Hitler's Third Reich and World War II in the News is a daily edited review of WWII news, providing thought-provoking collection of hand-picked WW2 information.

Recent WWII news and articles

Popularity of Second World War and Nazi memorabilia dilemma for auction houses     lehighvalleylive.com :: 2009-11-15
Day by day, the heroes who served during World War II are passing away. As they do, their WW2 keepsakes and militaria are changing hands, being passed on to survivors who may choose to sell those relics. Among the items turning up at military collectibles auctions are items from Nazi Germany: Nazi flags, medals, pins, uniforms, weapons, and even armbands Jews were forced to wear. For some, this buying and selling raises ethical questions. For others it's a matter of collecting a piece of history. Auctioneer Kevin Smith reveals that when K.D. Smith Auctions in Allentown held a sale of WWII militaria hits to the sale's online listing were "astronomical."     [Nazi Memorabilia (Controversial Sales and Auctions)]

New British law lets UK museums return works looted by Nazis     bbc.co.uk :: 2009-11-15
Artefacts in national museums found to have been looted by the Nazis can now be returned to their owners, because of "The Holocaust (Stolen Art) Restitution Act" - which gives national institutions in England and Scotland the power to return art stolen during the Nazi era. The law enables national museums and galleries to act on the recommendations of the Spoliation Advisory Panel, which resolves claims from people, or their heirs, who lost property during the Nazi era 1933-1945 which is now held in UK national collections.     [Recovering looted WWII art - Resources]

Did Adolf Hitler have Parkinson's disease? Some doctors think so     newstimes.com :: 2009-11-14
By the end of his life, Adolf Hitler had a tremor in his hands, his voice was reduced to a whisper, his handwriting became small and cramped and he'd become inflexible in military decisions. Which raises the question: Did Hitler have Parkinson's disease? And did it play a part in the end of World War II? The symptoms can include a tremor that gets worse over time, a slow gait, stooped posture, a voice reduced to a whisper, a lack of imagination and spontaneity, difficulty making decisions and general apathy. And Dr. John Murphy says - after looking at historical photos, newsreel footage and WWII eyewitness accounts - that description fits Hitler in his final years.     [Adolf Hitler]

RAF rival squadrons resort to bombing competition in dispute over 1944 sinking of Tirpitz     timesonline.co.uk :: 2009-11-14
On Nov 12, 1944, the Tirpitz, one of the most feared Nazi battleships, was attacked by RAF bombers in a Norwegian fjord and sunk. Two squadrons of Lancaster bombers had participated in the raid, No 9 and No 617, Guy Gibson's Dambusters squadron. Both scored direct hits on the battleship, and for the past 65 years both claimed to have been responsible for the bomb that ruined the Tirpitz - which survived Royal Navy midget submarine attack in 1943. Now there has been a bombing competition to settle the rivalry. Over the Wainfleet bombing range on The Wash in Lincolnshire, two Tornado GR4s from each squadron took off with 14kg bombs, replicating the World War II conditions.     [Avitation & Airforce: Luftwaffe, RAF, USAF]

Two WW2-era Japanese attack subs, designed for a stealth attack on the U.S. East Coast, discovered     nationalgeographic.com :: 2009-11-13
After 60 years in a watery Hawaiian grave, two Second World War-era Japanese attack submarines have been discovered near Pearl Harbor. Designed for a stealth attack on the American East Coast the "samurai subs" were fast, far-ranging, and in some cases carried folding-wing aircraft, says Dik Daso, curator of modern military aircraft at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum, speaking in the new National Geographic documentary film "Hunt for the Samurai Subs." When the war ended the U.S. Navy took over the Japanese fleet, sinking 5 samurai submarines to keep the technology out of the hands of the Soviet Union. The military didn't record where the boats had been sunk.     [U-Boats : Submarines]

Exhibition about the American who fought for Soviet Red Army in World War II     rian.ru :: 2009-11-13
An exhibition about the only man known to have fought for both the U.S. and Soviet armies during World War II will open on Feb 18 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Joe Beyrle was captured by Nazi forces after parachuting into Normandy in June 1944. He attempted to escape two times, but only his third effort was a success and he made contact with a Russian tank division. In spite of only knowing only two words of Russian ("Amerikanskii tovarishch" -"American comrade"), he became a member of the unit, participating in a number of battles. After being wounded in a battle, he met Marshal Georgy Zhukov, who gave him a letter of transit to the American embassy in Moscow.     [Red Army]

On display: Diaries of reporter who exposed Stalin's man-made famine that killed millions     telegraph.co.uk :: 2009-11-13
The private diaries of a Welsh reporter who sacrificed his reputation and his life to reveal one of Josef Stalin's atrocities are to go on public display for the first time. Gareth Jones traveled across Soviet Ukraine - then off limits to Western journalists - to report on the "Holomodor", the man-made famine that killed millions 1932-1933. In March 1933 Jones returned to Berlin describing how millions were starving to death while the Soviet regime exported grain to the West. But his work was dismissed as a "scare story" by Western journalists in Moscow, keen to maintain favour with Stalin. Two years later Jones was killed by bandits on the eve of his 30th birthday in China.     [WWII Ukraine]

Michael Wittman's Last Tiger Befehlspanzer Tiger I Last Production Normandy 1944 in 1/35 scale model     militarymodelling.com :: 2009-11-12
It may not be their first Tiger I kit, and it may not be the first Tiger I kit with zimmerit, but this scale model will probably be popular. The best known German Tiger ace of World War II was Michael Wittman, and the story of his action at Villers Bocage pretty much settled his place in military history. Cyber-hobby.com has released kit of Wittman's final Tiger I Befehlspanzer in Normandy. For those interested in the fate of Wittman and the real Tiger, look at the book "Panzers in Normandy, Then & Now" in the After the Battle series. Author John Paul Pallud tracked down Wittman's burial place in the 1970s, and the crew was moved to the La Cambe cemetery.     [Military Scale Model: Aircrafts, Vehicles]

World War II fighter pilot recalls POW experience     isanticountynews.com :: 2009-11-12
Under frozen conditions in December 1944, one mission - during his second tour of duty in World War II - propelled 1st Lt. Lewis Blake and his P-38 Lightning into the Battle of the Bulge. The mission also resulted in a Purple Heart medal and a POW experience. In support of U.S. troops in the Ardennes forest, Blake and fellow pilots aimed for the German Tiger tanks. "Napalm was the most effective weapon on tanks." Unfortunately, an anti-aircraft flak gun also proved to be effective as a 40mm shell hit the bottom of his P-38. "It hit right under me," recalled Blake, referring to below his seat in the cockpit. "It was hot." Blake began his first parachute jump.    

Photographs: Veterans Day across America     examiner.com :: 2009-11-12
Veterans Day photos across America.     [World War II Veterans]

Two WWII documentary film series: WWII in HD, Apocalypse: The Second World War     nydailynews.com :: 2009-11-11
Every time war starts to sound a little bit glorious, something like these realistic World War II documentaries comes along. They look at the bloodiest war in history from the inside, through the eyes of soldiers and civilians who didn't all survive it. The 5-part show "WWII in HD", with Gary Sinise narrating, finds a fresh angle by taking a dozen Americans and following them into the war. The Smithsonian's "Apocalypse: The Second World War," a 6-part series narrated by Martin Sheen, arrives with greater hype, promising graphic film that until now was deemed by authorities as "unfit for civilians to see." [Buy from Amazon: US, UK, CA, DE, FR]     [WWII documentary series]

A Marine Corps amphibious tank was his first vehicle     ocregister.com :: 2009-11-11
When the son of an Arkansas small farmer found himself in the driver's seat of a Marine Corps amphibious tank - the first vehicle he had ever driven - the excitement was unparalleled. The year was 1944 and Eldon Wheeler was 17yo, and the anger towards the Japanese, fueled by the attack on Pearl Harbor, unrestrained. "I was thrilled," he recalls, of the amphibious training with the 2nd Marine Division. "I just wanted to know what (the tank) could do. Man, I'd find the roughest terrain I could get and try to wreck the thing." He recalls the feeling of the first day in combat. He maneuvered his tank from the landing ship and ... as the tank climbed up on the sand in Okinawa, it came under fire.     [Panzers & Armored Divisions & Tank War]

Although the articles linked from Adolf Hitler's Third Reich 1933-1945 and World War II in the News are reviewed and specially selected, they do not necessarily represent the views of the editor, who is not responsible for the content of any external sites. This service is © Joni Nuutinen 2005-2009. All rights reserved.