Operation Safehaven
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Star Wars: the Fascism Awakens Representation and Its Failure from the Weimar Republic to the Galactic Senate Chapman Rackaway University of West Georgia
STAR WARS: THE FASCISM AWAKENS 7 Star Wars: The Fascism Awakens Representation and its Failure from the Weimar Republic to the Galactic Senate Chapman Rackaway University of West Georgia Whether in science fiction or the establishment of an earthly democracy, constitutional design matters especially in the realm of representation. Democracies, no matter how strong or fragile, can fail under the influence of a poorly constructed representation plan. Two strong examples of representational failure emerge from the post-WWI Weimar Republic and the Galactic Republic’s Senate from the Star Wars saga. Both legislatures featured a combination of overbroad representation without minimum thresholds for minor parties to be elected to the legislature and multiple non- citizen constituencies represented in the body. As a result both the Weimar Reichstag and the Galactic Senate fell prey to a power-hungry manipulating zealot who used the divisions within their legislature to accumulate power. As a result, both democracies failed and became tyrannical governments under despotic leaders who eventually would be removed but only after wars of massive casualties. Representation matters, and both the Weimer legislature and Galactic Senate show the problems in designing democratic governments to fairly represent diverse populations while simultaneously limiting the ability of fringe groups to emerge. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of representative democracies. A poor evil is for good men to do nothing.” constitutional design can even lead to tyranny. – Edmund Burke (1848) Among the flaws most potentially damaging to a republic is a faulty representational “So this is how liberty dies … with structure. Republics can actually build too thunderous applause.” - Padme Amidala (Star much representation into their structures, the Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, 2005) result of which is tyranny as a byproduct of democratic failure. -
M. Strohn: the German Army and the Defence of the Reich
Matthias Strohn. The German Army and the Defence of the Reich: Military Doctrine and the Conduct of the Defensive Battle 1918–1939. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 292 S. ISBN 978-0-521-19199-9. Reviewed by Brendan Murphy Published on H-Soz-u-Kult (November, 2013) This book, a revised version of Matthias political isolation to cooperation in military mat‐ Strohn’s Oxford D.Phil dissertation is a reap‐ ters. These shifts were necessary decisions, as for praisal of German military thought between the ‘the Reichswehr and the Wehrmacht in the early World Wars. Its primary subjects are political and stages of its existence, the core business was to military elites, their debates over the structure find out how the Fatherland could be defended and purpose of the Weimar military, the events against superior enemies’ (p. 3). that shaped or punctuated those debates, and the This shift from offensive to defensive put the official documents generated at the highest levels. Army’s structural subordination to the govern‐ All of the personalities, institutions and schools of ment into practice, and shocked its intellectual thought involved had to deal with a foundational culture into a keener appreciation of facts. To‐ truth: that any likely adversary could destroy ward this end, the author tracks a long and wind‐ their Army and occupy key regions of the country ing road toward the genesis of ‘Heeresdien‐ in short order, so the military’s tradition role was stvorschrfift 300. Truppenführung’, written by doomed to failure. Ludwig Beck and published in two parts in 1933 The author lays out two problems to be ad‐ and 1934, a document which is widely regarded to dressed. -
Republic of Violence: the German Army and Politics, 1918-1923
University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2015-09-11 Republic of Violence: The German Army and Politics, 1918-1923 Bucholtz, Matthew N Bucholtz, M. N. (2015). Republic of Violence: The German Army and Politics, 1918-1923 (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/27638 http://hdl.handle.net/11023/2451 doctoral thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Republic of Violence: The German Army and Politics, 1918-1923 By Matthew N. Bucholtz A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN HISTORY CALGARY, ALBERTA SEPTEMBER, 2015 © Matthew Bucholtz 2015 Abstract November 1918 did not bring peace to Germany. Although the First World War was over, Germany began a new and violent chapter as an outbreak of civil war threatened to tear the country apart. The birth of the Weimar Republic, Germany’s first democratic government, did not begin smoothly as republican institutions failed to re-establish centralized political and military authority in the wake of the collapse of the imperial regime. Coupled with painful aftershocks from defeat in the Great War, the immediate postwar era had only one consistent force shaping and guiding political and cultural life: violence. -
Kurt Von Schleicher the Soldier and Politics in the Run-Up to National Socialism: a Case Study of Civil-Military Relations
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Calhoun, Institutional Archive of the Naval Postgraduate School Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive Theses and Dissertations Thesis Collection 2013-06 Kurt von Schleicher the soldier and politics in the run-up to national socialism: a case study of civil-military relations Bitter, Alexander B. Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School http://hdl.handle.net/10945/34631 NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS KURT VON SCHLEICHER—THE SOLDIER AND POLITICS IN THE RUN-UP TO NATIONAL SOCIALISM: A CASE STUDY OF CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS by Alexander B. Bitter June 2013 Thesis Co-Advisors: Donald Abenheim Carolyn Halladay Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704–0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202–4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704–0188) Washington DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED June 2013 Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS KURT VON SCHLEICHER—THE SOLDIER AND POLITICS IN THE RUN-UP TO NATIONAL SOCIALISM: A CASE STUDY OF CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS 6. -
The Soviet-German Tank Academy at Kama
The Secret School of War: The Soviet-German Tank Academy at Kama THESIS Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Ian Johnson Graduate Program in History The Ohio State University 2012 Master's Examination Committee: Jennifer Siegel, Advisor Peter Mansoor David Hoffmann Copyright by Ian Ona Johnson 2012 Abstract This paper explores the period of military cooperation between the Weimar Period German Army (the Reichswehr), and the Soviet Union. Between 1922 and 1933, four facilities were built in Russia by the two governments, where a variety of training and technological exercises were conducted. These facilities were particularly focused on advances in chemical and biological weapons, airplanes and tanks. The most influential of the four facilities was the tank testing and training grounds (Panzertruppenschule in the German) built along the Kama River, near Kazan in North- Central Russia. Led by German instructors, the school’s curriculum was based around lectures, war games, and technological testing. Soviet and German students studied and worked side by side; German officers in fact often wore the Soviet uniform while at the school, to show solidarity with their fellow officers. Among the German alumni of the school were many of the most famous practitioners of mobile warfare during the Second World War, such as Guderian, Manstein, Kleist and Model. This system of education proved highly innovative. During seven years of operation, the school produced a number of extremely important technological and tactical innovations. Among the new technologies were a new tank chassis system, superior guns, and - perhaps most importantly- a radio that could function within a tank. -
The Political Thought of General Hans Von Seeckt
Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Master's Theses Theses and Dissertations 1964 The Political Thought of General Hans Von Seeckt Henry William Herx Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Herx, Henry William, "The Political Thought of General Hans Von Seeckt" (1964). Master's Theses. 1877. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses/1877 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Copyright © 1964 Henry William Herx THE POLITICAL THOUGHT OF GENERAL HANS VON SEECKT by Henry William Herx A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty or the Graduate School or Loyola University in Partial hlrillment or the Requirements tor the Degree or Master ot Arta February 1964 Henry William Herx was born in Chicago, Illinois, June 29, 1933. He was graduated tram Quigley Preparatory Seminary, June, 1952, attended St. Mary at the Lake Seminary, Mundelein, Illinois 1952-1953, and was graduated tram Loyola University, February 1955 with a degree at Bachelor at Arts. Since 1958 the author has taught MOdern Wbrld History at Tuley Higb School. He began his graduate stUdies at Loyola University, February 1955. The writer has published an article, on the lack at critical content tound in the Chicago newspapers, in!!!! City magazine (April 1, 1962) and is presently working on a Film Education Handbook in connection with the Catholic Film Center. -
Final Report NATO Research Fellowship Prof. Dr. Holger H
Final Report NATO Research Fellowship Prof. Dr. Holger H. Herwig The University of Calgary Aggression Contained? The Federal Republic of Germany and International Security1 Two years ago, when I first proposed this topic, I had some trepidation about its relevance to current NATO policy. Forty-eight months of work on the topic and the rush of events especially in Central and East Europe since that time have convinced me both of its timeliness and of its relevance. Germany's role in SFOR in Bosnia since 1996, the very positive deployment of the German Army (Bundeswehr) in flood-relief work along the Oder River on the German- Polish border in the summer of 1997, and even the most recent revelations of neo-Nazi activity within the ranks of the Bundeswehr, have served only to whet my appetite for the project. For, I remain convinced that the German armed forces, more than any other, can be understood only in terms of Germany's recent past and the special military culture out of which the Bundeswehr was forged. Introduction The original proposal began with a scenario that had taken place in Paris in 1994. On that 14 July, the day that France annually sets aside as a national holiday to mark its 1789 Revolution, 189 German soldiers of the 294th Tank-Grenadier Battalion along with their twenty- four iron-crossed armoured personnel carriers for the first time since 1940 had marched down the Champs-Elysées in Paris. General Helmut Willmann's men had stepped out not to the tune of "Deutschland, 1 The research for this report was made possible by a NATO Research Fellowship. -
Historicizing German Depictions of Poles, 1919-1934 THESIS
Das Deutsche Polenbild: Historicizing German Depictions of Poles, 1919-1934 THESIS Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Paul N Niebrzydowski Graduate Program in History The Ohio State University 2012 Master's Examination Committee: Alan Beyerchen, Advisor James Bartholomew Christopher Otter Copyright by Paul N Niebrzydowski 2012 Abstract After the armistice that marked the end of the Great War, the continuing conflict on Germany’s eastern border contributed to the weakened German self-image. Poles, newly confident and militaristic after having witnessed the rebirth of their nation, stood as a perceived, and oftentimes real, threat to the German state and identity. The present work explores how the experience of conflict between Germans and Poles on Germany’s eastern border contributed to a change in inflection of German stereotypes of Poles. Though still bearing the mark of 19 th century stereotypes, which cast the Poles as backward and fit to be colonized, interwar propaganda added an image of Poles as an aggressive and militaristic threat to the German identity. The uprising in Posen and the administration of the Upper Silesian plebiscite stood out in Germans' minds as examples of Germany's weakening sovereignty, not only in the face of its neighbor, but also at the hands of the Allies. When the Nazis came to power, they employed a renewed rhetoric of colonization of the east. Whereas Germany's colonies had been lost after the Great War, the Third Reich hoped to once again colonize the east. -
Matthias Strohn, the German Army
Journal of Military and Strategic VOLUME 13, ISSUE 4, Summer 2011 Studies Matthias Strohn, The German Army and the Defense of the Reich: Military Doctrine and the Conduct of the Defensive Battle 1918- 1939, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2011. Matt Bucholtz For decades historical research dedicated to the study of the German army, or Reichswehr, before the Second World War has been dominated by a single overriding question: How did the German army create Blitzkrieg? Studies, both popular and academic, have focused on German offensive doctrine and the leading figures responsible for its creation, in an attempt to understand the stunning German victories of the first half of the Second World War. While this has led to a fuller appreciation of the various characteristics of combined arms warfare, it has also generated a skewed vision of the German army that does not accurately portray its operation, activities, strategic outlook, and doctrinal breadth. Matthias Strohn’s work, The German Army and the Defense of the Reich provides a much-needed counter-weight to the existing ‘Blitzkrieg’ centric historiography of the Reichswehr between the First and Second World Wars. Strohn reconstructs the role of defensive warfare as a part of an overall examination of strategic planning as well as the generation of military doctrine. No book on the German army would be complete without a section relating to Carl von Clausewitz, and Strohn does not disappoint. Beginning with a brief examination of the historical roots of defensive warfare and Prussian/German military thought, Strohn explores Clausewitz’s most influential statements on the defense and their relation to ©Centre of Military and Strategic Studies, 2012 ISSN : 1488-559X JOURNAL OF MILITARY AND STRATEGIC STUDIES German military planning leading up to the First World War. -
M-132 Publication Title: Papers of Gen. Hans Von Seeckt, 1866-1936 Date Published
Publication Number: M-132 Publication Title: Papers of Gen. Hans von Seeckt, 1866-1936 Date Published: n.d. PAPERS OF GEN. HANS VON SEECKT, 1866-1936 Introduction The 33 file boxes of materials reproduced in this microcopy consist of letters and other papers of General Hans von Seeckt, prominent German military strategist of World War I. The folders containing these documents are stamped “Heeresarchiv Potsdam,” which institution was formerly the custodian of the collection. Originally the Heeresarchiv (Army Archives) was a part of the Reichsarchiv (German National Archives); but in 1936 it was separated from the Reichsarchiv, and all military records that were then in the legal custody of the Reichsarchiv were transferred to that of the Heersarchiv. As a result of military operations in World War II the documents reproduced in this microcopy came into the possession of United States armed forces. In 1947 the War Department transferred custody of them to the National Archives of the United States where they constitute part of a body of records designated as Record Group 242, World War II Collection of Seized Enemy Records. Generaloberst Hans von Seeckt (1866-1936) was Chief of Staff of the army group of Fieldmarshal von Mackensen in World War I. In that capacity he had a leading part in planning the Central Powers’ break- through of the Russian front in 1915 and the conquest of Serbia in the latter part of that year. At various times he served on military missions to Turkey and China. After World War I, as military head of the Reichswehr, he was considered the organizer and “father” of the army of the German Republic. -
Annäherung an Paul Von Hase. Preußischer Gardeoffizier Und Verschwörer Am 20
1 Heiner Möllers Annäherung an Paul von Hase. Preußischer Gardeoffizier und Verschwörer am 20. Juli 1944 Vorbemerkung Es ist ein mutiges Unterfangen, selbst als Historiker, vor der weiterverzweigten Familie von Hase die Lebensgeschichte von Generalleutnant Paul von Hase nachzuerzählen. Vieles kann man zu diesem General auf dem Weg vom Alexander-Regiment nach Plötzensee, von seinen Anfängen in der preußischen Garde bis zum Todesurteil nach dem 20. Juli in Roland Kopp, „Paul von Hase: Von der Alexander-Kaserne nach Plötzensee“1, nachlesen. Dieses grund- legende Buch dürfte den meisten, wenigstens den historische Interessierten in der Großfamilie von Hase bekannt sein. In allen Tiefen hat Kopp die Person Karl Paul Immanuel von Hase erfasst und beschrieben. Nimmt man die beinahe ausufernde Literatur zum militärischen Widerstand gegen den Nationalsozialismus hinzu, der am 20. Juli 1944 im Staatstreichversuch mündete, lernt man vieles über die Motive der Widerständler, die Abläufe des Staatstreiches und die Rache Hitlers. Paul von Hase hingegen bleibt dabei meistens etwas unscharf, weil er nicht im Zentrum des Staatstreiches steht – er war nicht der Stauffenberg oder der Tresckow. Der Besuch des Familienverbandes von Hase in Potsdam reizt aber, sich mit diesem damaligen Stadtkommandanten von Berlin zu befassen. Paul von Hase und der 20. Juli Generalleutnant Paul von Hase war eine von den vielen in der zweiten Reihe stehenden Personen am 20. Juli 1944. Als Stadtkommandant von (Groß-)Berlin war er nach den Planungen der Operation Walküre dafür zuständig, das Regierungsviertel abzusperren. Und schon diese militärisch recht einfache, klar umrissene Aufgabe, scheiterte. Nicht wegen Paul von Hase, der alles ordnungsgemäß, wie der Plan es vorschrieb einleitete, sondern weil ein Rädchen im Räderwerk von Walküre nicht mitmachte, geradezu den Dienst verweigerte: Major Otto Ernst Remer, Kommandeur des Wachbataillons Großdeutschland, sollte mit seinen Truppen das Regierungsviertel absperren und die dort greifbaren Minister verhaften. -
5 Feb-M-TB-1-1-Bratzel(Schaeffer) Court V-A, Case No
5 Feb-M-TB-1-1-Bratzel(Schaeffer) Court V-A, Case No. 12C Official Transcript of the American Military Tribunal in the matter of the United States of America against Wilhelm von Leeb, et aI., defendants, sitting at Nurnberg, Germany on 5 February 1948, 0930-1630, the Honorable John C. Young presiding. THE MARSHAL: The Honorable, the Judges of Military Tribunal V-A. Military Tribuml V-A is now in session. God save the United States of America and this honorable Tribunal. There will be order in the court. THE PRESIDENT: Has the Marshal ascertained if all of the defendants are present? THE MARSHAL: May it please Your Honors, all defendants are present in the court room, with the exception of the defendant von Roques, who is absent in the hospital. THE PRESIDENT: You have no formal report from the hospital at this time? THE MARSHAL: No, sir. THE PRESIDENT: Pending the receipt of a formal report the proceedings in this cause will go forward. After some considerable delay following the constitution of this tribunal and the selection of its personnel, this case now stands for trial. I will repeat what I had to say, in case it may not have been he ard [sic]. After some considerable delay following the constitution of this tribunal and the selection of its personnel, this case now stands for trial. It is understandable that such delay has occasioned some impatience on the part of the members of the tribunal but notwithstanding such impatience they realize and have recognized that in a matter of the magnitude and importance of the action upon which we are entering, it would have been extremely difficult, if not impossible to have forecast the exact time when it might be undertaken.