in this case, the spectacular PHOTOS of pre-war Hitler's Germany.
If that's you and you want to get them, email me and I'll provide. The
comments below are from Peter Feldmann, a long-time friend, a great
musician (especially mandolin) and country musc promoter (especially
bluegrass) -Ed.
On 8/4/2010 12:49 PM, Ed Pearl wrote:
> Hi. This powerful display will be a revelation to some, reminder to
> others. The photo's often fill the screen, but don't be concerned about
> not being able to exit. The final panel says 'click on to exit.' Many
> thanks to David McReynolds for passing it on. -Ed
----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Feldmann" <peter@bluegrasswest.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 2010 1:35 PM
Subject: Re: Fw: History
Thanks for this. "New" photos of that epoch are always fascinating to
me. I was born in Zurich in early '41, and so landed right in the thick
of things. My father piloted a Messerschmidt, and I vaguely remember
blackout curtains and growing potatoes in our front yard....
The photos are obviously not taken with a Rolliflex (where the format
was square rather than rectangular). The are definitely 35mm slides and
the obvious culprit would be a Leica, a favorite of many Life
photographers and made in Germany. People other than Hitler who figure
prominently in the photos include Heinrich Himmler (usually in his black
SS uniform, including one with a helmet) and Herman Goering, who can be
seen in several, holding his field marshal's baton. Balder Von Shirach,
head of the Hitler Youth, can be seen in at least one slide, as well as
three prototypes of the early Volkswagen! The rally photos are from the
mid-30s, before Hitler launched his war against Poland in '39. There
seem to be some photos of a parade commemorating the Munich Putsch of
'23 - big haps for the old Nazis.
-Peter
--
Peter Feldmann
BlueGrass West
PO Box 614
Los Olivos, CA 93441 USA
+1 805 688 9894 // 805 350 3918 (cell)
www.BlueGrassWest.com
Hi Ed,
You are welcome to pass it on - thanks for asking. My father was in the
Swiss army air corps, a pilot - lieutenant. Switzerland was the only
European country who managed to successfully protect their neutrality by
making it too costly for the Germans to invade. We were an armed camp,
with every tunnel, bridge, railway and road entrance mined - ready to be
exploded within 10 minutes' notice of invasion. Hitler planned it on at
least two occasions, but changed his mind at the last minute.
The Swiss managed to purchase several dozen Messerschmitts just before
the war began, and used them to protect their neutrality. Essentially,
this meant refusing the use of Swiss airspace to anyone who attempted to
cross it. The Swiss pilots engaged anyone: Germans, Italians, British,
French, or American planes, driving them back, shooting them down, or
forcing them to land. Several times, bombers dropped their bombs on
Swiss territory, either by accident or because they needed to gain
altitude to fly across the alps. My father had many stories re. this
little-known aspect of the war: only a handful of pilots from his
squadron survived.
While there were a few pro-Nazi Swiss, most of us despised and ridiculed
them. Our German language newspapers were highly-prized and smuggled
into Germany, where they became rare glimpses of truthful reporting from
the uncensored world "outside". It was a terrible time, of course. For
several years, we were completely surrounded by the Nazis, and no one
knew what the eventual outcome would be. Allen Dulles, later head of
the CIA, set up shop in Bern, operating a spy ring for the USA.
One item re. Swiss mentality: In 1989, my father was invited back to
Switzerland for a ceremony commemorating the actions of the Swiss army
on the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the war. There, parked on a
strip of astroturf, was a Messerschmitt fighter plane. As he
approached, he realized that it was *his* plane! I asked him, "Well ,
did you climb up to see if you could still fit inside?". "Oh No", he
responded, "There was a sign there saying, DO NOT TOUCH!".
-Peter
***
From: MoveOn.org Political Action
Sent: Sunday, August 08, 2010 11:35 AM
Subject: Could this really happen?
Dear Ed,
You can't make this stuff up. The economy is in shambles, unemployment is at
record levels and home foreclosures are soaring. Congress can't get it
together to act on these issues. But there's growing momentum in Washington
to-wait for it-slash on Social Security.
Believe it. Republicans are campaigning on benefit cuts. Conservative
Democrats like Steny Hoyer are echoing their talking points.1
Everyone's counting on the Deficit Commission to do the dirty work. The
commission is stacked with conservatives who've embraced cutting Social
Security, and both houses of congress promised to fast-track a vote on its
recommendations.2 3 That means that even though no jobs bill can pass
congress right now, Social Security cuts might.
To stop the cuts, we need to send a crystal-clear message to members of
Congress: Americans reject benefit cuts, and we expect them to do the same.
Can you sign our promise to oppose cuts to Social Security? We'll use your
signature to pressure them to sign a pledge protecting Social Security while
they're home in California for recess. But we need a strong response to make
our point. Click below to add your name:
http://pol.moveon.org/sspetition/index.html?id=22411-7187494-QTE.APx&t=3
The petition says: "I oppose any cuts to Social Security benefits, including
raising the retirement age."
We're going to be running a hard-hitting campaign on this issue from now
straight through the election. After you sign, we'll give you more
opportunities to weigh in with your member of Congress, invite you to local
events in your community, and keep you posted on our progress and key media
reports on our campaign. Together with our allies, we'll make sure Congress
knows that cutting Social Security is unacceptable.
The people who want to cut it are spreading lots of myths meant to make you
think there is a looming crisis. Well, it's not true-there is no Social
Security crisis. The program's trust fund will have a 4.3 trillion dollar
surplus by 2023, and can pay all of its obligations for decades to come.4
Also, legally it can't contribute to the deficit-it only ever gives out
benefits it can pay for.
Strengthening Social Security is easy-making the rich pay their fair share
by lifting the cap on contributions by the wealthy would allow Social
Security to pay all of its obligations indefinitely.5
Fear-mongering over Social Security is led by Pete Peterson, a hedge fund
manager spending $1 billion of his own money in a campaign to slash
benefits.6 Conservatives in congress have been too happy to join
him-Minority Leader John Boehner said he would cut benefits to pay for two
unfunded wars,7 and the GOP's long term budget plan would fully privatize
the program.8
Social Security belongs to us, the people who pay into it every day of our
working lives, and it shouldn't be cut to pay off a deficit it didn't
create. If we show congress that voters won't stand for cuts to our
benefits, we can make sure cuts stay off the table and instead focus on real
solutions. Can you sign our promise to oppose cuts and then ask your
representatives to sign on as well?
http://pol.moveon.org/sspetition/index.html?id=22411-7187494-QTE.APx&t=4
Thanks for all you do.
-Daniel, Nita, Duncan, Marika, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "John Boehner: Raise Social Security Retirement Age to 70," CBS News,
June 29, 2010
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20009192-503544.html
2. "Reid Appoints Durbin, Baucus, Conrad To Presidential Commission That
Will Help Rein In Spending And Reduce The Deficit" Democrats.Senate.Gov,
February 23, 2010
http://democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=322454&
3. "What happened on the war supplemental," Congress Matters, July 3, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=89836&id=22411-7187494-QTE.APx&t=5
4."To Deficit Hawks: We the People Know Best on Social Security," New Deal
2.0, June 14, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=89703&id=22411-7187494-QTE.APx&t=6
5. "Social Security is sustainable," Economic and Policy Institute, May 27,
2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=89707&id=22411-7187494-QTE.APx&t=7
6. "Spending Big to Stop Spending," BusinessWeek, July 1, 2010
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=89837&id=22411-7187494-QTE.APx&t=8
7. "GOP shrugs over Boehner comment," Politico, June 29, 2010
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0610/39185.html
8. "The Ryan Budget's Radical Priorities," Center for Budget and Policy
Priorities, July 7, 2010
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3114
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