Allied Leaders of World War Two/Churchill, Part 3

"Churchill, War & Postwar"

Churchill was (and has been) criticized by some for not pursuing the North African campaign against the Italians in early 1941, but instead, of choosing to withdraw forces to help bolster Greece against the Italians. While not a total certainty, the Italians were on the verge of collapse in Libya, and their total defeat would have removed the possibility of German forces coming to their rescue (the forces under the command of Rommel, aka "the Desert Fox"). Churchill, however, was always aware of a potential communist threat, and southeastern Europe remained such a concern for him throughout the war, as he tried to balance the war against Hitler, with an attempt to stay one step ahead of communists, including Stalin.*

While Churchill was wary of Stalin's expansionist goals, as displayed by the Soviet leader's deal with Hitler in 1939 to divide up eastern Europe between them, Churchill met with President Franklin Roosevelt and Free French representative Charles de Gaulle at Casablanca, in then French Morocco, in early 1943,** and the conference resulted in the Allied announcement that they would only accept the "unconditional surrender" of the Axis powers. This limited their ability to negotiate any deal with Germany, even if Hitler had been killed or deposed,*** and it did little to placate the always suspicious, if not paranoid, Stalin. In 1944 Churchill met with Stalin and they reached an agreement about the Balkans, with the Soviets getting the influence over Rumania and Bulgaria, but Britain getting the same with Greece. Influence was to be shared regarding Yugoslavia, but the point became irrelevant, as Marshall Tito, the communist resistance leader there, ended up running the country, and he was often at odds with the Soviets, who found they could not dominate him.

Churchill advocated a strategy of attacking southern Europe to knock Italy out of the war and to force the Germans to commit military resources to defend what he called, "the soft underbelly" of Axis Europe. Stalin pressed for a major Allied landing in western Europe to tie down the German army so that Hitler would be forced to defend two major combat areas, eastern Europe, against the Soviets, and western Europe, against Britain, the U.S., and the Free French. Instead, the Allies basically took Churchill's advice and invaded Italy, bringing about the surrender of the Italian government, although Mussolini was rescued by his German ally and then propped up by them as a counter force to the Allied liberated parts of southern Italy. The Allies finally delivered the major invasion blow in June 1944, as their armies landed in the Normandy part of France. A few weeks later the Soviets launched a massive offensive against the German forces in the central Soviet Union, staggering the German army. The huge losses incurred by the Germans in France and in the Soviet Union meant the war was nearing an end. The Allied leaders met in the Soviet Union at Yalta in February 1945, where they decided the postwar fate of eastern Europe and Germany. The Western Allies agreed to return all Soviet citizens in their occupation areas to the Soviet Union.****

Just after the war ended, Britain held new elections, and in a stunning outcome, Churchill's Conservative Party suffered a major defeat to the Labour Party, and Churchill was out as prime minister. He remained active in politics, however, and he again became prime minister in the early 1950s when he was well into his 70s. His health deteriorated from a stroke, and he retired in the mid 1950s. Never out of the public eye, Churchill was made an "Honorary Citizen of the United States in 1963 (remember, his mother had been an American). He suffered another stroke in early 1965 and passed away about a week later. He was 90 years old.

* Mussolini's Italy had invaded Greece from Albania (then an Italian possession) in the fall of 1940, but had met very tough resistance from the Greeks. Churchill sent small forces to help the Greeks at first, but then increased the British commitment there. There were already communist movements in Greece and elsewhere in southeastern Europe, and during the later occupation of the Balkan countries, communist resistance movements battled the German and Italian occupation forces there, although there were also non-communist resistance elements in these areas too, and it was not uncommon for the two sides to do battle with one another, in a prelude to postwar control of each respective country.

** Interestingly, the war in North Africa was still being fought not all that far from there in Tunisia. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin did not attend the conference, as the decisive battle of Stalingrad was nearing its end in the Soviet Union; a crushing defeat for Hitler and a major sign he could not win the war.

*** The hope among the German opposition to Hitler, within the military in particular, was to arrest or to kill Hitler and major Nazi leaders, but then to negotiate a separate peace treaty with the Western Allies to permit Germany to continue the war against the Soviet Union, perhaps even with Allied participation. This was also in Churchill's mind, it seems.

**** This was important because many Soviet citizens had taken up arms AGAINST Stalin. By returning these people to Stalin's control, it was a death sentence and untold hundreds of thousands (millions?) died as a consequence. It is important to remember, the Soviet Union was a multi-ethnic, multi-national empire based upon the old Russian Empire, but with the Tsar (or Czar, if you like) replaced by Soviet leaders who were every bit as ruthless as the Tsars, if not more so, at times, but with the empire's wealth no longer concentrated in the very few in the nobility and upper class as under the Tsars.

WORD HISTORY:
Drive-Known forms of this word are only present in the Germanic languages. Whether it was a Germanic creation, or an altered form of some Indo European word (as some believe), or a borrowing from a non-Indo Europan source, is unknown. Anyway, Old Germanic had "driban," with the meaning "to push, to force, to cause to move." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "drifan," with the same basic meaning. Later this became "driven" (with a long "i"), before the modern spelling. The basic notion behind the meaning was that ancient people either pushed carts, or used animals to pull the carts/wagons, but it took humans to "force" the animals to draw the vehicle. The same notion has continued into modern times, as it takes someone to step on the gas to "force" the vehicle to move. German has "treiben" (the "ei" is pronounced like a long "i," and notice the change of "d" to "t"), which was originally "triban," in Old High German, Low German Saxon has "drieven," some Low German dialects have "driewe," Dutch has "drijven," West Frisian has "driuwe," Swedish has "driva," Icelandic has "drífa," Danish and Norwegian have "drive." The meanings all center around "push, force, cause to move," but not all are necessarily used for "driving" a motor vehicle, as in English.

The World In Protest, Revolution or Civil War?

This was first published in late 2011.

Part One:
Protests and revolutions of various types have broken out in many parts of the world. In America, once in the forefront of revolution and change, reactionary forces have gotten a grip on the country, the likes of which hasn't been seen since before the Great Depression, and the way we're heading, it may date back into the post-Civil War era. When Barack Obama took office, mainly right wing elements mobilized in protests against many of his proposals, although he took certain aspects of these plans from Republicans (such as Mitt Romney's health care plan in Massachusetts), or he continued inherited plans from the George W. Bush administration (bank and auto company bailouts). The protesters often declared they feared a "socialist" takeover of the country, and they seemed to believe every problem facing the country began with Barack Obama, although he hadn't been in office very long. The group was the Tea Party, and they waved tea bags and held mass rallies across the nation, acting at times as if they were the only patriotic Americans around. They had and have every right to do so, although I truly believe many are terribly misguided in aspects of their protests (more on this later), although they have some points, too. Business groups and allied right wing organizations run television ads about every 20 minutes telling Americans to be against anyone who would dare to support raising taxes on the wealthy and oil interests to help reduce the budget deficit. They use distortion (not just a right wing tactic, but heavily so nowadays) to scare Americans into believing tax increases being floated are for everybody, and not just for the rich. The whole process smells....badly! The budget process smells badly, too, as I would say average Americans are overwhelmed by the numbers, and how those numbers are used: "Senator What's His Name wants to raise taxes by a trillion dollars!" The statement is true, but what is lacking is the context that the senator's plan is for ten years and he wants only high earners to pay the tax. Let's see... a trillion dollars divided by ten years is....don't tell me now, I can figure this out, but I need more fingers and toes. Darn! Okay, a hundred billion a year. Hell some of the greediest among us have made a bundle just in the time I've been typing this. All the while the assault on average Americans' living standards continues.

More recently, essentially left wing groups have gradually mobilized in the "Occupy Wall Street" movement. They have camped out in parks and held rallies throughout the country protesting the tremendous, and growing, income disparity in America, and the takeover of the political system, and thus the economic and income distribution system, by the top 1% on the income scale (it's more than the top 1%, in my opinion). They have managed to focus attention on these problems, and while I believe them to be on the right track, there seems to be no true agenda to remedy the ills they are protesting. You can carry signs all day, every day, until hell freezes over, and camp out all you want, and it won't change the system, although you may come down with pneumonia; in fact, support for the protests may well have peaked, as outbreaks of violence in some locations have marred the image of the movement. If middle class Americans are afraid of the movement, it will NEVER fly. If it appears that the "I don't want them to make a nickle off of me," totally anti-business people are seen as being too influential a part of the movement, it will NEVER fly. Many unions have linked up with the group, but the original organizers (from what I understand) are leery of union leaders. My experience with unions and union people, and indeed most "unrich" Americans, is that they understand the need for businesses to make a profit. They are not against businesses making money, but they don't want to be gouged and they also want that money shared with workers in those businesses, and not just with independently wealthy investors and their money managers, the "sit on their ass class," as I call them.

WORD HISTORY:
Hoist-It "seems" this verb originated in Low German as nautical talk in reference to "hoisting;" that is, "raising," the sails of a ship (later also applied to raising a flag); the assumption by some is that it came from the sound made by the men exhaling while straining to raise the sails..."hissssss." The word spread through High German, and also into Dutch. English borrowed the word either from Low German or Dutch in the late 1400s as "hysse," then "hoise," and its past tense form, "hoised," came to be pronounced and spelled "hoist." The noun, meaning "a pulley," was derived from the verb. German and Low German have "hissen," Dutch has "hijsen," Danish has both "hisse" (borrowed from Low German "hissen") and "hejse" (borrowed from Dutch "hijsen"), Norwegian has "heise" (probably from Dutch) and Swedish has "hissa" (hoist/raise), probably from Low German. All of these languages interacted with one another in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea in trade and, at times, war. I could not find a form of the word in Frisian, which seems a bit odd, seeing that Low German and Dutch are geographically "right there" by Frisian, and the Frisians were seafarers, but it could have died out (let's face it, while not a totally obscure word in English, it's not exactly an every day word either). Also, I could not find a form in Icelandic, but "if" the word indeed originated in Low German, that is likely the reason... distance. It was borrowed into French and Italian, most likely from German, and even into Spanish, probably from Italian.

Allied Leaders of World War Two-Churchill, Part 2

"Churchill and World War Two"

Once Hitler's foreign policy took a much more aggressive turn, and Mussolini became more entangled with Hitler, Churchill dropped any favorable references to either dictator and stepped up his calls for British rearmament. As Hitler scored bloodless victories, even with British complicity in the ceding of the German-populated area of Czechoslovakia,* Churchill heavily criticized the Conservative Party government of Neville Chamberlain for its attempts to appease the German leader. When Hitler pushed matters further by invading Poland on September 1, 1939, Britain (and France) declared war on Germany just a couple of days later. Churchill was returned to his old position as First Lord of the Admiralty, but public dissatisfaction with the government led to Chamberlain's resignation and his replacement with Churchill as Prime Minister in May 1940. Just as Churchill was being elevated to Prime Minister, the largely inactive war on the continent suddenly changed, as all hell broke loose in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, with a German offensive that broke through French lines and trapped the British army, and many Belgian and French troops, along the Channel coast at Dunkirk. While the British successfully evacuated their troops to England, virtually all of their heavy equipment was left on the beaches at Dunkirk. France surrendered a few weeks later and Hitler stood as the master of much of Europe. England, now lacking heavy armaments, faced a possible successful invasion for the first time since 1066, when William, thereafter known as William the Conqueror, successfully defeated the English and King Harold at the Battle of Hastings. While some thought it best to negotiate an end to the war, Churchill was defiant and he rallied the British people with memorable words until their arms could be replenished: "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat;" "This was their finest hour;" "We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be... we shall never surrender." While highly sympathetic to the British efforts, the United States remained "officially" neutral, although it increasingly supplied Britain with various necessities and even war materials, bringing it into many diplomatic confrontations with Germany, and eventually, into military actions over German submarine warfare. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in late 1941, Hitler and Mussolini disregarded any common sense they had, and declared war on the United States, bringing Britain a very formidable ally.

Whether Hitler really ever intended to invade England, or if he really had the capability to do so,** has been the subject of historical debate, but his failure to secure air superiority over England during the "Battle of Britain" effectively eliminated the "immediate" threat of invasion. By the summer of 1941 Hitler had turned eastwards and invaded the Soviet Union, and in spite of his anti-communism, Churchill allied Britain with the Soviet Union. Meanwhile in North Africa, the British and Commonwealth forces did battle with a mixed German and Italian force in the sandy and rough terrain of Libya and Egypt. By late October/early November 1942, Allied forces under Bernhard Montgomery inflicted a decisive defeat on the Axis forces under the command of famous German commander, Erwin Rommel. The Allies, including substantial American forces for the first time, then landed behind Rommel's retreating forces in French colonial areas of North Africa. All of this culminated in Axis defeat in North Africa by May 1943.

Next, Churchill and the end of the war.

* The region, known as the "Sudetenland," was given to Hitler by Britain and France at a special conference held in Munich in 1938, without the participation of Czechoslovakia, whose representatives were not even permitted to be in the room.

** An invasion would have required a large number of various landing craft capable of transporting men, artillery, tanks, trucks, supplies, etc. The Germans had a number of river barges available, but they were essentially untested in waters like the English Channel. Further, an invasion force needed naval protection, and the German navy was not all that large. My own opinion is, Hitler neither wanted to invade England, nor did he truly have the capability to do so at that time (summer/fall 1940). Besides, it didn't take him long to shift gears and begin planning what he really desired, the invasion of the Soviet Union.

WORD HISTORY:
Earl-The ancient origins of this word are uncertain, but Old Germanic had "erloz/erlaz," which meant "warrior," and later "chief, leader in war." This gave Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "eorl," with the same meaning, but later, probably under influence from its Old Norse relative "jarl," its meaning advanced to "nobleman," and later still it was used in England as the equivalent to a "count" in the nobility. The spelling next became "erl," before the modern version, and of course, it also became a fairly common male name. A number of its other Germanic relatives died out long ago, like for instance, Old High German "erl," but Icelandic, Danish and Norwegian still have "jarl," but how much it is used by any or all is unclear to me. Norway produces the popular "Jarlsberg" cheese, named after a district in Norway where it was first made.

Allied Leaders of World War II/Churchill

"Winston Churchill"

Churchill was born in southern England, in Oxfordshire. His father's family was in the line of the Dukes of Marlborough,* and his mother was an American, the daughter of a millionaire. He became a cavalry officer in the late 1800s, and he then served as a war correspondent in Cuba, where Cuban rebels were battling the Spanish (Cuba was then a Spanish possession). It was in Cuba where he developed his famous cigar smoking. He later went to South Africa (as a correspondent), where the Boer War was in progress. He was captured, but escaped and managed to travel some distance to safety, making him a well known name in Britain, and not long thereafter, he was elected to Parliament as a member of the Conservative Party.** During World War One, Churchill was "First Lord of the Admiralty,"*** where his reputation suffered due to misadventures in the Mediterranean area, but he then took active command of a battalion in an effort to re-establish himself in the military and in the public mind. It wasn't long before he returned to England where he served in several government posts in the last part of the war and into the postwar era. It was during this time he developed a reputation as a staunch anti-communist.

In the mid 1920s, Churchill was elected to Parliament (again), but as an independent, although a short time later he became a member of the Conservative Party (again), and he then became a member of the Conservative government of Stanley Baldwin, where he supported the return of Britain to the gold standard, which in turn helped foster a deflationary recession, during which he firmly opposed a labor strike. It was during this era that Churchill praised Italian dictator Benito Mussolini for his firm approach to Italian government. Churchill had moved substantially to the political right. When a coalition government headed by Labour Party**** leader Ramsey MacDonald was formed heading into the 1930s, Churchill was left out, although he continued to be controversial. One of the hot issues of the 1930s in Britain was the status of India, then a British colony.***** Churchill did not favor independence for India, even saying the independence movement there would have to be "crushed," and using harsh words to describe the Indian leaders, including Mohandas Gandhi, better known to some as "Mahatma Gandhi."

Where Churchill eventually gained ground politically, was over the issue of Germany, especially after fascist Adolf Hitler began aggressive foreign policy moves, but his fervent anti-communism gave him something of a split personality regarding fascism, as he continued to offer up kind words for Mussolini, and "seemingly" supported the fascist and fascist-supported forces in Spain under General Franco, which would eventually replace the Spanish Republic at the end of the Spanish Civil War.^ He even had some positive comments about Hitler and Nazism in the mid 1930s, especially when contrasted to communism. On the other hand, throughout much of the mid 1930s, and certainly thereafter, Churchill spoke in favor of Britain needing to modernize its armed forces and rearm in the face of possible German aggression. This was the beginning of a new phase in Churchill's life, a phase that would make him internationally known, and a great leader.

Part Two will deal with the World War Two era.

* The first Duke of Marlborough, a title created by Queen Anne, was a Churchill in 1702. He had no surviving sons, but Parliament permitted his eldest daughter to retain the title. She married an earl with the family name "Spencer;" thus, the name of succeeding Dukes of Marlborough became "Spencer," but a few generations later, by special permission of the Crown, the hyphenated name "Spencer-Churchill" was used, to pay homage the the original holder and their Churchill ancestor. Thereafter, some used only "Churchill" for the name, while others used the double form.

** Within a couple of years Churchill saw the need for reforms in Britain, and he changed to the Liberal Party. This would not be his only change.

*** Churchill saw the potential for aircraft to support ships, and he developed an arm of the Royal Navy which dealt with aircraft. Later too in colonial affairs, Churchill supported the use of aircraft to bomb rebellious tribesmen to conserve on the use of ground troops.

**** American spelling uses "labor" versus British "labour," just as with "favor" versus British "favour," and "honor" versus "honour."

***** At that time, India included Pakistan. Later, upon Indian independence in 1947, Pakistan, heavily Muslim in population, was created as a separate country, but in two parts: West Pakistan, the Pakistan of today, and East Pakistan, which lay about 1000 miles away, and which became a separate nation itself in late 1971, as Bangladesh.

^ The Spanish Civil War is complex, but in very simple terms, the government was "leftist," including communists, and its opponents "rightists," including fascists, and Churchill's anti-communism seemed to cause him to side with the "rightists." For a little more info, see my article: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2011/07/german-question-part-one-hundred-twenty.html

WORD HISTORY:
Bitter-This goes back to Indo European "bheid," which meant "to split, to cut," and it is the source of "bite." This gave Old Germanic "bitraz/bitras," which meant "bitter; that is, "biting in taste." This gave Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "biter" (presumed to have had a short "i") and then "bitter," as it has remained for all of these centuries. Of course the meaning has broadened beyond taste to "a mood of anger or even cruelty." Common throughout the other Germanic languages: German, Low German, Dutch, West Frisian, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian all have "bitter," while Icelandic has "bitur."

Allied Leaders of World War II/de Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle was born near the French border with Belgium in northern France. He served in the army before World War One, and indeed was already an officer when the war started. Given high marks by his superiors, de Gaulle was wounded and then captured by the Germans in 1916. He spent the rest of the war as a prisoner. After the war, de Gaulle served with French military personnel in Poland, there to help train the Poles, who were then in a war with Soviet Russia. A writer and military thinker, de Gaulle favored mobile warfare, rather than the infantry-based static and trench warfare of the then recently concluded war.

When the German offensive in western Europe commenced in May 1940, de Gaulle's armored division launched a somewhat successful attack against the Germans and he was promoted to Brigadier General. He opposed the French surrender to Germany and wanted the war continued from French colonies in North Africa.* As France prepared to surrender, de Gaulle fled to Britain where he began forming what came to be known as the "Free French Forces" from other Frenchmen who had left France. He became noted for his radio broadcasts to the French people, urging them to resist the German occupation and the collaborationist French government at Vichy.** This brought a death sentence to de Gaulle from the French Vichy government, but it made him the leader of Frenchmen everywhere who wanted France free from Axis forces. As such, de Gaulle became noted for his conflict and "difficult behavior" with the British, and later the Americans, and the relationship between these "allies" was often "frosty," to put it mildly, as the British and the Americans didn't trust de Gaulle, and de Gaulle didn't trust the British and the Americans. After the Axis defeat in North Africa, De Gaulle moved his operations to (French) Algeria, where he saw himself as the legitimate leader of a French government in exile, to be continued as a temporary government in France, once parts of the country were liberated. This was something the Americans, especially, would not support. Things were so bad, de Gaulle even refused to broadcast by radio to France as the Allies prepared to launch the invasion to liberate France in June 1944.

The Allied invasion eventually succeeded, and a second invasion, in southern France, was launched in August 1944. It consisted of substantial French forces. With the Germans in retreat, fearful of a French communist takeover in Paris, and of German retaliation against the French capitol, de Gaulle wanted Paris freed by French troops, and the Allies acceded to his wishes. Paris was liberated on August 25. Since many French leaders had been associated with the Vichy government, de Gaulle was essentially seen by most French people as the obvious leader of a new government until the country could regain its footing. As the war approached its end, de Gaulle demanded that France be given a prominent role in shaping post-war Europe. The fact that the Soviet Union, Britain, and America had shouldered much of the war effort didn't seem to bother him in the least, and the relationship between the various Allies continued to be contentious.

During the time of German occupation, the French resistance forces had many communist elements,*** but once the war on French soil essentially ended, the resistance forces continued in existence, not only as a military presence, but as something of a political movement of the left. De Gaulle ordered the separate military aspect of the Resistance disbanded, with those wishing to maintain a military life having to join the actual French army. De Gaulle gave some positions in his new government to men from the Resistance, including a couple of communists, but he and men from the "Free French" basically dominated the top positions, leaving bitter feelings.

While not invited to the "Yalta Conference" in February 1945 by the "Big Three" Allied leaders (Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin), De Gaulle did win a French role, supported by Britain and the U.S., in the occupation of Germany during the conference, although Stalin insisted the new zone come from the British and American portions of Germany, and indeed the relatively small French zone was the region just over the border from France. Further, France was given a seat on the United Nations Security Council, an international organization that was just forming. Even these victories didn't soothe the angry feelings of the contentious Frenchman for having been left out of the conference in the first place.

When the war ended, de Gaulle faced a new problem, an elected Assembly. The power of the communists could no longer be denied, as they won more than a quarter of the vote, making them the largest party in multi-party France. Combined with the vote of other left of center parties, the left had garnered about 75% of the total vote, although de Gaulle was still the choice to head the government. His unwillingness to appoint communists to many positions within the government brought serious arguments, and the desire of the communists and others to cut military spending brought de Gaulle's resignation in early 1946, just two months after the election. De Gaulle remained out of office until 1958, but with France embroiled in many problems with her colonies, including a problem in Indochina, which brought American involvement and the subsequent Vietnam War, he was again chosen to lead the government. A few months later he was elected President of France. He remained as president until 1969, when he resigned, after years of contentiousness with Britain, the U.S. and others, which is beyond the scope of this article. He died in November 1970.

De Gaulle was certainly a "difficult" person, but he was a solid advocate for France, and he is fondly remembered as such by many of his countrymen. He ranks up there with the greatest French leaders.

* France controlled Tunisia, Algeria, and French Morocco, all in the western part of North Africa.

** Hitler took control of northern France, including Paris, and the French Atlantic coastline area, but permitted a collaborationist government to rule the remainder of France and her colonies. This collaborationist government ended in November 1942 when Hitler and Mussolini sent troops into the area after the Allies invaded the French North African colonies, which lay to the rear of Rommel's forces in Libya. The Germans occupied most of the collaborationist area, with Italy taking the area of the Riviera along the Mediterranean, an area of historical dispute between Italy and France. When Italy surrendered in September 1943, the Germans took control of the Riviera, too.

*** This isn't terribly surprising, as many resistance movements in Europe had large communist elements, or were even actually communist groups, like Tito's Partisans in Yugoslavia. As the war neared its end, these groups became political forces, or even provided the basis of communist governments in eastern Europe, where Stalin's Soviet Union dominated.

WORD HISTORY:
Chief/Chef-These are really the same word, but in English they have varied meanings, as well as the different spelling. "Chief' goes back to Indo European "kaput/khauput," which meant "head." This gave its Latin offspring "caput," with the same meaning, and then the word later "capum." Old French, a Latin-based language, inherited a form of the word as "chief" (the "ch" pronounced as "sh") which meant "leader of some entity, main person or position." This was borrowed into English during the 1200s. In French, the word later became "chef," still with the same meaning, and it later came to be used in the expression, "chef de cuisine," for "head of the cooking or of the kitchen." The shortened version, "chef," was borrowed into English in the 1820s for "head cook." German too borrowed the word "chef," and it generally carries the meaning of English "chief;" that is, "main, head, chief, boss."

Allied Leaders of World War II/Stalin/Part 2

Part Two-"Stalin, The Purge, Hitler and World War Two"

Stalin implemented a massive purge of the Communist Party, the Red Army, the government, and various ethnic minorities, especially Poles, beginning in the mid 1930s, which made the terms "counter-revolutionary" and "enemy of the people" commonplace, as these were often the charges used against anyone deemed a threat to his power (at least in his mind). No one really knows how many people were killed or sent to prisons or labor camps, but about three quarters of a million is a starting point, although some historians believe the figure to be perhaps a million to two million. The purge began to wind down in 1939, although Leon Trotsky, a famous Bolshevik leader, and Stalin opponent, was assassinated by a Soviet agent in Mexico in 1940. Trotsky had been exiled from the Soviet Union in the late 1920s, and maintained a stream of criticism directed at Stalin's murderous ways.

While Stalin did away with anyone remotely believed to be against him within the Soviet Union, he was not unaware of the potential threat to him and to the Soviet Union from rightwing fascists in Europe, especially from Nazi Germany and its leader, Adolf Hitler. The propaganda battles between the two countries went on throughout the 1930s, but both Stalin and Hitler suddenly needed one another by the summer of 1939. Hitler likely wanted to launch a limited war against Poland, but did not want Britain and France to intervene.* He believed a treaty with Stalin would completely discourage the British and the French from declaring war on Germany, if or when he attacked Poland. Stalin, on the other hand, wanted to buy time to build up his military, especially after thousands of army officers were killed on his orders during the purge. Negotiations commenced between Germany and the Soviet Union, all nasty propaganda attacks by the two against each other ceased, and a treaty was signed in August 1939. Stalin accomplished some of his desire to buy time, but Hitler's plan failed, as France and Britain declared war on Germany two days after Hitler invaded Poland. Stalin and Hitler also secretly agreed to divide eastern Europe between them, with Stalin even getting eastern Poland. Less than three weeks after Germany invaded Poland from its western borders, the Red Army invaded Poland from its eastern frontiers. In 1940, Stalin moved into the other countries and regions included in the agreement with Hitler: Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia were annexed to the Soviet Union, and then two regions of Rumania, Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, were taken over. In the meantime, on November 30, 1939 the Soviet Union invaded Finland after demands by the Soviets for border adjustments were rejected by the Finns.** Though small in number, the Finns fought like hell, inflicting heavy casualties on the Soviets, before finally agreeing to peace terms when faced by insurmountable odds. The treaty, signed in the spring of 1940, gave Stalin most of what he wanted, but the poorly executed Soviet campaign was seen as the consequence of Stalin's purge of the Red Army.

On June 22, 1941, Germany, along with her eastern European allies,*** invaded the Soviet Union. The opening months of the invasion were an absolute disaster for Stalin and the Soviet forces, as the Germans made dramatic advances deep into the Soviet Union along every sector of the front. Soviet casualties were simply staggering, and totaled to about 4 million (killed, wounded and captured) in just six months! Even with all of the German victories, Hitler had overplayed his hand. He intervened more and more in military matters once left essentially to the generals, and as winter set in, the German offensive to capture Moscow sputtered to a halt. Much of the Soviet government had left Moscow, but fresh troops from Siberia and German exhaustion helped Stalin hold his capitol. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. On December 11 both Hitler and Mussolini provided the final nails for their coffins by declaring war on the United States. The Axis Powers now faced formidable forces on all fronts.

Stalin intervened in military matters a great deal in 1941, nearly helping to bring defeat to himself and to the Soviet Union, as his stand fast orders allowed the German forces to encircle vast numbers of Soviet troops. By 1942, Stalin began to allow the professional military men to execute the plans to defeat the Germans. The massive battle of Stalingrad began in the summer of 1942 and ended with a decisive Soviet victory by February 1943. Hitler attempted to regain the initiative in the Soviet Union with his major offensive at Kursk, which failed, and had to be terminated due to the Allied landings in Sicily. This demonstrated that Hitler's days were numbered, as his outnumbered forces were pounded by the Soviets on one front, and as he tried to defend the rest of Europe from possible invasion by the Western Allies, spreading his forces too thinly to be successful anywhere. The Allied landings in France in June 1944 and major Soviet offensive operations drove German forces back into Germany itself, and the Soviets captured Berlin by early May 1945. Within a week, Germany surrendered.

Stalin, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and American President Franklin Roosevelt came to be called "The Big Three," and they planned and coordinated operations against the Axis Powers. Early in 1943, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Free French representatives met at Casablanca in then French Morocco in North Africa.**** The policy of "unconditional surrender" of the Axis Powers was announced there, giving some solace to Stalin, who feared the Western Allies would conclude a separate peace with Germany; thus permitting Germany to turn all of its military forces against the Soviet Union. The three men met at Tehran in late 1943 to plan the further course of the war. In February 1945, with Hitler's Reich down for the count, the three leaders met again, this time in the Soviet Union at one of the Tsar's former palaces in the Crimea near the town of Yalta. Here the Allied leaders put together plans for post-war Europe, with many of the decisions having long term consequences for the population of eastern Europe. With the Red Army already in control of many eastern European countries, Communist movements within those countries became the governing apparatus in each. Of course, all of these Communist movements, except Yugoslavia's, owed their positions to Stalin, thus making them Soviet satellites. The plan to separate Austria from Germany and then to divide the two countries into occupation zones also was approved. Germany's borders were also a major item on the agenda, especially the border with Poland. Soviet claims to much of eastern Poland became a reality,***** but Poland was compensated by extending her western borders at Germany's expense. Stalin's gains were accomplished with his pledge to enter the war against Japan, which still held out at that time.

By the late 1940s, eastern Europe was firmly under Communist control, and Berlin lay within the Soviet occupation zone, but itself was divided into separate zones, with the western part being free. In 1948 Stalin ordered a blockade of West Berlin, thus cutting off all supplies to the area. This prompted a massive airlift by the Western Powers to supply West Berlin, which was successful. Stalin lifted the blockade.

Stalin was a heavy smoker and his health was very much in question after the war ended. In 1953 he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died a few days later, although some believed there was foul play involved.

Next... Charles De Gaulle.

* For more on this, see my article in "The German Question" series: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2011/08/german-question-part-one-hundred-thirty_10.html

** Stalin was concerned by the fact that Leningrad, the name used during the Soviet era for the former Russian capitol of St. Petersburg, was close to the Finnish border. He wanted the border adjusted away from Leningrad, although there were other demands, too.

*** Hungary, Rumania, Slovakia, and Finland were all German allies who committed substantial forces against the Soviet Union, and within a short time, Mussolini sent an Italian corps, later expanded to an army.

**** Stalin did not attend due to the final stages of the Stalingrad battle.

***** Anti-Communists felt the Western Allies, especially Rioosevelt, sold out to Stalin at Yalta, especially in view of Stalin's pact with Hitler of 1939, which had granted Stalin major concessions in eastern Europe, even a large part of eastern Poland. The issue has been debated since those times, but the Western Allies probably did not have much choice, unless they would have been willing to potentially go back to war, this time with the Soviets. Thus the pact with Hitler was set aside, as was the Soviet invasion of Finland and Soviet atrocities committed during the war, especially the execution of thousands of Polish army officers after the Soviet takeover of eastern Poland in 1939. While there are valid points on both sides of the issue, we have to remember, democratic nations are at a disadvantage when faced by totalitarian dictators like Hitler or Stalin, since free societies are much more dependent upon public support, while dictators can order just about anything, including war, and the only way for opponents to stop them is to risk their own lives, something most of us would not be willing to do. Let's be honest.

WORD HISTORY:
Steel-While we sometimes think we're pretty brilliant in the modern world, steel making has been around for about 3 to 4 thousand years, and perhaps longer. This noun goes back to Indo European "stak," with the notion of "be or remain firm," from the same base, "steh," that gave us "stand." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "stahlijan," which meant "formed, made of steel," and this application to the hardened metal is a Germanic invention, but borrowed by some other languages, like Polish and Russian, likely from German or Swedish. The Russian form later gave Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin his alias (his real family name was "Dzhugashvili"). The Old Germanic form gave Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "style/stele," depending upon dialect, and this later became "stel," before the modern form. The verb form meaning "to strengthen, or to make like steel," developed in the latter part of the 1500s. Common throughout the other Germanic languages, German and Low German Saxon have "Stahl," some Low German dialects have "stol," West Frisian has "stiel," Dutch has "staal," Swedish, Norwegian and Danish have "stål," and Icelandic has "stál."

Allied Leaders of World War II/Stalin

NOTE: Bolshevik/Communist politics was highly complicated, with various party factions vying for power at times. While a fascinating subject, all of this is far beyond the scope of this article, but there are many books and articles available on this subject, as well as on Joseph Stalin's abilities to outmaneuver his rivals.

Stalin's real family name was "Dzhugashvili" (there are variations in the transliterated spelling in English), and he was born in Georgia, an area of the Caucasus, in the southern part of the Russian Empire. The language was not Russian, but Georgian, a Kartvelian language unrelated (as far as is known) to Indo European, which is the ancient ancestor of English and Russian. Russian was taught in the schools of Georgia. Stalin suffered from smallpox as a child, and it left his face permanently scarred.

While in school during his later teens, Stalin came into contact with a number of people with Marxist beliefs, and within a couple of years he joined the Bolsheviks. He was arrested numerous times, and he wrote some revolutionary articles under the name "Stalin," a word for "steel," which Russian had borrowed from Germanic, and it is by that name that he came to be known and feared. He moved up through the ranks of the Bolsheviks, and after they had overthrown the moderate government that had replaced the Tsarist government a few months earlier,* his closeness to Lenin helped his power to grow. When an assassination attempt was made on Lenin in the fall of 1918, Stalin urged a severe crackdown, directed mainly at the more moderate socialists, which resulted in the execution of thousands without a trial, although the actual number is not truly known. Lenin made him General Secretary of the Communist Party. Lenin suffered a stroke in 1922, and Stalin was able to consolidate more power unto himself, although his relationship with Lenin went down hill. Lenin died in early 1924 and Stalin's power-base and his absolute ruthlessness gave him an advantage over other Communist officials, but it took time for him to truly become the absolute ruler of the Soviet Union. His use of the secret police to spy on rivals and citizens is legendary, and he had so many people killed or sent to labor camps, no one really knows with any certainty just how many there were, but it was in the MILLIONS! While not as concerned with "racial policies," like Hitler, I've always said you could put Stalin and Hitler into a bag, shake it up, and you wouldn't know which one would pop out first!

Stalin felt the Kulaks** were too independent minded and not interested enough in the overall good of the nation, and he wanted farming consolidated into "collective farms," which brought resistance from the Kulaks. Perhaps as many as five million were sent to camps in Siberia, where many died, while others were just outright executed. Stalin also wanted industrial production increased to build a formidable army to discourage incursions by European nations; that is, by the "capitalists." A severe crackdown was launched against worker absenteeism and workers who failed to meet production quotas. In the early 1930s, the Ukraine was hit by a major famine, and millions died.*** Ukrainians were independent minded, and many to this day believe much of the famine was orchestrated by Stalin (there was severe rationing and the border was closed off to stop Ukrainians from leaving for other, better supplied areas) to beat down Ukrainian independence. Disease and outright starvation claimed many lives.

Next, the conclusion of the Stalin info, which will include his role in World War Two.

* There were two revolutions in Russia during that era. The first took place in March 1917 and resulted in the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, thus ending the many centuries of Tsarist rule. A "provisional (temporary) government" was set up to rule the country until national elections could be held. It was socialist, but not really radically so (compared to other elements, like the Bolsheviks), and in fact, it continued to fight the war (World War One) on the side of the Allies. The continuation of the unpopular war and the economic mess of the nation kept discontent alive, and in late October 1917, the Bolsheviks seized power in a second revolution, although it took them a few years to actually consolidate their hold on the country.

** During much of Russia's history, peasants were really serfs for large landowners. Tsar Alexander II freed the serfs in 1861, but most peasants remained illiterate and poor. While serfdom had "officially" ended, the rents peasants owed to landowners pretty much guaranteed a perpetuation of poverty. During Tsar Nicholas II's rule, one of his prime ministers, Peter Stolypin, implemented a program where peasants could own land and truly be free of the large landowners, thus keeping peasants supportive of Tsarism. The program was limited, especially considering Russia's enormous peasant population, but these farmers came to be called "Kulaks." Revolutionaries saw the reforms as a threat to their desire to overthrow the Tsarist system, so Stolypin was assassinated. Nicholas unfortunately took a turn back toward repression, which only served as a prelude to the revolution that brought him down. When the Bolsheviks came to power, they kept much of the Kulak system in place, at least at first.

*** Records from those times are scare and it is difficult to determine how many people died, but 4 or 5 million would be a good guess, although Ukrainians believe the number to by about double that.

WORD HISTORY:
Vodka-The "vod" part of this word is related to "water," and indeed it goes back to Indo European "wod/wed," the same ancient ancestor, which expanded to "wotor/wodr," which meant "water. This gave Slavic "voda/woda," and this then gave Russian "voda," meaning "water." The "ka" ending is a diminutive; that is, it makes it "smaller" or "endearing;" so "little water." It was borrowed into English circa 1800.

Heroes Against Hitler, Stauffenberg

"Colonel Claus Graf (=Count) von Stauffenberg"

This was first published 11/9/11, edited somewhat, with an additional photo, 7-20-22


The man who nearly killed Hitler was born in eastern Swabia, a part of Bavaria, although the German dialect is not Bavarian, but rather it is more closely related to Swiss German and Alsatian German, located in that same overall German-speaking region. A devout Catholic, his religious beliefs seem to have had an influence on his later opposition to Hitler and the Nazis, although not all historians agree on that. His first love was the cavalry, and he became an officer, although by the mid to late 1930s, traditional horse cavalry were giving way to mechanized cavalry. Stauffenberg began to have serious doubts about Hitler when the fanatical furious Führer sent troops to occupy the remainder of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, after the little nation had ceded German populated regions to Germany just six months earlier. Stauffenberg served in the campaigns in Poland in September 1939 and in France in May-June 1940. Like many Germans, Stauffenberg favored the reclaiming of territories lost to Poland after World War One. During the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Stauffenberg served as a staff officer in the army high command, not in a field unit. He tried to help change or limit German ill treatment of Soviet civilians, including Jews, and Soviet prisoners of war in the early months of the German invasion, but the brutal and murderous policies pushed Stauffenberg to embrace other German officers in opposition to Hitler.

Early in 1943 Stauffenberg was sent to Tunisia in North Africa, where German and Italian forces, under the operational control of Field Marshal Rommel, were trying to prevent the total loss of North Africa to the Allies. Just a month before the final Axis surrender there, Stauffenberg was severely wounded, losing his right hand, two fingers on his left hand, and his left eye, over which he eventually wore a black patch. It took several months in the hospital and further convalescence at home before Stauffenberg was able to resume service, this time as a staff officer at the headquarters of the Ersatzheer (Replacement Army), which was located in Berlin.* The Replacement Army had a number of anti-Nazi conspirators and plans for a takeover of Germany were developed, but most were not put into operation, while others failed, or had to be changed due to important Nazi leaders not being present. Eventually Stauffenberg carried a bomb-laden briefcase into Hitler's headquarters in northeastern Germany. The briefcase was placed under the conference table, just a short distance from Hitler, and Stauffenberg excused himself by saying he had to make a phone call. Just a few minutes later the bomb exploded, but Hitler, though shaken and bruised, survived, as one of the officers had moved the briefcase to the other side of the table support, and thus further away from Hitler. Stauffenberg witnessed the explosion and managed to get through the headquarters' security, convinced Hitler was dead. He flew back to Berlin and found that plans for the takeover of the government had not really moved, as many conspirators were uncertain about Hitler's death. Word came that Hitler was very much alive and Colonel General Fromm, the commander of the Replacement Army, and aware of the plot,** now tried to save himself by having Stauffenberg and other conspirators arrested, tried and executed in the early morning hours of July 21, 1944. There is a memorial in the courtyard where Stauffenberg and some of the other main plotters were executed. Its heading reads: "Here Died For Germany" ("Hier Starben Für Deutschland"), and then it lists the names of the executed men (see photo below). These men and hundreds more were executed for the attempt to kill Hitler. They weren't perfect, and many had supported Hitler earlier, but they saw evil and tried to stop it. That makes them heroes in my book.

For more, see my article in "The German Question" series on the plot:
http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2011/08/german-question-part-one-hundred-fifty_29.html

* The Replacement Army was in charge of inducting men into the army and then training and equipping them for service with units in the field. Germany was divided into numerous military districts (Wehrkreise), with various training units stationed in each district under the control of the Replacement Army. Collectively these units totaled many hundreds of thousands of men. A number of anti-Nazi conspirators were in high positions in the Replacement Army, and they planned to use these substantial forces to secure control of Germany by disarming SS units and other Nazi formations, if Hitler were arrested or killed.

** Fromm's depth of involvement in the plot has been a subject of debate (after all, he had some of the main conspirators killed), but by all accounts, he knew of the plot and did not report it. That certainly implicated him. The Gestapo investigation did not uncover direct evidence against Fromm, but he was removed from the army a couple of months later. Just two months before the war ended, Fromm was sentenced to death by the Nazi court and the sentence was carried out only days later (by firing squad). Even with the walls crashing down around them, the Nazis pursued their enemies. 

Unaltered photo of the plaque honoring some of the prominent leaders who tried to kill Hitler on July 20, 1944. It is mounted at the Bendler Block Memorial in Berlin, where these men were executed by the Nazis. 

 

WORD HISTORY:

My/Mine-"My" is simply a shortened form of "mine," which was used to show possession by being placed before nouns. Both go back to Indo European "meyn." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "minaz," which then gave Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "min" (long "i" sound). By the 1100s or early 1200s, the shortened form had developed as its own distinctive word to show possession, "mi," and later "my," although "min" (also "myn") stuck around for quite awhile for use before words beginning with a vowel; thus it is still found in old Bibles. Of course "mine" is still with us to show possession, but instead of showing possession before a noun, it comes afterward: "That is my book," but "That book is mine." By the way, some German dialects, like their English cousin, use a shortened form of "mein," as "mei," essentially pronounced like English "my." Common throughout the other Germanic languages: West Frisian "myn," Dutch "mijn," German "mein," but in Bavarian dialect "mei," Low German Saxon "mien," Icelandic "minn," Swedish, Norwegian and Danish "min."

A Rock & A Hard Place

While the American economy, and indeed the world economy, stopped plunging downwards a couple of years ago, we're not out of the woods yet. With so many countries now interconnected by trade and investments, a problem in one place is tough to contain there. That's why Greece has been in the news for quite some time now, as well as Italy, Spain, Portugal and Ireland. We're between a rock and a hard place.

Of course, everyone watches China, especially its growth rate. China is interesting, not only because of the sheer size of its population, but because it has moved away from doctrinaire Communist economic policies toward a much more free economy, while maintaining hard line Communist political rule. They're so free market oriented, they own a good chunk of American debt; so much, that no one quite knows how to deal with China about its cheap labor and artificially low currency (read that as "manipulated"), that is sucking the lifeblood out of American manufacturing and the former good jobs that went along with it. BUT when you owe someone a bundle, it's pretty tough to tell them they're behaving badly. We're between a rock and a hard place.

On the other hand, the so called "Arab world" has been experiencing upheaval in many nations against dictatorial rule and poorly distributed economic opportunities (hm, is there really a difference?). Where all of this is going is anyone's guess, but the "Occupy Wall Street" movement in New York City, also aimed at inequality, has spread to many other parts of the country and indeed, around the world. Maybe, just maybe, people are finally waking up, coming to their senses and making the statement, "We're not going to take it anymore!" Then again, I don't want to get my hopes up. In this country, the wealthy interests are in charge like I have never seen before in my life, and I was born....ah... well, during the presidential term of a president who was in conflict with a general; and no, it wasn't Lincoln and Grant, but Truman and MacArthur. With control of virtually all aspects of the economy, they drive prices up based on speculation, and by pooling HUGE sums in investment groups. Anything you own is literally a drop in the ocean compared to these people. They now blatantly blackmail Americans in television commercials telling us NOT to regulate them, and then threatening, you may lose YOUR job, or they won't give you a job if you're out of work. Don't be surprised if we get more pollutants in the air and water, including more arsenic. Don't laugh, when George W. Bush was elected, one of the first things he did was put a hold on a Clinton administration rule about the amount of arsenic permissible in water. Hey, what's the problem with more arsenic? A little ketchup, and everything tastes great. If you die, oh well, this is about making more money, not anyone's health. We're between a rock and a hard place.

We passed the ball to Obama after, what in my opinion was, the disastrous presidency of George W. Bush, a well-meaning man, but far removed from the capable, but non-flashy, leadership of his father.* While Obama inherited an absolute mess, he has done little to correct the basic problems underlying a system taken over by the interests. Don't get me wrong, many people believe I'm against the rich, I'm not. I'm against excess, and this system has long since passed into the realm of excess. My slogan is, "Success, not excess." I want business people to make money, but this is ridiculous! Let me use this expression again, "don't get me wrong," if Randy were in charge of America, he'd make damned sure he took good care of himself, and that's what's been going on, and the wealthy forces and their supporters continue to tighten the grip on power. It's human nature, in this case called ego, at work. They can't really see how damaging all of this has been to many lives, and I doubt they would care anyway. This is not about helping people, other than themselves, and their super egos. "If" things turn ugly against what's been going on, and they might, all reason will go out the window. That's what can happen in revolutions, as radical forces on the other side get carried away, and "payback" becomes the rule, not the exception. I'm not a fortune-teller, but if something isn't done soon to address the tremendous inequality and excess in America, you may just walk down the street and see anyone remotely wealthy hanging from the lamp posts. Even a couple of people I know who voted for McCain in 2008 are now grumbling about inequality in America.

The forces aligned to keep things as they are, or actually to increase wealthy control over the system, are powerful indeed. The Republicans, or at least many of them, seem to actually believe the economic nonsense they've been spouting for decades, in spite of all the statistics that show a dwindling middle class, a growth in poverty, income disparity not seen for a hundred years, and the fall of America from some of the top perches in the world, including education and manufacturing jobs. It would be comical, if it weren't so serious, but what some Republicans are really saying is, unless you're wealthy, you make too much damned money! They want cuts to all sorts of programs, wages, and benefits for "other Americans," so they can turn around and cut taxes for the wealthiest of the wealthy, AGAIN! They've been doing this for over thirty years, and you see where we are. Tax rates for the wealthy were much higher before that time, and the wealthy got along just fine. On the other hand, many Democrats have been complicit with the take over of America by the wealthy interests, because they want to get campaign contributions from them, not necessarily because they believe this nonsense. It's six of one, and a half dozen of the other. We're between a rock and a hard place.

America now stands with slow economic growth and high unemployment by historical standards. The Federal Reserve, fearful of deflation over the last couple of years,** pumped money into the economy to keep prices from collapsing, but with so many people unemployed, and so many others taking pay or benefit cuts, higher prices hinder a more robust American economy. The surge in oil and gas prices over the last couple of years, in essentially unregulated markets, has sent the price of everything upwards, too. Even in the best of times food prices fluctuate, as bountiful or poor crops of particular items move prices one way or the other, and this year has been more to the bad side, since some parts of the country had too much rain, while other parts were in extreme drought situations. What these prices should be, I don't know, but I do know, you aren't going to have much say, if any, in the matter, as wealthy investors will move (or have already moved) the prices to where they want them, and they want top, top, top dollar, as greed and the need to try to satisfy those super egos drives the system, but at YOUR expense. We're between a rock and a hard place.

While private employers have made modest moves in hiring over the last couple of years, state and local governments, including schools, have generally been reducing employment, helping to keep the unemployment rate elevated. With investors and companies watching the turmoil overseas, they aren't inclined to put much money into expanding, as they await a more stable situation. A few years ago America led the economic decline, now many developments outside of America's control are driving events.*** Unless leaders worldwide put a clamp on market speculation, especially energy, we are going to continue to see the money flow in disproportional amounts to the wealthy. If you have a 401 K, you've probably noticed all of the ups and downs of the markets reflected in your statements. Remember folks, 401 Ks and the like were touted for all they could do to help make you money, if not outright wealthy, but as the salespeople they are, they didn't tell you that markets, and thus 401 Ks, can lose value too. Buying stocks and bonds or other investments carry risk. That's why investing Social Security money has produced such a heated argument, but the interests want to get a hold of that money too. If they do, LOOK OUT RETIREES!

Huge budget deficits run during the George W. Bush era, put his successor in the predicament of doing essentially nothing about the economic plunge the country was experiencing at that time, or of borrowing more money to try to halt the slide. He chose borrowed money, including tax cuts, although for decades, conservatives have insisted that tax cuts don't cause deficits. The same choice would have confronted Republican John McCain too folks, had he won the last election. So, just like the battle between inflation or deflation and other issues I've mentioned above, we're between a rock and a hard place. To me, the biggest problem has been this conservative (more libertarian) notion of just turning everything loose, cutting government to bare bones, and let the chips fall where they may (although then denying any responsibility for negative consequences), otherwise, to their minds, you don't have freedom, but freedom from excess ego and from want is more important, in my opinion. Success, not excess!

* The elder Bush inherited a shaky economy and HUGE deficits from Ronald Reagan, but negotiated with Democrats in Congress to reduce deficits, including tax increases which went against his campaign pledge not to raise taxes, and helped to set the stage for Bill Clinton's presidency, and later a Republican Congress, to balance the budget and to actually post surpluses. The younger Bush inherited budget surpluses, but ran huge budget deficits thereafter.

** Simply put, deflation means falling prices. A deflationary spiral can be devastating, since people hold back on buying things waiting for prices to go lower. The housing market is a good example. The mess brought about by incredible greed has left housing prices falling. This hurts potential home buyers, since if they buy a home, even at the generally reduced prices of today, their home's value is likely to fall further. It is sort of like the saying about cars being a bad investment, "If you buy a new car, once you drive it off the lot, its value falls."

*** All of the problems are not overseas, since there are these nasty political battles ongoing here in this country, leading to virtual political paralysis.

WORD HISTORY:
Cede-This seems to go back to Indo European "khed," with the meaning "to go, to yield (to someone or something)." This gave Latin "cedere," with the same basic meaning, including "give up land." English borrowed the word in the 1600s, perhaps directly from Latin, or from French
"céder," inherited from its Latin roots.

German Military Leaders/Nazi Era/Canaris

"Admiral Wilhelm Canaris"

First, the Abwehr was the term used for the German military intelligence service of the Wehrmacht, the German armed forces.* Since military intelligence is clandestine by its very nature, anti-Nazi conspirators were able to remain concealed to a great extent from Nazi agents. That does not mean Abwehr personnel were above suspicion. There were a number of important men in the anti-Nazi resistance within the Abwehr, but this article is about the head of the intelligence branch. As I like to mention at times, these articles are brief and basic, but if something strikes your interest, please go to your local library and see what they have on the person or subject.

Admiral Wilhelm Canaris was born in what is now a part of Dortmund in the German state of Westfalen (Westphalia). He served in the German navy in World War One, and he later served in the navy again after the war, although he first became involved in rightwing paramilitary operations. Multilingual, including fluent English, Canaris had been temporarily involved in a small intelligence operation during the war, a field he again visited in the early 1930s, and indeed a bit later, Hitler appointed him as the head of the Abwehr. Like many of the upper level German military people, Canaris grew concerned about what seemed to be Hitler's intention to attack Czechoslovakia in 1938, and he contacted the British with the information in hopes of stiffening their resolve to oppose Hitler, and informed them too, of his desire to then lead anti-war and anti-Nazi forces to overthrow Hitler,** but the ceding of the German areas of Czechoslovakia to Hitler by the British and French boosted Hitler's popularity even more, and stopped the German resistance from taking action.

During the German invasion of Poland, Canaris learned about German atrocities against Polish Jews and other Polish civilians, which only heightened his desire to remove Hitler and the other Nazi leaders, but there was little he could do with Poland on the brink of defeat, and Hitler's popularity soaring. Canaris seems to have remained in contact with the British well into the war, but the secretive nature of the intelligence services of both countries, and the need to prevent the Nazis from finding out about his contacts, leaves much unclear, although Canaris had hopes of somehow getting rid of Hitler and then signing a peace deal with the Western Allies, through the British.*** Canaris had to play at being loyal to Hitler, while simultaneously trying to figure out how to remove him. This was a dangerous game, as Hitler's SS leaders tried to uncover the Abwehr chief's dealings with the British. All of the ins and outs were a prelude to the Cold War espionage/counterespionage. If you are interested in such things, there are several books on the subject and you will not be disappointed by the thrilling maneuvers of all parties involved.

Canaris was also fluent in Spanish and maintained contacts with General Franco's government during the war.**** "Supposedly" he even traveled to Spain for secret meetings with Allied agents, and he also helped shuttle some Jews and resistance people to freedom through that country.

The SD tried to keep tabs on Canaris and the Abwehr, and while there were strong suspicions about Canaris playing both sides, the SD could never come up with exact evidence against the admiral or others in the Abwehr. Nevertheless, the suspicions were enough, and Hitler dismissed Canaris in early 1944 and he was arrested, which kept him from participating in the bomb plot against Hitler in July 1944. The many arrests and interrogations of Canaris associates in the aftermath of the attempt on Hitler's life brought no true evidence against the wily admiral, but he was kept in prison in Berlin. In February of 1945 Canaris was sent to a concentration camp and was hanged there in April 1945, just two weeks before the camp was freed by American troops. During the Nuremberg Trials witnesses and evidence were presented demonstrating how Canaris had tried to oppose Hitler from his position as head of the Abwehr.

* Abwehr literally means "defense," but in this sense it was used with the notion of "information on other nations obtained for the defense of Germany." For those studying German, the noun is feminine; thus, "die Abwehr."

** The interesting thing about the possible German invasion of Czechoslovakia and the anti-war plotters is, Hitler certainly seems to have been bluffing about an attack on the Czechs to frighten Britain and France into giving him the German areas of Czechoslovakia. (Of course, what would have happened had he not gotten his way? Would he have attacked, lest he be seen as weak?) Canaris, and other plotters who contacted the British, only reinforced the idea of the possibility of a German attack, since they themselves believed Hitler was committed to such an attack. This truly DID scare the hell out of the British, who were far from ready for war, and prompted them to try to find a peaceful way out of the situation, rather than taking a hard line stance, as was desired by the German plotters. Thus Czechoslovakia's German areas became the bargaining chip and Hitler's acceptance of a discussion over the situation made him appear to be more moderate than the conspirators had indicated to the British. This made the British view future information from the conspirators with some amount of skepticism. Further, during the whole Czech crisis, the British had wondered how serious the conspirators really were about removing Hitler, or if they even had the capability of doing so. A valid question.

*** The Nazi SS had its own intelligence branch, the Sicherheitsdienst (commonly known by its initials "SD"), which was a rival to the Wehrmacht's Abwehr, and its leaders would have loved to discredit the Abwehr and to thus advance their own desire for the SD to become Germany's prime intelligence service.

**** General Franco, while a fascist-type dictator who had been helped into power by Mussolini and Hitler, kept a certain distance from the two fascist bigwigs, and he never committed Spain to the Axis side during the war, although attempts were made by both the Italians and Germans to get Spain into the war. Essentially the best he did was allow a Spanish division to be sent to Russia to fight the Soviets, but even then it went and fought as a part of the German army as the 250th Infantry Division, and it was also known as the "Blue Division," after the blue shirts worn by the Spanish Falange/Falangist Party. Franco was a tough negotiator, who was not convinced that it was in Spain's interest to enter the war on the Axis side. I don't recall the exact quote, but after a meeting with Franco, Hitler said something to the effect that he'd rather have a couple of teeth extracted than sit through another session with Franco.

WORD HISTORY:
With-This common word goes back to the Indo European root "wi," which had the notion of "apart, separate." This was expanded to "wi-tero," which emphasized the "separation," as being "more separate, more apart." This gave Old Germanic "withro," which meant "against, opposite" (the notion of "apart, separate" underlies "opposite, against"). This then gave Anglo-Saxon "with," along with the same meaning, but later the meaning began to change, probably influenced by its relative "vidh/vith," from North Germanic (Old Norse), which already had taken the semantic turn to association; that is, "along side, by, near," rather than "against, opposite," although the original meaning still survives in some compounds, like "withstand," "hold out determinedly against something." The meaning "near, along" continues to this day, and eventually replaced the original English word for "with," the now archaic "mid," although it is still in use in "midwife;" that is, "a woman who is 'with' a woman during childbirth" (close relatives German "mit" and Dutch "met" both mean "with" ). "With" has relatives in the other Germanic languages: German "wider" (=against), but German also has "wieder," Low German has "weder" and Dutch has "weer," all of which trace back to the same Germanic root, but they took a semantic turn later on and now mean "again." Danish has "ved" (=by, at), Swedish has "vid (=by, at), Icelandic has "við" (=by, with), and Norwegian has "ved" (=close to, near, at).

Hero Against Hitler: General Ludwig Beck

This was first published 11/4/11


"Heroes Against Hitler:" Ludwig Beck

One of the most important figures in the German resistance to Hitler was Colonel General Ludwig Beck. He was born in what is now a part of Wiesbaden in the German state of Hessen. Beck served in World War One and remained in the treaty-limited army after the war. At first Beck was favorable toward Hitler, whose plans to expand the army were seen by him as a positive sign in Germany's restoration from the defeat of 1918. He became Chief of the General Staff (Chef des Generalstabes),* and as such had knowledge of Hitler's various military plans. Beck was NOT antiwar, and he believed wars, although limited in size, would be impossible to avoid as Germany moved to regain its position within Europe. His differences with Hitler largely centered around his belief that Hitler was moving too fast, and that a Hitler-planned attack on Czechoslovakia in 1938 would bring Britain and France, and possibly the Soviet Union into a war against an unprepared Germany,** bringing her a devastating defeat,*** a view shared by other top generals, but not all. Beck worked for months trying to convince Hitler not to attack Czechoslovakia, seemingly believing Hitler had been influenced by other military advisers to attack Czechoslovakia. Such was Hitler's hold over the people around him, who wanted to believe mistakes were the fault of others, not the Führer. Beck, however, came to realize that Hitler was the main culprit, only bolstered in his beliefs by others. In the late summer of 1938, Beck resigned his position, and thus lost any influence over future military policies.

As Hitler pushed the question of Germans in Czechoslovakia to the front burner, Beck and other opponents of the regime wanted Britain and France to take a hard stand against Hitler's demands, and thus give the German resistance a chance to topple the Nazis from power. The opposite happened, as an agreement with Britain and France was signed in Munich giving Hitler control of the German areas of Czechoslovakia, and this diminished the immediate desire of many conspirators to unseat the Nazi government, as Hitler rose to new heights of popularity. Beck remained an active leader in trying to recruit opponents of the regime, which certainly took a turn in his direction with the severe losses suffered by German forces in Russia. It all ended with the bomb planted in Hitler's headquarters in East Prussia on July 20, 1944. The bomb exploded, but Hitler survived and the plot to take over the German government, with Beck as its temporary head, fell apart. Beck was taken into custody the same day by the head of the German Replacement Army ("Ersatzheer") and attempted to commit suicide, but only wounded himself. Another officer then finished the job. Beck and some other members of the resistance to the Nazis were given a memorial in Berlin, which still exists today. Beck is seen by many as the first major opponent of the Nazi regime and a sort of leader of the German resistance; after all, he was a high ranking general.

* The German General Staff was a group of select, highly dedicated, well trained professional officers who were experts in all aspects of warfare. They were noted for their detailed planning going well back into the 1800s, first as part of the Prussian army, and then in unified Germany from 1871, and it is largely due to this group that the German reputation for detail and efficiency in military matters developed. To many outsiders, they became the symbol of Prussian/German militarism, because their very lives were so devoted to military matters, and thus, war.

** Prominent British historian A.J.P. Taylor later essentially argued that Hitler's talk of war against Czechoslovakia was more of an act to get his way, and that his convincing performance made the western powers back down and give him the German areas of Czechoslovakia. Of course, other historians have argued that Hitler wanted such a war. Since Hitler didn't really have a single close friend to whom he confided his innermost thoughts, nor did he keep a diary to anyone's knowledge, I suppose we'll never really know for certain, and these are all academic arguments. After getting the agreement from Britain and France for Germany to receive the heavily German-populated Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia (the Czechs weren't even invited), Hitler did, at times, complain the agreement had deprived him of a war against Czechoslovakia. Whether this was talk for effect as a prelude to his next move is another historical debate.

*** The idea that Czechoslovakia would have fallen as easy prey to Hitler's forces is optimistic, in my opinion. The Czechs were well trained, equipped, and motivated, with formidable fortifications along their mainly mountainous borders with Germany (mountainous terrain gave them another advantage). Czech military equipment was so good, much of it was later used by the Germans to equip some units of their army, after all of Czechoslovakia was occupied by Hitler. This would have been far from a walk over, and had it taken place, it may have brought Hitler and his regime down.

WORD HISTORY:
Ship-The ultimate origins of this word are uncertain, although some tie it to an Indo European source, "skei(b)," that meant "cut, rip," and then Old Germanic used it with the idea being of a ship "cutting through the water, ripping up the water," or of, "cutting or ripping out logs to make floating vessels." The idea of a "water going vessel" does seem to come from Old Germanic, which had "skipam" or "skipan," with that meaning, "water going vessel." This then helped produce Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "scip," with the same meaning. The spelling "ship" has been around for many centuries in English. The verb form, "to ship," came from the noun in the latter part of the 1200s or the early 1300s. Common throughout the other Germanic languages: West Frisian "skip," German "Schiff," Low German "Schipp" (although some low dialects have "Schepp"), Dutch "schip," Norwegian and Icelandic "skip," Swedish "skepp," and Danish "skib." By the way, Old Italian borrowed the word as "scifo," meaning "small boat," from Old High German/Lombardic^ "skif/scif." This was borrowed into French as "esquif," "small open boat," and in the 1500s this then was borrowed into English as "skiff."

^ Lombardic was a Germanic language spoken by the Germanic tribe, the Lombards, who settled in northern Italy, and gave their name to the Italian region of "Lombardy" (Lombardia). A moment of silence, please, as Lombardic died out several centuries ago.

Heroes Against Hitler, Part One, Overview

This was first published 10/31/11


"Heroes Against Hitler" Part One/"Overview"

In Hitler's Germany resistance to the government and to the Nazi Party was not easily accomplished, especially on an organized basis. A person confiding anti-Nazi feelings to anyone, even to a family member, could bring about their arrest, imprisonment in a concentration camp, and even death. The Gestapo (the secret police) had agents throughout society, and Nazi supporters were apt to report people of anti-Nazi sentiment to the police. Even citizens less than thrilled with the Nazis might report others for "inappropriate" remarks, simply out of fear of guilt by association. Much of the resistance to Hitler came from within the ranks of the army. One reason for this was, the army was such a respected institution in German society, even Hitler had to tread lightly where it was concerned, and it was several years into his rule before he really felt confident enough to try to dominate the army.*

With army leaders thus having a bit more freedom of expression than other segments of society, this provided a kernel of resistance to the Nazis. Further, many of the army's officers, especially the higher ranks, came from some part of the German nobility, a group never collectively quite as supportive of Hitler, with some members actually being hostile to the Nazis.** Initially though, the army was supportive of Hitler due to his desire to expand the army and restore Germany's position in Europe; however, as Hitler's policies became increasingly aggressive, many in the upper levels of the army began to worry that he would get Germany into a war with Britain and France, a war, they believed, it would lose. This was especially true over Czechoslovakia, but when Hitler came away with a settlement over the German areas of the little nation, without a war, the resistance within the army diminished. Other members of the army, and of the armed forces intelligence service, known as the "Abwehr," contained not only men concerned about Hitler getting Germany into a war, but these men were really more "anti-Nazis," in general; and thus were opposed to the regime, including its anti-Jewish policies.

Hitler's successes early in the war kept a lid on resistance, but the failure to capture Moscow in 1941, and most certainly the catastrophic defeat at Stalingrad in the winter of 1942/43, energized the German resistance, as many desperately wanted to save Germany from total defeat and annihilation as a matter of patriotism and morality.*** Various plans were developed, including one in 1943 where a bomb, disguised as a bottle of liquor in a box, was carried aboard Hitler's plane in Russia. The bomb failed to explode, seemingly because of the cold temperature in the cargo hold, and the supreme nutcase lived to bring death and destruction to millions more. Of course, the most famous attempt on Hitler's life came on July 20, 1944. That day Colonel Graf (Count) Schenk von Stauffenberg attended a meeting at Hitler's military headquarters in a heavily forested area of East Prussia in northeastern Germany. Stauffenberg carried two bombs in his briefcase, but he was only able to activate one of the bombs due to time constraints and fear of discovery. Upon entering the meeting, Stauffenberg placed the briefcase underneath the conference table and told officers nearby he had a telephone call to make and would return shortly. One of the officers found the briefcase was in his way as he leaned over to see the maps spread out on the table. He moved the briefcase to the opposite side of the heavy table support; that is, AWAY from Hitler, who was not far away. This action undoubtedly saved Hitler's life, as the force of the explosion went in the opposite direction from the table support.

Next I'll do a little biography of some of the key members of the German resistance to Hitler. These men deserve our utmost respect, as they tried to get that son-of-a-bitch, and they gave their lives in that effort.

* The 1934 purge of the Stormtoopers by Hitler was largely (but not exclusively) an attempt to placate the army, which was uneasy over a possible takeover of the army by the Nazi Stormtrooper organization (commonly called the "SA," for "Sturmabteilung").

** There were Nazi Party members and supporters from the nobility, but I'm saying the overall support was less than from many other groups in German society.

*** By this time there was general knowledge among many in the military of crimes committed in other countries, especially in the Soviet Union, against civilians, including Jews; thus many in the resistance not only wanted to save Germany from catastrophic defeat, but also wanted to restore its honor.

WORD HISTORY:
Boat-This word goes back to Indo European "bheid," which meant "to split," which by extension had the notion of "split wood into planks to make something, woodworking." This gave Old Germanic "bait(an)," which apparently meant "water going vessel made from planks." Now, it is "possible" this only remained, or took this semantic course, in North Germanic, and then was borrowed into Old English,^ a West Germanic language, as apparently the other West Germanic languages, and even Old French, borrowed forms of "boat" from English, although French may have borrowed the word from Old Norse, as Norse raiders, called "Northmen," frequently landed along the coast of what is now France, eventually settling in one particular area now named after them, "Normandy." Anyway, Old English had 'bat," with a long "a," with the meaning "boat." This then became "boot" with a long "o" sound, and then "bot," (also long "o") before the modern spelling. German and Low German "Boot" (long "o" sound), plus Dutch "boot" were borrowed from English. West Frisian has "boat," but this may have the same basic history as the English word, not because of the spelling, although Frisian is the closest living relative of English, along with some Low German dialects, but rather, like English, Frisian had much contact with Old Norse. Forms of the word are common in the North Germanic languages: Icelandic has "bátur," Norwegian has "båt," Swedish has "båt," and Danish has "båd."

^ Norse raiders harassed the English coast, even settling in some areas, and providing English with a reinforcing shot of Germanic vocabulary, although from the North Germanic branch. Old Norse had "beit," which meant "boat," an important word for a seafaring people. The Frisians also had much contact with Old Norse.

German Military Leaders/Nazi Era/Dönitz

"Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz"

Dönitz was born in Berlin and served in the German navy during World War One, including as the commander of a submarine (U-Boot*). Near the end of the war, his U-Boot was sunk and Dönitz was a taken prisoner. He remained in the treaty-restricted navy after the war, gradually moving up the ranks. By the mid 1930s, and with Hitler in power, the navy was once again developing and producing U-Boats, and Dönitz then served in that part of the navy. He believed any future war with Britain would require the Germans to greatly expand their fleet of submarines, and not their heavier surface fleet, and that a tight blockade of submarines around the British Isles to deprive the British of necessary supplies, including oil, would be more effective than trying to sink the whole British fleet. Traditionalist naval officers hated the idea, and Hitler, ever envious of Britain's fleet, chose an increased submarine fleet, but a major building program for powerful, but very expensive, battleships, like the famous "Bismarck," and even for aircraft carriers.** Dönitz became head of the limited submarine arm.

The German U-Boat arm was much feared by the Allies, and many ships with all sorts of cargo were sunk as they tried to make it to England. This aspect of the war was not without controversy, however, as the German navy practiced unrestricted submarine warfare against ships in certain zones, and that meant even ships of neutral countries, including the United States, which technically was neutral in the first two years of the war. Further, cargo and passenger ships of the Allies and then neutral America, were often armed, making the definition of what was "legal" a matter of perspective. (See further below)

In early 1943 Dönitz was named Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy (Oberbefehlshaber der Kriegsmarine) and promoted to Grand Admiral (Grossadmiral) by Hitler. By that time, German naval warfare was essentially limited to submarines, which was still quite potent. As the end of the war neared, Hitler, confined to his underground bunker in Berlin, named Dönitz as his successor in his last testament.*** The admiral set up a sort of "government" in the city of Flensburg, up near the Danish border (Denmark was then still under German occupation). It was this "government," represented by Colonel General Alfred Jodl, that learned and signed the Allied terms of surrender.

Dönitz was arrested and put on trial at Nuremberg as a major war criminal. The fact that Hitler had appointed him as his successor sure could not have done anything to help his case, but the charges against him had to do with conduct during the war, not his actions as Hitler's successor. The main charges, about unrestricted submarine warfare and of German submarine crews not always making efforts to save people from sinking ships, were heartily contested by his attorney, who introduced evidence the Allies had done the same things. Some Allied military people, perhaps fearful of their own reputations, actually supported Dönitz. In the end, the admiral was found guilty, but was only given ten years imprisonment, a sentence that drew protests from some Allied military people as too harsh. He was released in the mid 1950s and lived out his life in northern Germany, where he died in late 1980.

NOTE: There will be one more article on German military leaders of the Nazi era, before I move on to the Allies. The last article on the Germans will be "Heroes Against Hitler," about the valiant and dangerous efforts of German military officers to remove Hitler from power.


* The German word "Boot" is not pronounced as the English word, but like its English relative "boat," and "U-Boot" is just a shortened form of "Unterseeboot," or "under see boat." For those studying German, "Boot" is neuter; thus, "das Boot," just like the title of the famous movie.
** The beginning of the war in 1939 preempted the German naval build up, which was not scheduled for completion until the mid 1940s, and the aircraft carriers were not built.

*** Hitler named Dönitz as "Reichspräsident," which made him head of state and supreme commander of the armed forces (Wehrmacht). Joseph Goebbels, the famous Nazi propagandist, was named Reichskanzler (chancellor).

WORD HISTORY:
Sea-The origins of this word are uncertain outside of Germanic, as only the Germanic languages have forms that mean "body of water." Old Germanic had "saiwiz/saiwaz," which seems to have had the more general meaning "body of water." This gave Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "sae," which meant "sea or lake." This then became "see," before the modern spelling, and the more specific meaning "ocean." Seemingly only present in the Germanic languages, the close relatives of English have: German "See" (in the masculine form, "der See"=lake; in the feminine form, "die See"=sea), Low German "See," West Frisian "see," Dutch "zee," Icelandic "sær," Norwegian "sjø," Swedish "sjö," and Danish "sø."