Choked with debris, a bombed water intake of the Pegnitz River no longer supplies war factories in Nuremberg, vital Reich industrial city and festival center of the Nazi party, which was captured April 20, 1945, by troops of the U.S. Army.
A German Fate At The Fence Of Barbed Wire
Some of our followers may recognize these photos from when we first posted them on the 50th anniversary of Berlin Wall in August of 2011: Making the Impossible Decision. With their family unexpectedly divided by the fledgling Berlin Wall, the mother makes a split-second decision to pass her son over the wire to her husband during a momentary lapse by the border guards.
Slate’s history blog, The Vault (also on Tumblr), is now trying to identify the family from this heart-wrenching series of photos:
Do you know who this family is?
Second Lieutenant George E. Stone, Signal Corps, United States Army, in charge Fourth Army Corps Photo Unit. Cochem, Germany., 01/09/1919
Flying deep into Germany
Dated August 17, 1943, this chart outlines the routes to and from the targets of the first American deep-penetration bombing raid of World War II: the ball-bearing factories of Schweinfurt and the Messerschmitt aircraft factory in Regensburg. Also noted are encounters with anti-aircraft fire or “flak” and engagements with various types of German aircraft. 60 of 376 aircraft were lost on this mission.
via DocsTeach
PFC Gladys Bellon, Basile, Louisiana, one of the 27 WAC switchboard operators flown from Paris for the Potsdam Conference and Sgt. Robert Scott of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, test lines in the frame room of the Victory switchboard at U. S. headquarters at Babelsburg, Germany., 07/15/1945
More on the Berlin Wall:
“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
President Ronald Reagan delivered these famous lines at Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin, Germany on June 12, 1987.
See the full text of the speech and read more about the event here.
Escaping with secrets of the German submarines
On May 31, 1918, the German submarine U-90 attacked and sank the USS President Lincoln. U.S. Navy Lieutenant Edouard V.M. Isaacs was captured and taken prisoner. While a prisoner on board the submarine, Isaacs managed to gather information about German submarine movements for the United States. Lt. Isaacs eventually escaped from a prison camp in Germany and brought Germany’s submarine secrets back to the Allies. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism.
The citation that accompanied his award is shown, along with excerpts from his detailed report on his capture, imprisonment and escape.
“It is difficult to know how to begin. By this time I have recovered from my first emotional shock and am able to write without sounding like a hysterical gibbering idiot.”
On the day that Germany signed the unconditional surrender, Harold Porter wrote this letter to his parents describing the conditions in the concentration camp at Dachau, Germany.
Page one shown, read the entire letter in our online catalog.
The unconditional surrender of the German Third Reich was signed in the early morning hours of Monday, May 7, 1945 at Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower’s headquarters in Reims by Gen. Alfred Jodl, Chief of Staff of the German Army. At the same time, he signed three other surrender documents, one each for Great Britain, Russia, and France.
(Top) - German officers sign unconditional surrender in Reims, France. (Bottom) - Allied force leaders at the signing., 05/07/1945
This pile of clothes belonged to prisoners of the Dachau concentration camp, recently liberated by troops of the U.S. Seventh Army. Slave laborers were compelled to strip before they were killed. Germany. 4/30/1945
![Happy 2nd Lieutenant William Robertson and Lt. Alexander Sylvashko, Russian Army, shown in front of sign [East Meets West] symbolizing the historic meeting of the Russian and American Armies, near Torgau, Germany. 04/25/1945
On April 25, 1945, American troops pushing eastward into Nazi Germany finally made contact with Russian forces pushing westward near the Elbe River.
via a People at War: American and Russian troops meet at the Elbe »](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2fb0ltw2K1qhk04bo1_1280.gif)
Happy 2nd Lieutenant William Robertson and Lt. Alexander Sylvashko, Russian Army, shown in front of sign [East Meets West] symbolizing the historic meeting of the Russian and American Armies, near Torgau, Germany. 04/25/1945
On April 25, 1945, American troops pushing eastward into Nazi Germany finally made contact with Russian forces pushing westward near the Elbe River.
via a People at War: American and Russian troops meet at the Elbe »
“GAP IN THE WALL—Communist border guards inspect a gap in the Berlin wall where two East German construction workers broke through and escaped to freedom in early April. The refugees rammed the wall with a heavy truck and then fled on foot into the French Sector of West Berlin when their truck stalled in the rubble. The East German guards fired several shots at them but missed. In the background are Communist military vehicles posted after the incident to prevent further escapes.” April 1962
On April 2, 1917, in reaction to Germany’s resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare and the revelation of the Zimmermann telegram, President Woodrow Wilson delivered this address to a joint session of Congress and called for a declaration of war against Germany. The resulting congressional vote brought the United States into World War I.
via Our Documents »
“I drew an assault boat to cross in-just my luck. We all tried to crawl under each other because the lead was flying around like hail.” Crossing the Rhine under enemy fire at Saint Goar, March 1945.
The photo is undated but was likely taken on March 24-25, 1945 during a series of coordinated Rhine crossings as part of the Allies’ Operation Plunder.
The road to Cologne
American infantrymen rest atop wrecked German tank destroyers outside the city of Cologne, captured by Allied forces on March 6, 1945.
Two assault guns knocked out by 9th Air Force fighter-bombers near Modrath, Germany, to ease the advance of the 1st Army to Cologne. Infantrymen, one with a top hat picked up in a nearby town, sit on the disabled vehicle resting on the rim of the crater made by a bomb.
