which then altered to "moneye," before the modern version. The term later came to be applied paper bills as well as to coins.

German Military Leaders/Nazi Era/Von Rundstedt

NOTE: As with the political leaders, these articles are not meant to provide comprehensive biographies, but rather some information I recall from my many years of study.

"Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt"

Von Rundstedt was from what is now the state of "Sachsen-Anhalt" (state capitol, Magdeburg), which lies somewhat southwest of Berlin in eastern Germany, and in von Rundstedt's time, it was a part of the German state of Prussia, within the German Empire (Reich). He came from a noble/aristocratic family; thus the "von" in his name. He joined the army, served in World War One and remained in the army, which was limited in size by the Versailles Treaty after the war.*

Von Rundstedt was never all that "taken with" Hitler, but like many Germans, he saw Germany's prestige being restored by Hitler, and let's face it, the desire to include "German areas," then outside of Germany, within Germany's borders became a potent issue. Hitler's successes made it difficult for opponents of the regime to gain supporters. Von Rundstedt was a general before Hitler came to power. Already in his mid 60s by the time the war started, von Rundstedt was a high level commander of German forces during the Polish campaign and then during the campaign against France. Hitler promoted him to field marshal after the German victory over France in 1940.

Von Rundstedt was highly respected within the German military and by the German public, but he was also noted for his sharp tongue, and his caustic remarks got him into trouble at times, but even then, Hitler would fire him, only to bring him back again. This first happened in Russia late in 1941, when von Rundstedt recommended the withdrawal of German forces to consolidate their positions for defense. "Withdrawal" was not a word Hitler ever wanted to hear, and von Rundstedt was relieved of his command of German forces in southern Russia. Just a few months later in the spring of 1942, Hitler recalled him and gave him command of all German forces in western Europe, a position he held until after the Allies invaded in Normandy during the "D-Day" operation. He was again relieved of his command by Hitler after answering a question as to what he thought should be done with, "Make peace you fools!" Just a month or two later Hitler reappointed him as the commander of German forces in western Europe, and he retained that position until about 6 or 7 weeks before the German surrender. What the Western Allies call the "Battle of the Bulge" was under von Rundstedt's overall supervision, but he had never favored this attack, especially with the unrealistic objectives set by Hitler (the main objective being for German forces to capture the Belgian port of Antwerp, during the winter).

While highly respected, even by the Allies, von Rundstedt was tainted by his association with Hitler. He was taken into custody by the Americans and was held in captivity until 1948 (his son died of throat cancer shortly before von Rundstedt's release). Plagued by heart problems from the early part of the war on, von Rundstedt died in 1953. There was controversy over the field marshal. Some felt he should have been tried for war crimes over involvement with Hitler's orders that excluded Soviet commissars from POW status, permitting them to be executed on the spot. Then there was an order excluding parachutists dropped behind German lines, but not involved in direct military operations; thus defining them essentially as saboteurs, and giving jurisdiction to the Gestapo, which should tell you what fate awaited them.

* Nobles and aristocrats made up the vast majority of officers in the German army back then, which is not surprising, due to the governance of Germany and its states by the nobility, with the Kaiser at the top, and simultaneously holding the title of "King of Prussia." After World War One, and the attempt at German democracy, the army remained in the hands of many men of noble/aristocratic birth, since they had the experience from the previous system. "If" democracy had flourished and continued, it is possible that time and a developing democratic tradition would have made the German officer corps far less class conscious as well. A good deal of this change happened under the Nazis, as aging officers began to retire, but then "political" considerations became important, and with the war, the officer corps necessarily expanded tremendously, which brought many non nobles to officer rank.

WORD HISTORY:
Field-This word goes back to Indo European "pel," with the notion of "flat land area." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "felduz," as the initial "p" became "f' in Germanic, as was common, and it still retained the same meaning, but which seems to have only continued into the West Germanic branch of Germanic. This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "feld," with the meaning "open flat land," and later, "land designated as pasture or for farming," along with the modern spelling. The "open land" notion also gave English "battlefield," which spawned a verb form with the meaning, "troops and military equipment sent into battle," as in "Our army was able to 'field' 10,000 men." This verb form came about in the 1500s. Common in the other West Germanic languages; that is, the closest relatives of English, German and Low German Saxon have "Feld," some Low German dialects have "felt," Frisian has "fjild," and Dutch has "veld." North Germanic Swedish has "fält" and Danish has "felt," but they were borrowed from German. Words related to "field" are widespread in the Germanic languages, which include English "fold," an obsolete term (not the same word as "fold," as in "fold your clothes"), but they don't trace back to the specific West Germanic form, and they mean/meant "land, earth." They do trace back to the same Indo European root, so the idea of "land" is present.

German Leaders Of The Nazi Era/Speer

NOTE: This will be the last German "political" leader I cover. Next will be some high ranking German military leaders who served during the Nazi regime. Then I'll do some Allied political and military leaders. Again, if something in these articles interests you, please check out your local library for more detailed information than I have provided here.

"Albert Speer"

I chose to include Speer here because he was not what most people would think of as a "typical" Nazi. What do I mean by that? Well, I believe most people tend to think of the Nazis as being coarse thugs, rogues, and not particularly smart, or at least that they didn't use any of their intelligence to think much for themselves; and there is certainly some or much truth in those beliefs, depending upon the particular Nazi in question. Speer is pretty much the opposite of Nazi, Julius Streicher, the Gauleiter (a Nazi term for district leader) of the Nuremberg area. Streicher was also the publisher of the Nazi newspaper, "Der Stürmer" ("The Stormer," or "Attacker"), and he was so coarse and vile, even the other Nazis didn't like him and wanted him out. That tells you something! Streicher, however, had one important Nazi in his corner....Hitler, and in spite of protests by other Nazi leaders, Hitler kept him on. Streicher was particularly vicious in his treatment of German Jews. When put on trial at Nuremberg after the war, evaluators found his IQ to be just barely above moron status, although he may well have had a couple of lucky guesses in the IQ test. Anyway, Speer was virtually at the exact opposite of Streicher in mentality and personal behavior. That has been disturbing to many people; that a man so intelligent and well educated could serve a regime so indifferent, or even hostile, to such things.

Speer was from Mannheim, in southwestern Germany. He became an architect. He joined the Nazi Party just a year or two before Hitler was appointed chancellor, and his motives for this move have been in question. Did he join to advance his career? Did he really believe the core Nazi principles? I'd say he probably did join to help his career, and he may well have believed in the Nazi desire to restore German honor and the German economy (it was the time of the Depression). Did he believe the Nazi racial ideas, and the accompanying hatred? I'm not sure, but this is another reason I chose Speer; he is controversial.

After being introduced to a number of Nazi Party leaders, including Joseph Goebbels, Speer was given a number of architectural jobs, including the design for special effects used at the annual Nazi rallies in Nuremberg. This gave him access to Hitler himself. Hitler's previous background in architecture made the two very close, and Speer spent much time with Hitler in Berlin and at Hitler's villa in Berchtesgaden. Later, Hitler commissioned Speer to design and build a new Reichs Chancellery in Berlin, and he was also involved in the design and construction of the "Olympic Stadium" in Berlin, built for the 1936 Olympics held there. Over the years, Speer and Hitler designed models for a future central part of Berlin, with all sorts of spectacular buildings, and for a "new" Linz, the city where Hitler had lived for a time in his childhood, and which continued to retain Hitler's affection even all of those years later.

In early 1942, the Minister of Armaments, Fritz Todt, died in an airplane crash. Hitler appointed Speer to this very important position, and it was this assignment which involved Speer in criminality. Given tremendous power by Hitler, Speer transformed the German economy into an armaments producing dynamo. The thing was, with German manpower being drained into the military, the Nazis, along with Speer, turned to using prisoners-of-war, concentration camp inmates, and forced laborers from other countries to keep the gears of the German war economy operating. Many, if not most, of these forced workers were not given the best of treatment, as can be imagined. German war production continued to increase, even at the height of the Allied air attacks. Further, Speer's knowledge of the mass murder of Jews, Gypsies, and others is unclear. After the war, he denied direct knowledge, only admitting to having been given "hints" by one Nazi Gauleiter in particular, although he said he should have checked into the matter further on his own. There were some discrepancies in his stories, but there has never been overwhelming evidence against Speer in this matter. Speer's apologetic behavior after the war often diffused some of the controversy around him, fairly or unfairly.

Speer became increasingly disillusioned as the war turned against Germany, and when conspirators planning to kill Hitler considered potential participants in a government replacing the Nazis, they had Speer's name on that list, although he had not committed to the plot, and indeed, the conspirators were so uncertain of Speer, he was not made aware of the plans to kill Hitler. This undoubtedly saved Speer from execution when the bomb failed to kill Hitler, and intense investigations were carried out by the Nazis, along with many, many death sentences.

As Germany's enemies penetrated deeper in the country, Hitler issued an order to destroy much of the war-battered nation's infrastructure; which, if carried out, would have delayed or deprived the country from recovering after the war. Speer, for a moment, gained his voice and opposed the measure in a face-to-face meeting with Hitler. Shortly thereafter, he gave in, although he got Hitler's approval that granted him the power of "how" the policy was to be implemented. Speer used this power to circumvent Hitler's intent in many cases. Also by this time, Hitler had moved into his Berlin bunker, and Speer later said he contemplated injecting poison gas into the underground facility to kill Hitler and other Nazi leaders there. The bunker had to have fresh air, and it had a vent from the outside. Speer said he planned to get the gas into this ventilation system, but that after his initial planning, when he returned to the bunker complex, the vent had been moved from ground level to a much higher level, making it virtually impossible to reach without being observed by Hitler's numerous guards.

Speer returned to Berlin just a few days before Hitler's suicide. What happened between Speer and Hitler is controversial. Speer later recounted that he told Hitler he had not carried out his order to destroy Germany's infrastructure to the degree so ordered by Hitler, but that he remained personally loyal to Hitler, which supposedly moved the dictator to tears. Speer also said, upon departing, Hitler simply coldly said, "Auf Wiedersehen." With no witnesses to the meeting, some historians have questioned Speer's retelling of what actually happened. Shortly after this meeting, Hitler named a new government to take over upon his death, and Speer was to be replaced. This gives some credence to Speer's account, as Hitler would have been unlikely to favor anyone who disobeyed his orders. On the other hand, Speer later published his memoirs, and, from what I understand, his original notes did not contain any of this information.

Speer was arrested and put on trial at Nuremberg. He was convicted over the use of slave labor and prisoners-of-war. He was the only Nazi leader to convincingly (although not everyone agrees with that) take responsibility for his participation in the Nazi regime. He was given a twenty year prison sentence, which was seen by some as too lenient. He served the full 20 years, being released in the mid 1960s. He then published his memoirs (the English language title: "Inside the Third Reich") and another book or two about the Nazi regime and his participation in that regime. His memoirs' book was on the best seller list for quite a long time, as I recall. His assumption of responsibility during his trial, as well as the regard the anti-Nazi plotters had had for him, undoubtedly kept Speer from a life imprisonment sentence, or perhaps even a death sentence. His critics have acknowledged Speer's intelligence, but they have more or less said, he used that intelligence to conveniently concoct stories about plans to kill Hitler and about open defiance of Hitler in the last days, just to make a good case at a trial he most assuredly knew would be held for him. After his release from prison, Speer was frequently interviewed for news or talk show programs, and also contributed interviews for a number of documentaries during the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. He died in 1981 while in England.

WORD HISTORY:
The-This common word has a complicated history, but I will keep it as simple as possible. It is often referred to as the definite article (also used as an adverb, but the same basic history),^ goes back to Indo European "se," a variant of Indo European "so," which meant "this/that." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "sa," with the same meaning. Variant forms developed in Germanic for different usages, which changed the beginning to what is essentially the "t" or "th" sounds. This gave Old English "the," a grammatically masculine form (English once used gender in grammar, too), which eventually overtook the use of Old English "se," and then even the feminine form "seo," and the neuter form "thaet." In those times it also meant "that." It is related to "this, that, these, those," in English, as well as to similar forms in the other Germanic languages: German has "der, die, das;" Dutch has "de, die," Low German has "de, dat (or 'det,' in some dialects);" West Frisian has "de, dy;" Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish have "den, det, de;" and Icelandic has "það, sa."

^ It is called "definite," because it refers to a specific object, unlike the "indefinite article," "a or an." Examples are easier to understand: "A Germanic language is related to English," doesn't tell us a specific Germanic language, but "THE German language is related to English," tells us specifically which Germanic language; thus making it "definite."

The Sermon Unheard

I first published this on November 27, 2006, and then again in October 2011, but with a "Word History," which did not accompany the original article. Unfortunately, this article hasn't really gone out of style, although Pope Francis has brought a refreshing change in tone and emphasis to religion, but much more is needed from others. Updated November 18, 2014.

"Please be seated, my brethren. I won't waste time with any preliminaries.

It seems we hear so much about religious people making statements concerning many of the hot button social issues of today's world. I see the clips on the television news or read about them in the paper. Whether or not I agree with some, all, or perhaps even none of these statements, is not what I'm here to talk about today. Maybe it's the fault of the news media, but I seldom, if ever, hear a word on the news from the religious community about a blight that's going on around us each day in our cities, towns and rural areas. I spell it with capital letters: G-R-E-E-D.

This is a condition from which all of us suffer to some extent, but when it comes down to it, it has never seen such heights in modern times as that which is emanating from the board rooms, money managers' offices, and the dens of the very wealthy in our society. The behavior we are witnessing is just plain ruthless, and unfortunately, it is extensive. We have very wealthy individuals hoping for hurricanes to disrupt oil and natural gas supplies. We have very wealthy individuals hoping for conflict in the Middle East for the same sick reason. Those who wish for any catastrophe for the sake of money!!! How despicable!!! No thoughts for their fellow man, only thoughts of more money and their chest-thumping ego trips!!! Let me tell you my brethren, there's not enough money in this world to satisfy these greedy, money-grubbing, ruthless individuals! They have a total disconnect with humanity. They have turned out the lights in their minds that lead to some pang of conscience.

And where are the ministers, priests, and rabbis to out and out condemn this behavior? My brethren, I'm afraid some, but not all, have fallen under the spell of the same curse. The wealthy contribute to the churches, and the very people who should be giving some moral guidance fall silent on this terrible affliction. Do they stand up and say that in a country like America, that people need medical care without the prospect of going bankrupt? No! Do they stand up and tell the board room class that they are ruthlessly cutting people from their employment rolls to save on medical insurance? No! Do they even ask their wealthy members to support some kind of national health insurance plan? No! Do they tell their wealthy members that after doing all sorts of rotten things to their fellow man, that making a donation to the church or hospital doesn't wipe the slate clean? No!

It is time for the religious community to stand up and point an accusing finger at the people who have so callously culled the ranks of working people from getting proper medical care! Further, I heard an interview with the President (then George W. Bush) recently. He was asked about the tremendous sums being paid to corporate executives, and what he felt should be done about it. He first noted that executive salaries should not be controlled by the government, but that corporate board members should be more diligent in watching pay levels. To me it sounds a bit like "Heal Thy self," or "the foxes put in charge of guarding the chicken coop." There's no doubt in my mind that workers deserve at least some of the huge sums being paid to the big wigs. I remember an episode from "Gilligan's Island," the 1960s sitcom. In this episode, if memory serves me right, an impostor is back on the mainland spending multimillionaire Mr. Howell's money. Mr. Howell, played by Jim Backus, blurts out, "Little does he know how hard other people worked to make me that money." That one line makes a great point.

So my brethren, I now will cool my rhetoric and offer a softer tone toward the people I want to reach. Please, please think about your actions! Turn on the light of conscience! Think of others, not just of yourselves! You will still have plenty! Think of how much you have and how little others have. Just think of the money you spent on yourself in the last few days. That amount alone could help save the life of someone without proper medical care. Or, that amount could save someone's home from foreclosure. Or that amount could save the emotional stability of someone struggling with financial problems due to layoff or a cutback in hours. Or that amount could feed a number of families who lack the wherewithal to keep food on the table. I could go on and on, but these are the things that should make you feel good, not just acquiring more wealth on top of more wealth, or watching your stocks rise because of some catastrophe, or gloating over some shrewd deal where you made a bundle, because you gave the other person "the business." Think! Think! Think! You can help cure, at least in part, this terrible affliction I spell G-R-E-E-D!!!

Do I hear an Amen?"

WORD HISTORY:
Wish-This verb goes back to Indo European "wen/wun," with the general meaning "to desire, to wish for." This gave its Old Germanic offshoot "wunsk(i)janan," with the same meaning. This gave Old English "wyscan" (notice the "n" sound is lacking), again with the same meaning. This then became "wisshen" (notice the "k" sound had become softened), before the modern form. The noun was derived from the verb by the late 1200s. The other Germanic languages have forms of the word (usually both a verb and a noun), and all with the same meaning as their English relative: (notice how in some of the other Germanic languages, the "k" sound softened, as in English, but the "n" persists, except in English and Icelandic) Old High German had "wunsken," but as happened in English, the "k" sound softened in the modern form, "wünschen"("Wunsch," is the noun form); Low German Saxon has the same forms as standard German; some Low German dialects have "wensche" ("Wensch," noun form); Frisian has only a noun form, "winsk" (here the hard "k" is retained); Dutch has "wensen" ("wens" is the noun); Danish and Norwegian have "ønske" (same form for the noun); Swedish has "önska" ("önskan"/noun); Icelandic has only the noun form, "Óska."

German Leaders Of The Nazi Era/Himmler

"Heinrich Himmler"

Himmler was born in Munich (German: "München"), in the German state of Bavaria. He was only taken into the military near the end of World War One; thus his military career was very limited, something he "may" have tried to atone for later in his leadership role in the Nazi Party. After joining the Nazis, he became a "storm trooper," the organization being called the "Sturmabteilung" (Storm or Assault Detachment), or simply "SA," for short. A special section of the SA was charged with providing Hitler and Nazi leaders with protection at rallies. It was relatively small and was called the "Schutzstaffel" (Defense Staff or Section), or "SS," for short, and Himmler became a member and officer of the special force. Around this time Himmler became a chicken farmer to help earn a living. Himmler eventually became the commander of the "SS," a few years before Hitler took power, when it was still a part of the "SA," but even then he changed the uniforms from the typical "brown shirt" uniforms of the stormtroopers, to a black uniform. About a year and a half after becoming chancellor, Hitler purged the "SA" by having many of its leaders executed or imprisoned. To do so, he used the "SS" to carry out the killings and arrests; after which, the "SS" became a separate organization in its own right, with Himmler in charge. Within a few years, Hitler gave control of the German police to Himmler, too, although he had already gotten control of the "Gestapo" (Secret State Police), which had developed in the German state of Prussia by Göring.

Himmler was heavily involved in the study of the ancient Germanic tribe rituals and medieval Germany, as well as his belief in the "racial" superiority of the "Aryan," and especially the "Nordic" element of the Indo European peoples. As such, there was a lot of paganism and genetics involved in Himmler's "SS," as well as mysticism and the occult. You may have seen old film footage of Nazi parades with personnel dressed in the garb of knights and such, and this was all part of this retreat to the distant, distant past. Liking history is one thing, but taking it to the level of Himmler and the Nazis was another matter entirely. Much of it was pretty wacky stuff, in my opinion, but that's what can happen when you try to take people back to times long since gone, as fascism, in its various guises, attempted to do. The great leaders of history have led people forward, not backward, at least not back to long ago centuries.

The Nazis mirrored the German government in organization; that is, the party had corresponding positions and departments to the German government, which, in theory at least, was separate from the Nazi Party, although to me, the aim was to gradually blend the two together to completely Nazify every aspect of German life. It is important to remember, the German Army maintained a certain independence of the Nazis until Paul von Hindenburg, the old field marshal and President of Germany (and thus the supreme military commander) died in August 1934. At that time, Hitler combined his position as chancellor with that of the presidency, and had army members swear an oath to him PERSONALLY, not to Germany!!! As part of the "mirroring" of traditional German government and institutions, Himmler set up a small, at first, military element of the SS, which became the Waffen SS, or "armed SS." This was an SS counterpart to the German Army.* He set rigid standards for this super elite force, although during the war, the rigorous standards declined dramatically, but the Waffen SS expanded tremendously, with about one million men going through its ranks, including notable numbers of Albanian and Bosnian Muslims, Frenchmen, Danes, Norwegians, Swedes, Finns, Dutchmen, Flemings, Walloons,** Estonians, Latvians, Italians, Russians, and Indians. The military quality of the various Waffen SS units varied considerably, but there is no question that the core units were exceptional, although it must be remembered that many an atrocity can be traced to these units too. Fanatical Nazi ideology together with virulent anti-semitism and anti-communism, combined to provide the foundation for no restraint murder for some Waffen SS members.

Himmler bears much responsibility for the terror implemented by his SS. The guards for the concentration camps and the execution units (the "Einsatzgruppen") that followed in the wake of the German military, to murder Jews, communists, intellectuals, and any other potential opponents, came from the SS. The symbol of the SS was a "death's head," that should tell you something right there!***

After the failed attempt against Hitler's life,**** centered in the German Wehrmacht, Hitler trusted no one outside of his Nazi faithful. He put Himmler in charge of the German Replacement Army ("Ersatz Heer"), where many of the conspirators had held positions. Later still, with the collapse of the German front in Poland in January/February 1945, Hitler put Himmler in command of the army group trying to halt the Soviet offensive, thus giving Himmler a chance to fulfil his early dreams of commanding military forces. It was a disaster! The inexperienced Himmler made matters worse, and the Soviets came to within about 40 miles or so of Berlin, before they halted from exhaustion, lack of supplies, and stiffening German resistance. Himmler was replaced.

As the end of the Nazi Reich approached, Himmler began to plan to save his own skin, as if such a mass murderer could make a deal with ANY respectable person or group. He tried to use Jews remaining in SS custody as a bargaining chip, but the Allies were not interested in deal making with this despicable son-of-a-bitch. Shortly before committing suicide, Hitler was informed of Himmler's attempts to negotiate a peace deal through neutral Sweden. Hitler went ballistic, and ordered that Himmler be arrested and then executed immediately, but the order was never carried out. Himmler shaved off his moustache, put a patch over his eye, put on the uniform of a dead policeman, and carried phony identification papers. He was picked up by the British in northern Germany, who did not know he was Himmler at first, but he bit into a capsule of poison after being recognized and while being examined. If there was a rival to Hitler for nuttiness and nastiness, it was Heinrich Himmler.

* The German Airforce, the Luftwaffe, was heavily influenced by the Nazis early on, as Göring was made its commander-in-chief, and it owed its expansion (against the provisions of the Versailles Treaty) to Hitler and the Nazis. The German Navy ("Kriegsmarine") was more traditional, but also owed its gradual expansion to Hitler. Remember, for men rising through the ranks in all branches of the military because of this, they had to feel a major degree of loyalty to Hitler for their newly elevated positions, only cementing them more closely to the regime.

** Walloons are from the French speaking part of Belgium, and Flemings are from the Flanders part of Belgium, where the Germanic (not German) language there, once classified as a separate Flemish language, has in more recent times been classified by linguists as a dialect of Dutch. Being Germanic, it is closely related to English.

*** For information on Nazi terror and murder, please check out this link, it is extraordinary: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/holo.html

**** The conspirators had hoped to kill all of the top Nazi leadership; Hitler, Göring and Himmler, but the three were rarely together to provide such an opportunity.

WORD HISTORY:
Fly-This is the noun form, most commonly used for the "insect." It goes back to Old Germanic "fleugjon" ("flying insect"), which was derived from the Old Germanic verb form "fleuganan,"^ which meant "to fly." This had come from Indo European "pleu," which meant "to flow," as the "p" sound had become "f" in the Old Germanic spinoff. The Germanic noun gave Old English "fleoge," which at first seems to have applied to flying insects in general, but gradually became more specific to those pesky little critters that love to participate in picnics and barbecues. Later in English it became "flie," before the modern spelling, and the plural ended in "n," before the gradual change to "s." The idea of "wings flapping" gave rise in the 1800s to the flaps on tents being called a "fly," which shortly thereafter came to be applied to clothing, more specifically to pants, a term still in use today. Common throughout the close relatives of English, the other Germanic languages: German has "Fliege," Low German Saxon has "Fleeg," some Low German dialects have "Fläje," Dutch has vlieg, Swedish has fluga, Danish and Norwegian have "flue" and Icelandic has "fljúga."

^ For the history of the verb form, see: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2011/10/german-leaders-of-nazi-erahess.html

Greed Has Damaged The Country

Let's face some facts folks. We all have a certain amount of greed. The problem is, when the "haves" get almost total control of a political and economic system, they leave little but the crumbs for the remainder of society. Capitalism in its pure form is not about helping others, it's not about saving the sick or injured, it's not about helping to educate children, or to retrain workers, it's not about clean water, clean air or any other environmental concern. No, capitalism is about three things: MONEY, MONEY, and MONEY. This philosophy has now taken over America. It's been in the works since the days of the New Deal, when legislation put regulations on businesses, and later expanded even more, all with tremendous whining and foot stomping by many of the business interests and wealthy investors, even though these wealthy American remained, well, wealthy Americans. The way some of them whined, you'd have thought they wouldn't be able to buy their next meal. In the last three decades we've seen a roll back in protections for Americans, some made in the name of "competitiveness," but do any of you REALLY believe America can compete against countries where workers make a few bucks a day (if they're lucky), without cutting down American workers to that same level? Do you believe the country has benefited from these policies over the last few decades? If so, where? The gap in income disparity has grown to pre-Depression levels, as the wealthy have done VERY well, thank you, while most other Americans have seen declines or stagnation in income. All the while so called "commodity" prices have soared, even on basic food products, only damaging "unrich" Americans, and preventing any major economic recovery from taking hold. Remember folks, with these people, money trumps patriotism EVERY time.

I've heard it said several times on news programs lately, and no one has yet contradicted it; thus giving it credence, that the largest American companies have put more money into foreign countries than into their own country for the last thirty years. You want a job? Hey, go to some country where American business people have set up shop and agree to work for a pittance; you might have a chance. you might virtually starve to death, but to these people, hey so what?

We now have a major American political party, guess which one, orchestrating cuts to all sorts of government programs and to wages and benefits for America's dwindling middle class. Don't be fooled by the television and radio ads, folks. That's what this is about, cuts to middle class Americans, and the destruction of ANYONE daring to mention taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Folks, they don't call it "conservatism" because they want to empower middle and working class Americans again. They want to take the country back alright....way back! Pick any previous century. Now, a counter-balance has emerged, THANKFULLY! The recent demonstrations dubbed "Occupy Wall Street" has grown from the streets of New York City to many other places across the country, and it is expanding every day. President Obama came to the presidency with the slogan "change you can believe in." Ah, 'scuse me, where is it? The president missed the boat, and no matter how many times the Republicans virtually spit in his face, he went back for more! My mother used to say, "Don't be a glutton for punishment." The President needs to heed that advice, and he may well be heading in that direction, as he wants our votes again. The country needs leadership; leadership against the tremendous greed that is overwhelming us. The question is, is Obama up to the task?

WORD HISTORY:
Wall-This noun has an uncertain origin, although there are some theories connecting it to some Indo European roots, but I'll stick to what is essentially agreed upon. It goes back to Latin^ "vallus," which meant "stake, post." This then gave Latin "vallum;" that is, "a line of stakes forming a barrier, a wall, rampart." It seems to have been borrowed into West Germanic, an offspring of Old Germanic,^^ as "wallaz," with the same basic meaning, which then expanded to include "earthwork of stakes with dirt mounded against it as reinforcement;" thus a form of dam or dike. Old English had "weall," with the same meanings, but then expanded further to "inside and outside walls of a building." The noun later gave off a verb form, "weallian," meaning "to wall off something, to put a wall around." Both the noun and verb forms then became "wall," and have remained so ever since. Common in the other Germanic languages, but more so with the original "rampart, fortification, dike" meaning: German has "Wall" (for those learning German, it is "der" Wall), Low German Saxon has "Wäll/Wall," North Frisian, now almost extinct, has "wal," and Dutch too has "wal." The other Frisian dialects do not seem to use a form of the word any longer. Some West Germanic dialects passed along forms of the word to some North Germanic languages, and Swedish has "vall" and Norwegian has "voll." Danish has "val," which means "battlefield." Whether this comes from the same word, I don't know, but it could be tied to the "fortifications' meaning of the word.

^ Latin is an Indo European language related to English, but further down the family tree, although many English words trace back to Latin directly, or indirectly, mainly via French. Latin has also had major influences on many other European languages not direct offshoots of Latin itself. While Latin still lives on in religious circles, its usage is much diminished. It hasn't so much died out as evolved into Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and others.

^^ Old Germanic gave birth to three offspring: North Germanic, the ancestor of modern Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Faroese, and Icelandic; East Germanic, which once included Gothic, Burgundian, and Vandalic (the language of the Vandals), but all East Germanic languages have died out; and West Germanic, the ancestor of English, German, Low German, Dutch (including Flemish), Frisian, Afrikaans, and Yiddish.

German Leaders Of The Nazi Era/Hess

"Rudolf Hess"

Rudolf Hess was born in Egypt, as his father was in the import business in the Mediterranean area, and Hess didn't actually live in Germany until he was a teenager, although his father's family was from Bavaria, which had given rise to many visits there prior to the move to Germany. He served in World War One in the infantry, and near the end, as a pilot. He joined the Nazi Party early in its existence, and he eventually rose to high position, generally considered to be the number three man, after Hitler and Hermann Göring,* and Hess was Hitler's deputy, and Martin Bormann worked as the major aide to Hess.

Hess is most noted for his devotion to Hitler, and for his words to the Nazi faithful at the Nuremberg rally of 1934, which showed how, even at that relatively early stage of Hitler's rule, Hitler's personality was merging with Germany. Hess said, "The party is Hitler, Hitler however is Germany, just as Germany is Hitler" ("Die Partei ist Hitler, Hitler aber ist Deutschland, wie Deutschland Hitler ist.") Unfortunately, this statement became ever more true as time passed.

Hess was not happy about the outbreak of war in 1939, and he gradually lost influence with Hitler, who was consumed by military matters. Seemingly distraught over the decline in his association with Hitler, Hess had a simultaneous decline in his mental health, although some dispute this. In May 1941, just about six weeks before the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Hess took a plane on a solo flight to Britain, parachuting into Scotland, and leaving the plane to crash. Except for releasing the fact they had Hess in custody, the British basically kept details secret, and speculation about the reason for his flight were numerous, including in the Soviet Union, where Stalin feared collaboration between Germany and Britain to launch an attack against the Soviets. While doctrinaire Nazis believed Britain, or more specifically, England, should have been fighting on their side due to Germanic blood ties, whether Hess believed or was motivated by all of this, I don't know, but he did seem to want to bring a peace settlement between Britain and Germany; thus regaining his stature with Hitler. Hitler vehemently denied that he had authorized Hess to negotiate any such agreement, and he formally stripped Hess of all ranks within the German government and the Nazi Party. He appointed Martin Bormann as the replacement for Hess (see previous article about Bormann).

Hess was kept as a prisoner-of-war and then sent to Germany to stand trial at Nuremberg, mainly at the insistence of the Soviet Union.** In Nuremberg, too, his mental state was much in question, but he was considered to be fit for the trial. He was acquitted of some charges, since he had not really had much influence during the early war years, and then had been locked up in England for much of the war. He was convicted of conspiring with Hitler and other German leaders to launch aggressive war, and some other charges, and he was given a life sentence, again, largely at the insistence of the Soviet Union.***

Hess was imprisoned in Berlin, along with some other Nazi leaders who were later released, making him the only prisoner in the large prison facility. Repeated calls for his release by American, British and French leaders on humanitarian grounds (his mental and physical condition), and even the costs of keeping one prisoner there, were rejected by the Soviets. With Gorbachev in control in the Soviet Union, and a relaxing of tensions between East and West, it seemed Hess might be released, but he was found dead in the summer of 1987, and suicide was the official cause, although others believed a conspiracy had been launched to kill him. Hess was in his 90s at the time of his death.

Next, a son-of-a-bitch if there ever was one....Heinrich Himmler

* Indeed, Hitler publicly made Hess the number three man in his speech to the Reichstag on September 1, 1939 (about the invasion of Poland and the beginning of the war), in which he named Göring as his successor, and placing Hess next in line.

** The Soviet Union lost somewhere between 20 and 30 million DEAD as a result of World War Two. This fact alone put them in no mood to give any grace to their fascist invaders. Their repressive system and philosophy certainly only added to this hard line.

*** With the "Cold War" developing at that time, the Soviet suspicions about Hess' flight to Britain was always a part of their calculations. To my knowledge, no evidence has ever been uncovered even remotely showing Hess and British authorities considering a joint attack against the Soviet Union. In fact, Churchill, the then British Prime Minister, when asked about British support for Stalin after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, said something to the effect that he would support the devil, if he was against Hitler.

WORD HISTORY:
Fly-This is the verb form meaning, "to travel through the air." This word, closely related to "flow," goes back to Indo European "pleu," which meant "to flow." The Old Germanic spinoff was "fleuganan," which meant "to fly;" with the initial Indo European "p" becoming "f" in Germanic, which was often the case. This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "fleogan," which then later became "flien," before the modern version. It is common throughout the other Germanic languages: Dutch has "vliegen," German has "fliegen," Low German Saxon has "flegen," Frisian has "fleane," Luxembourgish has "fleien," Icelandic has "fljúga," Faroese has "flúgva," Norwegian has "flyve" and "fljuga" (depending upon dialect), Swedish has "flyga," and Danish has "flyve."