Pontificating

The World In Protest, Revolution or Civil War? Part Eleven

2012-02-07T22:16:00.000-08:00

"Polarization of the Spanish Civil War" Part 6

The inclusion of the far right in the Spanish government coalition* brought many problems for the more moderate rightists, but many average Spaniards suffered from the rightist government policies in general, and from the actions of wealthy landowners and business people who no longer feared government intervention, as the government now favored the upper classes. As a consequence, farm worker wages were cut severely (in some cases, in half!). The military reforms were halted and army officers who supported the Republic were often forced out and replaced by rightwing supporters, who also gained promotions. The far rightwing was difficult for some other coalition members of the government to tolerate, and the government could not function;** thus in February 1936 new elections were held.

The election campaign turned out to be absolutely vicious from the rightwing. Funded by wealthy interests, the rightwing had lots of money to spend on pamphlets, leaflets, and radio, often laced with exaggeration or blatant lies. They told voters that if the left won, the victors would come and take their children away from them, burn down businesses and privately owned homes, criminals would be released from prisons into the general population, and Jews and Freemasons would rise in power (remember, Spain was overwhelmingly Catholic). They also had money to pay thugs to break up opposition meetings and to intimidate voters. Some business owners leaned on their employees to vote for the "right." Like scenes from "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington," where the political machine went all out to halt their opposition from the being heard, rightist groups blocked roads to prevent pro-Republic speakers from attending rallies, rightist mayors had Republican and leftist supporters and poll watchers locked up to prevent them from voting or doing their jobs (leaving only rightist poll watchers in some locations), and rightist officials halted public transportation to prevent poor people from reaching the polls easily. Rightists also closed polls early in areas where peasants (overwhelmingly pro-Republic) traditionally came into town later, because of working all day. Ballot boxes were seized, their ballots removed, and then refilled with rightist marked ballots. Things were so bad, in some villages with strong Republican sentiments, when the ballots were counted, there we no votes for the "Popular Front."*** In the end, however, in spite of all of the shenanigans and illegal actions of the right, the close vote went to the Popular Front.

* The previous "leftist" government was a coalition of moderate "left-leaning" Republicans (see note at end), socialists, and Marxists. The new "rightist" government was something of the opposite, with more moderate members and pro-monarchists to extreme rightwing members, with the extreme right essentially being fascists, without the actual designation as such (yet). NOTE: Spanish Republicans were basically left-leaning and pro-republic; that is, they wanted representative government, as opposed to Spain's recent dictatorship of the 1920s and the monarchy from the past centuries. Americans and people from countries with representative governments in those times (and certainly today) would hardly have seen this as radical, but in Spain, representative government was controversial, as entrenched interests saw it as a threat.

** Just an interjection of opinion here: far right extremists may well have intended for the government to be dysfunctional, as many rightwing reactionaries wanted a complete takeover of the government, and their leader installed as, what would have been, a dictator. In more than thirty years now in America, we have seen how the political right has beaten up on "government" by cutting funding and personnel, but then saying how dysfunctional government is. The debate over efficiency in government is a valid one, but the relentless assault on government, and the preaching of "hate the government" by rightwing extremists, has made many Americans forget the good government can do to help average and less fortunate people. That's been the object of the assault by the rightwing, in my opinion, and it has been to the absolute detriment of the country. A disconnected and inattentive (sometimes distracted) electorate is then overwhelmed by disinformation funded by wealthy interests. This is not to say that those left of center don't get into the disinformation business too, but they "generally" are not as well funded. I'm NOT saying most American conservatives or Republicans want to establish a dictatorship.

*** The "Popular Front" was a coalition of various pro-Republic, leftist, and communist political groups bound together to oppose Spain's rightists in the election.

WORD HISTORY:
Bull-This is the noun meaning, "adult male animal, typically raised for breeding." The ultimate origins of this word are unclear and I am not "sold" on any particular theory, so I'll only begin with it's Old Germanic form, "bullon/bulon," with that same basic meaning, although seemingly used only for "cattle" in ancient times, then later expanded to other animals, like elephants. Whether this then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "bula," with the same meaning, is uncertain, as the word only shows up in texts in the later Old English period. That doesn't mean the word wasn't around originally among the common people, as English also had "steer" (other Germanic languages also had forms of "steer"), which may have been used by the more literate part of English society back then. Or, it could have been borrowed from Old Norse (North Germanic) "boli," especially since it shows up in texts at the time when Old Norse was impacting English. Since the closest relatives of English (German, Dutch, and Frisian) all have forms of the word, did they too borrow it from North Germanic? Or did Old English have a form brought along with the migration of the Anglo-Saxons from the continent to Britain, which stayed among the common people and then was reinforced into broader usage by the borrowing from Old Norse? Whatever the case, "bula" later became "bule," before the modern version. "If" English (and the other West Germanic languages) borrowed the word from North Germanic, it is ironic, as Icelandic is now the only North Germanic language to still use a form of the word, and it still has the original "boli" for "bull." Norwegian, Swedish and Danish no longer use forms of the word. German has "Bulle," Low German Saxon has "Bull," some Low German has "Boll," Dutch has "bul," and Frisian has "bolle."

The World In Protest, Revolution or Civil War? Part Ten

2012-02-02T11:53:00.000-08:00

The Polarization of the Spanish Civil War" Part 5

With a rightist government now in control, landowners and many business owners, in general, often cut wages for workers and refused to hire union workers. The army was used to help harvest crops, so that landowners did not have to rely upon union workers. Some union workers were beaten and thousands became destitute because of unemployment.* With a pro-business government in power, owners began to ignore labor laws (wages were withheld by some owners, for instance) and the government was generally unresponsive to calls for enforcement.

When the unions announced their intention to strike to protest withheld wages and the generally poor working conditions and treatment of workers, the rightist government outlawed strikes (they called them "revolutionary"), closed the union newspaper, and had many union leaders arrested in an attempt to preempt the strike. While the strike went forward in many locations, it soon faltered without the arrested leaders. This only encouraged the rightist government to crack down even more, and the far right political organization was admitted into the government. This prompted some uprisings in certain areas, mainly in the industrialized and mining region of the north, and the government sent in troops to crush the rebellion in October 1934.

* Spain was heavily agricultural, more so the further south one went. One of the problems for agricultural workers was, it was seasonal work. A person had to make enough money to live on planting, caring for, and then harvesting whatever produce it was, until the process was started again in the planting time of year. Poor wages and less demand for products because of the Great Depression left many workers desperate. Refusal to hire union workers left many of these workers near starvation.

WORD HISTORY:
Shirt/Skirt-While English uses both words, closely related to "short," they are really the same word going back in time, with "shirt" using the softer "sh" pronunciation and "skirt" the harder sounding "sk." They trace back to Indo European "sker," which meant "cut." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "s(h)kurtijon," with the meaning "a cut off, or shortened, garment." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "scyrte," with the same meaning. Later it became "shirte," before the modern version. In modern times, it is pretty much used exclusively for a man's upper body garment, but in the past, it was not uncommon for it to be used in similar context for a woman's garment, with "blouse" now more commonly used. Skirt has the same history, except it was borrowed into English from Old Norse (a North Germanic language; English is West Germanic), which had "skyrta," in the late 1200s, which also meant "shirt." The change in meaning from "garment worn around the upper body" to "woman's garment worn from the waist, a shortened form of lady's dress," is not completely known, but similar meaning change took place in other West Germanic dialects, where in most cases, forms of the word (shirt/skirt) mean "apron." A verb form, "skirt," meaning "around the border or edge," came from the noun in the 1600s. The notion is perhaps from the garment "wrapping around (bordering) parts of the body;" thus, "don't skirt the issue" (don't just go around the main issue) and "outskirts of the city" (area encircling the city). Forms of "shirt/skirt" are quite common in the other Germanic languages: German has both "Schürze" and "Schurz" (“apron") Low German Saxon has "Schört" ("apron"), Dutch has "schort" ("apron"), Swedish has "skjorta" ("shirt"), Danish and Norwegian have "skjorte" ("shirt"), Icelandic has "skyrta" ("shirt"). I could not find a form in modern Frisian.

The World In Protest, Revolution or Civil War? Part Nine

2012-02-01T22:03:00.001-08:00

"Polarization of the Spanish Civil War" Part 4

The Spanish Republic was set against the major backdrop of the Great Depression. Escalating unemployment had an impact on Spain, just as it did in many other countries. After two years of of leftist coalition government (1931-1933), new elections were in the offing, and the governing coalition was showing the strains of policy decisions, which had been altered by the stiff opposition encountered by the political right. The farther left on the political spectrum a person was, the more likely that person was to be disappointed in the government's progress in moving Spain into a more equitable society. While those of the more moderate center-left political view saw much progress, the political right, by comparison, was totally mobilized against the government, and wealthy landowners and industrialists hired groups of thugs, ah, I mean individuals, to break (literally) strikes and protests by violence (to be fair, some protests contained acts of violence, also). Powerful monied interests funded a campaign to tar the left with being anti-Catholic (some were, but certainly not all) and even communistic (again, some of the far left were communists, but overall, the left was more in the model of other left-leaning groups in other European countries).* The deluge of money spent by the right convinced many a Spaniard to believe the stories, and the election went to the political right, some of whom promised special interest groups they would repeal the laws initiated by the government from 1931 to 1933. Some rightwing extremists admired and openly praised Mussolini's Fascist Italy and the new fascist dictator of Germany, Nazi Adolf Hitler. The Spanish political scene was becoming more and more polarized, and less prone to compromise.

* All "democracy" is not created equally. Those individuals with lots of money to spend on political campaigns often have a bigger say in politics than the average person. The recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that unleashed the so called "superpacs" on Americans is a case in point, as it permits corporations, unions and individuals (guess which ones have more money?) to contribute unlimited amounts of money as independent expenditures for political purposes. That means independent of specific campaigns. For example, political action committee (PAC) "Americans For Apple Pie" (fictitious, as far as I know) can raise unlimited amounts from corporations, unions and individuals to support candidate "John Rambleon," but the candidate cannot legally be involved with that PAC. While it is not a given, as we've seen in the ongoing Republican contest for the presidential nomination, PACs "tend" to run very negative ads against those opposing their "chosen" candidate. Wait until the Republicans have a nominee and the actual campaign starts! Then the Democratic PACs will be on the offensive too. This upcoming election may well be the nastiest ever. And then there are the races for governor and Congress, too!

WORD HISTORY:
Stead-This word traces back to Indo European "stetis," with the notion of "standing, being in place." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "stadiz," with the general meaning "place, spot, location." This then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "stede," also with the meaning "place, location, position." Some English dialects apparently later spelled it "sted," before the modern version. It is more common today in the compounds "instead" (literally "in place of") and "homestead," but also used alone, although less commonly, as in "In Mary's stead, Judy went to the meeting." After the Germanic dialects that became English left northern Europe for Britain, forms of the word in some of the other Germanic dialects developed the idea of "town, city," (see below) in addition to just the meaning "place." Very common in various forms in the other Germanic languages: German has "Stadt" (city), "Statt" ("place, spot") and "Stätte" (stead, living place); Low German Saxon has "Stääd" ("place") and "Stad" ("city"), some Low German dialect has "Städ" (stead) and "Staut" (city); Dutch has stad (city), West Frisian "stêd" (city) and "stee" (place); Icelandic "staður" (place); Danish has "stad" (city) and "sted" (place); Norwegian has "sted" (place); and Swedish has "stad" (town).

The World In Protest, Revolution or Civil War? Part Eight

2012-02-01T11:32:00.000-08:00

"Polarization of the Spanish Civil War" Part 3

Catalonia, a more industrialized region of northeastern Spain, was granted regional autonomy by the government of the Spanish Republic. The region had many union people and strong socialist sentiments.* The Basque region** of northern Spain also sought local autonomy (some wanted outright independence), and these developments brought serious concern from the army leadership, which was fearful of Spain literally breaking up into independent entities, or with regional governments being stronger than the national government.*** The Spanish army had traditionally tried to keep Spain stable, and many people looked to it to provide guidance.

The army officer corps, or more precisely, a substantial part of it, saw the establishment of the republic with a bit of apprehension. Rightwing newspapers inflamed fears in many in the army leadership and other Spaniards with a bombardment (no pun intended) of stories proclaiming how the Republicans (not to be confused with America's Republicans) were against the Church, private property, and the army. While there was truth in these basic assertions, there were also blatant falsehoods repeated over and over to prove their point.**** For instance, the army officers were required to swear an oath to the republic (they had previously sworn such an oath to the monarchy), but some (few) were so opposed to the republic, they chose to give up their positions. The rightwing press told the Spanish public that the officers were forced out, without pay, and that they would be destitute. The truth was, the officers were put on "reserve" status, and were accordingly paid. Discrediting out and out lies can be very difficult, however, and those on the right continued to believe the stories, and repeat them. To make matters worse, the government minister overseeing the army wanted officers to make a decision about taking the oath quickly, or face the possibility of not receiving pay if they chose to leave their positions. This gave a certain validity to the rightwing charge that officers were being "forced out" and that they would be destitute. Whether the minister realized his mistake, or just decided against implementing it, no officers were deprived of pay (based upon what I have read). Further, some army officers were arrested for the role they played in the dictatorship of the 1920s, primarily in North Africa.***** All of this made army officers uneasy about the new republic.

And still further, the government wanted a review of officer promotions granted during the dictatorship. While not all promotions were reviewed, or reversed, the anger in the officer corps continued to build, especially since pro-Republican officers (there were some) were often given special treatment and advancements. Numerous army installations were closed, as the new government tried to scale back on army outlays, although some senior officers were put into retirement with full pay (a major expense for the government). The reduction in the army's size meant fewer promotions for ambitious officers, and this too added to anger and frustration within the officer corps.

* Keep in mind, workers around the world didn't form unions because they one day were sitting around with nothing to do and one of them said, "Gee, what can we do to bedevil wealthy business people." Mistreatment by business owners, low wages and horrible working conditions made workers depend upon one another for help and support, and the idea of joining together to force better conditions and wages was seen as an effective way to add balance to business-labor relations. I used the word "force," because, let's be honest, most owners were NOT going to just give workers better pay and conditions, because it was the right thing to do, no matter how much religion they professed to have. Forget the religion! All of this was about one thing, for better or for worse, MONEY! Remember for example, the Russian Tsars (Czars, alternate spelling) professed Christian Orthodoxy, and the Spanish monarchy was vastly entangled with Christianity (after the Reformation, being Roman Catholicism), but that didn't make the leaders try to help the vast majority of their people, who were very poor. No, instead they chose to support the upper classes and business interests in a one-sided manner. Americans can draw their own conclusions as to any resemblance to a particular philosophy present in this country.

** The Basques are a people thought to have inhabited parts of western Europe prior to the arrival of Indo European speakers. Their language is not Indo European, and attempts to connect it to other non Indo European languages have left many questions, although it appears to be a part of "Vasconic," an ancient language family that was eventually replaced, with a few exceptions, by Indo European speakers. The Basques inhabit part of northern Spain and part of southern France, both in the general area of the Pyrenees Mountains. Quite a number of Basques emigrated to America, primarily in the mid 1800s.

*** For those who followed my extensive series, "The German Question," you should recall the problems of the "old" German Empire (The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation), where the individual German states tended to be more powerful than the collective empire.

**** I say there was truth in the basic assertions, because some of the more extreme elements on the left were not shy in saying these things, and they actually wanted a major shake-up in Spanish society. Other parts of the coalition were simply left-leaning, and they did not favor truly radical measures. A big problem for the new left-leaning government of the republic was, when a program favoring more "equality" was put forth, the "haves" of society used such talk to scare the hell out of the "lesser haves," that some of their more modest means would be distributed to the "have nots." We've seen this tactic used in America over the last couple of years, as super rich rightwingers have helped finance advertisements and rallies trying to scare middle-class Americans into opposing Obama and Democrats, although with mixed political results, as insurgent Republicans (the American variety) won a majority in the midterm elections, but President Obama remains "fairly" popular (polls show him near 50% positive), as the fervor of these Republicans has called their judgment into question, and Obama has had time to demonstrate that he's not proposing or implementing extremist programs; although the jury is still out on an overall verdict, which will come in the 2012 elections. The interesting things is, whatever the verdict, it is apt to have more to do with the overall economy than attempts to paint the President as some radical leader.

***** Spain possessed a part of what is now Morocco in North Africa; for some strange reason called, "Spanish Morocco." (Hm, you don't think it was called that because it was a Spanish possession, do you? Hm, maybe; after all, the part possessed by France was called "French Morocco." That must be the answer, darn! Just give me time and I can figure things out.) Anyway, there were periodic rebellions in Spanish Morocco, and the Spanish troops there were pretty ruthless in their suppression of these rebels. A core of the Spanish troops in Morocco became well trained and were led by Francisco Franco. They would later lead the attack on the republic when the civil war started.

WORD HISTORY:
Coup-The ultimate origins of this word are unknown. It traces back to Greek "kolaphos," which meant "slap." Latin borrowed the word as "colaphus," with the meaning "a punch or blow (usually to the head)." This then later became "colpus," "a blow or stroke." Old French, a Latin-based language, inherited the word as "colp," which had the same basic meaning. English borrowed the word from French, or perhaps more likely from the altered form of French, Anglo-French, brought to England by the Norman invasion, although the word didn't really come into more common usage until the 1300s. Today the word is really a shortening of "coup d'etat," which developed in French in the mid 1800s for a "sudden overthrow of a government; literally 'stroke of the state.' " It is also used in English in "coup d'grace;" which means "a final terminal blow," seemingly originally used when severely wounded people were put out of their misery, if you get my drift, although it has now come to mean "any blow that finishes off someone or something."

Allied Commanders of World War Two/Montgomery

2012-01-29T08:39:00.000-08:00

"Sir Bernhard Law Montgomery"

By far the most famous British commander of World War Two, Montgomery was born in London, the son of an Anglican clergyman. He later studied at Sandhurst Military Academy. After graduation his unit was sent to India, then a British colony, but the unit was then sent to France when World War One started, and Montgomery was severely wounded and almost killed there in the fall of 1914. After recuperating, he was again sent to France as a staff officer. After the war he received various promotions and assignments, including service in Ireland prior to its independence from Britain, but he also returned to India and served in the Middle East. By 1938 Montgomery was in command of a division in Palestine, then under British rule (termed a "mandate"), and his division was involved in suppressing revolts by the local non-Jewish, mainly Arab, population.

Montgomery returned to Britain not long before the outbreak of World War Two. He and his new division were sent to France right after Britain declared war on Germany in September 1939. Montgomery and his division were returned to Britain as part of the massive (and highly successful) evacuation from Dunkirk, a northern coastal French city, which had been surrounded by the Germans in 1940. He was given command of an area of southern England, as the country prepared for what seemed a likely German invasion. The seesaw British fortunes in North Africa against German and Italian troops, primarily under the command of General (Field Marshal from summer 1942) Erwin Rommel, "The Desert Fox," brought a decision by Prime Minister Winston Churchill to make major command changes in North Africa and the Middle East. When the newly appointed commander of the British Eighth Army* was killed when the Germans shot down his plane, Montgomery, then a Lieutenant-General, was given command of the army in mid August 1942.

Within a short time, Montgomery's energy had lifted the spirits of troops, as he made many a personal visit to the troops in the field. He also received reinforcements and strengthened defensive positions to keep Rommel's forces from further advances, while he plotted offensive operations to inflict a decisive defeat on the Desert Fox. Military historians have debated Montgomery's slow, but steady going as he built up toward the launching of his offensive.** Just a couple of weeks after assuming command, Montgomery's forces halted a major German-Italian attack, inflicting stinging casualties on the enemy, and forcing Rommel to order a withdrawal to his own defensive positions, thus ending Rommel's drive to capture Cairo and the Suez. British air attacks on Rommel's forces were more than a little helpful in the Allied victory.***

Montgomery finally unleashed his offensive against Rommel on October 23, 1942. After heavy fighting, Allied forces broke through the fortified Axis lines (Rommel loved minefields and barbed wire!), and Rommel, contrary to orders from nutcase-in-chief, Hitler, for Rommel's men to fight to the death, ordered a general retreat. As the remnants of the German and Italian forces retreated from Egypt and into Libya, Allied forces invaded French North Africa, far to the rear of Rommel's retreating army. By May 1943, the Axis forces in North Africa surrendered.

The Allies decided to invade the major Italian island of Sicily in July 1943, based largely upon plans put forth by Montgomery. The role given American forces of supporting Montgomery's main effort brought controversy to the Allied commanders, as Americans saw Montgomery as egotistical and condescending. The successful landing was followed by a grueling effort to clear the island of stubborn and effective German resistance.**** Mainland Italy was then invaded in September 1943, including by Montgomery's Eighth Army in the extreme southern part ("heel") of Italy. The Allied advance was halted by stiff German opposition south of Rome, and Montgomery was recalled to Britain to help prepare for the invasion of France.

Montgomery's plan called for the capture of the French city of Caen (in Normandy) by British forces and then a thrust northward, with American forces coming around the outside of advance. Caen was only taken much later than Montgomery anticipated, and after very heavy casualties, and the Allies didn't breakout of Normandy until August (they had landed on June 6, 1944). This was followed by a Montgomery plan to land airborne forces behind the German lines in the Netherlands in mid September 1944, combined with a ground offensive to link up with those forces. A follow up offensive would carry the Allies into Germany to capture the German industrial region (the Ruhr) and end the war quickly. Montgomery's reputation took a tumble, as part of the airborne landing force was cut to pieces by the Germans. The Germans launched a major offensive in mid December 1944 (known to the Allies as the "Battle of the Bulge," due to the 'bulge' created in the American line by the advancing Germans). Montgomery was temporarily given overall command of American forces in the area, and British troops were positioned to prevent a German breakthrough toward their ultimate (and overly optimistic) objective of Antwerp, which would have cut the Allied forces in two. In the later stages of the battle, Montgomery was criticized for not acting to cut off German forces retreating from the "bulge." Eventually British forces crossed the Rhine River into northern Germany and the war ended in May 1945. Montgomery was then commander of the British occupation forces in Germany, and later was named Chief of the Imperial General Staff. He remained controversial for the rest of his life, offering opinions on segregation in South Africa (he supported it) and even on gay rights (he opposed them), and his memoirs caustically criticized many of his associates from the war, including (by then) American President, Dwight Eisenhower, who had been the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. Outraged Americans wanted the head of "Monty" (as he was more often known), and Eisenhower never contacted him again. Montgomery died in 1976 in England, age 88.

* The Eighth Army was the army headquarters in charge of British and Commonwealth troops in Egypt. At that time, August 1942, Rommel's advance had been halted near the railway station of El Alamein.

** Montgomery's experiences of the terrible casualties of World War One, when waves of men were sacrificed for little or no gain, made him cautious in his operations. He chose to build up his forces to a point where they were pretty much guaranteed victory, due to overwhelming numbers. Some military people criticize his caution; others admire his deliberate pace and attempts to avoid heavy casualties. To be quite honest, there isn't any one correct answer. If you have seen the superb movie, "Patton," this same debate is depicted between Patton and General Omar Bradley during operations on Sicily. Patton, ever the "keep advancing, regardless of casualties" kind of commander, is confronted by the more deliberate Bradley. Patton, Bradley's superior, prevails, and so do the American forces, but at high cost. Patton tells Bradley the casualties would have been even higher had they waited, but these arguments are really never ending.

*** The decisive use of air power by the Allies in ground operations was something of a rarity at that time, as the German use of air power to support their ground forces had been a key component in their victories since the beginning of the war. Montgomery and other Allied commanders took note of the German tactics and turned them to their own advantage, something that lasted until the end of the war. Allied air power was often cited by Rommel for his pessimistic view of the eventual outcome of the war, although he believed a defeat of an Allied landing in France could still save Germany from total defeat. When that landing came (D-Day), Allied air power was so overwhelming, it prevented the timely arrival of German reinforcements to the invasion area, as German armored units (Panzer units), especially, had to do most of their travel at night to avoid being sitting ducks for Allied fighter-bombers. Even when the units arrived at their destinations, they had often already suffered losses to their tank strength from air attacks.

**** While Italian troops far outnumbered German troops on Sicily, many, but certainly not all, Italians chose to give up the fight and surrendered at first chance. Most Italian units involved were composed of reservists. On the other hand, many of the Germans were first class troops, including reinforcements by the highly regarded German paratroopers.

WORD HISTORY:
Small-This word traces back to Indo European "smalo," which had the general meaning "small," a meaning apparently often used of animals. This gave its Old Germanic offspring "smalaz," also with the meaning "small, narrow." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "smael," with the same basic meaning. This then later became "smal," before the modern version. Its other Germanic relatives are: German "schmal," Low German Saxon "small," other Low German "schmaul," Dutch "smal," Frisian "smel," all tending more toward the meaning "narrow," but also in "small," in some cases. Swedish, Danish and Norwegian have two forms, "små" (“small”) and also "smal" ("narrow"). I could not find a form in Icelandic, so I assume it has died out.

Success, Not Excess

2012-01-27T09:13:00.000-08:00

If polls are correct, many Americans want wealthy Americans to pay more taxes. Why? First and foremost, self interest; we don't want to pay more taxes ourselves, something I'm not sure is completely realistic.* It's like with government budget cuts at any level, "don't cut things that benefit me, cut my neighbor's stuff." Secondly, many Americans, in my opinion, feel the system is now so controlled by wealthy interests, there has to be something done to try to smooth out the tremendous income disparity that has developed over the last thirty plus years. Does this mean Americans want to tear down the system and start over? No, not in my opinion. Does this mean Americans want to penalize success? Not most Americans, in my opinion, BUT all taxes are NOT created equally. Many of us think of income taxes deducted from our pay (federal, state and local), or paid in estimated amounts during the year, when we hear the word "taxes." The thing is, almost half of Americans don't pay ANY federal income taxes now (Social Security and Medicare are different). There are many reasons for that, including tax cuts and various deductions, but that's what statistics show. As I noted, not all taxes are created equally. This is not to pick on Mitt Romney, but he's in the news, and I have a sneaking suspicion his tax returns represent a pretty good segment of the tax returns for many very wealthy Americans. Romney has made millions in the last couple of years, but almost all of it was through investments, not through actual work. It is not without reason I have dubbed such over the years here, "the sit on their ass class." Most statistics show the majority of Americans are working harder than ever just to tread water, or to keep from going over the cliff. Now, does this mean I'm against investors? No, but this stuff has gotten ridiculous. Tax rates on this "unearned" income have also been cut substantially. As I've noted here many times, they make this money off of money; demanding higher profits (thus higher dividends) from companies who then slash labor costs through lower wages and benefits, jobs shipped overseas to low wage countries, job cuts or through all of the above, to provide greater income to the "sit on their ass class." AND they have gotten away with it! Why?

Unions are, and have been, in decline. Like magicians who get the audience to focus on one thing to distract attention from the "magic" they intend to perform, wealthy interests have gotten many Americans to believe they will be better off if unions are busted, and goods and services are provided by cheaper labor, thus cheaper prices. The thing is, this has created a race to the bottom. Folks, if this continues, YOU likely will be affected, if you haven't been already, even if you are not a union member, or if you are a small business owner (customers with less money!). As I've noted here before, you don't always have to agree with a particular union stance on an issue, but you had better think about where we would be if we didn't have unions to provide a floor under wages, benefits, and working conditions. Just recently, Newt Gingrich proposed dismantling child labor laws by saying children should be employed as janitors. Where does most of the income go from all of the job cutting, wage cutting? To the wealthiest Americans.

Just as an example of how misguided some Americans are, in 2008, then candidate Barack Obama was campaigning in a neighborhood in northern Ohio. He talked with one Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher (with a name like that, he could have been part of my series, "The German Question"), who questioned the Democratic candidate about his tax policies, noting that he was going to buy a plumbing business that made about $275,000 a year. Obama noted that he wanted to "spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody," and the future president truthfully noted that anyone making over $250,000 a year would have their taxes go from 36% to 39%. Wurzelbacher became famous as a McCain supporter dubbed, "Joe the Plumber.** Media found court records indicating "Joe" made about 40 grand a year. So, 3% (the increase in taxes from 36% to 39%) of the approximate business income of $275,000 is $8250. If you made 40 grand a year and someone offered you a chance to make $275 grand, would you say, "No way! I'm not going to pay that extra $8,250! My mother didn't raise any fools!" This is how distorted the thinking is among many Americans, and the wealthy interests love it. Here was an average American standing up for them, but not for himself!

* Taxes have been cut so much, by both parties, it's no wonder the country is almost literally coming apart at the seams. Now, am I saying government is efficient? No, I'm not saying that. The argument over how to make government more efficient is a valid one, but this almost religious zeal of tax cuts for anything and everything may lead us to hear the claim how tax cuts might well cure the common cold. It's human nature to want to get things for the cheapest amount, including taxes, but we have to pay for things, including quality. Just a question: Is there a connection between the tax cut mania started by President Reagan and the overall decline of the country? I'm not saying there is, I'm just asking.

** Not to belittle "Joe," but to add some clarity here, Wurzelbacher was not entirely honest with Obama about buying the plumbing business, as discussion about such had taken place six years prior. Court records showed he made about $40,000 two years earlier, but that he owed about $1,200 in back income taxes to the State of Ohio. Further, he was not a licensed plumber.

WORD HISTORY:
Plumb-The origins of this word are uncertain, although some believe it is from a non Indo European language in the Mediterranean area, as both Latin and Greek have forms of the word. It traces back to Latin "plumbum," which meant "lead" (the metal), the plural of which was "plumba." Old French, a Latin-based language, inherited the word as "plombe," which meant "lead used on a line to weight the line for underwater sounding." English borrowed the word from French in the late 1200s. The profession "plumber" originally simply meant "worker in lead," and later, because lead was used in most water lines, it took on the modern meaning, "a worker who installs or repairs water lines."

Allied Leaders of World War Two/Roosevelt, Part 5

2012-01-23T07:18:00.000-08:00

"FDR As War Leader/Part 3"

Roosevelt wanted to help Britain very much, and he developed a close relationship with Prime Minister Winston Churchill, whose mother had been an American. In June 1941, Hitler launched an invasion of the Soviet Union, his former ally. When Japan attacked the American naval forces at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and America declared war on Japan, Hitler and Mussolini did both Churchill and Roosevelt a favor, of sorts, by declaring war on the United States a few days later.* Now American forces could be deployed directly to Britain. The decision was made to give more weight to pursuing the war against Hitler, as he was the primary threat to Britain, but major American forces were initially deployed in the Pacific to halt the expansion of Japan.** The already accelerating American economy shifted into high gear, and with millions of men (and some women) entering into the armed forces, unemployment plunged, albeit at the cost of high budget deficits, which exceeded 100% of GDP.***

In what became a highly controversial decision, Roosevelt signed an "executive order" which led to the relocation and internment in special camps of more than a hundred thousand people of Japanese ancestry, many of them natural-born citizens of the United States. About fifteen thousand people of German and Italian ancestry were also held, as were a very few people with ancestry tied to other Axis nations.

Roosevelt met with other top Allied leaders on several occasions during the war to discuss strategy, including the landing of Allied troops in western Europe, and post-war policies, with his most controversial meeting coming in early 1945 in the Soviet city of Yalta, where Roosevelt was seen by many as capitulating to Soviet dictator, Joseph Stalin over postwar territories in eastern Europe. (See the individual articles on Stalin, Churchill and DeGaulle in this series for more info on Allied relationships during the war.) Roosevelt reluctantly stood for re-election in 1944, as his health was in decline. He defeated Republican Thomas Dewey (from New York), but his margin of victory shrunk considerably from his previous three elections. After returning from Yalta and visits with other world leaders in 1945, Roosevelt went to his vacation home in Georgia. On April 12 he suffered an apparent cerebral hemorrhage and died. The nation mourned collectively. The war in Europe ended just a few weeks later. Vice president Harry Truman assumed the presidency.

* I dare say, most Americans are undoubtedly unaware of this, but America did NOT declare war on Germany and Italy because of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Neither Hitler nor Mussolini seemed to grasp the fact of American power, and that America's entry into the war against them, barring a dramatic change in circumstances, sealed their fate.

** Remember, while Americans didn't like Hitler, they were far more furious over the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and Roosevelt was both militarily and politically committed to halt Japan, early on.

*** The deficits declined considerably after the war.

WORD HISTORY:
Glow-The ancient history of this word is uncertain, but it "may" go back to Indo European "ghel/ghluo," which, if true, had the idea of "shine." Whether this is the source or not, Old Germanic had "gloanan," which meant "to shine." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "glowan," which meant "shine brightly, glow." Later this became "glouen," before the modern version. The noun form developed from the verb in the 1400s. Common throughout the other Germanic languages: West Frisian has "gloeie," Dutch has "gloeien," German has "glühen," Low German Saxon has "glöhn," Icelandic has "glóa," Norwegian, Swedish and Danish all have "glo."

The World In Protest, Revolution or Civil War? Part Seven

2012-01-22T10:27:00.000-08:00

"Polarization of the Spanish Civil War" Part 2

The Spanish constitution for the new republic was adopted in late 1931 and it was an attempt to right all "perceived" wrongs in Spanish society from throughout their long history. It was too much all at one time.* The new document attempted to make Spain dramatically more secular and independent of the Catholic Church, as it mandated public education, banned the Jesuits, and prohibited other religious orders from teaching in the new public school system. Further, it set up secular procedures for marriage (it had been a province of the Church), and even for divorce (a major Church "no, no" in those times), and it nationalized the extensive Church properties, requiring the Church to pay rent to the government.** It also gave women the right to vote. Such fundamental change brought an immediate, and passionate, backlash. Further, the constitution provided for government confiscation of private property for the public good, although the owners were to be compensated. This alienated the large landowners, placing them against the republic.***

*What happened in Spain had not actually been a revolution, in the Bolshevik sense. Revolutionaries didn't take over the government and the government then didn't take over everything and execute or arrest enemies, real or imagined. The constitution provided for free elections and democracy (although staunch Catholics would argue otherwise, with some justification), and democracy can be contentious and messy, to put it mildly. To try to push such dramatic change onto Spanish society so quickly in a democratic nation was bound to have political consequences.

** While today some of the provisions would not be seen as terribly radical, back then, for a nation steeped in rigid Catholicism, these major changes, and their inclusion as part of the new republic, were bound to bring determined opposition, as many staunch Catholics turned against the republic. Even some marginal religionists were not supportive of the new measures. The Pope (Pius XI) condemned the measures. It is probably not an exaggeration to say these anti-Church measures went a long way toward the later outbreak of civil war.

*** There was an enormous gap between the "haves" and "have nots" in Spanish society, but just as with Church matters, many viewed the remedies as going too far and too fast. The landed segment of society (and the Church) had enjoyed protections from the monarchist government for centuries, and the new constitution suddenly turned the government from protector into a potential adversary. The land reforms were not pursued with great vigor (there was not much money available to pay for the land); consequently, the republic made enemies of the landowners just for having the policies, and the republic didn't appease the peasantry, the intended beneficiaries of the reforms.

WORD HISTORY:
Bead-The meaning of this word has changed dramatically over time, although the initial change makes the connection to its original meaning. It "seems" to go back to Indo European "bheudh," which had the meaning "request, ask; thus also, pray." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "bidjan/bithjan," also with the meaning "request, pray." This gave Old English "biddan," a verb form with the same meaning, and the derived noun "gebed," meaning "prayer."^ By about the 1300s, the "ge" had disappeared, leaving "bedu," then "bede," but the meaning had shifted to the specific "prayer bead, rosary bead."^^ Later still, the religious aspect was often lost, as the word came to be applied to many small round objects. Other Germanic languages have (all still meaning "prayer"): German has "Gebet;" some Low German dialect has "Jebäd;" Low German Saxon has "Beet," Frisian and Dutch have "gebed." The North Germanic languages have forms without the "t" or "d" sounds; Swedish "bön," for example, but whether these are related to "bead," I'm not sure.^ There were variations on "biddan."^^ English had borrowed the word "prayer," which displaced the native ancestor of "bead" with that meaning.

Allied Leaders of World War Two/Roosevelt, Part 4

2012-01-12T06:59:00.000-08:00

"FDR As War Leader/Part 2"

(See the previous article in this series about FDR and Asia) Roosevelt remained focused on combating the devastating effects of the Great Depression in the mid to late 1930s,* even though both Hitler and Mussolini were making noises; Hitler in Europe and Mussolini in eastern Africa. When a war between Britain, France, and Czechoslovakia against Germany seemed possible over German claims to German populated areas of Czechoslovakia, Roosevelt, while sympathetic to Hitler's opponents, remained determined to keep the U.S. out of such a war by saying the U.S. would be neutral. Once the crisis over Czechoslovakia passed, it didn't take Hitler long to turn up the heat on Poland, a nation on Germany's eastern frontier, against which many Germans held grievances over post World War One border adjustments.** While still wishing to remain officially neutral, Roosevelt desired to give material aid to Britain and France by the sale of weapons, especially aircraft.***

The German invasion of Poland and the resulting declaration of war on Germany by Britain and France put Roosevelt in a tough political spot. Overt American public opinion remained against U.S. military involvement in the European war, but FDR wanted to help the Allies as much as possible economically, including with weapons. The defeat of France so shocked Americans, that, coupled with an increasing fear of a world dominated by fascism, public opinion more and more favored Britain in its stand alone position against Hitler. While a strong anti-war sentiment remained, clearly the momentum had shifted enough for FDR and a number of cooperative Republicans to support an expansion of American military forces. Congress passed, and FDR signed, a bill implementing a peacetime "draft" in September 1940.**** The U.S. also gave Britain some old military vessels in exchange for bases in various British and Commonwealth territories. The major aid to Britain came in the Lend Lease Act, which literally gave Roosevelt the ability to "give" military supplies and weapons to Britain, with the durable weapons later to be returned to the U.S. (thus the "lend/lease" idea).***** After Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, the policy was extended to aid that nation against the Axis powers, too. Tanks, trucks, ships and planes were common Lend-Lease weapons supplied by the U.S.

Naturally, all of this did not sit well with Hitler and Mussolini, and Germany began to sink more and more transport ships bound for Britain, mainly by submarine (U-boat) attacks. The stage was set for a confrontation.

* Americans certainly seemed content to mind their own business, perhaps even more so because of the economic calamity. While America's intervention in World War One had definitely aided the Allies, America was not really seen by many as a true super power in those times. Just as began to happen circa 2005/06, as Americans began to feel more and more economically pinched, an increasing number of people began to lose interest in fighting foreign wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with public sentiment shifting to bolstering the nation's floundering economy, a sentiment (shown in recent polls) that is still very prevalent as we enter 2012.

** See the following article for more information on the border changes between Germany and Poland: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2011/05/german-question-part-ninety-seven.html

*** The production of these aircraft also boosted the American economy, something not lost on the politically savvy FDR. He got to have it both ways; to keep out of direct political involvement in hot button European issues which could lead to war, but to get more Americans employed in decent paying industrial jobs, with payment coming, mainly, from France, and later Britain. (Note: The French orders were not completed when France surrendered to Germany in June 1940. The remainder of the order, plus more, were then shipped to Britain.)

**** According to the NY Times, the vote in the House of Representatives was 232 to 124 (186 Democrats and 46 Republicans FOR; (32 Democrats, 88 Republicans, and 4 other parties AGAINST). The Senate vote was 47 to 25 (40 Democrats and 7 Republicans FOR, and 13 Democrats, 10 Republicans, and 2 other parties AGAINST).

*****Most items were obviously not returned to the U.S., but some were later sold at huge discounts.

WORD HISTORY:
Ear (2)-This is the noun meaning "seed/grain bearing part of a plant;" commonly used in "ear of corn." This word goes back to Indo European "aek," a base with the meaning "sharp, pointed." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "ahkhaz," which retained the "sharp" notion, but also began to develop the meaning "spear shaped part of a grain plant" (the spear shape tied in with the idea of "sharp"). This gave Old English "ear," seemingly with a long "e," but the "ar" also pronounced. Later this became "ere," before the modern spelling and pronunciation. The other Germanic languages have: German "Ähre," Low German Saxon "Ohr," West Frisian "ier," Dutch "aar," Icelandic "eyra," Danish and Norwegian "aks" (notion the closeness to the ancient ancestor), and Swedish "Örat." For the history of "ear, the body part for hearing:" http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2010/12/ant-in-room.html

The World In Protest, Revolution or Civil War? Part Six

2012-01-11T08:35:00.000-08:00

"Polarization of Spain Brings Civil War" Part 1

The American Civil War was fought over "states' rights," and more specifically over the issue of slavery, and whether states had a right to permit slavery within their own borders, or whether the national government had a right to outlaw slavery throughout the land. The practice of slavery was well established in the southern parts of the country, especially, but not exclusively on large estates (plantations), and many prominent early Americans, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, owned slaves. More and more Americans of those times came to view slavery as morally wrong, although opposition came to be concentrated in northern states, with states bordering the north and south facing divided public opinion.* Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president,** was a staunch foe of slavery, and his election brought the declaration from a number of southern states that they were leaving the "Union;" that is, the United States, to form a "confederation" of states; thus, the term "Confederacy." Lincoln said states could not leave the "Union," and a violent war began to settle the issue (for those times).***

Spain was a monarchy until 1931, when King Alfonso XIII abdicated (he literally left the country). The king, the Roman Catholic Church, the army and wealthy interests, including industrialists, had had the largest say in the governance of Spain,**** and the strains on Spanish society were becoming more and more evident, as reforms to help protect workers, farmers, and regional interests were not carried through. The Spanish socialist party became increasingly popular, along with strong anti church elements, and pro-democracy elements.***** In elections in 1931, this "coalition" group won a majority in elections, the king left the country, and a "republic" was declared. All seemed well on the surface, and it appeared Spain would move forward, but opposition to the new republic from entrenched interests was quickly mobilizing to prevent change.

* The southern states of America were generally not as densely populated as northern states, and the availability of land for farming, combined with the longer growing season made agriculture a major part of the southern economy, with labor intense cotton being one of the main crops, as it was also sold overseas. The long tradition of slave labor in the region carried over from colonial times to the decades after American independence.

** The Republican Party had been established with a strong anti-slavery element. Lincoln's candidacy prompted southerners to flock to the Democratic Party, where they and their descendants remained until the last couple of decades, when they began voting Republican, if not always registering as Republicans. The Democratic Party maintained a staunch segregationist element from the post-Civil War era until a number of prominent Democrats began to push for an end to segregation and for laws to try to make the country fairer. More and more, the segregationist elements voted Republican or became Republicans, undoubtedly causing Lincoln several turns in his grave. So historically, neither major political party is without guilt, but at least Democrats basically got over it. Republicans took their party's roots and chopped them off.

*** I say "for those times," because just in the last couple of years some Republicans in southern states, including Governor Perry of Texas, have suggested they might want to secede from the "Union," mainly because of President Obama's health care plan. Such talk has now subsided, but it is interesting that the Republican South, undoubtedly the most fundamentalist Christian (by their definition; keep reading) part of the country, and Rick Perry, who taunts his Christianity so publicly, would talk of secession from the country, because a president wants to help Americans who don't have health insurance! I'm not saying you have to support Obama's plan (I wasn't especially thrilled by it, but for different reasons), but to essentially say to those who don't have access to adequate health care, "The hell with you! I've got mine, go get yours," is just astounding. It shows how human beings make religion to be whatever we want it to be, AT THE MOMENT. Christianity especially does NOT advocate selfishness, accumulation of wealth, turning your back on the needy or sick, but, quite to the contrary, the OPPOSITE OF THESE THINGS! Going to church, singing hymns, memorizing Bible verses, saying "God loves you," and forming social cliques is not Christianity, although many seem to believe that is its purpose. Oooo, I can feel the condemnations now! But for those condemning me, you'd better go look in that mirror and ask yourself some tough questions. And no "spinning" the answers to come out the way you want them to come out; that is, "making religion be what you want it to be, at the moment."

**** There was a military government throughout much of the 1920s, but it grew increasingly unpopular, including with the wealthy, since the government raised their taxes to help pay for public works projects. Hm, you don't think there's a similarity to modern America here, do you? The government, which was supported by the king, succeeded in angering just about every segment of Spanish society with oppressive policies or by not following through on promised reforms; thus further tarnishing the king, who already had a reputation as anti-democratic.

***** The Roman Catholic Church had had tremendous influence in Spain for centuries. Since the Church tended to support the rulers of Spain, it too was seen by a certain segment of the population as being part of the country's problems.

WORD HISTORY:
Civil-It "seems" this word, closely related to "civic" (not a Honda), goes back to Indo European "k(h)ei," with the meaning "settle, lie down, homestead," and also the figurative noun sense, "family" (from the homestead/settle notion). This gave its Latin offspring "civis," which meant "citizen" (here again, the "homestead, settle, and family notions tie in). This then produced Latin "civilis," with the meaning "pertaining to the public, to citizens." Old French, a Latin-based language, "inherited" the word as "civil," and English borrowed it from French in the late 1300s (the Middle English period). The further notion of "courteous, polite," as in "civil discussion," seems to have been picked up by English in the 1500s, as Latin had that same meaning, derived from the idea of regular citizens being more polite than military and religious authorities.

A Recommendation: "The Greedy Bastards"

2012-01-09T07:42:00.000-08:00

Folks, it's not often that I recommend things here, but I hope you will check this out. The title alone should get your attention, and if you're a regular reader here, you know I've used the term, or similar, many times over the years. Whether you like to hear it or not (please, please don't be in denial), the country has essentially been taken over by a very powerful, well financed group. They aren't "job creators," as they and their minions like to say, but they are interested in one thing....THEMSELVES! Any jobs they create, and they are not many, in my opinion, are incidental. No matter what your political affiliation, I hope you can put the COUNTRY first, and not let the superegos and "greedy bastards" continue to take us on the path of national destruction we have been on for decades now. Dylan Radigan has seen "Wall Street" first hand and his commitment to change the country for the better, for the vast majority, and not just the few, is somethng he sincerely believes.

http://greedybastards.com/

WORD HISTORY:
Meal (2)-English has two words "meal;" this is the one "food served at a particular time" ("Meal," meaning "ground grain" was covered previously). This word goes back to Indo European "me," which meant "to measure." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "maelan," which meant "(measured) time and hour, but also in certain contexts it seems to have had notions of "fixed time to eat." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "mael," with essentially the same meanings. This then became "mel(e)," before the modern version, but the meaning condensed to only "fixed time to eat, meal, feast." Very common in the other Germanic languages: German and Low German Saxon have "mal" (time(s), in math & in 'occasion' sense) & "Mahl" (meal), Dutch has "maal," West Frisian has "miel," Icelandic, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish all have "mál."

Allied Leaders of World War Two/Roosevelt, Part 3

2012-01-03T22:24:00.000-08:00

"FDR As War Leader/Part 1"

By the late 1930s, with America still suffering from the Great Depression, Roosevelt, in tune with the sentiments of many Americans, was not inclined to get the country directly involved in overseas military actions, although the Japanese had shown aggressiveness in Asia since the days of Herbert Hoover's presidency, and China and Japan were at war in 1937. Several nations, including America, helped China by providing loans to buy war goods, and the "American Volunteer Group," known more famously as "the Flying Tigers," provided China with air support, while gaining valuable combat experience, although the unit did not actually see combat until Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor. The U.S. and other nations also implemented an escalating embargo against Japan beginning in 1940, with the U.S. and Britain cutting off trade by mid 1941. It is important to remember that at that time, Hitler occupied much of Europe and had invaded the Soviet Union, and Japan had developed increasingly close ties to Hitler and Mussolini. The trade embargo heightened tensions between the United States and Japan, although negotiations between the two countries continued up until the surprise Japanese attack on American naval forces stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (then an American territory, not a state). The attack brought Roosevelt to Congress the next day to ask for a declaration of war against Japan; something Congress passed, with only one "No" vote, cast by a Republican congresswoman from Montana.

WORD HISTORY:
Meal-English has two words "meal," this is the one meaning "ground grain." It traces back to Indo European "mele," which meant "to grind." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "melwan," which meant "to grind," and the derived noun form "melwa," which meant "meal" (the result of grinding grain). This gave Old English "melu," which then became "mele," before the modern spelling. Common in the other Germaic languages: German and Low German Saxon have "Mehl," some Low German dialects have "Mäl," West Frisian has "moal," Dutch has "meel," Swedish has "mjöl" (Icelandic uses this same word, but now only in compounds), Danish and Norwegian have "mel."

The World In Protest, Revolution or Civil War? Part Five

2012-01-01T22:28:00.000-08:00

So we've seen lots of protests in various parts of the world during this past year. Some of the protests have turned violent, with governments cracking down in an effort to limit the protests, and to prevent the protests from developing into outright attempts to overthrow the existing order. Even in Russia during recent weeks, large protests have taken place directed at Vladimir Putin and the United Russia political party over what some Russians see as fraudulent parliamentary elections. So what's going on in the world?

Well, simply put, those in power, officially, or "unofficially," as in interests which support existing orders in various countries (often wealthy, business interests, or religious sects), are trying to maintain their control, while others with little or no power want some changes in their respective systems, if not out and out total change. In America for quite some time now we have seen a politically polarized electorate and governing system. The Great Depression rocked the American political system, bringing progressives, later often termed "liberals," into control of the national agenda. The country never went totally to the political left, as the midterm elections of 1938 gave Republicans* a resounding victory, although their numbers in Congress had dwindled so much since 1930, they had no place to go but up, otherwise they might have disappeared. It showed that America had political balance, since Democrats (see *) had controlled the agenda, and Franklin Roosevelt had pushed the envelop a bit too much for many Americans with his attempt to pack the Supreme Court.** Roosevelt learned his lesson, and he became one of the nation's most beloved Chief Executives, even with many Republican admirers.

The Republicans gradually made headway against Democrats over time, especially on the presidential level, as Dwight Eisenhower won two landslide elections, but the nation's agenda was clearly set by the progressive mindset of the public, and Republican officeholders tended to be moderate in policies and in temperament. Any Republican resurgence was stopped by the scandals of President Richard Nixon, a moderate Republican, in the early 1970s. It wasn't until the late 1970s when conservatives rallied to Ronald Reagan, a former Democrat, that a major Republican victory became a possibility, and a reality in 1980. While Reagan frequently poked fun at himself and was not of a nasty disposition, some of the reactionary elements in the conservative movement saw the chance to repeal progressive programs from the 1970s and 1960s, then the 1930s, and now, in my opinion, from the Civil War (we had better watch out, they may next try to undo the Revolutionary War and we'll all have to learn "God Save the Queen"). The agenda shifted more and more from progressive to conservative since those times. By the 1990s, led by then Congressman Newt Gingrich, the conservative Republicans were in firm, and growing, control of the Republican Party. Confrontation between the two parties became far more frequent, with Republicans in Congress allowing the government to temporarily shut down; a move that proved highly unpopular with many Americans. Conservatives enacted tax cuts numerous times, often skewed heavily toward upper income Americans. Statistics show that income disparity among the wealthiest Americans and the rest of us has grown tremendously since Reagan's presidency, but Americans have taken their eye off the ball, as too many are concerned with other issues, rather than with making the country fairer. Even with Democrats in control of Washington for a couple of years, conservatives boldly put forward proposals to do away with inheritance taxes, both at the federal level, and in many states. The ideological divide between the two parties is frightening to me, and in a way it reminds me of the Spanish Civil War era of the mid to late 1930s. (See next installment about the Spanish Civil War)

* The Republicans of that era were not all the fire-breathing reactionaries some might associate, fairly or unfairly, with today's Republican Party, and Democrats were not socialists some might associate, fairly or unfairly, with today's Democratic Party. No, back then some of the most conservative people in the country, mainly in the south, were Democrats, and some of the more progressive people in the country, often, but not always, in New England, were in the Republican Party. Many of the hot-button social issues of more recent times were not really front and center back then. THE important issue was economics, and since many Americans were, or had become (due to the Depression), "have nots," the issue of fairness and income distribution was a hot topic, with even many "conservative" southerners favoring policies that helped those who were not independently wealthy. Governor, and then U.S. Senator, Huey Long of Louisiana became a champion of average people with his "Share Our Wealth" slogan. Long was a corrupt demagogue, and virtual dictator of Louisiana, but he became so popular by the mid 1930s, both major political parties feared him, especially Democrats, since he seemed an inevitable candidate for the presidency in 1936 as a third party candidate, and his appeal was to people likely to vote the Democratic ticket; thus Long, or his hand-picked candidate, could have thrown the election to the Republicans. Long was assassinated in September 1935 by the son-in-law of a judge Long was trying to have removed from office.

** Roosevelt was dissatisfied with some Supreme Court decisions and he proposed to "expand" the number of justices on the court; thus diluting the strength of a conservative block on the court. Americans saw it as a power grab, which it was, and it was a major issue used against too much power in the hands of Democrats in the late 1930s. Republicans made huge gains in the midterm election of 1938. The electoral message worked, and Roosevelt settled down to governing the country within the established boundaries. He won a third term, and then a fourth term, before passing away in April 1945, just weeks before the surrender of Hitler's Germany.

WORD HISTORY:
Price-This word traces back to Indo European "preti," which had the notion of "give back, return." This gave its Latin offspring "pretium," which meant "price, worth, value, reward." This gave Old French, a Latin-based language, "pris," with the same basic meanings. English borrowed the word from French in the 1200s, with the same French spelling, "pris," which then was altered to "prise," before the modern spelling. The verb form was derived from the noun, seemingly around 1400.

Christmas

2011-12-23T22:07:00.000-08:00

The history of the word "Christmas:"

This word is a compound, the "Christ" part traces back to Indo European "ghrei," which meant "to rub." This gave Greek "khriein," which meant "to anoint; that is, usually rub with oil." This then produced the noun "khristos," meaning "the anointed (one)," which was the Greek translation of Hebrew "mashiah;" that is, "messiah." Latin borrowed the word as "Christus," and the word spread throughout Europe with the advance of Christianity; thus Old English "crist," and the "h" wasn't added until a few centuries later for "Christ." "The "mas" part is really "Mass," the religious service. The ultimate origins of this word are uncertain, although "some" believe it is from Indo European. It goes back to Latin "mittere," a verb meaning "to send, to dismiss." This verb's participle form was "missa," which produced a noun form "messa," meaning "a Eucharist service;" that is, "thanks giving service" (not the American holiday "Thanksgiving"). The notion behind the word and the religious service was "prayer sent; thus the congregation is dismissed." This was borrowed into Old English as "maesse," which later became "Mass." It was borrowed by other languages, too, and German has "Messe," and Dutch has both "mis" and "massa." Old English had "Cristes maesse," which did not commonly become one compound word until about the 1300s; thus we have "Christmas." The use of "Xmas" as an abbreviation for "Christmas" is from the Greek letter "Χ" from "Χριστός;" that is, the Greek alphabet form of "Christ," transliterated as "Christós."

So, to all visitors here: "MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

Allied Leaders of World War Two/Roosevelt, Part Two

2011-12-20T22:25:00.000-08:00

"Roosevelt & The New Deal"

Roosevelt's political skills, especially his public speaking, had developed tremendously, and his inconsistencies drove logical, technocratic Republican incumbent, Herbert Hoover, nuts. Roosevelt portrayed Hoover as a big spender, while at the same time saying how he would help people in need, which meant he would have to spend more money. Trade was a hot issue in those times, as it is today, and tariffs were used to control incoming goods from foreign lands. High tariffs were obviously used to lower imports, while lower tariffs were used to increase particular products. Two of Roosevelt's advisers wrote lines for speeches for him; one favoring high tariffs, one favoring low tariffs. After reading both, Roosevelt told the two men to sit down and "blend the two together." Roosevelt straddled issues like this, often taking a firm position, ON BOTH SIDES! With the country in deep distress, Roosevelt's inconsistencies didn't bother the electorate much, and he and Democrats won a huge victory in November 1932. Between election day and the day of Roosevelt's taking office,* banks began to fail in increasing numbers. Upon taking office, Roosevelt closed the banks, calling it a "bank holiday," in order to stop runs on the banks, and to buy time to develop and implement a plan to keep the country's financial system from going further off the rails. The usual free market complainers believed such intervention meant the end of civilization was near, but the country survived, so did most of the banks (and bankers), and the overwhelming number of Americans didn't wave hammer and sickle banners or join the Communist Party.

Roosevelt and Congress moved a large amount of legislation though to try to improve confidence and stabilize the downward slide. I have written various times about FDR, and here are some links to more; I hope you will check out both:

http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2009/07/new-deal-era-now-end.html

http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2007/09/great-depression-part-twelve.html

Next... "Roosevelt As War Leader"

* In those times, presidents did not take office until March 4. By the next election, the date had been changed to January 20, as it still is today. The gap between election day and taking office had been necessary when the country was founded, as people and information traveled more slowly.

WORD HISTORY:
Thee-While no longer in general every day usage, this word is still encountered in old texts and hymns, and it is still used by quaint religious sects. English once used "thu," which later became "thou," for "you," in the singular nominative case (German still uses "du" and Frisian uses "do"). The accusative and dative case form of "thu" ("thou") was "the" (later "thee").^ This "seems" to go back to Indo European "te," also with the meaning "you," which then gave its Old Germanic offspring "thehk." This then gave Anglo-Saxon "the," which later became "thee." German has "dich," Low German "di," West Frisian "dy," Dutch (seems to be archaic or dialect now) "dij," Norwegian has "deg," Icelandic has "thér," Danish and Swedish have "dig."

^ Grammar in the old Germanic dialects/languages was very complex, and some other modern Germanic languages, including standard German, have retained much of the complexity; although luckily, English grammar has been simplified over the centuries. The terms above mean this: nominative case simply means when a word is used as the subject of a sentence or phrase; accusative and dative cases mean when a word is used as the object of a sentence or phrase. Examples: "You gave me the coat." "You" is the subject of the sentence and is thus in the nominative case. "Me" is the dative case form of "I," as it is the recipient of the action, "giving the coat." Languages change word forms to show differences in usage. "The coat" is in the accusative case, as it is the item being given. In a simple example like this, German is similar to English, but it retains the complexity, because the word for "the," in this case, "den," shows the "Mantel" (coat) is in the accusative case. "Mantel" is grammatically a masculine noun; thus, "der Mantel," but it changes to "den Mantel" in the accusative. Hey, I told you it is complex: "Du gabst mir den Mantel."

America Is A Poorer Place

2011-12-15T22:02:00.000-08:00

The Census has confirmed what many Americans already know, often from firsthand experience; that is, Americans are poorer. Nearly one half of the nation is now living in poverty or with low income, this totaling to more than 146 million people, as the middle class shrinks further. I'm sure the conservative pundits will say something like, "Don't believe these numbers. The country is just great. We're number one! You're unpatriotic if you believe otherwise." Folks, this is what tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, wage and benefit cuts for other Americans, and program cuts for the poor has brought us. IT DOESN'T WORK! (Unless, of course, you're in the upper income strata.)

WORD HISTORY:
Low-This is the word generally used as an adjective. The verb form is from a different source (I'll try to remember to do it soon). This word goes back to Indo European "legh," with the general notion of "to lie/lay." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "legaz," which meant "lying flat, lying at or near the ground." While Old English had the related "licgan," the ancestor of "to lie (down or flat), recline," it wasn't until the 1100s that the related Old Norse "lagr" ("low") began general use in English as "lah," with a (more or less) long "a." This later became "lohe," before the modern spelling. Common in the other Germanic languages: German has the now little used "läge," Low German Saxon has "lääg," West Frisian "leech," the now almost extinct North Frisian has "leeg," Dutch has "laag,"Danish has "lav," Icelandic has "lágur," and Norwegian and Swedish have "låg."

The World In Protest, Revolution or Civil War? Part Four

2011-12-07T22:34:00.000-08:00

"Have We Lost Our Idealism?"

The "Great Depression" brought Americans together, unfortunately, it was often in a soup kitchen line, but it also made middle class Americans relate to those below them, rather than to those above them. Just a few years before, as Americans chased money and class status, they had related more to those above, as they too desired to get rich, and quickly. The economic collapse not only thwarted hopes of many of achieving great wealth, it often reversed any economic gains made by some Americans. It also showed how ruthless and greedy some Americans really were. Many of the "haves" didn't reach some pinnacle, stop, and see who they could help. No, they kept going, crushing anyone standing in their way of accumulating even more money they couldn't spend in a hundred lifetimes or more.* By the late 1930s along came a movie that seemed to capture the essence of the times, "Mr Smith Goes To Washington." Instead of a pompous Donald Trump sitting as king, and issuing statements of "You're fired," the movie appealed to the great idealism of Americans for fairness and the offering of help to others. It strongly condemned selfishness and greed, and the accompanying corruption. If you haven't seen this movie, or if you haven't seen it in a while, please watch it. It may just restore some of your faith in what this country can be. The movie uses the young to help bring down corruption, and today's Occupy Wall Street movements have many young people involved. They aren't
perfect, but the task they face against entrenched interests and corruption is every bit as daunting as the interests and corrupt individuals who tried to trample Jimmy Stewart's character in the movie. Not all Americans have lost their idealism to make this a country and a world of more fairness. Similar movements are also present in many other parts of the world, and indeed, international cooperation will be needed to bring about the necessary changes to move the world forward, and not let it slide back to the Dark Ages and feudalism, with the likes of Donald Trump living in a castle, with the rest of us groveling as his serfs. If that idea scares you, it should!

* My progressive brethren don't always like to hear this, but Herbert Hoover was not one of those who spent his life trying to accumulate more wealth. Unlike many who "claim" religion, Hoover actually took his religious beliefs (he was a Quaker) seriously. His religion espoused that if you were successful, you were obligated to "give back" to society. Besides donating money to causes, Hoover entered public service, first in the Wilson administration, then in administering food programs in Europe to help prevent mass starvation of Europeans during and after World War One. While a firm opponent of communism, Hoover tried to keep people in the then developing Soviet Union from starving. I don't recall his exact words, but when asked about helping people in a Bolshevik country, he answered something to the effect that he didn't ask their political beliefs; they were human beings. There are not many of us who would say something like that. Hoover then served as Secretary of Commerce in the Harding and Coolidge administrations, before becoming president. This high achievement proved to be his undoing in terms of public admiration, as the Great Depression severely damaged his reputation. Of course, he made some unwise policy choices, like opposing direct aid to states to help the unemployed and needy, and even when he reversed course, his reputation had been so sullied, he got no credit for it. Later it was found that Hoover had given away much of his money during his presidency, and he did mobilize Americans to give record amounts to charities during those desperate times. He did NOT accept his salary as president. I may not agree with everything he did, but I give credit where I feel it is due.

WORD HISTORY:
Heat-Closely related to "hot," this word's ultimate origins are uncertain, but it could be a Germanic invention, or borrowing from a non-Indo European source, or, as some believe, a variation of Indo European. Old Germanic had "haitijo/haitija," which meant "heat." This gave Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "haetu/hait," which also meant "heat." By Middle English it had become "hete," before the modern spelling. Note: Old English also had "haetha," which meant "hot weather." The verb form, meaning "to heat," to make hot, to become hot," traces back to Old Germanic "haitijan(an)."This gave Anglo-Saxon "haetan," with the same meanings. German has the noun "Hitze," and the verb "heizen;" some Low German dialects have the noun "Hett," and the verb "hette;" Dutch has the noun "hitte," and the verb "(ver)hitten," which is used in the figurative sense, "stir emotions" (Dutch and Frisian now use forms of "warm" to mean "to heat something"); Frisian has "hjittens," Icelandic has "hita," Danish has "hede" (often in compounds), Norwegian has "het/hete," and Swedish has the noun "hetta."

See more at the history of "hot:" http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2011/12/allied-leaders-of-world-war.html

Allied Leaders of World War Two/Roosevelt

2011-12-06T22:08:00.000-08:00

"Franklin D. Roosevelt" Part One

Usually ranked in the top tier of American presidents, along with his distant cousin Teddy, and often third, behind Washington and Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt was born into a well to do family in New York. He attended both Harvard and Columbia, where he studied law. He married a distant cousin, Eleanor Roosevelt. He and his wife took an interest in politics, and he was elected to the NY State Senate, which began a long career in public office. He gained state prominence, and even national prominence, by tangling with the Democratic Party bosses in New York. President Woodrow Wilson named him Assistant Secretary of the Navy, a position he held throughout World War One, and a position which took him to England and France, where he gained experience in dealing with foreign representatives. In between, he ran an unsuccessful campaign for U.S. Senator from NY, as the Democratic machine he had so often opposed got even with him.

After the war a congressional investigation into a Navy sex scandal brought a denouncement from a Senate investigating committee.^ This all began to take shape as Roosevelt was about to become the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 1920. The election was a Republican landslide (Warren Harding was the Republican candidate), but the fact that Roosevelt was on the Democratic ticket showed how far he had come in political matters. By the summer after the election, Roosevelt came down with polio, which left his legs paralyzed. While this disease left him physically crippled for life, it also gave Roosevelt tremendous insight and empathy into the struggles of others, and not just against disease. He wore braces, and with the help of a cane, he learned to walk short distances, although most of the time he was confined to a wheelchair, but this aspect of his life remained out of public view.^^

In 1928, while the Democratic ticket went down to heavy defeat at the hands of Republican Herbert Hoover, Roosevelt was narrowly elected governor of New York. A year later what came to be known as "the Great Depression" began, and Roosevelt implemented progressive policies in New York to help those in distress. He ran for reelection and won by a wide margin in 1930.^^^ With the country mired in depression and the next presidential election on the horizon, with an increasingly unpopular Republican president in office, Roosevelt was seen as a major contender for the Democratic nomination.^^^^

^ Concisely, Navy personnel had been reportedly involved in gay sex (then usually illegal) in Newport, Rhode Island. Roosevelt approved an investigation into the allegations. The Navy's investigation used other Navy personnel as participants in sexual encounters to prove the allegations. The Navy was then accused of abusing these men by allowing them to participate in illegal sex.

^^ For the rest of his life, Roosevelt's affliction was known to the public, as were his attempts to overcome it, but his use of a wheelchair was kept from the public. In those times, for better or for worse, the press didn't get into such stories. The fact remains, however, that Roosevelt was elected as governor of NY and was elected an unprecedented four times as President of the United States. While true that the American public did not know of his physical limitations, it also shows, like him or not, that those limitations did not hinder him in service to his country.

^^^ In those times, many states had two year terms for governors, not the four year terms most common today.

^^^^ Roosevelt and Hoover were friends, both having served together in Woodrow Wilson's administration. Hoover's political affiliation was unknown after World War One, but many "assumed" him to be a Democrat. Hoover's very positive image in those times (post WW I) made him one of the best known and admired Americans in the world, and prompted Roosevelt to suggest it would be a good thing if Hoover were president, a remark later tossed back at him when he was running against incumbent Hoover, whose popularity had plunged in the time of the Great Depression.

WORD HISTORY:
Hot-"Hot" is another word of uncertain origin. It is closely related to "heat" (will be covered in next article). It "could" be a Germanic invention (forms of "hot" are widespread in the Germanic languages), but outside of Germanic, only Lithuanian and Latvian, both Baltic languages, have known forms of the word, and they both "could" have borrowed it from Germanic.^ Old Germanic had "haitaz," which meant "heat," and this gave Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "hat" (not pronounced like the modern word of that spelling meaning, "head covering," but more so with a long "a"), and with the same general meaning, although also with the additional reference to "temperament" and "fierceness." It wasn't long before it became "hot," which has endured for many centuries. German has "heiss" (rhymes with 'nice'),^^ Dutch and Low German have "heet," Frisian has "hjit," Danish has "hed" (often now used in various compounds), Icelandic has "heitur," Norwegian and Swedish have "het."

^ Of course it could have been the other way around. The Baltic languages of Prussian (now extinct), Lithuanian and Latvian had much contact with Germanic, so a borrowing in either direction is possible, although forms are so widespread in Germanic, it "seems" it came from Germanic. Even then, the question remains, how did Germanic get it? Some believe "hot" traces back to Indo European, but the problem is, why is it present in such a limited field, Germanic and Baltic, and not other Indo European languages? After all, heat sources were important to mankind's development, and it would seem logical that forms of the word would have been carried on by many other branches of Indo European, instead of being replaced by other words, but stranger things have happened, I suppose. The Baltic languages are Indo European, and related to English, but further down the family tree. Some linguists consider Lithuanian to be the closest living relative to original Indo European. Some more modern linguists feel the Baltic languages should be combined with Slavic as the "Balto-Slavic" branch of Indo European.

^^ As the High German dialects developed separately from the Low German dialects, which began to take place not all that long after Anglo-Saxon had taken root in England, the word was "heiz" in the high dialects, with the "z" being pronounced "ts," as in the ending of "hits." Over time, this became an "s" sound. Similar happened with the German form of the verb "(to) bite," which is "beiss(en)," almost like the animal, "bison."

The World In Protest, Revolution or Civil War? Part 3

2011-12-04T12:09:00.000-08:00

Two things I should have included in the last segment: first, as I noted, the wealthy help drive up prices, and Republicans want to give them more tax cuts, which will help them to do more of the same. They don't need the money for living expenses, so they use the money to make more money. All of this Republican, "give the 'job creators' tax cuts" (they're afraid to use the term 'rich' or 'the wealthy'), and they'll create more jobs, is something we've heard for over thirty years.* What do we have? High unemployment and stagnant or falling incomes for many Americans, while the incomes for the wealthiest among us have seen marked gains. The money these folks have been pouring into "investments" (like I noted in "Part 2") create few, if any, jobs, unless you live in maybe, China. If it worked, we'd all be living in heaven come to earth; well, that is, if the wages and benefits paid were decent. Talk about a massive fraud perpetrated upon the American people! Second, many Democrats too, including the President, must look into the nearest mirror and ask themselves what they really believe, and what they are willing to fight for. The fanatics in the Republican Party (not everyone) espouse a bunch of nonsense, and they have done so for decades (bomb or go to war just about anyone who doesn't like us, give tax cuts to wealthy people who can't spend the money they have now, cut government to make it less and less viable, cut government programs that actually help average and low income people, destroy unions to help the wealthy make more money, etc), but like them or not, they stick by their nonsense, and they bully most wavering Republicans in Congress into going along with them. All of this anti-government talk from Republicans over the years makes me wonder if they are really trying to undo the results of the Civil War; after all, the Republican Party is now a southern-based political party, and that's where much of this anti-government nonsense really comes from.** It also dates from pre-Civil War times, if you get my drift. I keep telling you, they want to take us back to ______ (pick a century).

The votes to win elections do not reside in the relatively small percentage of wealthy Americans. The votes needed to win elections are largely in the broad middle income segment of the country. So how did the country get turned so topsy turvy, with immense reactionary elements having taken over? It's really very simple. The small upper income segment has gotten the large middle segment (and even some of the lower segment) to vote for their agenda; that is, to vote for candidates who will support what the wealthy want, like less regulation, tax cuts on investments and dividends, etc. This isn't rocket science folks. They and their GOP supporters have done everything to keep the country divided into selfish interest groups, or to encourage such. I see it all of the time. This stuff isn't about saving the country, it is about divide and conquer. My love of languages makes me a translator of ENGLISH, when it is contorted: "We don't want you to die, but we don't want any national health insurance, that's socialism. But we don't want you to die. Did we already say that?" TRANSLATION: "If you're sick or in pain, the hell with you! But we don't want you to die." Saying you don't want people to die is NOT the same as doing something to save lives. Talk is cheap. If Randy were the only doctor in a small town way out in a rural area, and you came in one night and said, "Doc, I'm really sick. I need help." So Doc Randy says, "Ya got insurance?" You answer, "No." Randy asks, "Ya got any money?" You answer, "Not really." So Doc Randy says, "I don't want you to die, but there's a hospital over that mountain and over the next mountain. Takes about 3 hours to get there, but I don't want you to die; after all, I'm doctor, and a Christian." Now that ought to save your life!

* The argument also goes, "Don't punish people for being successful with higher taxes." I think most Americans would welcome the opportunity to be "punished" for such success. Tax rates were much higher under Ronald Reagan, something curiously left out of most arguments made by today's rightwingers.

** In terms of the political parties, things have changed tremendously since the days of the Civil War. Back then, the Republican Party was new, and it had grown as an anti-slavery party, and as such, it was largely a northern-based party. The Democratic Party, even though national, had a solid core based in the south, and it was a pro-states' rights party, which meant many supported slavery. Interestingly too, the most conservative elements of the country remained in the Democratic Party until the last few decades, when they shifted to the Republicans, where they still remain (Phil Gramm and Rick Perry, for instance, are both former Democrats, and of course, Ronald Reagan was a former Democrat). On the other hand, some of the most progressive elements of the country were in the Republican Party, but that began to change most visibly after Teddy Roosevelt, a progressive Republican, left office, although it took decades to complete. In fact, when I was a kid, the battles within the Republican Party were between the moderate and progressive "Rockefeller wing," as it was often termed, and the conservative wing, which eventually was able to nominate Barry Goldwater in 1964, bringing the Republicans closer to today's very conservative party.

WORD HISTORY:
Stock-While this word has quite a number of specific meanings (too many to cover here), they trace back to the same Germanic root, but the origins beyond Germanic are uncertain. Old Germanic had "stukkaz," which meant "tree trunk." This gave Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "stocc," which meant "tree trunk," but also "log, stump, stake." It also developed the meaning "abode," perhaps from the wood (tree trunk) used to construct such. Further development became "the floor (storey) of a house or building," a meaning seemingly passed from English to German, since one of the meanings of German "Stock" is, "a floor above ground level." This "could" come from the idea of branches (floors/storeys) from the tree trunk. This also came to be used in ancestry and family meanings, "They come from Irish stock," and "family tree" is a term still used in genealogy today. "Meat stock" seems to also come from the notion of a "base" (back to the tree trunk) from which soup, stews, or gravies are made; thus too, "stock" in the sense of "supplies," retains that notion, "We're going to stock up on canned goods" (goods that can form the basis of a meal), as does the business sense, "Let me see if we have that item in stock." "Stock" in a corporation also carries that same general notion, "Money provided as a basis to grow a company." Old English "stocc" then became "stok," before the modern spelling. The verb form seems to have developed in the 1500s/1600s. "Stocky" developed from the idea of a person "built as solidly as a tree trunk." Most of the other Germanic languages have forms of the word, although meanings vary, and some are used more in modern compounds, rather than as stand alone words. I could not find forms of the word in Frisian and Icelandic, although both once had forms, but I cannot say with certainty they don't have them in the modern languages, as they could be little used. German and Low German have "Stock," Dutch has "stok," Norwegian has "stokk," Danish has "stok," and Swedish has "stock."

The World In Protest, Revolution or Civil War? Part 2

2011-12-02T20:32:00.000-08:00

From North Africa stretching into the Middle East, protest movements have developed to change the societies in the various nations in these regions. Many of the countries have been ruled by autocratic dynasties or dictators, and much of the wealth has been concentrated in the upper strata of those societies. The protest movements seem not only to want to change the governing style of their nations, but to also make their nations fairer in terms of income distribution. Underlying everything is the desire to have more control of how they are governed. "Freedom" in and of itself does NOT guarantee success, and we will have to see how events develop in these countries over time. Remember, being able to vote in free elections is great, but it does not mean a substantial part of the voting public won't vote for religious radicals, or some other dictator to replace the one they have just ousted. Freedom also does not guarantee economic success. The United States and some other parts of the world are still mired in an economic mess created by too little government regulation, not too much. The prevailing economic/political philosophy of the last thirty some years has been "get government out of the way; government isn't the solution to the problem, government IS the problem; turn people loose to do whatever they want." You are, and have been, witnessing the result of that philosophy.

Part of this "less government" philosophy has been about less power in the federal government, with the desire to see power shifted to the individual states. The overall argument is valid, but let's not forget, the Civil War was fought over states' rights, more specifically in those times, a desire to permit slavery to continue. You know, slavery...the owning of one human being by another. Is this God's will? Is this Christian? Is this Judeo-Christian? Is this religious? One of the major points of my series, "The German Question," was, "You can't have a true nation without a strong national government." Again, how strong that government should be is a valid question, but some of the notions proposed by people like nutty Ron Paul is to essentially dismantle the federal government. On the other hand, I also tried to show in that series how a super strong national government (the Nazi era) can be disastrous.

America is moving more and more toward a society totally dominated by the wealthy, a plutocracy. They aren't elected, but they have such huge sums of money, they can convince Eskimos to by ice cream cones. As president, Obama has done little to really take them on. The little he did, or tried to do, brought an immense backlash from the wealthy reactionaries of this country, and their minions in the GOP. If you're going to get lambasted, you may as well go for the whole hog, and not just the curly little tail. He chose not to do that. Instead, he let a discredited (momentarily) group get back up off the floor, and he's been paying the price, and so has the country, ever since.

Make no mistake about it, the wealthy interests run the country. Look at profits. Many companies are doing better than EVER! And we just dodged a depression, and we have yet to really climb out of a damaging recession. Why? Look at prices. For a country with 9% unemployment,* prices are way above what is healthy for the country, but they are sure healthy for rich company owners and investors. They are doing just fine. The price of most things are really controlled by the wealthy. They buy stock and DEMAND that those companies they've invested in make more money, so they'll make more money. They buy futures in things like oil and gasoline, driving up prices, making money there, and forcing prices on EVERYTHING, products and services, higher. They sell products overseas, EVEN OIL AND GASOLINE,** to make big bucks, but prices here rise further due to what they can then claim are "tight markets." The oil companies tell us all the time how they employ people, but they don't say that its the high prices that are strangling many Americans that are paying for this. They put money into some pockets with one hand, and take money out of those same pockets with the other hand. Don't be fooled by all of the nonsense talk and ad campaigns (well, I just said "nonsense talk"). Food prices have always had price swings, but now, with money managing companies and hedge funds, 24/7 monitoring of prices minute by minute, the wealthy can cause prices on certain items to soar almost instantaneously. Once they make a bundle, they get out, and move on to the next victim, like the scavengers many of them are. And they are feeding off of YOU!***

If you consider yourself a Republican, you better head to the nearest mirror, look into that mirror, and ask yourself some VERY serious questions. Taking your party back from some of these bizarre nutcases will help the country, trust me.

* I know unemployment just fell to 8.6%, but unless things really pick up, and I seriously doubt that will happen, the rate will go back up, probably to about 8.8%. Of course that's just my guess, but we'll see.

** If you are aware of the big argument over the proposed oil pipeline from Canada through much of the central U.S., no matter what your basic beliefs on the issue, this oil is destined for sale in China, not in the U.S. Of course, the big boys are saying (with some truth) it will help employ some Americans.

*** Weather can certainly affect food prices. This year, some parts of the country had too much rain, while other parts had some of the worst drought conditions on record. Okay, we get it, but with the scenario I described above, prices soar on many items, way above what once happened, and the on top of that, some companies then sell "supposedly scare products" overseas!!! Why? Mo' money, mo' money, mo' money!

WORD HISTORY:
Ride-Some believe this goes back to Indo European "reidh," which meant "to ride, to travel," although some believe the origins of the word to be unproven. Besides Germanic, there are connections to Celtic (also with connotations of travel/transport), another branch of Indo European, but that is it, and that is a bit odd for such an important word. Celtic and Germanic had lots of contact in ancient times, and one could have borrowed a form of the word from a non-Indo European source, with the other then borrowing it from them. Of course, both could have borrowed it separately from the same source. What ever the case, Old Germanic had "ridan(an)," with the meaning "to move forward, to travel." This gave Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "ridan," meaning "to ride," and this later became "riden," before the modern spelling. Forms are common in the other Germanic languages, except modern Frisian, although Old Frisian had "rida," which has now died out. German has "reiten," Low German Saxon has "rieden," other Low German dialects have "riede," Dutch has "rijden" Icelandic has "ríða," Swedish has "rida," Danish has "ride," and Norwegian has "ri."

Allied Leaders of World War Two/Churchill, Part 3

2011-11-29T09:20:00.000-08:00

"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.

** 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.

*** 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.

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" (notice the change of "d" to "t"), which was originally "triban," 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?

2011-11-25T22:27:00.000-08:00

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 rightwing 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 rightwing 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 rightwing 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 leftwing 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

2011-11-20T22:51:00.000-08:00

"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. The largely inactive war on the continent suddenly changed as all hell broke loose in France with a German offensive that broke though 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, Hitler stood as the master of much of Europe, and 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 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, 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 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 origins of this word are uncertain, but Old Germanic had "erloz/erlaz," which meant "warrior," and later "chief or leader in war." This gave Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "eorl," with the same meaning, but later, probably by influence of 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

2011-11-18T22:13:00.000-08:00

"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 a 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 ancestor, a Churchill. 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

2011-11-14T22:20:00.000-08:00

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 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

2011-11-12T21:35:00.000-08:00

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 "sta," 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

2011-11-10T11:00:00.000-08:00

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 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, 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," 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.

German Military Leaders/Heroes Against Hitler/Stauffenberg

2011-11-09T09:56:00.000-08:00

"Colonel Klaus Graf (=Count) von Stauffenberg"

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 region. A devout Catholic, his religious beliefs certainly 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 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. He 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 the other plotters were executed. Its heading reads: "Here Died For Germany" ("Hier Starben Für Deutschland"), and then it lists the names of the executed men. 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 do 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.

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." 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

2011-11-07T10:55:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-05T21:41:00.000-07:00

"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 Germany army as the 250th Infantry Division. 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), German also has "wieder" and Dutch has "weer," both 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).

German Military Leaders/Nazi Era/Heroes Against Hitler/Part Two

2011-11-04T21:55:00.000-07:00

"Heroes Against Hitler" Part Two/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). 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." 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.

German Military Leaders/Nazi Era/Heroes Against Hitler

2011-10-31T22:29:00.000-07:00

"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

2011-10-31T21:47:00.001-07:00

"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."

German Military Leaders/Nazi Era/von Manstein

2011-10-30T22:06:00.001-07:00

"Field Marshal Erich von Manstein"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

German Military Leaders/Nazi Era/Rommel

2011-10-27T12:35:00.000-07:00

"Field Marshal Erwin Rommel"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

German Military Leaders/Nazi Era/Kesselring

2011-10-25T15:45:00.000-07:00

"Field Marshal Albert Kesselring"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

German Military Leaders/Nazi Era/Model

2011-10-23T10:30:00.000-07:00

"Field Marshall Walter Model"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

German Military Leaders/Nazi Era/Guderian

2011-10-22T09:21:00.000-07:00

"Colonel General Heinz Guderian"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

German Military Leaders/Nazi Era/Jodl

2011-10-18T14:15:00.000-07:00

"Colonel General Alfred Jodl"

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rising Tide of the Wealthy Swamping Boats

2011-10-17T15:44:00.000-07:00

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

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

German Military Leaders/Nazi Era/High Level Generals

2011-10-15T09:20:00.000-07:00

"High Level Generals"

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

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

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

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

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

* There is no such rank in the American military, and while the various general ranks don't completely correspond between the two countries, it is essentially equivalent to a four-star general, and a field marshal is equivalent to a five-star general.

** Pronounced as one syllable with a long "i" sound, "kitl," not like the actor Harvey Keitel, who pronounces it in two syllables as, "ki-tel."

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

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

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

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

You Won't Need A Time Machine

2011-10-14T12:29:00.000-07:00

I'm republishing this article with a "Word History" and a few minor changes to update it. It was first published in June 2007. It ties in well with the theme of the "Occupy Wall Street" protests.

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

Unions have benefited all workers, because they gave us a floor for wages in many industries, and because they achieved much in the way of health insurance and other benefits, they also gave non-union workers a chance to shoot for many of the same benefits, although perhaps on a somewhat smaller scale. Let me tell you something, if unions lose much more influence, or certainly if they pretty much disappear, look out America!!!

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

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

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

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

German Military Leaders/Nazi Era/Von Rundstedt

2011-10-12T22:42:00.000-07:00

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

"Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt"

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

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

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

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

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

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

German Leaders Of The Nazi Era/Speer

2011-10-09T09:08:00.000-07:00

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

"Albert Speer"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Sermon Unheard

2011-10-07T22:19:00.000-07:00

I'm republishing this article, which I first published on November 27, 2006, and now with a "Word History," which did not accompany the original article. Unfortunately, this article hasn't really gone out of style.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Do I hear an Amen?"

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

German Leaders Of The Nazi Era/Himmler

2011-10-05T13:42:00.000-07:00

"Heinrich Himmler"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Greed Has Damaged The Country

2011-10-04T22:27:00.000-07:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

German Leaders Of The Nazi Era/Hess

2011-10-03T21:57:00.000-07:00

"Rudolf Hess"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

German Leaders Of The Nazi Era/Bormann

2011-09-30T21:58:00.000-07:00

Part One/C "Martin Bormann"

One of the interesting things about Martin Bormann is, most Germans of that era didn't know who he was, yet he had a close personal and working relationship with Hitler, which brought him a great amount of power, and made him one of the most powerful Nazi leaders. It wasn't until after World War Two that Bormann's power and influence came to be understood, as he had worked behind the scenes. To my knowledge, he never made a major speech to the German public, addressing only groups of Nazi officials from time to time. Without a free press, his comments and position remained out of public notice, although he is seen in many photographs and films, and always not far from Hitler, but almost always in the background. During much of the war, Bormann controlled access to Hitler, and virtually everyone had to go through him to be able to get in to see Hitler,* and this alone gave him power. He had accommodations at Hitler's various headquarters throughout the war. Also during the war, Bormann issued orders and instructions to Nazi Gauleiters, who then implemented these policies.**

In the final days of the war Bormann remained with Hitler in his Berlin bunker. As I noted in the article about Hermann Göring,*** Bormann helped convince Hitler that Göring was betraying Hitler and that he was guilty of treason ("Landesverrat"), because Göring had properly sent a message asking about his status as Hitler's successor. After Hitler's suicide, Bormann and most of the people in the bunker tried to make their way through Russian lines to the Americans or British, or to the "government" designated by Hitler to succeed him, which was located in northern Germany, near Denmark. This episode is what has given Bormann much press coverage ever since. One of the survivors of the breakout attempt, who said he was with Bormann's group, said he saw Bormann's body in the streets of Berlin; the assumption being that he was killed by Soviet fire (remember, the war was not over, and there was still much fighting in Berlin),**** but "supposedly" no body resembling Bormann was found in that area; however, once the fighting stopped, in a matter of about a day or so after Bormann allegedly died, bodies had to be buried quickly and haphazardly to avoid disease and there was no time to properly identify remains, of which there were many. With Bormann's "status" unknown, the judicial system set up by the victors to try Nazi leaders for various possible crimes decided to try Bormann in absentia; that is, in his absence (he was found guilty and condemned to death). Bormann became the world's most wanted Nazi. Without a body to prove Bormann's death, all sorts of conspiracy theories abounded, most of them having Bormann living in South America and planning a "Fourth Reich" in place of Hitler's defeated Third Reich.***** Over time, there were unsuccessful diggings in the area where Bormann allegedly died, to see if his body could be found. Then in the early 1970s, remains were found near the same location. Dental and medical records showed one to be Bormann; the other being an SS doctor who was with Bormann as they tried to escape Berlin, and they both showed broken glass in the mouth from poison capsules, indicating that the two had indeed committed suicide. The then West German government declared Bormann legally dead, but not everyone agreed. About 25 years later, the remains were DNA tested and confirmed to be Bormann's; although controversy continued over the findings, but this is beyond the scope of this article.

One other very interesting thing about Bormann is, after the war, some thought he had been a Soviet agent in Hitler's midst. This notion gained credence due to the accusation of such by a former Wehrmacht intelligence officer, Reinhard Gehlen, who later became head of the (then)West German intelligence organization. During the war and thereafter, many German military officials wondered how the Allies anticipated so many German military moves during the war. Gehlen and others came to the conclusion that there had to be an agent (spy) close to Hitler, who then passed along information, presumably to the Soviets, who then shared it with the Allies. Bormann was like "Hitler's shadow;" thus making him a prime suspect. The thing was, in those times, the British had not yet disclosed that they had broken the German code, which then gave them access to any information sent by coded message by the Germans. During the war, the British were anxious that the Germans might find out the British were reading their messages and then go to a new system, thus depriving the British of such valuable information; so they had to deliver such information to their allies on a limited, priority basis, to keep the Germans from getting too suspicious. They also devised ways to deceive the Germans into believing they had obtained information in other ways, thus diverting attention from the broken German code, but the Germans were suspicious, and prior to the German offensive which came to be known as "the Battle of the Bulge," the Germans maintained radio silence about the coming attack. Anyhow, to my knowledge, no evidence has ever been turned up in German or Russian archives confirming Bormann as a Soviet agent. There's no question the Cold War made people nervous and made imaginations go into overdrive, and when Bormann's body was found in the early 1970s, some theorized the Russians had captured Bormann, who then later died, or that they had had the remains all along, and then reburied them in Berlin.

Next, Rudolf Hess.....

* Bormann became Hitler's deputy in May of 1941, when Rudolf Hess, Hitler's then deputy, flew solo to Scotland in an attempt to make peace between Germany and Britain. I'll cover Hess in the next article. Stay tuned....

** The Nazis reorganized the German government according to how the Nazi Party itself was structured, in a system of "Gaue" (this is the plural, one is "Gau," rhymes with "how") an old Germanic term for "district" (the Nazis loved the past, and not the recent past, but way, way back), and the head of a "Gau" was a "Gauleiter" (district leader; "leiter" and English "leader" are close relatives), and each Gau was divided into smaller districts, each headed by a Kreisleiter. Bormann had tremendous control over these party officials, who were charged with carrying out domestic policies.

*** For the article see: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2011/09/german-leaders-of-nazi-era.html

**** There were other reports that Bormann had been killed when a German tank, providing cover for Bormann and others, was hit by Soviet fire and exploded. Other reports indicated Bormann committed suicide to avoid Soviet capture. You have to remember, in the "confusion" of war (see note), people were trying to save their own lives, not taking notes about events going on around them. Note: The word "war" comes from an Old English word that meant "confusion." It also seems that first part of the Dutch and Low German words for "war" (oorlog/orlog) trace back to the same Old Germanic base.

***** I can remember in the 1960s, Bormann was regularly mentioned on television as if he were still alive, even on "Laugh In," a very popular comedy in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

WORD HISTORY:
Gray (grey)-This is still another word the origins of which are difficult to pin down, so I'll stick to the more agreed upon Germanic history of the word, as there do not appear to be any languages outside of Germanic with a form of the word, unless borrowed from one of the Germanic languages, and it could well be an Old Germanic invention. Old Germanic had "grewjaz" or "graewas," presumably which meant "gray; that is, the color between black and white." This gave Old English "graeg/grei" (depending upon dialect), which then later became "grei," before the modern versions. The spelling "gray" is most common in America, and "grey" in Britain, but the latter is also found in America. German has "grau," Low German Saxon has "grau" and "gries," some Low German dialects have "greiw," Dutch has "grauw," Icelandic has "grár," Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish all have "grå," Frisian has both "grau" and "griis."

German Leaders Of The Nazi Era/Goebbels

2011-09-29T14:45:00.000-07:00

NOTE: I really liked the suggestion by one of the readers to do this, and, to keep some balance, I've decided to also do some important Allied leaders in the near future.

Part One/B "Joseph Goebbels"

Joseph Goebbels (also "Göbbels, but less frequently) was from the Rhineland in western Germany. He became an important part of Hitler's march to power and to the consolidation and expansion of that power once Hitler was in office. Highly intelligent, he understood personality and psychology, and this made him a very dangerous man. He was a little guy, only like five feet in height, and he had a deformity in his one foot/lower leg, which caused him to wear a special brace, although he still walked with a slight limp. Some have attributed Goebbels militaristic behavior to his handicap.* Hitler sent him to Berlin in the earlier days of his rise to power to win converts to the growing Nazi Party and to combat the "red" influence in Berlin; that is, to defeat the Communists in Berlin, and street battles between the two groups were not uncommon. Goebbels loved movies and film making. Not long after Hitler became chancellor, he appointed Goebbels to be the head of the new "Propaganda Ministry." In this new position, Goebbels came to control every aspect of news read or heard by the German people. He used films to influence the public, putting a "Nazi touch" on movies about famous Germans, like Bismarck and Frederick the Great. He and his wife, Magda, had six children, and he had the family portrayed in newsreels as the exemplary family for Germans.** Interestingly however, Goebbels liked the ladies, especially some of the actresses he came into contact with because of the German film industry. He got into hot water due to an affair with a Czech actress, Lida Baarova, in the mid 1930s, which brought a reprimand from none other than Hitler himself, who ordered the affair ended; after all, Hitler was spouting off about how bad the Czechs were, and here his own Propaganda Minister was involved with one. While he didn't like it and threatened to resign, Goebbels followed Hitler's order.

Goebbels was also responsible for much of the open Nazi persecution of Germany's Jews, including the infamous "Night of the Broken Glass" ("Kristallnacht"), when many Jewish businesses and religious institutions were ransacked or burned, and many Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps. During the war, Goebbels helped keep Germans fighting to the bitter end with his appeals to German patriotism and with a major dose of fear, both of Nazi informants and of Germany's enemies. His famous speech at the Berlin Sportpalast, just a couple of weeks after the German surrender at Stalingrad, created a frenzy among his listeners present at the arena and those listening on the radio, especially after the intense build up to the question he asked the audience, "Do you want total war?" Those in attendance answered with a resounding "Ja!" (The Allies and Soviets responded with bombs and victories.) Late in 1944, Hitler put Goebbels in charge of the "Volkssturm," the equivalent of the German home defense, consisting of older men and young boys. As the Soviets stormed into Berlin in April 1945, Goebbels and his family (they lived in Berlin) moved into Hitler's bunker. Some reports say that Hitler wanted Goebbels to take his family and leave Berlin for safety, and that, upset to the point of tears by Hitler's order, Goebbels refused to go. Goebbels may have been intelligent, but he didn't use his intellect when it came to Nazi nonsense, and he and his wife poisoned all six of their children, before then taking their own lives not long after their "master," Hitler, had committed suicide ("Selbstmord").*** The Soviets found the bodies and displayed them for cameras.****

I had intended to combine Goebbels and Martin Bormann into one article, but Bormann will be in the next article, perhaps with Albert Speer.

* This makes him similar to Kaiser Wilhelm II, the ruler of Germany during World War One, who had been born with a deformity of his one arm/hand. The Kaiser loved military matters, and his militarism may well have been the result of his handicap, but please don't think that every person with a physical handicap is apt to want to start a war or turn into a Nazi.

** His wife had been married previously, and she had one son by that marriage, who survived the war.

*** Literally "self murder," and you can see the similarity of the words to their English counterparts.

**** Goebbels and his wife were partially burned, per his order. The children were found separately, and unburned.

WORD HISTORY:
Swelter-This is another word of uncertain origin, but with a presence in Old Germanic, as "sweltanan," which passed the word onto its offspring, English; actually more specifically, to the Germanic dialects which evolved into English. Its meaning in Old Germanic seems to have been "to die." In Old English it was "sweltan," also meaning "to die," but later a variation, "swelten," meant "to be faint with heat." Later this became "swelteren," before the modern version, which has retained the notion of "oppressive heat," but not really the "faint" part. Icelandic has "svelta," which means "to starve, or to starve someone;" Swedish has "svälta," also with that meaning, so in North Germanic, the word took the "to die" meaning in the direction of "starving to death,"^ while English, a West Germanic language, took the direction of "fainting from the heat," perhaps from the idea that a person who "faints" appears to be dead. Other Germanic languages once had forms of the word too (Old High German had "swelzan," for instance, and it meant "die"), but apparently they have died out (no pun intended), just as the old form and meaning have died out in English. German has been prone to tacking prefixes on to many old base words, and they may still have a form of the word, but a bit disguised, and I'm "almost" certain I've encountered it in German before.

^ Danish and Norwegian both have "sulte," for "starve" (both are North Germanic languages), but whether these are related to "swelter," I cannot say for certain.

German Leaders Of The Nazi Era

2011-09-27T14:26:00.000-07:00

"Political Leaders" Part One/A "Göring"

I'm doing this in response to a suggestion by a regular reader. The information on each of these leaders is from memory (unless otherwise noted), and comes from the many books and articles I've read over many, many years, plus from documentaries I've seen during that period, which is now closing in on five decades. As I so often note here, if something interests you, please check online sources for more information, or, better yet, go to your local library and see what books and articles they have on the subject of interest to you. I've simply picked out a few of the top German leaders from the Nazi era, and there were many more, but it is always important to remember about that time, that Hitler was THE final authority on EVERYTHING. The whole Nazi system was built around him, and he continued to assume more and more power over the years. While Hitler is seen as the all powerful dictator, he was not much of an administrator, being somewhat lazy, by many accounts, especially in the prewar years. He preferred to set out "themes" then taken by his underlings, who translated their interpretations of these themes into actions. That is likely the reason why no direct order has ever been found with Hitler's signature on it, directing the extermination of Europe's Jews. He did however talk about such, even publicly, as he did in a speech to the Reichstag just months before the war began in 1939. In that speech, he said that if war came to Europe, it would not result in the victory of "Jewry" ("Judentum"), but instead it would result in the destruction of the Jewish race in Europe ("die Vernichtung der jüdische Rasse in Europa).* It can't be much clearer than that, so don't buy the nonsense from Hitler apologists who say he knew nothing of the death camps and mass executions of Jews.

Hermann Göring (also: Goering, but less common)-Göring was a genuine hero as an ace pilot in World War One. He was highly decorated, and in fact, he became the commander of the same unit of the famous Baron von Richthofen, popularly known as "The Red Baron" ("der Rote Baron," in German), not long after the Baron's death. Since his name was quite familiar to the German public, there's no question that Göring's joining the Nazi Party gave it a certain credibility. Göring became the president of the Reichstag (parliament), and he became the head of the revived German Luftwaffe (airforce) under Hitler. If you compare pictures of Göring from World War One with those taken through the years thereafter, you can see he lived a pretty good life, as his waist line expanded tremendously. He loved the benefits of power, and when German forces occupied various countries, but especially France, he grabbed many great works of art for himself.

Severely wounded in the thigh during the attempted Nazi takeover of Germany in 1923, Göring became addicted to the morphine used to ease his pain, and his addiction was a chronic problem throughout the rest of his life, with periods where he kicked the habit, and periods where he returned to drug use. Göring's jovial personality was popular with the German people, seemingly even when the severe air raids began during World War Two, and, as head of the Luftwaffe, he bore responsibility to protect Germany from Allied bombers. Early in the war, Göring "supposedly" said something to the effect, "You can call me 'Meier' if any bombs are dropped on _______."** It wasn't long before Germans began referring to him as "Herr Meier," so there must be some truth about Göring's statement. Göring must also bear a good deal of the blame for the eventual surrender of German forces at Stalingrad, as he assured Hitler shortly after the Red Army surrounded the Germans there, that the Luftwaffe could supply the army inside Stalingrad, something that did not happen. While Hitler may have kept the army there anyway, Göring's assertion certainly solidified Hitler's position of not permitting his forces to breakout of the encirclement. Hitler publicly named Göring as his successor on September 1, 1939 (the day of the German invasion of Poland). Göring is really a mixture of political leader AND military leader, and he was first a general, then Hitler promoted him to field marshal, then to a special rank created only for Göring, "Reichsmarshall" ("Marshal of the Reich").

In the waning days of the war, with the Russians advancing inside Berlin and Hitler hidden deeply away in his bunker beneath the German capitol, Göring, who was in southern Germany, sent a message to Hitler asking about succeeding him. In the message, Göring noted that he realized that Hitler may not have had the ability to respond under the circumstances, and that if he, Göring, didn't receive an answer within so many hours (I just forget the time Göring used), that he would assume Hitler was incapacitated in some way, and that he, Göring, would assume the role as Hitler's successor, as Hitler had ordered in 1939. Göring's message was entirely proper, and according to accounts from survivors who were in the bunker, Hitler seems to have seen it as such, AT FIRST. Hitler's deputy, Martin Bormann, however, supported by Joseph Goebbels,*** Hitler's propaganda chief and personal foe of Göring, told Hitler that Göring's message was an ultimatum, and that Göring was trying to seize power. Ah, excuse me. Helllllllooooooo!!! Seize power of what? A destroyed nation on its knees? It just shows how nuts these guys really were. Hitler exploded and ordered Göring to be stripped of all ranks and offices. He also ordered Göring's execution. With the Russians only blocks away, Hitler was still consumed by such nonsense. The execution order was never carried out, and Göring was captured by American troops. He was put on trial at Nuremberg and mounted a defiant defense. Interestingly, Göring was in the midst of a drug bout when captured, and Allied doctors not only cleaned up his "habit," but reduced his huge hulk to a more manageable size. With a clear mind, this all served Göring well during the trial, as he was shown to be highly intelligent, but his crafty defense didn't save him, and he was condemned to "death by hanging" ("Tod durch den Strang, " literally "death through the rope," and "Strang" is indeed closely related to English "string"). Just a couple of hours before the sentence was to be carried out, Göring took poison and died in his cell. There have been many theories as to how Göring got the poison, and if interested, that might be something you will want to check on, as an American officer at the prison is one of the possible people involved.

Finally, during episodes of drug use, Göring's behavior was reported at times to be bizarre, and many people who knew him commented or wrote about such after the war. Some devout supporters denied many of the scandalous stories about Göring, but I believe there is more than a little basis of truth to most of them; not everyone could have been lying. While I mentioned Göring's jovial personality, it MUST be noted, he could be absolutely RUTHLESS, at times. To his credit, he did try to stop the war from breaking out in 1939, just prior to the invasion of Poland. In my opinion, he was enjoying power too much. He didn't want to jeopardize all the fun by a war that could, and eventually did, end badly (obviously, from his point of view).

* For the entire passage, see "Hitler-Reden und Proklamationen" ("Hitler-Speeches and Proclamations") Band (Volume) II, page 1058, from Hitler's speech to the Reichstag on January 30, 1939.

** It is tough to pin down the exact quote of Göring, and I left the space blank, because some say he mentioned Berlin, others the Ruhr (the major industrial region of Germany), and still others, Germany.

*** Goebbels and Bormann will be covered in Part One/B of this series.

WORD HISTORY:
Singe-This word for "to lightly burn around the edges or tips of something, often hair," has an uncertain origin. It "may" be a Germanic invention, or perhaps more specifically a West Germanic invention (English, German, Low German, Dutch and Frisian are West Germanic), and some believe it is actually related to "sing;" the connection being the sort of "hissing" sound made when something is singed, but I'm not completely sold on that, but don't laugh, words take on meanings in strange, even comic, ways at times. Anyway, West Germanic had "sangjanan," which meant "to burn, scorch." This led to Old English "sengan" (also spelled "sencgan"), which had the "lightly burn" meaning first noted above. Later it was spelled "sengen," before the modern version. German has "sengen," Dutch has "zengen," both also meaning "to singe, to scorch." Frisian had a form, "sendza," but apparently it died out. Icelandic once had "sangr," which also meant "burned," but was this a borrowing from West Germanic? (Icelandic is North Germanic) Or is this a tie to Old Germanic? By the way, "singeing," with the "e" intact, while it looks odd, is the proper spelling, in order to distinguish it from "singing."

"Patton:" Just A Great Movie

2011-09-25T13:42:00.000-07:00

"Patton" is just one of the greatest "personality" pictures ever made, played to the hilt by actor George C. Scott. Scott's portrayal is so intense, I cannot to this day, over forty years after the release of the picture, hear or see something about the real General Patton without thinking of George C. Scott. If I remember correctly, I went to see the movie three times during its original release. The writers worked many of General Patton's own words into the picture,* "salty" language and all, and the movie certainly captures the nutty instability, fanaticism, brilliance, showmanship and super ego of the famous general's personality. It begins with his command of American troops in North Africa during the last stages of the war to defeat Rommel there. While he sees the German field marshal as a worthy opponent, whose defeat can enhance his own career, he also develops an enduring rivalry with another man of super ego, British General (later Field Marshal) Montgomery, "Monty," during this period of the war. Rommel and Montgomery are two "obsessions" who drive Patton throughout the war.

The writers also took the interesting angle of providing insight into Patton's personality by showing how the German military viewed Patton, and there are numerous scenes at German military headquarters at various points during the war, where top generals try to keep tabs on Patton. Much of their information comes from an army intelligence captain (a fictional character used by the writers) who tells them how Patton is a military historian who believes in reincarnation. The captain calculates Patton's future moves through this information, such as the invasion of the Italian island of Sicily. Historically, the decision to invade Sicily was made far above Patton's command, by the Allied political leaders, with input from the military, but it was not Patton's decision. If you follow the movie closely enough, it does not claim that Sicily was Patton's decision, but it simply tries to show how the Germans began to obsess over Patton's movements, and how they attributed many major decisions to him, since they saw Patton as the "best commander" the Allies had.

The movie then takes the viewer into the campaign in Sicily, where Patton drives his army to great military exploits. The problem is, his reputation is tarnished by his unstable temperament which is put into the spotlight by his slapping of a shell shocked soldier in a hospital. He then threatens to shoot the soldier himself. The Germans think this whole episode is a ruse to cover what they believe is Patton's real mission, the command of the Allied forces assembling for the invasion of German-occupied France. They so respect Patton, they cannot believe his slapping of a soldier would keep the Allies from giving "their best general" the top command. Herein is one of Patton's historical legacies; he fights to free people from the Nazis, yet his love of war and his tactics, ruthless at times, are similar to those of the Nazis. The fact that the German military was so respectful and fearful of Patton has only served Patton's critics as proof of his Nazi-like similarities. That is something you'll have to decide for yourself.

The movie takes the action to France, where Patton, deprived of the top command, is given command of an army that will lead the breakthrough effort in Normandy. The Allied advance has been held in relative check by the Germans, under none other than Field Marshal Rommel. With Montgomery also present in France, Patton and Monty race to see who can get to Germany first and secure a German surrender. Patton's inability to control his temper and statements to the press keeps him in hot water throughout the movie (and in real life), including AFTER the war, when he said the Allies should then have gone to war with Soviet Russia.

If you have never seen this picture, please do so! If you haven't seen it for years, see it again. It is readily available on DVD. It is a war picture, but it is really about Patton first and foremost, and George C. Scott is unforgettable in the title role.

* General Omar Bradley, Patton's close associate during the war (sometimes being his subordinate and sometimes his superior), was a consultant for the film, and author Ladislas Farago's book "Patton: Ordeal and Triumph" provided much of the material for the script. Bradley, also a highly successful American commander during World War Two, had a very different personality compared to Patton, and the two, while friends, often clashed over matters.

WORD HISTORY:
General-This word, used as both an adjective and as a noun, goes back to the Indo European root "gen," which meant "produce, offspring." This gave its Latin "offspring" (I couldn't help that) "genus," with the meaning "type, kind, stock, race," a word still used in scientific/botanical lingo. This then gave Latin "generalis," with the meaning "from the overall genus, from the whole." This gave Old French, a heavily Latin-based language, "general," with the same meaning. The word seems to have been borrowed into English in the late 1100s or early 1200s in its adjectival form and still with the meaning "from the overall body or class of something;" that is, "not specific," and we still use that meaning today, as in, for instance, "general store;" that is, "a store that sells a little of everything, not a specialty store." During the 1500s, French used the term "capitaine general" for a military rank for "a captain in charge of a large body of troops," and "general" was still an adjective in this form. English and other languages dropped the "capitain" part, leaving "general," a noun form, for a superior commander. German, too, borrowed the word in the same form, "General," but the pronunciation uses a hard "g."

The Allies & Berlin, 1945

2011-09-19T09:43:00.000-07:00

This is in answer to a very good question posed by a regular reader in one of the comments.
His question: "Why didn't the Americans and Brits take Berlin?"

General Dwight Eisenhower, the overall commander of the Allied forces, made the determination NOT to take Berlin. His decision came in February 1945, not long after the Allies had not only defeated the Germans in the Battle of the Bulge, but had pushed the Germans back toward the Rhine River in western Germany. His decision was based upon the following:

-Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin had already agreed to divide Germany into occupation zones. Berlin, which would lay within the Soviet zone, was also to be divided into occupation zones. This meant that Allied forces, more likely American forces, would have to go through what was to become the Soviet zone to even get to Berlin.

-When Eisenhower made his decision, the Soviets had penetrated deeply into eastern Germany, and, at their closest point, were only about 40 miles from Berlin. On the other hand, the western Allies were perhaps 300-400 miles from Berlin.

-Eisenhower's staff told him it would cost at least 100,000 casualties for the Allies to take Berlin.

When put together, Eisenhower saw: Heavy casualties to take a city hundreds of miles away, when the Soviets were already at Berlin's doorstep. Fighting through and taking casualties in territory that would then have to be given over to the Soviets anyway. It should be noted, Churchill wanted Eisenhower to go for Berlin, but the general chose not to do so.

For the Allies to take Berlin "could" have also brought about the "split" between the Allies and the Soviets so dreamed of by Hitler and the other Nazi leaders. The Soviets and Stalin were far more filled with revenge against Hitler and Germans than the Allies, and they really wanted to take Berlin, regardless of casualties. You can draw your own conclusions, but I think Eisenhower made the right call, given the situation at that time. I know, many argued "later" that Berlin became the center of the "Cold War," but in February/March 1945, the Cold War was in the future.

WORD HISTORY:
Prosit/Prost-These words, "prost" is derived from "prosit," are drinking toasts, and were borrowed from German, apparently in the mid 1800s, and are equivalent to English "Cheers!" or "To your health." German borrowed "Prosit" from Latin "prodesse," which meant "be useful, be beneficial," and it is the third person singular present subjunctive of the verb. Subjunctive, also called "subjunctive mood," is used to help express a wish; thus, "may it benefit you." Of course, a a few too many "Prosits" will not be beneficial to you...hicc! "Scuse me!" The "pros" part is related to English "for," and the "it" part is related to English "is."

Thank You!

2011-09-13T11:29:00.000-07:00

I want to thank everyone who checked out any or all of the "German Question" articles. As I noted before, I really intended to do, like maybe, a series of six articles about the subject, but once I got going, there was no stopping me, and, like other peoples, the Germans are the sum of their collective history, so I did a basic overview of that history. The series drew thousands of visits to this site from around the world, and I hope some people took away a little knowledge, not only about German history, but about how their own culture and history relates to some of the events in German history. I really enjoyed doing this series.

WORD HISTORY:
Warp-This verb traces back to Indo European "wer," which had the notion of "bend, twist." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "werpanan," which meant "to throw or hurl," apparently because we "bend and twist" our arm when throwing. This then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "weorpan," with the same basic meaning of "throw, fling, hurl." Now comes a problem. By the 1300s, the meaning "distort, twist out of shape," began to take over. The question is, why? What I mean is, how did English speakers in the 1300s know the word's meaning derived from "twist, bend, turn," if they used it to mean "throw?" So presumably the word must have also retained the "twist, bend" meaning as a secondary meaning all along, with "throw" being the primary meaning up until then. The word then became "werpen," before acquiring the modern spelling. There is also a nautical meaning of "towing a ship with a line;" the notion being of the rope being "thrown" from one point to another. There is an archaic noun form "warp," with the meaning "threads arranged lengthwise in woven fabric." This seems to come from the idea of "throwing the threads" in a particular pattern. It comes from Old Germanic "warp," and was "wearp" in Old English. English "warp" has relatives in the other Germanic languages: German "werfen," which means "to throw, to launch" also used in modern times for a rocket launcher (noun), "Werfer;" Dutch has "werpen"=to throw; Swedish has värpa, with the meaning, "to lay eggs," and the notion of "discharging" is still present. "Apparently" forms of the word have died out in the other Germanic languages, but if anyone knows otherwise, I hope you will post a comment with your knowledge.

The German Question, Part One Hundred Fifty-Nine

2011-09-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

"Final Thoughts & Bibliography"

NOTES: 1) In the previous article, I did not mention Albert Einstein, who was a very prominent German-Jewish scientist and thinker. Einstein was out of the country when Hitler took power at the end of January 1933, and he never returned. He came to America and became an American citizen.

2) Know one really knows for sure when Hitler believed the war to be lost, and there have been several "theories" offered up by historians, but certainly the duel defeats at El Alamein and Stalingrad made many Germans, including military personnel, begin to think the war could not be won, and I tend to think the same of Hitler. In his speech to the Reichstag on September 1, 1939, the day Germany invaded Poland, Hitler made it clear that if the war was lost, he would still never surrender, and that he would not survive the war's end. So even when he felt the war was lost, the war went on, with the sacrifice of millions of lives. His whole aim seemed to simply be, rather than victory, to keep the war going in order to postpone his inevitable death. Even in the final days in Berlin, as children helped in the street by street fight against Soviet troops, the point was still to keep the war going to save his worthless ass. Absolute insanity ("Wahnsinn").

3) Back in the 1990s, columnist George Will wrote about the possibility of "Anschluss;" that is, unification of Austria with Germany. That certainly does not seem possible at this point in time, and as time has passed, Austrians have distanced themselves (not without reason) from a child of Austria...Hitler.

Why German history? We can learn from history, even from the history of other peoples and we should never be afraid to learn something from someone else. Learning from others doesn't make you weak, it makes you stronger. Certainly one of the things we should see in German history is, you can't have a true country with so many elements pulling in different directions. The Old German Empire is a case in point, with individual states having so much power, they eventually became like separate countries, albeit under the "vague" umbrella of the German Empire, which really had no central government. In fact, as I've shown in these articles, several regions indeed became truly separate countries; for example, the Netherlands and Switzerland. In America in the last few years, we've heard comments from certain state leaders about seceding from the Union, something many Americans probably thought settled by our Civil War of about 150 years ago. While the debate over how much power the national government should have versus the individual state governments is a valid one, the "hate the government movement" and the appeal to personal gain over what's in the best interest of the nation and it citizens in this country is deeply disturbing. Of course, when disaster strikes, the same preachers of "hate the government" want help from "Uncle Sam." If all of this gets carried further, will we need to ask "the American question;" that is, "who is an American?"

As to "who is a German," the question seems to be answered for now, and perhaps forever. There are a couple of answers. There are "national Germans;" that is, Germans who are citizens of Germany. There are "Germans" who are German in culture/custom and language, but who are not "national Germans," and who do not want to be "national Germans." During the Nazi era, Hitler stirred emotions among many German communities throughout Europe, indeed, throughout the world, and many wanted to become "national Germans," or "Reichsdeutsche," as the term was back then. By the end of the war, many of these Germans, especially in eastern Europe, got their wish, but the hard way; they had to flee for their very lives. When all was said and done, Germans were much more "united" within the then borders of Germany, more so "West Germany," than "East Germany," and Germans remaining in eastern European countries are today far less in numbers and percentage of the population of their respective countries than before World War Two.

Many Germans realize the tremendous flaws of their past, and laws have been in place banning the display of Nazi paraphernalia, and there have been restrictions on the use of German military units outside of Germany. Some may say this limits democracy, and I suppose it does, but democracy can't be pure either, and these restrictions didn't end German democracy, I would say they strengthened it. Do you allow "total" freedom to go to a point that it destroys a nation or the world? We are still in the midst of a deregulation and greed driven recession. Did we learn any lessons?

Much of the information in these articles has been very basic, and I did it from memory, but I did need a chronology as well as some checking on certain facts and figures, especially dates.

Bukey, Evan Burr, "Hitler's Austria," University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, N.C., 2000

Domarus, Max, "Hitler-Reden und Proklamationen" (Three volumes: 1932-1934; 1935-1938; 1939-1945), Süddeutscher Verlag, München, 1965

Gurney, Gene, "Kingdoms of Europe," Crown Publishers, Inc. New York, 1982

Herz, John H., "The Government of Germany," Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc. New York, 1967 Edition

Lumans, Valdis O., "Himmler's Auxiliaries," University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, N.C., 1993

Mosley, Leonard, "On Borrowed Time," Random House, New York, 1969

A.J.P. Taylor, "The Origins of the Second World War," Atheneum, New York, 1985 (Second Printing), copyright 1961

Wikipedia-This is a great source for quick info checks online.

I'll end this series with the words to a German folksong, "Die Gedanken Sind Frei" ("Thoughts Are Free"), written back in the early 1800s, but by whom, no one seems to know. The Germans have not really been free until relatively recently, but even back then, they thought about freedom. There are various versions, but this is what I know, so here it is:

Die Gedanken sind frei, wer kann sie erraten? Sie fliegen vorbei, wie nächtliche Schatten. Kein Mensch kann sie wissen, kein Jäger erschiessen, mit Pulver und Blei; die Gedanken sind frei. (Thoughts are free, who can guess them? They fly by as night-like shadows. No person can know them, no hunter can shoot them, with powder and lead; thoughts are free.)

Ich denke was ich will und was mich beglückt, doch alles in der Still', und wie es sich schicket. Mein Wunsch und Begehren kann niemand verwehren, es bleibet dabei: Die Gedanken sind frei! (I think what I want and what makes me happy, certainly in the stillness and as it suits me. My wish and desire can be denied by no one, it therefore remains: thoughts are free.)

Und sperrt man mich ein, im finsteren Kerker, das alles sind rein vergebliche Werke. Denn meine Gedanken zerreissen die Schranken und Mauern entzwei, die Gedanken sind frei! (And if they lock me away in the dark prison, that is all work done purely in vain. Because my thoughts tear away the barriers and walls, thoughts are free.)

WORD HISTORY:
Free-This common word traces back to Indo European "pri," which meant "to love," and the derived "prijos," which meant "beloved, dear." The assumption is, a part of our ancient ancestors used the term for family members who were not slaves or servants; thus they were "free" people, and that is how the term shifted in meaning. By the time of its Old Germanic offspring, "frijaz," it meant "not beholden to, not in bondage to" (the "p" became "f" in Old Germanic). This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "freo," with similar meaning. Gradually the meaning expanded to "under no obligation," to "under no obligation to pay for, unrestrained." The spelling became "fre," before the modern version. The verb form, as in "to free someone, to set free," developed in Old English as "freon," then became "freen," before the modern form. "Free" is very common in the other Germanic languages: German has "frei" (initially in Old High German "fri"), Low German Saxon has "free," Dutch has "vrij," West Frisian has "frij," Norwegian, Swedish & Danish have "fri," and Icelandic has "frjáls." There are also verb forms, like German "befreien," meaning "to set free."

The German Question, Part One Hundred Fifty-Eight

2011-09-08T22:18:00.000-07:00

"German Contributions to the World"

Everyone should know about German contributions to music, especially "classical music," so I'll just mention some names to refresh memories:* Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Robert Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn (Bartholdy), Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Johann Strauss, Franz Schubert, (Franz) Joseph Haydn. Further, Wilhelm Furtwängler was a composer, but was better known as a long time symphony conductor, and I'm sure you can still buy music conducted by him (he died in the 1950s).** Likewise for Otto Klemperer, another renowned conductor.*** Besides classical music, people like Marlene Dietrich, a singer and actress, and 1980s pop music star "Nena" ("99 Balloons") are well known. For "rock" fans, "The Skorpions" are from Germany.

In art, Paul Klee and Albrecht Dürer come to mind, and Klee was born in the German part of Switzerland. In Philosophy Immanuel Kant, Georg Friedrich Hegel, and Friedrich Nietzsche are all well known. Writers Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Günter Grass, Hermann Hesse, Thomas Mann, Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm ("The Brothers Grimm"),**** Heinrich Heine, Erich Maria Remarque (best known for "All Quiet On The Western Front"), Friedrich Schiller.

In film (and television), both acting or directing, I already mentioned Marlene Dietrich, and there was Otto Preminger, Fritz Lang, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Werner Klemperer & (Johann) "John" Banner (both of "Hogan's Heroes"), Romy Schneider, Billy Wilder, Maximilian Schell, Bertholt Brecht (playwright). Leni Riefenstahl is recognized as a ground-breaking filmmaker, but she is controversial, due to her close association with Hitler.

In science, Wernher von Braun, who came to America after World War Two, is noted for rocket development.***** German engineering produced the great "Panther" tank, which actually took some design features from the Soviet T-34 tank. And most of you have undoubtedly heard of the famous "Tiger" tank. Its reputation was so "ferocious," it had an impact on the battlefield even when it was not present, as Allied soldiers tended to call any German tank a "Tiger."

* Remember, Austria was THE leading German state for centuries, so just as the now two separate countries share a common history until more recent times, some composers can also been seen as "shared," or "German" sense. Further, this list of names is not meant to name EVERY German composer or musician, artist, philosopher, etc, by any stretch of the imagination.

** Furtwängler is controversial, however, not for his music or conducting, but rather his association with the Nazis, although he successfully later fled to Switzerland during the war.

*** He is the father of actor Werner Klemperer, mentioned above, who was famous as television's "Colonel Klink."

**** Jakob Grimm also did much work in linguistics and etymology ("history of words," hmm).

***** The Germans developed a number of things for war, unfortunately often for the Nazis, but like it or not, war is a part of mankind, and weapons are therefore important. They developed the "Buzz Bombs," so called in England because of the buzzing sound their engine made, which were propelled aircraft with bombs in a warhead. Also known as the "V-1" rocket (V=Vergeltungswaffe; that is, retaliation weapon), it was followed by the far more elaborate missile the V-2, the actual forerunner to today's spacecraft and yes, today's intercontinental ballistic missiles. Both the Western Allies and the Soviets wanted to get their hands on the German scientists who helped develop these weapons, and fortunately, many were captured by the West. These Germans were so noted, in the TV sitcom "Get Smart," of the 1960s, in one episode at a rocket launch, all of the instructions are announced in both English and German, prompting someone to ask "Why in German too?" The answer comes back something to the effect that many "American" scientists understand German better than English.

WORD HISTORY:

Wax-This is the noun,^ meaning "material used for candles and substance made by bees." There is uncertainty about the ancient origins of this word, and I'm not really sold on any particular theory. It "could" be a Germanic invention, based upon the old verb form which meant "grow," with the idea of "the substance that 'grows' the honeycomb." Some non-Germanic eastern European languages have obvious forms of this word, but they are likely borrowings from Germanic (Lithuanian has "vaškas" and Polish has "wosk," for example). Anyway, Old Germanic had "wahksan," and this then gave Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "weax," which then became "wax." Common in the other Germanic languages: German has "Wachs," Low German Saxon has "Wass," Dutch has "was," Norwegian and Danish have "voks," Swedish has "vax," and Icelandic has "vaks." Old Frisian had "wax," but I could not find a form for modern Frisian.

^ See Part 156 of this series for the old verb form "wax."

The German Question, Part One Hundred Fifty-Seven

2011-09-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

"Hitler & The German Question" Part Three

In the Eupen-Malmedy region, which had been annexed to Belgium from Germany after World War One, and then annexed back to Germany during World War Two, the area was returned to Belgium after Hitler's defeat, but over time, the German population was given equal political rights, including for the maintenance of their language.

The South Tirol (or Tyrol) was a hot button issue for decades. This region of the Alps was heavily German,* but with an Italian minority, which actually had majority status in certain southern areas of the region. It was given to Italy after World War One as sort of a payoff for Italy's having chosen the Allied side. It had been a part of the Austrian part of "Austria-Hungary," and the rest of Tirol, including famous Innsbruck, remained part of Austria after World War One. The Italians tried to "Italianize" the Germans in the South Tirol, and this brought about extreme dissatisfaction among the German population. Hitler and Mussolini came to an agreement about the time of Germany's invasion of Poland to let Germans of the South Tirol choose to remain in the region, but to become "Italians," with all of the resultant restrictions on German language and German culture that carried with it, or to emigrate to Germany (which then included Austria). More than 150,000 chose to "resettle" outside of Italy, but the war interfered with much of this resettlement, and only about half that number actually left Italy. The South Tirol remained a part of Italy after World War Two ended,** but with much German unrest, including serious incidents (people killed), for several decades. Finally the Italian government agreed to grant a degree of "autonomy" to the German region, and several years later another more expanded agreement, gave even greater autonomy to the German population. The Germans of the South Tirol have maintained their German language (German is now recognized by the Italian government as an "official" language in the region) and German culture, but they have remained a part of Italy as an "autonomous region," and some of the Italian majority areas were detached from this political entity to avoid further conflict.

After the war, Luxembourg went back to being Luxembourg, a separate country. In Alsace-Lorraine,*** Hitler never formally announced the annexation of the regions to Germany after defeating France in 1940, but the areas were just taken over again, and standard German was reintroduced as the language taught in schools there. The regions reverted to France at the end of the war, and French was again made the official language, and standard German and the German dialects of these two regions have been in serious decline ever since.

As to Germany herself, Austria became independent, although it was divided into occupation zones, with the country gaining full independence in the mid 1950s. Germany was divided into four occupation zones, with the Soviet zone in eastern Germany eventually becoming a Communist state, commonly known as "East Germany," but officially the "German Democratic Republic." The western zones were occupied by the British, Americans, and French, and became commonly known as "West Germany," but officially as the "Federal Republic of Germany." Germany became the center of possible major Cold War confrontation between the Soviet Union and its satellite nations in eastern Europe on one side and western Europe and the United States on the other. As Communism lost its grip over eastern Europe in the late 1980s/early 1990s, Germany was reunited as a single nation, and the occupation officially ended. Whether occupation forces would have remained in Germany for such a long time if there hadn't been a "Cold War" is difficult to say, but I doubt it, as the costs would have probably been too great for the occupying nations, although I think it benefited the stability of the western areas, as unlike after World War One, when the Weimar Republic floundered around trying to establish democracy, the presence of foreign powers for so long after World War Two helped democracy take firm root during that time, and presently, Germany is a model democracy.

Germans born after the war are not responsible for what their parents or grandparents did during the Nazi regime, and increasingly, the more recent generations have little concept of those times, as the Nazi-era generation is fading from the scene. Quite a few of the Nazi-era Germans I've known over the years are quite ashamed of those times, but then again, I've known a few who were unrepentant. For a few decades after the war ended, there was a fear by many non-Germans that if Germany did reunite, Germans would seek to regain territories lost to other nations after World War Two, especially some areas lost to Poland, which had in fact been a sore spot for many Germans since the end of the war. Presently that has not happened, nor does it appear likely to happen any time soon, if ever. Germans have struggled to deal with their history during Hitler's rule, especially the murderous nature of his regime and the complicity of so many, but time is doing much to change attitudes. People like Sophie Scholl and Klaus von Stauffenberg**** have become martyrs and heroes to younger generations of Germans for their willingness to oppose Hitler, and this seems to say, "the nightmare is over."

* Of course, it all depends upon where you draw the boundaries.

** While Mussolini was put back into power by the Germans in northern Italy, that government was obviously never recognized by the Allies; thus, Italy's switch to the Allied side in September 1943 helped Italy keep the South Tirol.

*** As noted in previous articles in this series, the struggle over these regions has gone on for centuries, but technically, this struggle has not been over both provinces in their entirety, but rather most of Alsace and about a quarter to a third of Lorraine, the Germans conceding the other areas as being French.

**** See Part 151 about the German Resistance.

WORD HISTORY:

Will-The noun form, meaning "determination (as in 'will power'), intended purpose or desire," goes back to Indo European "wel," with the meaning "wish, desire." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "wiljon," with the same basic meaning. This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "willa," with the meaning "self will or determination, desire." This then later became "wille" before the modern spelling. In the 1300s, the idea of "wish, determination" began to be applied to "a legal document expressing a deceased person's 'desires' for the division of his belongings," a meaning that also continues today. German has "Wille," Low German Saxon has "Will," Dutch has "wil," Swedish has "vilja," Norwegian and Danish have "vilje," all with the meaning of "desire, intention, will power," but not the legalistic "will," which seems to be confined to English.

The verb "will" seems to have been derived from the noun form of Old Germanic as "wiljan(an)," with the same basic meaning "desire, wish, intention to do." This gave Old English "willan" (also apparently "wyllan" in some dialects), with the same basic meaning. The "intention to do" meaning came to be used in future usage; thus, "I will go to the store." Later the word was spelled "willen" and "wollen," before the modern spelling. Extensively used in the other Germanic languages: German has "wollen" (just to show the similarity to English, conjugated as ich will=I will; du willst=you will; er,sie,es will=he, she, it will), Low German and Dutch have "willen," West Frisian "wolle," Danish and some Norwegian have "ville," Icelandic, some Norwegian and Swedish have "vilja."

The German Question, Part One Hundred Fifty-Six

2011-09-04T12:54:00.000-07:00

"Hitler & The German Question" Part Two

Hitler's increasingly violent racism certainly excluded German Jews as being "Germans," first with legal measures and later by murder.

As in Poland, Germans were forcibly expelled from Czechoslovakia immediately after the end of the war, and continuing for more than a year, but some Germans remained, in some cases being "retained;" that is, not permitted to leave, by the Czech government because of special work skills. The numbers were relatively small compared to the pre-war German population. There were deaths among the German population during the expulsions, and the number of casualties is very much in dispute, but 15,000 to 20,000 is a likely minimum.

The Soviet military began arresting Germans in Hungary, even before the war was over. Thousands were sent to the Soviet Union, never to return. After the war, the communist government of Hungary expelled tens of thousands of Germans to occupied Germany and Austria, but even then some Germans remained as part of the Hungarian population. In the case of Rumania too, thousands of Germans had fled the advancing Red Army, but at least a quarter of a million Germans remained, although as Communism "waned" (there's that word) in the late 1980s, many left for Germany. Similar happened in the Soviet Union, although untold thousands of ethnic Germans died in Soviet prisons or labor camps. or when they were forcibly moved from their home areas to Siberia or other remote regions.

As the war wound down in Yugoslavia, many Germans fled, but many were killed by communist military units, or sent to Soviet labor camps. Quite a number of the Germans from northern Yugoslavia eventually emigrated to the United States in the 1950s, with many coming to Cleveland, where their presence, more so now their descendants, is still evident.

Austria was reestablished as an independent nation, although a pro-German unification party remained on election ballots, with an ever decreasing share of the vote as the years ticked by. I must admit, I regret the separation of Austria from Germany, and I often wonder if things would have been different, if Austria had become part of Germany after World War One, as was likely before the Versailles Treaty forbid it. Would the Germans still have gone berserk under Hitler or some other rightwing leader? Maybe, as let's not forget where the chief nutcase came from, Austria!

It is my "intention" to finish this series in three more articles: the next one about the western boundaries, one about the positive German contributions to the world (especially after all of this nasty period of Hitler and the Nazis), and one with a basic bibliography. I'm not guaranteeing it will be just three articles, but let's see if I can do it.

WORD HISTORY:
Wax-This is the now archaic verb, not the substance made by bees or used for candles, most commonly used in modern times in the expression "wax and wane" (see previous article for "wane"), and it is related to English "eke," as in "eke out a living." It goes back to Indo European "wegs, weks," and the related Indo European "aug," which had the meaning "to increase." This gave Old Germanic "wahksijan," with the general sense of "to increase, to grow." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "weaxan," with the same "increase, grow" meaning. This later became "waxen," before the modern version. Common in the other Germanic languages: German has "wachsen," Low German Saxon and Dutch have "wassen," West Frisian has "waakse," Danish and Norwegian have "vokse," Swedish has växa, and Icelandic has "vaxa;" all with the same general meaning of "grow."