Hermann Göring estate "Karinhalle"

Location:

On the Schorfheide, not far from a place called Friedrichwalde. It is about 80km north of Berlin, Germany

History:

In 1933 Hermann Göring got, because of his function as minister of Preussen, a large piece of land on the Schorfheide, about 80km north of Berlin. He build a house on the land for weekends and named it after his in 1931 deceased wife Karin von Fock.

In 1936, Hitler ordered to enlarge "Karinhalle" so that it could be used as an official reception for high guests.

1935, Göring marries Emmy Sonneman and they use "Karinhalle" as there living house.

On 20-07-37, the "Karinhalle" was ready.

After the birth of Görings daughter Emma in 1940, "Karinhalle" was made larger again.

After the German defeat at Stalingrad in 1943/44, Göring started to use "Karinhalle" as an official Headquarters for his Luftwaffe. Large underground systems were build to provide shelter in case of airraids.

On 12-01-45, Göring celebrates his last birthday on "Karinhalle".

On Hitler's last birthday on 20-04-45, Göring leaves his estate. All valuable goods are loaded on lorries. Göring personally blows up his estate. After that he attends Hitler's birthday in Berlin.

After the war the local population took all valuable things left away.

During the period of the DDR (East-Germany), the format estate was used by high communist part leaders for hunting parties, etc. No one was allowed in that area. After the Berlin Wall went down, the estate could be visited freely again.

Current status:

There is not much left now these days. On the former estate you can some pieces of debris of Görings former house. Only the entrance gate is till there. Furthermore a number of tunnels can be found. The vegetation looks a bit strange on some places, it doesn't fit in the normal forrest vegetation.These are probably the remains of the garden.

The site incl some 1993 pics of the area

http://members.tripod.com/plowwii/uk021.htm

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During the Nazi’s Nuremberg Rally of 1934, some 35,000 swastika symbols were displayed on banners, flags, standards, and enormous backdrop curtains. It was, arguably, the largest mass display of the swastika to date.



http://www.ankerberg.com/Articles/new-age/NA0802W4.htm

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Nazi propaganda and Czech 1934:



Nazi propaganda and the British:

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Warning! This is total propaganda by the nazi regime. Enter only to understand the cruelty behind the nazi politics!


The following text and graphics are from,
RASSENPOLITIK, Berlin: SS Hauptamt, circa. 1942.
A presentation of Nazi racial theories
this SS manual was designed for educational use.

RACIAL POLICY
The Reichführer SS [HEINRICH HIMMLER] SS CENTRAL OFFICE

http://www.dac.neu.edu/holocaust/Naz...l%20Policy.htm

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1936 Olympics: In a gesture of peace Spiridon Louis, Greek champion of the 1896 Olympic games, brings Hitler an Olive branch from Mt. Olympus. 5 years later Germany would invade Greece. Photo courtesy of Bundesarchiv Koblenz.

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http://www.ahier.demon.co.uk/occ1st.html

The German Occupation of the Channel Islands, 1940-1945

Paris surrendered to the German army on 14 June 1940. On the following day the British government announced that the Channel Islands were of no strategic importance and would not be defended.


About 30,000 people out of a total island population of 104,000 left their homes hurriedly to evacuate to England. They included almost the whole population of Alderney, but few from Sark. Nearly all the school-age children of Guernsey were shipped, without their parents, to England.


Guernsey was occupied by German forces on 30 June, Jersey on 1 July, Alderney on 2 July and Sark on 3 July, 1940.

Channel Islanders were forbidden by the Germans to communicate outside the islands (except by means of censored 25-word Red Cross messages which took many months to reach their destinations). Nor were they permitted to travel outside the islands or to listen to radio broadcasts or to run cars. There were heavy penalties if found in possession of a radio. Small quantities of new clothing and domestic goods were imported from France but in general supplies of most commodities were in very short supply and often impossible to obtain.

In 1942-43, 2,000 British people, including whole families with children, were forcibly deported to camps in southern Germany. No reason for this was given at the time.

After the invasion of France by Allied forces on 6 June 1944 the Channel Islands were besieged because the German garrison refused to surrender. There were not enough stocks of food in the islands to maintain a normal diet. Eventually public gas and electricity supplies were cut off. The International Red Cross sent food parcels by sea from Lisbon in the SS Vega, (1,073 tons). Two food parcels, each weighing about 11 lbs, were distributed to civilians in January 1945. The Vega made five other voyages from Lisbon to the islands in 1945 to bring flour and other supplies.

The war in Europe ended on 8 May 1945 and the Germans surrendered the islands on the following day, now referred to in the Channel Islands as "Liberation Day".

Some curious facts:

The civil police continued to wear the usual British uniform throughout the Occupation but uniformed policemen were required to salute German officers when they passed them in the street. Local policemen were prosecuted and fined by the German military police for not saluting.

The Germans did all they could to stop people receiving uncensored news from outside the Islands. Radios were confiscated but many hundreds of people were imprisoned and some were deported for keeping a radio receiver at home. It was also an offence to keep pigeons and on 20 December 1941 the Germans announced that the death penalty could be imposed for anyone found keeping pigeons.

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Just a little tale about the Kronprinz Friedrich Wilhelm (who would have been Kaiser Wilhelm III...)



He wrote a congratulation letter to field marshal Erich von Manstein along with a gold cigarette case or a watch (I am not shure) as a gift.

"I congratulate you because you covered the German arms with glory in taking the amazing fortress of Sevastopol. Even a more difficult action than that of taking the French fortresses at Verdun, in which I failed myself 26 years ago..."

Let's remember that prince Friedrich Wilhelm commanded the German V Army in the battle of Verdun.

Here is Kaiser Wilhelm II with all his sons:

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"War is less costly than servitude, the choice is always between Verdun and Dachau." - Jean Dutourd, French veteran of both world wars

"A mon fils: depuis que tes yeux sont fermes les miens n’ont cessé de pleurir." - Mère française, Verdun

Adolf Galland and the dramatic air combat July of 1941.

http://www.elknet.pl/acestory/galland/galland.htm

Written by Christer Bergström

July 2nd, 1941 the Geschwaderkommodore Oberstleutnant Adolf Galland took off, despite wounds he had received when he was shot down on 21 June, and despite the fact that he had received orders that forbade him to take part in air combat since he was decorated with the Swords to the Knight´s Cross with Oak Leaves. He led the whole JG 26 in an attack against the formation of "Blenheim's" and escort fighters - probably of 308th Squadron, they just covered that bombers... Galland shot down one "Blenheim" (it was not confirmed, because he didn´t see the crash). As he was involved in a whirling dogfight with one "Spitfire", another "Spitfire" attacked his Bf 109F from behind.

The cockpit hub of Galland´s plane was hit by a 20 mm shell. But the armor plate which Galland´s mechanic Unteroffizier Meyer coincidentally had mounted on the Kommodore´s aircraft that same morning, saved Galland´s life. Adolf Galland managed to escape and landed at base, where he was hospitalized again - for the second time in twelve days. As a reward, he paid Uffz. Meyer 100 Mark.

"So viel war mein Kopf wert (so much was my head worth)...", Galland ironically commented later.

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On March 29th of 1943, it was decided to produce recovery version of Panther for use in the Panzer-Abteilungen. In June of 1943, MAN produced original 12 prototype series Bergepanthers which were turretless and modified Ausf Ds returned for repairs . Production started in July of 1943 and Panther Ausf A and later Ausf G were used, although production was slow and various modifications were made during the production. Early Bergepanther was armed with 20mm KwK 38 L/55 and later on with twin 7.92mm MG34 or MG42s. Bergepanther was operated by the crew made up of commander, driver and mechanic. It was fitted with a 1.5 ton lifting crane and other recovery/repair equipment (eg. large spade, 40 ton winch etc.), some of it especially designed.

Some Bergepanthers had their recovery equipment removed and were modified to carry ammunition, designated as Munitionspanzer Panther. Bergepanther was the best recovery vehicle of World War II and after the war, some captured Bergepanthers were used by the French Army until mid 1950s.


http://www.achtungpanzer.com/pz4.htm

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Bergepanther, SdKfz 179: The chassis used were 232 Ausf As from June to September 1943, 107 Ausf Gs from September 1944 to March 1945, and 8 converted in August 1944. Existing half-track recovery vehicles were inadequate due to Panther's weight. Turret was removed and square wooden structure took it's place. A 40 ton winch was installed. A large spade was hinged to the bottom of the hull and was used as an anchor. A folding derrick with a 1.5 tone capacity was installed. Weighed 42.7 tons, speed of 21 mph, and a crew of 4 or 5, although 2 could operate it. These were produced by Demag of Berlin-Falkensee. Ruhrstahl of Hattingen supplied the armor. Fuel was increased to 1,075 liters.

http://www.wwiivehicles.com/html/germany/pzkpfw_v.html

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Short course for British military leaders 1939-1945:

http://books.stonebooks.com/cgi-bin/....exe/base/brit

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Churchill's first letter to FDR as Prime Minister was written on May 15, 1940:

http://history.acusd.edu/gen/st/~mdoms/pg2.html

FDR and his advisers believed that Hitler would get slowed down in his invasion of France, allowing the Royal Navy to build up enough strength to isolate him on the Continent. Little did they know that France would fall in less than a month. So, FDR ignored Churchill's plea for American non-belligerency and only helped to facilitate purchasing of war materials by Britain. FDR's tone was very noncommittal. At this point, he was not sure how far the American public would allow him to go. Churchill put pressure on FDR to respond in a strong way to his requests by pointing out that he expected Germany to conduct heavy bombing that would be followed by a combined air and sea assault. He stated that Britain would "perservere to the very end" and that "under no conceivable circumstances would we consent to surrender." He threatened that "You may have a completely subjugated, Nazified Europe established with astonishing swiftness, and the weight may be more than we can bear." However he also pointed out that if American assistance was going to aid the British, it "must be available soon." Churchill also took the opportunity to hint at what would later become part of the Lend-Lease Program.

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More pics on the Dieppe invasion 1942:

http://cap.estevan.sk.ca/ssr/photos/claw/dieppe.html









The German burial parade. This shot also appears in "The way we were". Note French civilian with his back turned to the parade, and the marcher watching him!

[ 25. April 2003, 01:59 PM: Message edited by: Kai-Petri ]

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Kai, the channel islands are a very interesting part of British history....Lots of interest to anyone studying the British in ww2.

The British did not actually declare they had no interest until the docks at Guernsey were bombed, something the islanders still have a problem with to this day...They were actually unoficially but officially encouraged to leave the islands before the invasion with many families shipping to UK via Weymouth, island balifs had to put up notices on islands telling them no need to panic sort of thing.

The story of the first Luftwafe landings on Guernsey is quite a story with if I was German by birth a real boys own adventure.

The first troops to land were some of the best Germany had to offer, not sent as some histories claim to show the islanders the best of the German boys but becuase they were the regiment deemed closest with full support.

The first Army officer to control the islands was to have his own story to tell and ended his days on the eastern front I believe. The initial troops were not welcomed as such in the way we would welcome liberators etc but the islanders were not as inhospitable as they could have been to their temporary visitors. These troops were eventually replaced as first line troops of their calibre were wasted on garrison duties.

The channel island story is one I have grown up with as my grandfather on my mothers side was a Guernsey resident of St.Peters Port and worked in the local post office.

Grew up with many stories from him.

The military occupation of the islands is an excellent history, totdt, commando raids, progaganda, Sark island, underground hospital, german small naval craft, stories abound...

I actually had the pleasure on business of re visiting islands and stayed at the Grand Hotel in Jersey, whith a Belgian colleague on a banking IT installation trip...we went into main resteraunt to eat but was full and were escorted to the small annexe and on sitting down we noticed pictures on wall of the German officers taken outside by sea wall with hotel in background and pics taken in hotel...liberally sprinkeled around the room..my Belgian colleague was uncomfortable with the surroundings and asked me if this was a normal British thing to do...I was quite impressed however..

Part of my trip took me to the Guernsey telecom building to work on our equipment housed there..and what was especially good for me was that it was housed in same post office building my grandfather had worked in all those years ago, on top of hill looking down on harbour. Living history...

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Prepare to repel borders.
William L. McGonagle, MOH, U. S. Navy, Commanding Officer, USS LIBERTY 1967.

Thanx for telling us about those things, Urgh!
Excellent!



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And now something else...

http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dornier_Do_17

Do 17Z-10 Kauz


After bomber production ended in 1940, the Z model was modified with a "solid" nose from the Ju 88C and fitted with one 20mm and three 7.92mm MG15's to be used as night fighters. One prototype was constructed as the Z-6 Kauz I (screech-owl), and then the design was futher modified with a custom nose with four 7.92 mm MG17 machine guns and four 20 mm MG-FF cannon. Only nine of these Do 17K-10 Kauz II designs were built, fitted with both a Lichtenstein C1 radar and the Spanner-II infra-red detection systen. The later proved to be essentially useless, and was not used on later night fighter designs.

The Z-10 served for two years in the night fighter role, where they were used in Josef Kammhuber's defensive system known as the Kammhuber Line. Each fighter was assigned a single "cell", with three strips of such cells running from Denmark to the middle of France. Within each cell a direction center on the ground tracked both the Kauz and a single target, guiding them until the target was visible in the Spanner. RAF Bomber Command were able to assertain the nature of the line, and sent all of their bombers in a single "stream", thus overwhelming the defenses. The Z-10s were then replaced with more capable planes mounting their own radars.

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The Kauz was only a stop gap in the Drnier line of twin engine fighters. used by NJG 2 who hated it, the Do 217 variants came into being with similiar forward firing armament and a little more room for the crew. Increased engine perfomance and fuel to boot. It was actually a big thug driving through the night skies over the Reich and under NJG 100's tutledge whilst trying to keep up with lend lease B-25's which it could not do. The Do 217 was also the first test bed for the Schräg Musik weapons. the a/c was soon replaced by the more streamlined and quicker Ju 88C variants although NJG 100 seemed to suffer with the a/c as well as NJG 4, finally the a/c were used as hack a/c and also for radar trial a/c's.

~E

Thanx Erich!

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Blondi (sometimes called Blonda) was a female Alsatian (German Shepherd) that belonged to Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler during most of his life as German Chancellor (1933-1945). As the Soviet Army closed in on Hitler's bunker in Berlin, Hitler and some of his staff planned suicide by cyanide poisoning. However, Hitler was mistrustful of the poison capsules that had been supplied by SS Chief Himmler (whom he now saw as a traitor), so he ordered his personal doctor Werner Hasse to try one of the capsules out on Blondi. Blondi was initially buried in a shell crater outside the emergency exit to Hitler's bunker, and this same burial site was later used to inter the cremated remains of Hitler and Eva Braun. On April 30, 1945, on Hitler's orders, Blondi, Hitler and Eva Braun were cremated with diesel fuel in the Reich Chancellery garden above his bunker.

Check the site for pics of Blondi with Hitler anyway!

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg...6&pt=%20Blondi

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Hitler eulogizes the dead Heydrich, June 9, 1942, and bestows upon him the German Order. This was the highest award of the Third Reich, instituted February 11, 1942, and had no clear requirements. (Saying he was awarding Heydrich the uppermost level of the German Order, Hitler seems to be confusing the Order, which had only one level, with another decoration, perhaps the Iron Cross, which had multiple levels--second class, first class, Knights Cross of the Iron Cross, etc.) Note that Hitler employs the familiar form (dir = you) rather than the polite form (Ihnen = you) when addressing his "dear comrade Heydrich." He undoubtedly had used the polite form when speaking to the living Heydrich.

Check the speech from the site below.

http://stevenlehrer.com/heydr