Soviets Blow The Dnieper Dam - Killing 50k+ Civilians? August 19, 1941 Built between 1927 and 1932, the Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Plant was the pride of the USSR. However the decision to destroy it during the Soviet retreat will claim an estimated 50,000+ civilians. The destruction of the dam caused a major humanitarian disaster downstream. Tens of thousands of people perished in the ensuing tidal wave. The Soviets, realizing the blunder they had made, began to spread rumors that the dam had been blown up by German saboteurs and pilots. After capturing the Donetsk Basin the Germans started to rebuild it. The reconstruction was mostly completed before the Germans were pushed out of the area by the Red Army later in the war.

Allies Wipe Out Another City? March 16, 1945 The German city of Würzburg was a lazaret city full of hospitals and camps for refugees fleeing from war zone areas. By 1945 the Allies had largely destroyed every major industrial and military target. Yet, continued flying missions against remaining German cities chosen mainly for their vulnerability to firestorms rather than for any urgent strategic value. In roughly 17 minutes, thousands of people are blown apart, and 90% of the historic medieval center is destroyed. The presence of Red Cross markings and medical facilities did not prevent the attack under the prevailing Allied "area bombing policy".

The Passing of The Desert Fox, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel October 14, 1944 82 years ago today, Rommel finally awoke from a coma induced by injuries sustained when Allied aircraft attacked his vehicle in Normandy. While he was recovering, Himmler ordered the Secret State Police to round up potential traitors at the Volksgerichtshof, and execute any suspected of involvement in the July 20 plot to assassinate their Fuhrer. Rommel's growing discontentment with the war and the testimony of certain arrested individuals linking him to the conspiracy placed him in jeopardy. Generals Burgdorf and Maisel visit Rommel in Herrlingen, presenting him with an ultimatum. Rommel's 15 year old son Manfred, would recount the events: "A few minutes later I heard my father come upstairs and go into my mother's room. Anxious to know what was afoot, I got up and followed him. He was standing in the middle of the room, his face pale. 'Come outside with me,' he said in a tight voice. We went into my room. 'I have just had to tell your mother,' he began slowly, 'that I shall be dead in a quarter of an hour.' He was calm as he continued: 'To die by the hand of one's own people is hard. But the house is surrounded and Hitler is charging me with high treason. ' "In view of my services in Africa," ' he quoted sarcastically, 'I am to have the chance of dying by poison. The two generals have brought it with them. It's fatal in three seconds. If I accept, none of the usual steps will be taken against my family, that is against you. They will also leave my staff alone. My father now spoke more quickly. He again said how useless it was to attempt to defend ourselves. 'It's all been prepared to the last detail. I'm to be given a state funeral. I have asked that it should take place in Ulm. [a town near Rommel's home]... He looked at his watch. 'I must go, they've only given me ten minutes." After a brief departure from the residence, Burgdorf provides Rommel with a cyanide capsule. Several minutes later, the Field Marshal is declared deceased. Besides hearsay, it's unclear if Rommel played a role in any plot. A radio broadcast is sent out, declaring Rommel has succumbed to his severe injuries from the Allied attack in Normandy. Hitler orders a state funeral with full military honors to be held on October 18, 1944.

The Cologne Cathedral The Gothic structure begun in 1248, stood resilient in 1944 amidst devastation of World War 2. Despite the Allies reducing Cologne to rubble, the cathedral’s towering spires have endured for 700 years. Today, the cathedral is a famous attraction worldwide, representing its testament to its resilient, robust structure, reinforced by centuries of craftsmanship, withstanding collapse despite Allied "area bombings". However, over 62% of Cologne's infrastructure and beauty was destroyed.

British WW2 Veteran Recounts The Destruction of Dresden Victor Gregg (1919–2021) was held as a POW in Dresden when the Allied firebombing began. After a bomb damaged his prison, he escaped into the burning streets and tried helping save anyone he could during the firestorm. In various interviews he stated the Allies committed war crimes ordered in Britain’s name and condemned Winston Churchill. "It was evil. I'll never forgive the people who ordered those raids. Nothing prepared me for seeing women and children alight flying through the air. Between that, they was still carrying on bombing other cities like this. We were supposed to be the good guys."

American Sailors Swimming Shark Infested Waters During the World War 2 in the Pacific, American sailors would deploy anti-torpedo nets into an improvised swimming pool during downtime before fighting. The nets normally meant to stop torpedoes, also kept sharks out, letting the crew dive from the flight deck, ropes, and anchor chains for a brief break in the water. No known cases exist of sailors being killed or eaten by sharks during these recreational swims.

Winston Churchill's Government Imprisons The Anti-War Party (World War 2) Oswald Mosley, along with over 700 members of his BUF (British Union of Fascists) were jailed as political prisoners during WW2 for opposing Britain's involvement. They argued the conflict would destroy the Empire and England itself. Other anti-war parties such as the Communist Party of Great Britain were not imprisoned. Historical records confirm the BUF protested against the war and were imprisoned without trial for it.

This Was Baltimore in 1946 Baltimore’s white marble steps were the city’s most visible badge of pride and belonging. Owners were keeping the stoops dazzlingly clean was a daily or weekly ritual, often done by women and children with brushes and buckets. It signaled respectability, neighborly standards, and a civic duty to maintain their city. However, overtime the collective effort to maintain the marble steps faded over the decades.

The World’s First Jet Powered Plane In the final days of World War 2, Germany bore witness to a groundbreaking marvel: the Horten Ho 229 built by brothers Walter and Reimar Horten. It had a sleek, tailless design, resembling a bat in flight, minimized radar detection, pioneering stealth technology decades before its time. Now preserved at Smithsonian’s Udvar Hazy Center. The design left an indelible impact on modern stealth and aeronautical innovation, with the Germans leaving their mark in pioneering stealth technology decades before its time.

86 years ago today, Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact, forming the Axis alliance. September 27, 1940

Luftwaffe Field Marshal Erhard Milch, whose father was of Jewish origin, played a key role in building the Luftwaffe. About 140,000 men of partial Jewish descent served in the Wehrmacht, including some senior officers who received special exemptions for their loyalty.

Free French Soldiers Massacre German POW's after Their Surrender September 12, 1944 On that afternoon the French 2nd Armored Division took Andelot Blancheville in northeastern France. What followed was German soldiers who had surrendered were pulled aside and summarily killed. A doctor traveling with the division, Alexandre Krementchousky, documented the event. The town later buried about 55 Germans in unmarked graves. There was no official French investigation and The Allies never opened a case on Andelot and quietly listed the dead Germans as battlefield causalities. They did not prosecute the men who shot prisoners after they had surrendered. Robert Galley (officer from the 2nd Armored) who was seen on photograph executing POW's was later promoted in 1945. French veterans from the same division said Galley also ordered killings at other places like in Écouché in August 1944 and Bischofswiesen in May 1945.

81 years ago today, General George S. Patton compared Nazi Party membership to a Democratic–Republican contest at home. “The Nazi thing is just like a Democrat and Republican election fight.” he told the press. Eisenhower removed Patton from his post days later for his remarks, stripping the entire Third Army and Bavaria away from him. In private, Patton privately called the move the biggest shock of his life and writing that he would not take part in the destruction of Germany under the pretense of "denazification.” Claiming they prioritized revenge over rebuilding and long term success. September 22, 1945

85 years ago today, Stalin's reaction the moment he was informed that the Axis were about to take Kiev. September 19, 1941

Allied Bomber Attacks German U-Boats Trying to Rescue Survivors September 18, 1942 84 years ago today, French ships finally arrive to pickup the last remaining survivors of a sabotaged rescue operation. Six days earlier on September 12, German U-Boats sank the British ship RMS Laconia. After discovering she carried Italian POWs and civilians, German commander Werner Hartenstein organized a rescue operation, broadcasting an uncoded appeal for help from any ships in the area including Allied ones. U-boat Commander Admiral Dönitz even authorized three additional U-boats to assist with rescue efforts. Four days later on September 16, an American bomber spotted the rescue operation underway while bearing Red Cross flags and was ordered to attack anyway. Men, women and children on the U-boat decks and in the water were either killed or torn apart in front of the crews who had just pulled them from the sea. This forced the submarines to cut the life lines and dive. Those left behind drifted until they drowned or died of exposure. Of roughly 2,730 people aboard Laconia, about 1,650 died as a result from the attack. In response, German Admiral Dönitz issues what will become known as the Laconia Order: "No attempts should be taken to rescue crew members of sunken ships, recover swimming shipwrecked people, put them into lifeboats, lift overturned boats or give food and water. A rescue operation is opposed to the elementary principles of conducting the action to destroy enemy ships and crews. Be harsh. Remember that the enemy also does not show consideration for your wives and children during the bombing raids on German cities." At Nuremberg the prosecution used Dönitz’s 1942 Laconia Order against him. However the charge was dropped after U.S Admiral Nimitz testified that Allied submarines had followed the same practice before Germany did. The war crime was brushed aside and no was held to account.

87 years ago today, the Soviets invade Poland. Subsequently, the Allies reject Poland's plea and will not declare war on the Soviet Union. September 17, 1939

During the Spanish Civil War, Republicans and Communists rampaged across Spain's holy sites. They dug up graves of Christians and desecrated their corpses for public display. Christians were hunted down and subjected to torture & death. A spiritual sacrilege against the Church's very existence.

25 years ago today, the deadliest terror attack on American soil extinguished 2,977 innocent lives. September 11th, 2001

What if Great Britain had not declared war on Germany?