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.

Category: Nazi and Samurai Swords  -- See latest WWII news here.

Returning World War II Japanese swords and flags to their owners
A relic from World War II belonging to a Japanese family may find its way back home thanks to Ken Buckingham. He has had a Japanese flag with messages on it for 60 years, but recently he sent it to Yasuhiko Kaji, who has amassed a huge collection of Japanese militaria from the war to return them to the original owners or their families. Among the items Kaji already has returned are 5 swords, 20 notebooks and 30 flags. He still has over 100 swords and other artifacts that he hopes to return. The flags commonly are signed by family members with messages like "Please take care of yourself. Come back alive."     [ monroenews.com :: 2008-07-08 :: Nazi and Samurai Swords ]

Japan shies away from shrine documentary Yasukuni
An old man wearing a white tunic and a dark apron, steps into the frame. From a scabbard he pulls a ceremonial sword. With precision he carves an arc in the air, before bringing the blade down in the space in front of him. Naoji Kariya is the last living swordsmith at the Yasukuni shrine, where Japan remembers its war dead. He is one of the persons interviewed for Yasukuni film, made by Chinese filmmaker Li Ying. The film have been described as "anti-Japanese" by some lawmakers. Those comments have been blamed for prompting right-wing activists to stage protests against cinemas: 5 have cancelled screenings.     [ bbc :: 2008-04-12 :: Japan: WWII-era and Aftermath ]

A Samurai Sword of Memories
My dad was 52 when I was born, which meant his stories were different than my friends' dads'. They didn't start with the Vietnam, they started with Pearl Harbor. I remember every note of the navy songs he taught me. My favorite is the dirty one about the sailor who bangeg up a cockney bar-maid. But the stories he told me only come back in fragments. I know he was an officer on a minesweeper in the Pacific, and he talked a lot about a ship named the Minivet. I recall something about a boat anchored near him that blew up, and something about an army jeep he attempted to "liberate" to drive across China. And then there was the story about the Samurai Sword...     [ weekendamerica :: 2007-12-22 ]

Sword collector keeping skills sharp - restores blades, owns hundreds
Sword restorer Harunaka Hoshino slides his finger along a blade wielded by a Samurai centuries ago. He angles the blade at 45 degrees and rubs it along a wet block of stone. "Oh, it's getting sharp. It can shred the paper. This is ready to go to war." Within the first 2 years as a sword collector, he has amassed 11 swords. He's amazed that many of them can be traced to their swordsmith: "There are certain swordmakers who had a style." During World War II, his family was interned and ordered to turn over their swords. The swords were then destroyed and thrown into an outhouse. "Out of respect to the sword, I had it restored so it wouldn't deteriorate further."     [ insidebayarea :: 2007-05-16 :: Collectors, Memorabilia and Militaria ]

Replica SS officer sword [photos]
This replica of a German SS officers dress sword is multi piece construction as the originals were, down to the wooden an wire wrapped grip, and the sig runes in the center of the grip. This sword is one of the most desired swords that the Nazis ever had. Originals go for thousands of dollars, but this replica is perfect for the militaria collector or the weekend reenactor.     [ ioffer :: 2007-05-14 :: Nazi and Samurai Swords ]

Man succeeds in unusual effort to find japanese sword's owner
Takashi Uchimi remembers the day his father's sword came home from the war without his father, who died in the Philippines. Uchimi also remembers the day his grandfather handed over the sword to American occupation forces, who were under orders to confiscate all weapons. The memories lay buried until Uchimi received a phone call. A translator told him she was working on behalf of a Phoenix man seeking to return the sword to its owner. Ted Evertsen inherited the sword from his father, who had served on the staff of General Douglas MacArthur at his Tokyo headquarters. Many Japanese dug shallow graves for their swords instead of turning them over to the Americans.     [ azcentral :: 2007-04-13 :: Nazi and Samurai Swords ]

Fury at Hitler Youth uniform sale - with a swastika-daubed sword
The Royal British Legion has criticised an antiques shop for selling a Hitler Youth uniform and displaying it in the window. But staff have hit back, saying that the outfit was "harmless" and had attracted a lot of interest. The store is offering the genuine black cloth uniform, complete with a swastika-daubed sword, for £1,850. It is one of many items of Nazi memorabilia on sale. Behind the cash desk hangs a portrait of Hitler - also for sale. The Hitler Youth (HitlerJugend) was a paramilitary organisation that paved the way for German youngsters to join the Nazi party.     [ thisislancashire :: 2007-03-08 :: Nazi Uniforms ]

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