This past week I finished reading "The Great Escape" by Kati Marton. It's a true story set during World War II about nine Jews from Hungary who fled Europe to escape Hitler's reach. It is truly remarkable who these men were and how they impacted the world we now know. They were incredible photographers, artists, movie makers, scientists, mathematicians, and physicists. Had no idea so many great men who eventually made their mark in Britain and America were from that country.
How I wish I'd have known this information and read this book a few years sooner.
Several years ago, I had the pleasure of being seated at the Thanksgiving table across from the father of my sister's dear friend. They had a houseful that year at my sister's. She'd invited these friends to participate in sharing Thanksgiving with us.
My sister may have specifically situated me there, knowing my love of World War II history, and I enjoyed every moment of it. This gentleman was originally from Hungary and remembers the Nazi era well. He was a teenager at the time. Eventually he and his new wife fled Europe to Canada enroute to the United States.
I remember him talking about what Hungary was like growing up, how his wife and he were separated trying to get to the U.S. He spoke of how proud he was when they became American citizens. Even though he has spent the majority of his life as an American, he still had quite an accent. What a charming time I had speaking with him.
How I've wished since then I'd had more time to pick his brain. There were questions I didn't feel comfortable asking at the time, as one it was a holiday and two I didn't want to pry in private and personal territory. Mainly I just listened as he talked and went in directions he wished to share without peppering him with deeper questions.
Yes, I can be respectful when the time calls for it.
But after reading this book, there's so many things I'd ask him about now. Very little of World War II history even references Hungary. There are only a few references to the post-war uprising of Hungarians against the occupying Soviets. If only America had interceeded.
If only I had another chance to sit down with him and listen with a little knowledge of the Budapest cafe life, the compassion of the people, the beauty of her cities, the loveliness of the Danube.
The excitement of living there during the pre-Nazi days.
But then, this book wasn't even published at that time. Now it makes me wonder what else I have missed in my World War II studies.
Perhaps it's time to do a little more digging to find out.
Showing posts with label Nazis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nazis. Show all posts
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Observations on Valkyrie
This evening we went to see a movie that's been out for awhile. It will most likely be the last we go see until I am again gainfully employed.
The choice of our excursion was "Valkyrie". I left there sobbing.
If you aren't yet aware of the nature of the story, it is based upon the July 20 final attack attempt on Adolf Hitler toward the end of World War II. Colonel Stauffenberg joins and then leads the military members of a resistance to assassinate Hitler with the assistance of political allies within the Nazi party.
As we all know from history, they were sadly unsuccessful.
The movie was shot at several actual locations around Germany, including the Berghof, Hitler's palatial retreat home.
Though the scenery and costumery were stunning at times, I left there sobbing because of one thing.
Some days it seems we do not understand what true heroism actually is anymore. These men and women - politicians, military, and civilians - risked everything, EVERYTHING, to try and save their country and countrymen. They saw the evil for what Hitler was and knew they had to act to stand against it.
By their mere associations, much more their involvement, they knew they were putting their own lives and also their families' and friends' lives at stake. In the end they may have lost their lives, but they also gained so many more things that were vitally most precious. By standing against evil they regained their dignity, their honor, their pride, their country, their memory, and their souls.
How many politicians can claim that now days? How many of us would be willing to do the same if we were in similiar circumstances?
We look at our lives and think we are suffering. We think our days are full of evil.
What a mockery.
We don't know the meaning of sacrifice. We don't know the meaning of suffering.
And we have no clue what true evil really is.
Why else do we call a dying generation the greatest generation there ever was? Because they faced evil...and stood it down.
Before that generation is completely lost to our time, we need to do everything we can to learn from that history they hold.
Otherwise we are doomed to repeat it.
The choice of our excursion was "Valkyrie". I left there sobbing.
If you aren't yet aware of the nature of the story, it is based upon the July 20 final attack attempt on Adolf Hitler toward the end of World War II. Colonel Stauffenberg joins and then leads the military members of a resistance to assassinate Hitler with the assistance of political allies within the Nazi party.
As we all know from history, they were sadly unsuccessful.
The movie was shot at several actual locations around Germany, including the Berghof, Hitler's palatial retreat home.
Though the scenery and costumery were stunning at times, I left there sobbing because of one thing.
Some days it seems we do not understand what true heroism actually is anymore. These men and women - politicians, military, and civilians - risked everything, EVERYTHING, to try and save their country and countrymen. They saw the evil for what Hitler was and knew they had to act to stand against it.
By their mere associations, much more their involvement, they knew they were putting their own lives and also their families' and friends' lives at stake. In the end they may have lost their lives, but they also gained so many more things that were vitally most precious. By standing against evil they regained their dignity, their honor, their pride, their country, their memory, and their souls.
How many politicians can claim that now days? How many of us would be willing to do the same if we were in similiar circumstances?
We look at our lives and think we are suffering. We think our days are full of evil.
What a mockery.
We don't know the meaning of sacrifice. We don't know the meaning of suffering.
And we have no clue what true evil really is.
Why else do we call a dying generation the greatest generation there ever was? Because they faced evil...and stood it down.
Before that generation is completely lost to our time, we need to do everything we can to learn from that history they hold.
Otherwise we are doomed to repeat it.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Shining Through
Well tonight was pizza and a movie. Normally we'd be going to my hometown this weekend for the Neewollah festival in Independence, but with the schedule lately and the fact that my son is trying to get a job, I need all the at home time right now I can get.
So tonight we ordered Pizza Hut pizza and watched "Shining Through". It's the only rated R movie I've ever let my son see (we skip the brief sex scene) because of the content of the movie. With my mind back in the forties and World War II, I thought it was about time to get that one back out again, get a feel for the era and study the clothes.
This is one of my all-time favorite movies. It tells the story of an older woman recalling to a BBC reporter her experiences as an American spy planted in Germany during the war. Funny thing about it - she's a Jew seeking to go into the country that is rounding up and killing Jews or sending them to concentration camps. Due to her ability to speak fluent German, but against the wishes of her superior, she volunteers for the project when their double-agent is discovered and murdered.
They plant her behind enemy lines to act as a domestic cook to a wealthy and influential officer of the Third Reich. She was to dazzle them with her cooking skills. Problem was, she arrived with only two hours to prepare. The dinner was a disaster and she was summarily dismissed.
Walking home, she is picked up by the highest ranking officer in attendance at the dinner party. In desperate need of a nanny for his two children after the death of his wife, he encourages her to accept the post so he doesn't have to go through the endless paperwork to clear someone else (thinking she'd already been through a proper Gestapo check). She sees a briefcase with important papers sticking out and makes a critical decision.
That night she fell off the radar of the American spy network and accepted the position. For two months she watches and searches and waits until the right moment. The secret room in the basement finally shows itself and she secures the pictures of a German production facility developing self-propelled rockets and tracking systems in Peenemunde.
The problem - how does she get out of Germany with the information? The American network doesn't know where she is. Worse, could a friend have betrayed her? Will she be discovered before she can get safely away from the Nazis? Will it be the death of her and those she loves?
Yes, it's an older movie from the 80's (if I remember correctly) but an incredible movie about the sacrifices so many people were willing to make for freedom and the heartbreak and chaos caused when evil is allowed to run unchecked.
And just think - real people actually fought to keep not only America free but to give freedom back to those from whom it had been stripped.
So tonight we ordered Pizza Hut pizza and watched "Shining Through". It's the only rated R movie I've ever let my son see (we skip the brief sex scene) because of the content of the movie. With my mind back in the forties and World War II, I thought it was about time to get that one back out again, get a feel for the era and study the clothes.
This is one of my all-time favorite movies. It tells the story of an older woman recalling to a BBC reporter her experiences as an American spy planted in Germany during the war. Funny thing about it - she's a Jew seeking to go into the country that is rounding up and killing Jews or sending them to concentration camps. Due to her ability to speak fluent German, but against the wishes of her superior, she volunteers for the project when their double-agent is discovered and murdered.
They plant her behind enemy lines to act as a domestic cook to a wealthy and influential officer of the Third Reich. She was to dazzle them with her cooking skills. Problem was, she arrived with only two hours to prepare. The dinner was a disaster and she was summarily dismissed.
Walking home, she is picked up by the highest ranking officer in attendance at the dinner party. In desperate need of a nanny for his two children after the death of his wife, he encourages her to accept the post so he doesn't have to go through the endless paperwork to clear someone else (thinking she'd already been through a proper Gestapo check). She sees a briefcase with important papers sticking out and makes a critical decision.
That night she fell off the radar of the American spy network and accepted the position. For two months she watches and searches and waits until the right moment. The secret room in the basement finally shows itself and she secures the pictures of a German production facility developing self-propelled rockets and tracking systems in Peenemunde.
The problem - how does she get out of Germany with the information? The American network doesn't know where she is. Worse, could a friend have betrayed her? Will she be discovered before she can get safely away from the Nazis? Will it be the death of her and those she loves?
Yes, it's an older movie from the 80's (if I remember correctly) but an incredible movie about the sacrifices so many people were willing to make for freedom and the heartbreak and chaos caused when evil is allowed to run unchecked.
And just think - real people actually fought to keep not only America free but to give freedom back to those from whom it had been stripped.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Movie Review!!!!
Wow - we went to see "Expelled" over the weekend. Can't find it much on movie internet sites, but it is a very interesting documentary. I highly recommend it regardless of your views on Darwinian evolution.
Due to my years of study on World War II and the Nazis, I found the part on eugenics fascinating as well as horrifying. Ben Stein visited Dachau, a former concentration camp near Munich, Germany where political prisoners' and countless Jews' lives were snuffed out. He also visited Hadamar Hospital, converted now to a museum, where over 14,000 of the mentally ill and physically disabled were gassed by the Nazis.
Interestingly enough, when Mr. Stein asked people if they thought Hitler was insane none agreed. Social Darwinian thought was prevalent throughout Europe both before and after World War II. Events after World War I only solidified thoughts which led to the atrocities of actions by the Third Reich.
The point of Mr. Stein's movie is to allow freedom of thought and debate instead of the tactics currently employed in many scientific fields, some rather reminiscent of the Nazis. Many renowned scientists in America are losing their jobs, losing grants, denied tenure, or pressured to resign because of simply questioning certain segments of Darwinian belief.
There are legitimate holes in the theory - which is why it is called a "theory" and not "fact". Good science allows for questioning. Hopefully this movie will be an avenue leading to the table of open and free debate.
Due to my years of study on World War II and the Nazis, I found the part on eugenics fascinating as well as horrifying. Ben Stein visited Dachau, a former concentration camp near Munich, Germany where political prisoners' and countless Jews' lives were snuffed out. He also visited Hadamar Hospital, converted now to a museum, where over 14,000 of the mentally ill and physically disabled were gassed by the Nazis.
Interestingly enough, when Mr. Stein asked people if they thought Hitler was insane none agreed. Social Darwinian thought was prevalent throughout Europe both before and after World War II. Events after World War I only solidified thoughts which led to the atrocities of actions by the Third Reich.
The point of Mr. Stein's movie is to allow freedom of thought and debate instead of the tactics currently employed in many scientific fields, some rather reminiscent of the Nazis. Many renowned scientists in America are losing their jobs, losing grants, denied tenure, or pressured to resign because of simply questioning certain segments of Darwinian belief.
There are legitimate holes in the theory - which is why it is called a "theory" and not "fact". Good science allows for questioning. Hopefully this movie will be an avenue leading to the table of open and free debate.
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