Hitler Gradually Consolidated Power, Part Four/Final

Note: Hitler, Mussolini, Franco and other fascists have used rallies to spread hate, to keep their supporters motivated and to get their own extremely weak egos the affirmation they so desperately needed. Trump has used his own rallies for such things, but he has also turned non partisan events with the Boy Scouts, law enforcement, the military and business people into political events for himself. Fascists LOVE chants, and the chants of "Duce! Duce! Duce!" for Mussolini, "Sieg heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg heil! for Hitler, have been turned by Trump into audiences chanting, "Lock her/them up!," depending upon the target of his remarks at the moment.
 
For "Part Three," here is the link: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2019/05/hitler-gradually-consolidated-power_23.html

As I noted in "Part Three," just before President Paul von Hindenburg died in August 1934, Hitler had the cabinet issue a new law combining the chancellorship with the presidency for when the 86 year old president passed away. With Hitler now Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, all military personnel were gathered in their various locations, where they swore an oath to Adolf Hitler, personally, not to Germany or to the German people. This oath proved to be a major problem for many in the military, including the highest officers, who saw disloyalty to Trump.... I mean Hitler, as "treason," although now Trump is doing the same thing, by declaring it is treason to investigate him.

By late 1941 his armies in Russia were halted before the gates of Moscow, Leningrad (the name for St. Petersburg for much of the communist era), and the naval fortress of Sevastopol in the Crimea, and Hitler, never one to take responsibility for his own decisions, replaced the commander-in-chief of the army, Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch. Hitler replaced him with himself! So Hitler was now Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht (armed forces), commander-in-chief of the armed forces and commander-in-chief of the army. When would he fire a captain and take charge of a company himself?

Hitler's power was complete and throughout his time in leadership, he and the Nazis used fear to keep people in line by using the powers of the German state to punish enemies and make examples of anyone who dared to challenge Hitler's policies, or threatened the regime in any way, just as Sturmabteiling (SA) leader Ernest Röhm and other SA leaders were murdered or sent to concentration camps, and young brother and sister Hans and Sophie Scholl, and their friend Christoph Probst, were beheaded for distributing antiwar and anti-Nazi leaflets. As the German military was staggered by defeats on a continuing basis beginning in late 1942, and more and more disturbing reports of terrible atrocities swirled around, the oath to Hitler became a shield to hide behind for many military personnel, but not all, and some gallant officers actually joined with existing anti-Hitler and anti-Nazi Germans to come up with a way to rid Germany and the world of Hitler, in hopes of saving their country. *

During the course of the war, Nazi "political officers" (Nationalsozialistische Führungsoffiziere= National Socialist Leadership Officers) were put into units to help ensure the troops were following Nazi ideology of being strong in the face of adversity and to make strict and harsh treatment of designated groups, like Jews and Gypsies, acceptable. After the failed attempt to kill Hitler in July 1944, the traditional military salute was replaced by the Nazi salute in the armed forces,** and the head of the infamous SS, Heinrich Himmler, was put in charge of the Replacement Army (Ersatzheer), a part of the German army, not the Nazi SS. As the war neared its end on German soil, the Nazis couldn't break their old habits, and they formed special squads to look for and execute Germans for abandoning the war effort and going against the Nazi slogan of "final victory" (Endsieg), even when Allied or Soviet troops were advancing just blocks away through the ruins of German cities and towns. In those closing weeks and days of the war, tens of thousands of people, military and civilian, and from all sides, were killed or maimed just to keep Hitler's nasty ass alive. This was the man who called himself a "genius." Let's see... what American fascist leader has recently claimed to be a "genius?"    

* For a bit more on the German resistance to Hitler, here is the link: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2011/08/german-question-part-one-hundred-fifty_29.html 

** The Nazi salute was/is called "Hitlergruß" in German (Hitler greeting), and it was always used in Nazi organization, but the German armed forces had used the traditional military salute. Wouldn't Trump LOVE to have a salute named for him? I have a salute FOR him, an extended middle finger! 

WORD HISTORY:
Swirl-While the origin of this word is in question, it seems likely to be related to "swarm," a word from the Germanic roots of English. This likelihood means the word goes back to Indo European "swer/suer," which meant, "to buzz;" and was likely used for bees and other insects (thus, "swarm"). I can find no Old Germanic form, but it "could" have been derived from a form of "swarm" later, and there were/are forms of words in Germanic like Old Norse "sverra," meaning "to swirl, to whirl", and "swarra," "to whiz," Swedish dialectal "svirra," "to crackle (of fire)," Danish "svirre," "to buzz or to whiz," Norwegian "svirla" "whirl," German "surren," "to buzz, to whir," and German also has "schwirren," meaning "to buzz, to whir," but it seems to have been taken from Low German "swirren" about 250 to 300 years ago, which referred to the sound made by a swarm of insects, and Dutch "zwirrelen," "to swirl, to whirl." The noun form "swirl" first seems to have been used in the first part of the 1400s, as "swyrl," in Lowland Scots English,^ and it "might" be a borrowing from the Dutch verb, as it meant "an eddy, a whirlpool," or from the Norwegian dialect form.

^ "Lowland Scots" is now classified by linguists as a separate language from English, although it developed from English, and is, therefore, a Germanic language, not a Gaelic language from Celtic, like Scottish Gaelic (also called, "Scots Gaelic").

Cold Buttermilk Cucumber Soup

This is a great refreshing cold soup for the hot days of summer. The chili pepper or cayenne pepper is purely optional, but these kinds of soups often developed in the American South, where hot sauce or chilies are common additions to many foods. The extra virgin olive oil adds a wonderful finish. The shredded cucumber garnish adds a little texture, but it certainly isn't necessary, if you choose not to use it.

Ingredients (about 6 servings):

3 cups buttermilk
3 cups seedless cucumbers, peeled and chopped (or regular cucumbers, seeded)
3 inch piece peeled cucumber, shredded, for garnish
2 stalks celery 
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes (or 1/2 to 1 jalapeño or serrano pepper)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon celery salt
extra virgin olive oil for serving 
  
Add all but the shredded cucumber to a blender/food processor. Blend/process until smooth. Refrigerate for a few hours, until well chilled. Garnish each serving with some shredded cucumber and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
  

WORD HISTORY:
Nebulous-This word, meaning "cloudy, hazy;" thus also, "unclear, vague," goes back to Indo European "nebhos," which meant, "mist, vapor, cloud, the heavens." This gave Latin the noun "nebula," meaning, "vapor, fog," which produced the adjective "nebulosus," meaning, "foggy, cloudy, misty." This was borrowed by English in the second half of the 1300s with the meaning, "misty, hazy, smoky." There may have been reinforcement from French "nébuleux," the French form from the Latin word "nebulosus." NOTE: The original Indo European form gave its Old Germanic offspring "nebulo," meaning, "fog, darkness." This gave Old English "nifol," meaning, "dark, gloomy." The same Germanic source gave German "Nebel" (fog, haze, smoke), Low German "Nevel" (mist), Dutch "nevel" (mist), Frisian once had "nevel" (fog, haze, mist) and Old Norse had "njola" (fog, mist, darkness) and Icelandic has (antiquated?) "nifl" (darkness). 

Pepper Cream Gravy: German/Austrian Pfefferrahmsauce

Besides the form "Pfefferrahmsauce," I used in the title, this gravy/sauce is also called and spelled "Pfefferrahmsoße," "Pfefferrahmsosse" in German. The "rahm" part is a word for "cream" in German, and it is a close relative of English "ream," a word with that same meaning now confined to dialect,* (not related to the word of the same spelling and used for a "paper measurement"). The gravy has some "zip" from the crushed peppercorns and the ground pepper, but the "zip" is also mellowed by the cream, and the heat is nothing like the heat in dishes which have hot chilies added. This gravy is a frequent accompaniment to steak, pork or even chicken (I replace the beef stock with chicken stock in the recipe then). 
 
Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, pretty finely chopped
2 tablespoons flour 
2/3 cup beef stock
2 ounces brandy
3 tablespoons green peppercorns, crushed, but not obliterated
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup heavy cream (or canned milk), keep 4 tablespoons separate
salt (if the beef stock is salty, you can leave this out or just use a small amount)

Melt the butter in a skillet over low heat. Add the onion and saute until the onion softens a bit. Add the crushed green peppercorns,** the ground black pepper, the lemon juice, the brandy and the beef stock. Increase the temperature to medium high and let the mixture come to a simmer. Stir in the heavy cream and turn the heat to high. Let the mixture well up/bubble up, stirring "almost" constantly. Have the 4 tablespoons of heavy cream well mixed with the 2 tablespoons of flour; gradually add this to the hot liquid, stirring constantly, until the gravy thickens. Turn down the heat to low and let the gravy simmer for just a minute. Served over steak or chopped steak, along with mashed potatoes. 

* For the history of the word "ream," here is the link to the article with that word: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2016/04/schnitzel-with-creamy-mushroom-gravy.html

** I wrap the whole peppercorns in a napkin or paper towel, then I use a kitchen mallet to tap and crush them. I've also used a rolling pin to roll over the wrapped peppercorns to crush them, and I have also crushed them by using a mortar and pestle.   

Pepper Cream Gravy with chopped sirloin steak, mashed potatoes and buttered corn... 

WORD HISTORY:
Vial-The ultimate origin of this word is unknown, and the beginning has been spelled with an "f," "ph," or "v" in a number of languages, including German, a close relative of English, in which its version was initially spelled with an "f," then a "v" and then a "ph" (modern "Phiole"). It goes back to transliterated Ancient Greek "phiále," meaning, "a shallow bowl for drinking," which was borrowed by Latin as "phiala," with the same meaning, and which later altered to "phiola." This passed to Old French as "fiole," but by then with the meaning, "bottle or small flask." This was borrowed by English circa 1400, initially as "fiole," then as "viole," then as "phial," and then as "vial," although some still spell it with the "ph," which returned the spelling to the old Latin and Greek forms (seemingly the same in German, as noted above).  

Hitler Gradually Consolidated Power, Part Three

 For Part Two, here is the link: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2019/05/hitler-gradually-consolidated-power_20.html

Little more than a month after President von Hindenburg thanked Hitler for taking action against Ernst Röhm and the SA, the 86 year old president died. The day before Hindenburg's death, Hitler had the German Cabinet agree to a law combining the chancellorship with the presidency (notice how well having conservatives in the cabinet worked... FOR HITLER!). With this new law, when von Hindenburg died, Hitler became the supreme commander of the armed forces, the "Reichswehr," which he soon renamed the "Wehrmacht." Hitler was now truly "der Führer" ("the leader") of Germany. By March of 1935 Hitler openly announced conscription for the army, which was as good as his tearing up the military limitations imposed on Germany by the Versailles Treaty. Hitler was now well on his way to becoming an even more dangerous man, as he was a man with an expanding military force under his control.    

By March of 1936 Hitler was ready to test the waters on an aggressive foreign policy move. After the end of what would come to be called "World War One," the Rhineland part of Germany in western Germany was demilitarized; that is, no troops or fortifications were allowed in the area. On March 7, 1936 Hitler sent troops into the Rhineland, thus demonstrating that the region was once again a militarized area of Germany, and symbolically extending a "middle finger" to the French and British, who stamped their feet and shook their fists, but actually did nothing. Hitler's popularity rose. 

In early 1938, Field Marshal Werner von Blomberg, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, married a much younger woman. Hitler and Hermann Göring attended the wedding; but afterwards, it was reported that the young woman had a police record, with the implication being that she was a prostitute (the police also had evidence her mother had been a prostitute). This was all played up to be a major affront to Hitler, and von Blomberg was asked to have the marriage annulled, something he would not do. Göring threatened to make the information on the woman and her mother available for release to the public. Von Blomberg resigned to avoid a total scandal. Hitler did not appoint a new commander-in-chief of the Wehrmacht, he simply took over the position himself. Hitler was now both supreme commander and commander-in-chief. 

Within days of von Blomberg's resignation, the commander-in-chief of the army, Colonel-General Werner von Fritsch, faced charges that he was homosexual. Von Fritsch resigned, but he chose to go before a court to argue his case, and he was acquitted. Hitler appointed Colonel-General Walther von Brauchitsch to replace von Fritsch.*
      
In March 1938, after various maneuverings, German troops and Austrian border guards removed barriers from the Austro-German border, allowing German troops to move into Austria. Not long thereafter, Hitler crossed the border into his native Austria to cheering crowds. Austria was incorporated into Germany. Britain and France did nothing. Hitler was more popular than ever among Germans.  

Meanwhile, within the German government, Franz von Papen, the vice chancellor (Vizekanzler), and one of those "conservatives" appointed to help keep a check on Hitler, was lucky to remain alive after the "purge," although he was arrested. Afterwards Hitler sent him to Vienna as his ambassador. By the way, von Papen was fluent in English (and I "believe" French). Alfred Hugenberg, another conservative, was both the Minister of Economics and the Minister of Agriculture and Nutrition/Food (Reichsminister für Wirtschaft, Reichsminister für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung). Hugenberg was a leader of the German National People's Party (Deutschnationale Volkspartei),** a partner of the Nazis in the coalition government, but within just a few months of Hitler becoming chancellor, Hitler and the Nazis went after the DNVP, and Hugenberg drew critical attention when the backward looking government minister publicly advocated for German colonies in Africa. Hugenberg resigned in June of 1933 and he was replaced as Minister of Economics by Kurt Schmitt (an insurance executive and a member of the Allgemeine SS, "the General SS"), and by Walther Darré as Minister of Agriculture.*** Konstantin von Neurath, a conservative, was in the diplomatic service of Germany for a number of years and he was named Minister of Foreign Affairs (Reichsaußenminister) before Hitler was appointed chancellor, a position von Hindenburg kept him in when the president appointed Hitler as chancellor. Over time, Hitler moved more and more aggressively in foreign policy, and by late 1937 he laid out a plan for war at a meeting with Field Marshal von Blomberg (commander-in-chief of the armed forces), Colonel-General von Fritsch (commander-in-chief of the army), Admiral Raeder (the commander-in-chief of the navy), Hermann Göring (commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe/air force), Foreign Minister von Neurath, and Hitler's adjutant Colonel Friedrich Hossbach (usually written as "Hoßbach" in German). Blomberg, Fritsch and Neurath all had concerns about Hitler's war plans, and Blomberg and Fritsch were replaced within two months (see above), and Neurath was replaced right after that. His replacement was Joachim (von) Ribbentrop, an arrogant man who had been a wine salesman.****  

* Von Fritsch is not in any way a sympathetic figure. He believed a lot of the anti-Jewish nonsense espoused by Hitler, Himmler, etc, and he continued to support Hitler after his own resignation. Von Fritsch served during the Polish Campaign in September 1939, and he was killed by gunfire in Warsaw during the battle for the Polish capital.

** The "DNVP," as it was commonly known, was a reactionary political party, which had many anti-Jewish supporters, racists and even supporters of bringing back Kaiser Wilhelm II. Even before Hitler took power, some of the DNVP party members switched to the Nazis.

*** Darré was heavily involved in the "Blut und Boden" philosophy; that is, "Blood" equals "race/ethnicity," specifically, "Nordic/Germanic," and "Soil" equals "land/territory (of the Nordic/Germanic people)." Interestingly, Darré had partial French and Spanish ancestry, besides German and Swedish. In the Nazi/White Nationalist marches in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017, marchers periodically chanted, "Blood and soil." Counter protesters outnumbered the Nazis, but the President of the United States, Donald Trump, publicly said, "There were good people on both sides." He has periodically whined that some people call him "a fascist," but we see and hear, what we see and hear, you fascist!

**** While I don't recall all of the details at the moment, Ribbentrop's name was somewhat controversial, as I believe he later added the "von" (designating nobility), and I'm relatively certain he was not born with that designation. Ribbentrop was not all that well liked by the other Nazi leaders, especially Göring, who, as I recall, was able to irritate Ribbentrop by raising the subject of his family name, or by deliberately leaving out the "von" when mentioning the name. 

WORD HISTORY:
Crony-This word is related to "chronicle" and "chronic," words derived from Greek, borrowed by Latin, then passed to Latin-based French and eventually borrowed by English. While not a word from many hundreds of years ago, it goes back to transliterated Greek "khronios," which meant "long lasting, enduring," which was derived from transliterated Greek "khronos," which meant "time." The origin of the Greek form is not known. It developed from Greek "khronios" in the mid 1600s at Cambridge University, initially as, "chrony" with the meaning, "long time friend," and it only later developed the negative meaning, "close associate or subordinate to a criminal boss or in a criminal enterprise."

Alsatian/German Flatbread: Flammkuchen

"Flammkuchen," literally "Flame Cake," but actually more of a tart, got its name long ago from being put into wood burning ovens while the flames were still burning and the oven was extremely hot. This added browned or even blackened spots to the topping, and the "Flammkuchen" baked very quickly. As the flames died down and the temperature dropped a bit, loaves of bread were then baked, as the bakers naturally didn't want the bread to be burned. One of my German ancestors was a baker in the city of Siegen in the 1500s (in modern times, Siegen is in the German state of "North Rhine-Westphalia"). "Flammkuchen" was developed in Alsace (see "Word History" below), but it is also a part of various regional cuisines of southwestern Germany, like in parts of Baden and Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate),* and in a few others, including I believe, in parts of Switzerland. As with many German dishes, there are several dialect names and spelling variations; for instance, "Flammenkuchen," and in its home region it is called "Flammekueche," in Alsatian German dialect ("Elsässisch"). While toppings certainly vary, "traditional Flammkuchen" uses onion and bacon. Some people make the dough using yeast, like for a bread or pizza dough, while others use no leavening agent at all, making the dough "similar" to a pie dough. They actually sell already made "Flammkuchen" dough in packages in parts of Germany and Alsace (maybe in parts of Switzerland? Austria?).   

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup flour (a little more if needed)
2 tablespoons oil (I use regular olive oil)
1/3 to 1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 ounces smoked salmon, thinly sliced, then torn into pieces
8 to 10 stalks of asparagus, tough bottom section removed, then cut into 1 to 2 inch pieces
1/2 cup creme fraiche ** (or sour cream)
1/4 cup dry cottage cheese or Quark/Topfen***
2 to 3 tablespoons dill, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 

Add the flour to a bowl. Make a trough in the middle of the flour and add the oil, salt and 1/4 cup of water to the trough, reserving the remainder of the water. Begin mixing the ingredients into a dough, gradually adding water as you mix. I've found 1/3 cup of water to be good, but you might need a little more, or even a little less. "Need" the dough.... ah, "knead" the dough (I wish we still pronounced the "k" in such words) until the dough is smooth and not sticky. Wrap it in plastic wrap, or cover it in a bowl (it is not going to rise, as there is no yeast in it, but you don't want it to dry out) and let the dough rest as you get the topping ready. Put the asparagus pieces into a pan with water and cook them for just a few minutes. The asparagus should be tender when pierced with a knife or a fork, but still remain firm. Drain and dry the asparagus (I put it onto paper towels). Mix the creme fraiche and the dry cottage cheese together. Use a baking sheet: I use an 18 inch by 12 inch baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and remember, the Flammkuchen doesn't have to perfectly cover the entire baking sheet, nor does it have to be a perfect rectangle. Roll out the dough thinly, then get it onto the baking sheet. Spread the creme fraiche/dry cottage cheese mixture in a thin layer over the dough. Place and press into the creamy topping the pieces of asparagus and smoked salmon. Sprinkle on the black pepper and the finely chopped dill as evenly as possible. Heat the oven to 450 F and bake the Flammkuchen for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the bottom is firm. If the top is not browned in places, you can place the Flammkuchen under the broiler (about 10 inches from the broiler) for a brief time, with your undivided attention, as this is not "Holzkohlenkuchen" (charcoal cake). 

* Baden was long a separate German state, but in the early 1950s it became part of the state of "Baden-Württemberg." It's good to remember, that over the centuries, the boundaries of the various German states often changed, as "Prince So and So," married "Duchess What's Her Name," and lands were combined from such marriages. Of course too, boundary changes from wars also played a big part. Generally speaking, some well known cities in the Baden region are Heidelberg (I have been there), Karlsruhe and Baden-Baden (that's right, that's right).

** "Creme fraiche" is easily made at home, but it has a ton of ingredients: heavy cream and buttermilk. (Damn, that IS a ton of ingredients! hahaha). You can also buy it ready made, or you can use sour cream, including the reduced fat type, if you'd like. For the recipe: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/07/make-your-own-creme-fraiche.html  

*** "Quark" is a soft white cheese VERY common in German areas in Europe. In Austria and some parts of Bavaria it is commonly called "Topfen." It is "similar to," but not the same as, American cream cheese, and it is "similar to," but not the same as cottage cheese. I've seen some German recipes in the U.S. call for "drained cottage cheese put through a sieve," as a substitute for Quark, but years ago, German immigrant friends of mine said that procedure doesn't make it the same. Look, you're not going to win these kinds of arguments outright, so I use "dry cottage cheese," and unless you have an unusually sensitive palate, you won't have missed a thing by not using Quark. If you have your heart set on Quark, you'll likely find it in German shops or in some cheese shops. I use dry cottage cheese and I haven't turned into a pillar of salt, although I must admit, to make a brine, I just stick my hand in some water, and it works fine. Hmm...  

WORD HISTORY: 
Alsace-This name developed centuries ago (I've seen the 700s and 800s mentioned) in Old High German, the ancestor of modern standard German, and a close relative of Old English. It is a compound, with its component parts related to English "else" and "sit," both words from the Germanic roots of English. Old High German had "ali sazzo," which literally meant, "sitter on the other," with "the other" meaning, "the other side of the Rhine." "Ali" goes back to Indo European "aljaz," which had the notion, "from/of the other, another;" further, "beyond a given point;" thus, "other side." This gave Old High German "elles," meaning, "other, otherwise," which then produced "ali" (mentioned above). "Sasso" goes back to Indo European "sed," which meant, "to sit." This gave Old Germanic "sitjanan," also meaning, "to sit," which then produced the verb "sizzen," also meaning "to sit," and then the derived Old High German noun "sasso," meaning, "sitter;" thus, "dweller, one who sits, dwells."^ Combined, the parts gave German "Elisasz," which then became modern "Elsass." Latin borrowed the German term in the Middle Ages as "Alsatia," and English borrowed the word from Latin. Historical note: The history of Alsace is very complex, but as the Roman Empire declined, the entire region (not just modern Alsace) was taken by the Germanic tribe the Alemanni. To this day, the German dialect in Alsace and the overall region traces back to the Alemanni. The Franks, another powerful Germanic tribe, took over the area, and it became part of the Holy Roman Empire, which was not Roman, but German (German "Reich" #1), where it remained until the 1600s, when it was conquered (sort of incrementally), by France. When German Prussia and other German states defeated France in 1870-71, this brought the declaration of the founding of the German Empire #2, and it included about 90% of what had been Alsace. After World War One, France got Alsace, which was then taken by Germany in 1940, under Hitler and German Empire #3. The end of that war saw Alsace go back to France, where it remains to the present (and if you followed all of that). It continues with a mixed Franco-German culture.      

^ As with English "he sits" (present tense) and "he sat" (past tense), German has "er sitzt" and "er saß" (="sass"). Another German word from the same source is the noun "Gesäß" (kind of literally, "seat"), meaning, "butt, rear end, backside, behind," or "bum," more common in England and other parts of Britain. My guess is, many Americans would not know what that word means.        

Hitler Gradually Consolidated Power, Part Two

For "Part One": https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2019/05/hitler-gradually-consolidated-power.html

As Hitler and the Nazis tried to gain power throughout the 1920s and early 1930s, they took on a virtual army of men to protect Nazi meetings, rallies, marches and facilities. They also used these men to disrupt the rallies and marches of other political parties, often of the German Communist Party. Large street fights were not an uncommon event in some German cities in those times, with people wounded and even killed. The Nazis called this "Nazi army," the "Sturmabteilung" ("storm or assault detachment"), often shortened to the initials "SA," the term I'll use here. Eventually, the SA had a couple of million active men, and many more Nazis were "honorary" members, rather than every day members. The commander of the SA was Ernst Röhm, a long time friend of Hitler, and if I remember right, one of only a couple of non family members with whom Hitler used the familiar form of "you;" that is, "du," instead of the more polite and formal "Sie."* 

After Hitler was appointed chancellor, the split in the Nazi Party became more evident. Röhm and many in the SA wanted the SA to combine with the traditional army, making the German army a truly Nazified army. This was talk that made the conservative army leaders nervous. The reputation of the SA as a force of brawlers and bullies was not something the army, a very conservative part of German society, looked upon in the least bit favorably. In this, the army was often supported by German industrialists and other business people. The army and business leaders expressed their concern to Hitler, and Hitler knew, that for him to remain in power and to enact his foreign policy goals of reversing the Treaty of Versailles and of bringing German regions then outside the borders of Germany into Germany, he needed the army and business people on his side.**

For a number of years within the SA there had been, and continued to be, a relatively small force dedicated to the actual protection of Hitler during his public speeches. This Nazi force was generally unknown to the public, but that was all about to change, as the initials of this force would strike terror into the hearts and minds of Germans and non Germans alike... the "SS." The initials stood for "Schutzstaffel;" that is, "defense staff." At the end of June 1934 Hitler decided to strike. In what historians have often called, "the Night of the Long Knives" (German: "Nacht der langen Messer"), Hitler used the "SS" to have numerous SA leaders arrested and Röhm and some other SA leaders executed. The actual purge lasted more than one night, as it went into the early days of July. Hitler didn't stop there, as this was also an "eliminate opponents and get even" action, as the former German chancellor, General Kurt von Schleicher and his wife were murdered, as was Gregor Strasser a long time Nazi, who had had substantial differences with Hitler not long before Hitler was appointed chancellor. Strasser resigned his leadership position in the Nazi Party in late 1932. Hitler had a long memory, and one of the men who helped to quash the Nazi putsch in Munich in 1923, Gustav von Kahr, was hacked to death.*** How many people were actually killed by the Nazis in the purge is not actually known, but it could well have been hundreds, and others were thrown into concentration camps. Hitler explained the killings and arrests as a necessary action to stop a conspiracy by some SA leaders to overthrow the government. In the end, President von Hindenburg, a conservative, approved of the action, and Hitler's grip on power tightened. Outright murder had become an instrument of the German government, with the German president even giving his approval to the purge.**** 

The SA was never again a truly prominent force, but the SS began to dominate many branches of the Nazi system, and it would continue to grow in power and influence virtually right up to the very end of the regime in 1945. Interestingly, while the army had serious misgivings about the SA early in the Nazi regime, and army leaders did not want the Nazi SA combined with the army, during World War Two the SS expanded its military arm (the "Waffen SS"), and provided some elite units that served extensively in Russia, in Italy and in Western Europe, under army command. Also, the head of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, became the commander in chief of the German Replacement Army***** after Hitler was nearly killed by a bomb carried into a military conference in July 1944. So, gradually the army was being "Nazified," something the army had earlier feared. 

* "Du" is the close relative of English "thou," which was once pronounced "thu," and I believe it still is often pronounced that way in "Lowland Scots," classified by linguists as a separate language from English, although it developed from English, and is, therefore, a Germanic language, not a Gaelic language from Celtic.  

** There's no question Hitler also wanted to eventually attack and conquer the Soviet Union, as his talk and writings about "Lebensraum in the east" made clear.  

*** Gustav von Kahr was a right wing politician and an official in the Bavarian state government at the time of Hitler's "Beer Hall Putsch," as it came to be known. He helped to organize opponents to Hitler's takeover during the putsch, which ended with gunfire and the collapse of the putsch in the streets of Munich in November 1923.  

**** On July 2, 1934, President von Hindenburg sent a telegram to Hitler saying, "... that by determined action and the brave insertion of your own person, you have nipped all the treasonous activities in the bud. You saved the German people from a grave danger. For that I speak my heartfelt thanks to you..." (German: "... dass Sie durch entschlossenes Zugreifen und die tapfere Einsetzung Ihrer eigenen Person alle hochverräterischen Umtriebe im Keime erstickt haben. Sie haben das Deutsche Volk aus einer schweren Gefahr gerettet. Hierfür spreche ich Ihnen meinen tiefempfundenen Dank..."). From: Domarus, Max, "Hitler-Reden und Proklamationen" (Volume One: 1932-1934), Süddeutscher Verlag, München, 1965 

***** "Generally," the German Replacement Army inducted, equipped and trained men to be used as replacements for casualties in units or to form new units.    

WORD HISTORY:
Purge-This word is related to "pure," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English from French. "Purge" goes back to Indo European "pu/puh," which had the notion of "to clean completely, to cleanse." This gave its Latin offspring "purus," with the same general meaning. It also goes back to Indo European "ag/eg," which meant, "to drive, to drive forth;" thus also, "to do, to make." It forms the main part, or a part of a number of words, including, for instance, "agile," a word of Latin derivation and borrowed by English from Latin-based French. This gave Latin "agere," meaning, "to do, to make." These parts gave Latin "purgare," meaning "to make pure, to cleanse," often in reference to the body. This passed into Latin-based Old French "purgier," with the same meaning, but seemingly with more emphasis on "cleansing the body." The Norman form "seems" to have been "purger" (?), which they carried to England. English borrowed the word in the late 1200s as "purgen," but more with the meaning, "to clear from legal suspicion of some offense." It didn't develop the political meaning of "removing people from offices within government or other organizations by dismissal, imprisonment or execution," until about the mid 1700s.

North German Shrimp Cocktail: Husumer Krabbencocktail

Husum is a German city way up in the north of Germany, not terribly far from the border with Denmark. It is a coastal city on the North Sea in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein and it is a part of the region of North Frisia, called "Nordfriesland" in German, "Noordfreesland" in Low German (which has a strong presence in the area, and in northern Germany, in general), and "Nordfraschlönj" in North Frisian.* By the way, the nearby Danes call it "Nordfrisland." Husum and much of the German North Sea area economy is geared to tourism, as the connection to the sea has a strong pull. It was from this "general area" along the North Sea, that elements of several Germanic tribes left and sailed to Britain, where they founded what would come to be called "England," named after the Angles, and where their Germanic dialects melded into "English." Naturally, seafood is a big part of the cuisine of northern Germany, with both the North Sea and the Baltic Sea providing a variety of "Meeresfrüchte" (literally, "fruit of the sea;" thus, "seafood"). By the way, the word "Cocktail" (German nouns are capitalized) is a word borrowed by German from English, circa 1900.  

Ingredients (about 4 servings):

1/2 pound cooked, peeled medium or small shrimp/shrimps** (in Husum they use small shrimp) 
1/2 cup mayonnaise (reduced fat type is fine)
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
juice of half a lemon
12 pimiento stuffed olives cut in half
1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt (I'm including this, but I actually don't feel it even needs any salt, so it's optional)
chopped parsley for serving (you can also add a lemon wedge for each serving)

In a bowl, add the chopped apple and sprinkle the lemon juice over it and mix to coat to prevent the apple from turning brown. In a cup (I used a measuring cup), mix together the mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce and ketchup, briefly set this aside. To the apple, add the halved olives, the shrimp(s) and the ground black pepper (and salt, if using). Now gradually add the mayonnaise mixture, mixing it into the shrimp and apple as you add it. Give the dish a little time in the refrigerator before serving, then sprinkle a little chopped parsley on top of each serving. Good with some crackers or crispy wafers. 

* There isn't a "standard" North Frisian language, but rather a number of dialects; thus, there are several renderings of "North Frisia" in these dialects, but I chose "Nordfraschlönj" for a very simple reason... it was FIRST on the list! North Frisian itself is a dialect of Frisian. 

** In the U.S., the plural "shrimps" is seldom heard, as "shrimp" is overwhelmingly used as both singular and plural.

WORD HISTORY:
Maiden/Maid-"Maiden" goes back to Indo European "maghu," which meant, "young person, unmarried person" (it seems not to have been gender specific). This gave its Old Germanic offspring "magaþi" (=magathi), a feminine form; thus, "young woman, virgin, unmarried woman." This gave Old English "mægþ" (þ=th), meaning, "woman, girl, wife," and the diminutive form, "mægden," meaning, "young unmarried woman, girl."  The "g" sound later disappeared, and the word became "maiden." Beginning in the second half of the 1100s, the "en" was dropped in some cases, leaving "maid," but it kept the meaning of "maiden." "Maid" was used at times as part of a name or as a sort of title, as in the famous "Maid Marian," a character developed in the 1600s from the English folklore and legendary Robin Hood stories. "Maid," however, was "seemingly" historical in its usage dating to the 1100s and 1200s, the general time frame often given for Robin Hood. By the mid 1300s (?), "maid" had altered in its primary meaning to, "female servant to a noble woman," then this broadened to "female servant who performed household duties." Forms in other Germanic languages: German has "Magd" (maid, maidservant), "Mädchen" (once also spelled "Mägdchen," meaning mainly "girl"), "Mädel" ("girl, lass"), "Maid" (pronounced as if, "might," meaning, "young woman, maiden"), Low German has "Määk" (girl), apparently Frisian doesn't use a form of the word in modern times, but it had "mageth," Dutch has "maagd" (virgin, maiden, maid), "meid" (girl, lass, maid), "meisje" (pronounced similar to "may-zha," meaning, "girl, maiden"). I didn't spend a lot of time on this, but it "seems" the North Germanic languages did not develop the feminine form, or at least did not carry it forward. "Maiden" also developed adjectival use to mean, "previously undone;" thus also, "first time," as in "maiden voyage" or "maiden trip."    

Hitler Gradually Consolidated Power, Part One

First... Adolf Hitler did not "seize" power. Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany very legally on January 30, 1933 by President Paul von Hindenburg, a major German military figure and field marshal during the "Great War" (later to be called "World War One").*//** Hindenburg was an old time conservative, and he had resisted appointing "the Bohemian corporal," as he referred to Hitler at least on one occasion. He also appointed more traditional conservatives to the cabinet, with the idea that they would "control" Hitler. But with Hitler as chancellor, he and his Nazi inner circle began to outmaneuver the conservatives and to circumvent the German constitution and to consolidate power for himself and for the Nazi Party in general. Conservative opposition began to melt, as more conservatives became complicit in Nazi rule, if not outright accomplices. Does this sound familiar Americans?

In the Reichstag election of November 1932, the last truly free German election before Hitler became chancellor, the Nazis received 33% of the vote, a drop from 37% in the prior election, but the Nazis still remained the largest German political party in terms of the number of votes. After Hitler was appointed chancellor on January 30, 1933, new elections were authorized for March 5. On the evening of February 27, the Reichstag building in Berlin was reported to be on fire. Police arrested a mentally unstable Dutch communist named Marinus van der Lubbe, who admitted he set fire to the building. The Nazis screamed "communist conspiracy," and some other known communists were arrested and put on trial with van der Lubbe. Hitler got President von Hindenburg to sign a decree to "protect" against a communist conspiracy. The decree suspended virtually all civil liberties in Germany, including freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and freedom of speech. Further, the decree turned over many state powers to the national government.*** The law essentially gave the Nazis a free hand to arrest about anyone who opposed them by accusing the person of being a communist. "Generally," the German courts were still outside Nazi control. While van der Lubbe was convicted of the Reichstag fire, and then beheaded, the other main communists were acquitted, a verdict by the judge that led Trump... I mean Hitler, to establish a new Nazi court, the People's Court (German: Volksgerichtshof), to get around the not yet Nazified constitutional courts.

To be clear, the situation with the Reichstag fire has been, and still is, contentious. Van der Lubbe admitted to starting the fire by himself, but there are those who feel the fire was too big for one person to start, and that van der Lubbe had help, either from the communists, or from the Nazis, who, some quite logically believe, wanted an incident to provide them with a reason to crack down on opponents prior to the approaching election. There have also been theories that Hermann Göring, who was then the president of the Reichstag, had helped to plan the fire and to provide aid by sending Nazi stormtroopers through a tunnel that connected his office and residence to the Reichstag, which were across the street from one another. Whether such a tunnel existed, I don't know, but regardless of who started the fire, or who participated in the fire, the Nazis used the Reichstag fire to full effect. On election day the Nazis stationed Stormtroopers throughout the country. Even the strong arm tactics could not win the bastards a majority, and the Nazis received just shy of 44% of the vote. Less than three weeks later, the Reichstag was to vote on what is usually called "the Enabling Act" in English (German:  "Ermächtigungsgesetz"). The law allowed Hitler and the cabinet to make changes to the German constitution WITHOUT the consent of the Reichstag. Because the law changed the constitution, it needed support from two-thirds of the delegates, with two-thirds of the delegates needing to be present. All Communist delegates had been locked up after the post Reichstag fire decree and this removed a block of "no" votes. Still, Hitler lacked votes to get to the necessary two-thirds affirmative vote, and he turned to the Center Party, a Catholic-based political party. After Hitler's promise to protect Catholic religious practices and Catholic schools, the Center Party, although skeptical about Hitler's promises, voted with the Nazis and the Reichstag became irrelevant for the rest of the Nazi era. Hitler periodically used the Reichstag as a forum for important speeches, and to rubber stamp his policies, but it actually held no importance.

By the way, the fire destroyed much of the main meeting hall in the Reichstag, and thereafter, meetings were held in the nearby Kroll Opera House (German: Krolloper), and if you've seen photos or films of Hitler speaking to the Reichstag, almost all of the films and photos were taken in the Kroll Opera House, not in the actual Reichstag building itself. The Kroll Opera House was badly damaged by bombing during the war and it was torn down a few years after the war ended. The damaged Reichstag building remained, and it was a focal point in the fighting between Soviet and German troops in late April and early May of 1945, during the street fighting in Berlin, but it was not used for any legislative meetings until after German reunification in the 1990s. When Berlin was divided into "occupation zones" after World War Two, the Reichstag building was in the British zone, essentially right on the line with the Soviet zone. The (Communist) East German government erected a wall to divide Berlin in the early 1960s, "officially" to keep other people "out," a propaganda ploy that fooled no one. The Reichstag building was substantially renovated in the 1990s and it has kept its name, "Reichstag Building," but since the post World War Two years until the present, the German national parliament is called the Bundestag; that is, the Federal Parliament or Diet.

This is a picture of the Reichstag from a postcard I bought in Berlin back in the mid 1980s. The infamous "Berlin Wall" and Communist East Berlin was right behind the building. 

* The German president was the head of state; the German official, elected by a vote of the German people, who represented Germany in public ceremonial events. He also had the tremendous powers to appoint the chancellor and cabinet ministers, to dissolve the Reichstag (the German representative parliament) and to call for extraordinary national elections for delegates to the Reichstag (Note: this means the president could call for elections to be held outside the normally scheduled election dates). He was also the supreme commander of the armed forces, a very substantial power, as the army, especially, was held in very high regard in those days in German society, as the army was limited by the Versailles Treaty to 100,000 men, meaning that likely EVERY soldier was a veteran of the Great War. The chancellor of Germany was the head of the German government and its various departments (called ministries in German terminology and in many other countries, too).

** Hitler and the Nazis always wanted to present themselves as "strong," and the idea of "seizing power" was part of that effort, with the further idea that they were "revolutionaries," wanting to overthrow the then constitutional German government, and to prevent the Communists from taking power. The failed Nazi putsch (coup) of November 9, 1923, which was truly an attempt to "seize power," became a sacred event to the Nazis year after year, and a virtual holiday to them, complete with a Nazi banner carried during the coup attempt, and a solemn ceremony officiated by Hitler. You would likely be hard pressed to find elsewhere so much time and effort expended in celebration of a failure, but it was a failure Hitler and the Nazis turned to their advantage; thus, covering up just what a colossal failure it had actually been. A similar effort was made with the expression "seizure of power" ("die Machtergreifung"), which in reality, was simply the legal appointment of Hitler as chancellor by President von Hindenburg, but the terminology was used to make it sound strong and to show it as the realization of the putsch from 1923. As Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels said, "Truth isn't truth" ... oh wait, Rudy Giuliani said that.       

*** Germany had a federal system; that is, a system where the states had many powers delegated to them and where the national government had other powers for the entire country. By allowing the national government, then under Hitler's authority, to control many powers within the individual states, the Nazis took control of much of the authority in all states, including in those states where they were in a distinct minority. 

WORD HISTORY:
Cough-While the ancient origin of this word is uncertain, its "likely" an Old Germanic attempt to imitate the "sound of the act of coughing, throat clearing, forcefully expelling air from the mouth or gasping," as "kokh." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "cohhetan," meaning, "to cough, to make noise by forceful expulsion of air." This then became "coughen," with the "gh" pronounced similarly to "ch." The noun developed from the verb (between 1200 and 1300?). Words spelled with "ough" in them gradually began to change in pronunciation, as English speakers got further away from the more guttural sounds of before. As with "laugh," "cough" came to be pronounced as if "coff." Relatives in the other Germanic languages: German "keuchen" ("to wheeze, to huff and puff, to gasp for air"),^ Low German "seemingly" does not use a form in modern times, but it once had "küchen" (cough, clear the throat), Dutch "kuchen" ("to cough, to clear the throat"), Swedish "kika" (breath heavily, but its use seems to be limited today).

^ German also has "hauchen," meaning, "to breath (through the mouth)." It's a word not used by everyone, but initially it carried the idea of "to breathe audibly through the mouth," and it was spelled with a beginning "k." While I'm not totally certain, it could well be another form of the modern German form "keuchen" (once spelled "keichen"); thus, this would make it, too, a relative of English "cough."        

Waldorf Salad

This is a pretty famous salad, but I have a suspicion that many people have never actually tried it, or even know what it is, although they've heard or seen the name. "Waldorf Salad" was developed in the mid 1890s at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. Many famous people have stayed or lived at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel during its existence, and two of its prominent residents were former President Herbert Hoover and General of the Army (5 Star General) Douglas MacArthur. They lived there simultaneously for a period of time, but they lived in suites in different parts of the complex.

Some recipes say to use less mayonnaise, and that then the preparer should keep folding the salad until everything has the slightest coating of mayonnaise. If you want to spend your time doing this, all the best to you, but as for me, I like more mayonnaise, just as I like lots of ketchup or mustard on certain sandwiches. This "dainty" use of certain food items is not for me. About 30 years ago I went to a birthday dinner for a friend at a fairly high end restaurant here on the East Side of Cleveland. The waiter brought out a full size dinner plate for each diner with a "spot" in the center of the plate. It looked like a drop of food that had accidentally dripped onto each plate, as it was no bigger than a pea, and that was after I used a magnifying glass. He then announced, "Enjoy your complimentary appetizer." He also said what this "appetizer" was supposed to be, but the whole thing was such silly nonsense, I had to comment right then and there. I didn't care who liked it or not, and I called it just what I said, "silly nonsense." You can't make up this kind of silly s--t! I kept thinking of years before when I was a kid, and we would eat out, and my mother would say, "Don't fill up on the appetizer."   

Ingredients:

2 medium red apples, cored and chopped
1/2 cup celery, thinly sliced
1/2 cup walnuts, lightly toasted over medium heat
1/2 cup red seedless grape halves 
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 "good pinch" cayenne pepper  
lettuce leaves for serving

In a bowl, add the chopped apple and sprinkle with the lemon juice to prevent the apple from turning brown. Add the other ingredients (except lettuce leaves) and mix to coat the ingredients with the mayonnaise and seasonings. Chill the salad in the refrigerator for an hour or two before serving. Place some lettuce leaves on a salad plate, then place the desired amount of salad on top of the leaves for serving.

WORD HISTORY:
Bourgeoisie-This word is not as commonly used in the U.S. as in some other countries, and its meaning varies somewhat, but it generally means "wealthier segment of the middle class," usually relating to the "upper middle class" in the U.S.,  with the term "petty (or the French "petite") bourgeoisie" relating to the "lower middle class." Communism tends to define the term with more emphasis on the "wealthy segment, materialistic segment of a society, capitalists." The word goes back to Indo European "buhrgh/bhrgh" which meant "high place" (this aspect of the word gave Old English "beorg" and German "Berg," both meaning "mountain."). Besides this meaning, Old Germanic took a form of the word, "burgs," for "castle, fortress, protected place or stronghold," since most castles were built on high places for their military benefit. These castles provided protection to many people, and became fortified towns in many cases.^ Old English had "burg/burh," and eventually the fortification aspect began to die out, but the meaning of "town" or "municipality" continued. From "burg(h)" came several forms that meant "citizen, resident," like Old English "burgleoda" ^^ and "burgsittend"^^^ which eventually died out when English borrowed the Latin derived "citizen" from Norman French in the 1300s.^^^^ Personally, I wish we still used a form of "burgsittend," what a word! Meanwhile, Old French had a form of "burg," either borrowed directly from Frankish, a Germanic language, or from Latin, the parent of Old French. Latin had borrowed a form from Germanic (there are various forms of "burg/burgher" in the modern Latin-based languages). The Old French form was "burjois" (a citizen, inhabitant), which then became "bourgeois," which by then meant "citizen of the middle class," and the broader form "bourgeoisie," meant "the middle class," in general. 

Languages are fascinating and here we have a Germanic language, English, borrowing a Latin derived word "citizen," replacing its own word(s), but then you have Latin borrowing a form of Germanic "burgher,"  for "citizen," which then comes back to English from Latin-based French in another form, "bourgeoisie."

^ The notion of fortification or protected place then developing into words for "living areas," without the fortified context, is not unusual. Besides "burg(h)" in English, the ancestor of modern "town" was a word meaning "enclosed place," and many "towns" of old had walls or fences around them. The German relative of English "town" is "Zaun," which means "fence." It's pronounced similarly too, with the "z" being pronounced "ts," and the rest of the word rhymes with the English word, as German "au" is pronounced like the English "ow" of "how."

^^ The "leoda" part meant "people." German still uses its close relative, "Leute," as its word for "people."

^^^ If you haven't already guessed it, this literally meant "town seated;" that is, "occupant, resident."

^^^^ Actually this was by then "Anglo-Norman French," or just "Anglo-Norman," terms used by linguists to distinguish this dialect from the French spoken on the mainland, especially in Paris and environs. The Normans initially brought their French dialect to England, but it then came under the influence of English; thus, the "Anglo-Norman" terminology.    

Brazilian Potato Salad: Salada de Batata com Maionese

I got the idea to do this recipe from my friend Gustavo from Brazil. Remember, Brazil is the largest Portuguese speaking country in the world. In doing some research, I found that potato salad is quite popular in Brazil, something I hadn't known. There are some variations in recipes, but "generally" nothing too substantial. For instance, as compared to what I used, Gustavo doesn't care much for carrots, so he doesn't use carrot in his version. No more Bugs Bunny for him! A friend of his adds a can of tuna to the potato salad, and Gustavo gave that a try and liked it; so you might want to try it too. I saw "some" recipes with olives, and I love olives, so I added them to my recipe. This salad is very good, and the apple adds a nice touch, especially if it is of the sweeter kind, to contrast with the varied tartness of the vinegar, lemon juice and mayonnaise. I believe all the Brazilian Potato Salad recipes I checked included apple. I'm not a big fan of "sour," so I tinkered around to find what I consider the best amounts of lemon juice and vinegar. Of course, if you like more of a sour taste, use my suggested amounts, then taste it, and add a little more vinegar until you get the taste you prefer. As you've likely heard many times, "you can always add, but you can't take it back out." If you get too much "sour," adding sugar might solve the problem, but it's likely to leave you with a "gritty" taste. HEY! We just invented "Gritty Brazilian Potato Salad!" Gotta go, it's time for Bugs Bunny.   

Ingredients:

2 to 2 1/4 pounds potatoes 
1 apple (I suggest a somewhat sweet apple like: Red Delicious, Fuji, Honeycrisp or Gala)
1 cup onion, chopped or sliced
1/4 cup peeled and diced carrot (fresh is best, but frozen is fine; I find canned carrots too mushy)
1/2 cup corn (canned/drained, frozen or cut off the cob)
1/2 cup peas (canned/drained or frozen)
2 hard boiled eggs
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 cup mayonnaise (light mayonnaise is fine)
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
10 to 12 olives (green or black or mixed), halved

Boil the potatoes in their jackets, cool, then peel them, then chop or dice them. Boil the eggs and let them cool, then remove the shells and chop the eggs. Cook the diced carrot until softened, but not mushy. Cook the corn and peas. If you're using canned or frozen corn and peas, you can begin cooking the carrot, and then add the peas and corn when the carrot is about half done. Let the vegetables cool down a bit. Peel, core and chop the apple, then mix the lemon juice with the apple to prevent it from turning brown. Now, in a bowl add the potatoes, corn, peas, carrot, apple (with the lemon juice), onion, olives and chopped egg. Add the olive oil, vinegar and salt (if using), mix and then add the mayonnaise and mix well to coat all of the potatoes and vegetables. Let the salad chill in the refrigerator before serving.

WORD HISTORY:

Anchor-This word is distantly related to "angle" and to "ankle." ^ It goes back to Indo European "ang," which had the notion of "to bend, to curve." This gave transliterated Ancient Greek "ankyra" (ánkȳra), meaning, "anchor, hook" (traditionally, anchors have hooks; that is, 'curved' metal or other heavy materials that hook onto underwater ropes or other moorings to help keep a vessel stable). The Greek form was borrowed by Latin as "ancora" in ancient times. The term was then borrowed by Germanic tribes in western Europe, but with no one term in Germanic.^^ The word spread through the old Germanic dialects, which gave Old English "ancor," but why it came to be spelled with the "ch" in the 1500s is puzzling to me, although it perhaps started because of a misspelling of the Latin form.^^^ The meaning expanded beyond nautical terminology to mean anything that provides stability, as in, "anchor store;" that is, "typically a large department store in a shopping center or shopping mall that provides a strong, stable base (anchor) for drawing in customers." "News anchor;" that is, "a person, alone or as part of a team, who regularly broadcasts the main news on radio or television." The verb "seems" to date from the 1200s (?), as "ancoren," then "anchoren," and came from the noun. Relatives in the other Germanic languages: German and Low German "Anker," Dutch "anker," West Frisian "anker" (?), Danish and Norwegian "anker," Swedish "ancare," and Icelandic "akkeri."

^ "Angle," meaning, "to fish" (and "angling," the act of fishing), is from the Germanic roots of English, as is "ankle." "Angle," with the specific meaning, "a corner formed by intersecting lines," is of Latin descent, but it too is from the same Indo European form, so it is also related to "anchor."

^^ There is quite a lot of uncertainty as to WHEN Latin "ancora" was borrowed into Germanic. Some sources don't even give a date or even an assumed date, which tells me, they don't know and they are not confident enough to even venture a guess, although it certainly was many centuries ago, in the times of the Germanic tribes; that is, before these tribes began to unite into something more akin to national groups. The idea is that the West Germanic tribes along the part of the Rhine River (the Lower Rhine) that flows from the present day German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (German: Nordrhein-Westfalen) through part of the present day Netherlands and into the North Sea borrowed the word, and that it eventually spread throughout the Germanic dialects/languages, including into the dialects that became English.    

^^^ "Dictionary of Word Origins," by John Ayto, Arcade Publishing, New York 1990, says it comes from the misspelling of Latin "ancora," as "anchora."

Plum Cake: Quetschekuchen

There are all sorts of names for plum cake in German: Pflaumenkuchen is more common in northern Germany, while in Bavaria and Austria it is Zwetschgendatschi/Zwetschkendatschi, " but in Hessen and part of the Rheinland "Quetschekuche(n)" is the name, and in some other areas the word used is "Zwetschgenkuchen," and in Switzerland it is "Zwetschenwähe."  

Some Germans make plum cake with baking powder, some make it with yeast, and I've actually read where some use only eggs to provide some lift. German regions in Europe tend to use Italian plums or damson plums, both of which are "egg shaped," but I'm sure Germans won't hang you out to dry if you use other varieties of plums. "Hey, was machen Sie? Sie brauchen noch ein paar Wäscheklammern mehr!" (Hey, what are you doing? You still need a few more clothes pins!) Further, many Germans add "streusel" on top of the plum cake before baking.* Also, some use a round baking pan or dish for plum cake, while others use a rectangular baking sheet (German: Backblech, or just Blech). Plum cake is often served with whipped cream or powdered sugar on top.

I had "Quetschekuchen" many years ago in Frankfurt, Germany, and I'll tell you about it, once I get these damned clothes pins off of me! Anyway, the bakery and pastry shops (called a "Bäckerei und Konditorei," in German) in Frankfurt just wouldn't leave me alone. All of the great window displays kept beckoning to me, "Randy.... look over here!" It was all too much and I bought a "Quetschekuche" (in Frankfurt they usually do not include the ending "n" in "Kuchen") and it was delicious.     

Ingredients:

8 to 10 plums (I use black plums)
3 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup lukewarm milk, just lukewarm, not hot (more, if needed, later)
1/2 cup sugar + 2 tablespoons (divided use)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
5 tablespoons butter, melted + 2 tablespoons vegetable oil added to the melted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla 
1 teaspoon salt (if you use salted butter, skip this, or use just a pinch)
1 packet of active dry yeast
2/3 teaspoon cinnamon

Wash the plums, then quarter them, but leave the peel on. Put the plum quarters into a bowl and mix in the 2 tablespoons of sugar, set the plums aside. In another bowl, add 2 cups of flour, yeast, salt (if using), and the lukewarm milk. Mix together to form a sticky dough. Cover lightly, put in a warm place and let the dough rise for 30 to 45 minutes. Add the 1/2 cup sugar, 2 eggs, vanilla and the butter, working these ingredients into the dough as you gradually add the remaining flour. If the dough is too dry, add some milk (doesn't have to be warm), but just a tablespoon at a time, but it's okay if the dough is still somewhat sticky. Let the dough rest and rise a little again for just 10 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. I used a baking sheet of 17 inches by 11 inches, but you can use a little larger sheet and spread the dough thinner. I keep the dough sticky and put it in the middle of the baking sheet and then press and smooth it out by hand and with a spatula. Press each quarter plum into the dough in rows. Pour any juice that has accumulated in the bowl over the plums and sprinkle the cinnamon over the top. If you want to use more plums, you can make the plum cake sort of look like roofing tiles by overlapping the plum quarters. Bake at 350 F until the visible parts of the cake are a bit browned. I baked the one I made for this article for about 40 to 45 minutes, but the baking time will naturally vary by the thickness of the dough.
 
* "Streusel" (actually pronounced like, "stroy-zel") is a common crumbly topping used by Germans for many cakes and pastries. There are some variations, but the basic recipe is sugar (sometimes brown sugar), flour, butter and a spice or two, often including cinnamon. By the way, the word "Streusel" (all nouns in German are capitalized) is closely related to English "strew," as it is "strewn"on top of cakes, and it was formed from the verb "streuen," meaning, "to strew, to scatter (about)." The ending "el" is a diminutive, meaning it "makes it smaller," so the literal meaning of the German noun "Streusel" seems to be, "a little something strewn on top of a cake." German immigrants brought "Streusel" to the U.S. 

A piece of "Quetschekuchen" without whipped cream, then two slightly different views with Quetschekuchen topped with whipped cream and served with a cup of coffee

WORD HISTORY:
Dodder-This is a tough word to research, but there are relatives in the Germanic languages, with other relatives in Indo European. It is distantly related to "dust" and to "dizzy," words from the Germanic roots of English. It goes back to Indo European "dheu," which had the notion of "smoke, haze, dust," and then "dheus," which meant, "whirl, twirl;" thus also, "twist around;" thus also the figurative, "confused, hazy in the mind, dizzy;" thus also, "to shake, to tremble." An unknown form was passed to Old Germanic, which was continued only in the West Germanic branch, and which gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) the verb "dyderian," meaning "to delude, to confuse," and also the noun, "dydrin," meaning "egg yolk" (apparently, because yolks "shake, quiver"). Then "dad(d)eren" developed, meaning, "to shake, to shake causing the teeth to hit together." This then became "dadder," then "dodder." In the Germanic languages, German still has "Dotter" (egg yolk, or yolks, as the same form is singular and plural), Low German Saxon has "Dodder" (yolk), Dutch has "dooier" (earlier "doder"), West Frisian "djerreblom" (Marigold, the flower, seemingly from the flowers looking like egg yolks?). One of the problems with the history of "dodder" is, its ancestors had a wide range of figurative meanings, including, from the notion of "whirl," "whisk, mix together;" thus also, "murky;" that is, "something mixed together and, thus, unclear or impure."

Law & Order Episode: We Like Mike

This episode originally aired in April 1997 on the NBC television network 

One Sunday morning, Mike Bodak, played by Frank John Hughes, stops to help another man, Matthew Sherman, change a tire. As Bodak walks away to clean his hands at a nearby doughnut shop, he passes a guy on the sidewalk; a Hispanic guy with a dragon tattoo on his hand. A few minutes later Sherman is found dead by his sister. He has been shot in the chest. Detectives Briscoe, played by Jerry Orbach, and Curtis, played by Benjamin Bratt, investigate the murder, aided in a supervisory role by Lieutenant Anita Van Buren, played by S. Epatha Merkerson. After getting some info, they track down Bodak, who is at his wedding rehearsal, and question him. Bodak works a couple of jobs, with his main job being a bellhop at a big hotel. Later, after checking out Bodak's story, they find he wasn't completely honest with them about the time he left work the day of the murder and about a large tip he received from a visiting Saudi prince, so they suspect him of killing Sherman. When the detectives go to Bodak's apartment, he admits that he left work early to go to another job answering calls at a bookie's,* and that he was naturally afraid to tell them about the job. Then they find Matthew Sherman's blood on Mike's jacket. They arrest Bodak at his wedding. During further questioning, he tells them about seeing the Hispanic man with the tattoo, "and he looked kinda scary," which prompts Briscoe to say, "Hey, this is New York, everybody looks scary."** The detectives find Bodak's description of the man is similar to a description of a man who robbed a woman in the same neighborhood, so Mike's story takes on credibility.

After checking around about the Hispanic man, the detectives learn his name is Ricky Garcia, played by Benny Nieves, and that he's been arrested for shoplifting. The plan is to have the lady who was robbed look at a lineup with Garcia in it to see if she can identify him. Garcia is released early and the lady is mistakenly brought to the courthouse where Garcia is being released. She sees Garcia and tells the detectives. They arrest Garcia. This leads them to Garcia's apartment (they have a warrant), where he lives with his brother. They find a pistol and a sock with blood on it, and the brother, played by Fernando López, has Matthew Sherman's wallet on him. When Ricky Garcia is confronted with the evidence, he confesses to the murder, in writing. The case now goes to the District Attorney's office (District Attorney Adam Schiff played by Steven Hill, Executive Assistant DA Jack McCoy played by Sam Waterston and Assistant DA Jamie Ross played by Carey Lowell). It all looks so easy... too easy.

With Garcia's confession, Bodak is released from jail with the apologies of the DA's office, but he naturally still has bitter feelings. Garcia's attorney, a Mr. Shuman, played by Casey Siemaszko, challenges the circumstances of the identification of Garcia by the lady in the courthouse.*** The judge agrees (judge played by Ron Frazier), and the attorney presses on by telling the judge that without the tainted identification, there would have been no search of his client's apartment, and therefore, no gun or bloody sock found. Again the judge agrees, which leaves the DA with only the wallet taken from Garcia's brother. The attorney isn't done, however, and he successfully argues that the wallet alone is not enough to hold his client in jail. The judge agrees and dismisses the charges. Garcia is freed. Now the DA needs Mike Bodak to identify Garcia as the man he saw on the street just prior to Matthew Sherman's murder. When Jamie Ross talks with Bodak, he is more than a little reluctant to get involved, but she tells him in a great way, "(You're) a decent guy who got screwed, but when a decent guy has the opportunity to put a killer behind bars, he stands up." Bodak's basic sense of decency brings him to agree to see if he can identify Garcia from a number of photos. He immediately picks out Garcia, who is then arrested again. His attorney's attempts to get him released fails this time, but the judge refuses to allow the gun (which was identified as the murder weapon) and the bloody sock back in for a trial. Now Bodak drops from sight and communication. Jamie Ross goes to his apartment where his bed has been slashed and where he has received a threatening phone call regarding his identification of Ricky Garcia. Mike wants to stay out of the whole thing, but again, Jamie appeals to his sense of decency and duty by telling him that without his testimony, Garcia will get away with murder.

The police tape and trace a threatening phone call to Mike Bodak that comes from Garcia's brother's workplace. They arrest the brother. Jack McCoy talks with Mike and the father (played by John Doman) of Mike's fiancée, who keeps pressuring Mike to stay out of the case. Still, Mike's decency makes him commit to testifying. Ah, don't breathe easily yet! The trial starts and Jamie comes in to tell McCoy that Bodak can't testify, because he's been arrested while working at a bookie's. The judge grants a recess and Jack McCoy goes to the Bronx**** to make arrangements for Mike Bodak to testify in the Garcia trial, as Bodak was arrested in the Bronx. The problem becomes, Bodak's attorney, played by Stuart Burney, doesn't want Mike to testify, because he's fearful Mike could incriminate himself by having to admit to working at a bookie's, operated by an underworld figure. The Bronx will likely want Bodak's testimony against this operator. Mike tells McCoy, "I don't understand. All I did was help a guy change a tire." As the old saying goes, "No good deed goes unpunished." This young man is in a furnace room and the furnace is about to get much hotter.

Mike chooses to testify and he identifies Ricky Garcia. Now Garcia's attorney asks him about his work for the bookie. The attorney casts doubt on Mike's story that he stopped to help Matthew Sherman and that maybe he stopped to collect a gambling debt for the bookie. The attorney asks Bodak to say exactly what he does for the bookie, but Mike's attorney signals that he should not answer, and Mike invokes his Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself. Now the defense attorney asks that Mike's testimony be thrown out, because he can't just selectively answer some questions, but not others. After a brief recess, the judge asks Mike if he will answer the defense attorney's question, but Mike again invokes the Fifth Amendment. As he leaves the stand, the judge tells the jury to completely disregard Mike's testimony and Mike is flabbergasted by the fact that he saw Garcia walking towards Matthew Sherman on the morning of the murder is not being allowed to be considered by the jury. The defense attorney also asks for a dismissal of the charges. McCoy tells Mike that this is it, that he must make a choice, but Mike's own attorney is telling him not to testify further. Mike goes back to the stand and he tells what he did at the bookie's. He then tells the jury that it doesn't matter what they think of him, but that it doesn't change the fact that he saw Garcia. As Mike leaves the stand, Ricky Garcia is squirming in his seat. The jury convicts Garcia. The Bronx district attorney drops the charges against Bodak and Adam Schiff says how important it is to have a decent person like Mike Bodak to help make the criminal justice system work.

Just a comment or two. The one troubling part of the script is how no one heard the shot or shots that killed Matthew Sherman, including Mike Bodak, who had just left Sherman. Otherwise, the script is good and it shows that Mike Bodak isn't a perfect person; after all, he did work for the bookie, a choice he made on his own, but none of us is without our flaws, and the writers didn't make Bodak a totally unblemished character with the aura of an angel.     


* For those unaware, a "bookie" is a place that takes and pays bets for all sorts of activities, although most typically for sporting events. Properly the term is "bookmaker," but "bookie" has long been used in every day speech. They are illegal in many places and they have long been associated with organized crime, which will come into play in this story.

** "Law & Order" was known for some of its sarcastic humor and interesting characters. This episode has both, as the doughnut shop owner is hilarious, but so is the lady neighbor of Bodak's fiancée, and Detective Briscoe gets in his own couple of smarta-- lines that should bring a chuckle; not that I would know anything about smarta-- lines (typed with the most innocent look I could muster).

*** While I'm not a lawyer, the issue about police lineups to have eyewitnesses identify suspects is to have a fair process, with no indication of who the actual suspect is among those in the lineup, who are supposed to be "similar" in appearance. The issue in this episode of "Law & Order" seems to be that the witness was brought to the courthouse by mistake, and then she saw the suspect in the courthouse with his attorney, thus possibly prejudicing her to identify Ricky Garcia. While she actually pointed out Garcia completely independently of the police, the defense attorney was able to convince the judge later that the identification was not fair to the accused, and the judge used the term "tainted" in reference to the identification.    

**** The Bronx is one of the boroughs of New York City. It has its own district attorney; thus, Bodak is out of McCoy's jurisdiction in Manhattan, another borough of New York.   

Photo is of the 2010 DVD set for Season 7 by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

WORD HISTORY:
Aura-This word is related to "air," a word borrowed by English from French, which got it from Latin, which got it from Greek, which got it from Indo European. It goes back to Indo European "awer," which had a notion of "raise, rise." This gave transliterated Ancient Greek "aer," which then produced Greek "aura," meaning, "wind, breeze, moving air." This was borrowed by Latin as "aura," meaning, "air, breath of air, wind." It was borrowed by English circa 1400 with the meaning, "soft breeze," but the sense of "atmosphere" also came to be present, and then used figuratively for "the feeling or sense of atmosphere around, and coming from, some being" (first half of the 1700s?).      

Bavarian Cheese Spread: Obatzda

If you've ever been to a restaurant or biergarten in the southern German state of Bavaria, you've seen "Obatzda" on the menu. Even if you haven't been to Bavaria, many German restaurants in other parts of the world often serve "Obatzda," especially if they are "Bavarian-themed," as this cheese spread is strongly associated with the very lifestyle of Bavaria, where it is commonly, but not exclusively, served with soft pretzels, called "Brezn" in Bavarian German dialect (standard German uses both "Brezel" and "Bretzel"). One of my German recipe books calls it, "Camembert Cheese Spread,"* and uses ripened Camembert, but you can certainly use "Brie," as well as the more "potent" smelling cheeses like Limburger, Romadur or Tilsiter, although sometimes these cheeses are only used to supplement either Camembert or Brie. As is so often the case with German food, there are regional dialect names for similar cheese spreads, but it is best known by the Bavarian dialect word "Obatzda" (also "Obatzter"), which is a form of "Angebatzter" (mixed together), but I know it from Frankfurt am Main as "Schneegestöber" ("snow shower"), but they don't add beer to the cheese mixture in Frankfurt, and it is often served with a glass of "Ebbelwoi," Hessian dialect for standard German "Apfelwein;" that is, "apple wine," which is "hard apple cider," a Hessian specialty. 

As for variations or substitutions, cream cheese (German: "Frischkäse," literally, "fresh cheese") is used in the preparation, but I've seen recipes that use quark or ricotta. I've also seen recipes that use dark beer (dunkles Bier), while others use light (in color) beer (helles Bier), so make your own choice. I've also seen recipes that do not use onion and some that do not use paprika.** As to texture, originally Obatzda was often mashed up and mixed with a fork, and many people still make it that way, but if you prefer a completely smooth texture, you can use a food processor.  

Ingredients:

9 ounce (approx) *** Camembert, sliced or cut into smaller pieces to make it easier to mash
3 tablespoons butter, softened
5 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 heaping teaspoon caraway seeds
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 to 1/3 cup beer
1 heaping tablespoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt  

If you choose to mash and mix the spread with a sturdy fork, the cheese should be left out to warm a little, as this makes it easier to mash. Likewise, the cream cheese and butter should be softened to make them easier to mix in with the other ingredients. Mash up the cheese and mix in the other ingredients, but gradually mix in the beer until you reach the consistency you desire. If using a food processor, add the ingredients, but start by adding only a couple of tablespoons of beer. After you process the spread briefly, keep adding more beer and process until you get to the desired consistency. Obatzda is best if refrigerated for a minimum of a couple of hours before serving.    

* From "Germany, a Culinary Tour," by Wolfgang W. Reichert, Sigloch Edition, 1994 edition (originally published 1986), printed in Stuttgart, Germany

** Typically in English we say "paprika" for types of ground red peppers, which tend to come in "sweet" or in "hot" (not "usually" blazing hot). The Hungarians and the Spanish are both known for their respective varieties of "paprika" (Spanish paprika commonly has a smoky flavor). In German, "Paprika" ("properly," all German nouns are capitalized, but in today's world of texts and social media, that rule is not always followed, likely causing many "traditionalists" to require oxygen and and a heart monitor)... Let me start again... In German, "Paprika" is commonly used for the actual pepper (bell pepper, for instance, and regardless of color) itself, and it is a shortened form of "Paprikaschote" (literally, "pepper pod"), which is also often used. "Paprikapulver" is more commonly used for the ground red pepper used as a spice. "Pulver," meaning "powder," is a word German borrowed long ago from Latin.   

*** Camembert is "often," but not always, sold in rounds of "about" 9 ounces, but you can certainly use a little more than that; and in fact, if you'd like, you can add an ounce or two of Limburger to the Camembert (or Brie).

"Obatzda" with large soft pretzels, caraway and salt rolls, sliced radishes, halved grape tomatoes and  a glass of "Altbier," a kind of brown ale from Düsseldorf, if the Bavarians will forgive me. 

WORD HISTORY:
Hammer-This word is distantly related to "acme," a word English borrowed from Greek, and to "edge," a word from the Germanic roots of English. It goes back to the Indo European root "ak," which had the notion, "sharp, pointed," which then produced "akmen," meaning, "pointed stone," and the variant form (inverted beginning sounds), "kamer." This gave Old Germanic "hamaraz," meaning, "stone attached to a handle used as a tool for pounding." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "hamor," meaning "hammer." This then became "hamer," before the modern version. Relatives in the other Germanic languages: German has "Hammer," Low German Saxon has "Hamer," West Frisian has "hammer," Dutch has "hamer," Danish has "hammer," Norwegian "hammer," Icelandic has "hamar," and Swedish has "hammare." The verb came from the noun in the second half of 1300s, meaning, "to strike with a hammer," but then extended to, "strike with a heavy object." German has the verb "hämmern" and Dutch has "hameren," both meaning, "to pound or beat with a hammer or heavy object." I found reference to an Old English verb for "to hammer;" that is, "to beat or pound" ("seemingly" often used about sword making), but I can find no other sources to confirm it, but if it existed, it could well be the actual source of the modern verb. On the other hand, if it existed, it could also have died out allowing the emergence of the modern word directly from the noun.