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Book Christmas at Stalingrad

Download or read book Christmas at Stalingrad written by Antony Beevor and published by Penguin Canada. This book was released on 2005 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Antony Beevor's Stalingrad, published by Penguin in 1998, was a worldwide bestseller, telling one of the most harrowing stories of the Second World War and reminding everybody of the power of narrative history in the hands of an expert storyteller. In Christmas at Stalingrad, Beevor takes us back to December 1942 when the German 6th Army was surrounded by the Russians and facing annihilation. Only thoughts of Christmas kept German soldiers' hopes alive.

Book Darkest Christmas

    Book Details:
  • Author : Peter Harmsen
  • Publisher : Casemate
  • Release : 2022-10-21
  • ISBN : 1636241905
  • Pages : 257 pages

Download or read book Darkest Christmas written by Peter Harmsen and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2022-10-21 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book is of interest to any scholar of World War II, particularly those focused on bridging culture and war. Highly readable, this text is suitable for undergraduate and popular audiences as well. Many should find its analysis to be a refreshing take on the well-trodden field of World War II histories." — Journal of Military History December 1942 saw the bloodiest Christmas in the history of mankind. From the islands in the Pacific to the China front, from the trenches in Russia to the battle lines in North Africa, in the skies over Europe and in the depths of the Atlantic, men were killing each other in greater numbers than ever before. The Holocaust continued, and innocent civilians were murdered by the thousands throughout the evil Nazi empire, even as the perpetrators celebrated the birth of Christ. Millions stationed in far-off lands amid the greatest conflict in human history feared this was their last Christmas in freedom, or their last Christmas alive. At the same time as the slaughter continued unabated, throughout the world there were random acts of kindness, born out of an instinctive feeling of the essential brotherhood of man. These gestures also straddled religious barriers and sometimes included those of non-Christian faiths. Even some Japanese, otherwise embarked on a self-declared crusade against the West, relented for a few precious hours in acknowledgment of the holiday. At the same time, Christmas 1942 saw the injunction of ‘good will to man’ distorted in ugly and callous ways. At Auschwitz, SS guards played cruel games with their prisoners. In Berlin, the German heart of darkness, Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels spent time with his family while still buried in feverish fantasies about the Jewish world conspiracy. Christmas 1942 saw the entire range of man’s conduct towards his fellow man, reflecting the extremes of behavior, good and bad, that World War II gave rise to. The way the holiday was marked around the world tells a deeper and more universal story of the human condition in extraordinary times.

Book The Christmas Gift

Download or read book The Christmas Gift written by Joan Coons and published by . This book was released on 1943 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Book Stalingrad

    Book Details:
  • Author : Antony Beevor
  • Publisher : Penguin
  • Release : 1999-05-01
  • ISBN : 1101153563
  • Pages : 560 pages

Download or read book Stalingrad written by Antony Beevor and published by Penguin. This book was released on 1999-05-01 with total page 560 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Battle of Stalingrad was not only the psychological turning point of World War II: it also changed the face of modern warfare. From Antony Beevor, the internationally bestselling author of D-Day and The Battle of Arnhem. In August 1942, Hitler's huge Sixth Army reached the city that bore Stalin's name. In the five-month siege that followed, the Russians fought to hold Stalingrad at any cost; then, in an astonishing reversal, encircled and trapped their Nazi enemy. This battle for the ruins of a city cost more than a million lives. Stalingrad conveys the experience of soldiers on both sides, fighting in inhuman conditions, and of civilians trapped on an urban battlefield. Antony Beevor has itnerviewed survivors and discovered completely new material in a wide range of German and Soviet archives, including prisoner interrogations and reports of desertions and executions. As a story of cruelty, courage, and human suffering, Stalingrad is unprecedented and unforgettable. Historians and reviewers worldwide have hailed Antony Beevor's magisterial Stalingrad as the definitive account of World War II's most harrowing battle.

Book Breakout at Stalingrad

    Book Details:
  • Author : Heinrich Gerlach
  • Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
  • Release : 2018-01-11
  • ISBN : 1786690616
  • Pages : 776 pages

Download or read book Breakout at Stalingrad written by Heinrich Gerlach and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-01-11 with total page 776 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'One of the greatest novels of the Second World War' The Times 'A remarkable find' Antony Beevor 'A masterpiece' Mail on Sunday Stalingrad, November 1942. Lieutenant Breuer dreams of returning home for Christmas. But he and his fellow German soldiers will spend winter in a frozen hell – as snow, ice and relentless Soviet assaults reduce the once-mighty Sixth Army to a diseased and starving rabble. Breakout at Stalingrad is a stark and terrifying portrait of the horrors of war, and a profoundly humane depiction of comradeship in adversity. The book itself has an extraordinary story behind it. Its author fought at Stalingrad and was imprisoned by the Soviets. In captivity, he wrote a novel based on his experiences, which the Soviets confiscated before releasing him. Gerlach resorted to hypnosis to remember his narrative, and in 1957 it was published as The Forsaken Army. Fifty-five years later Carsten Gansel, an academic, came across the original manuscript of Gerlach's novel in a Moscow archive. This first translation into English of Breakout at Stalingrad includes the story of Gansel's sensational discovery.

Book With You There Is Light

Download or read book With You There Is Light written by and published by L&L Media. This book was released on 2017-10-12 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sophie Scholl (1921-1943) is a hero in Germany today for her actions against the Nazis. She could not have resisted without the information provided from her boyfriend, Captain Fritz Hartnagel.

Book Christmas

    Book Details:
  • Author : Tara Moore
  • Publisher : Reaktion Books
  • Release : 2014-09-15
  • ISBN : 1780233876
  • Pages : 263 pages

Download or read book Christmas written by Tara Moore and published by Reaktion Books. This book was released on 2014-09-15 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Black Friday. The War on Christmas. Miracle on 34th Street and Elf. From shopping malls and Fox News to movie theaters, Christmas no longer solely celebrates to the birth of Christ. Considering the holiday in its global context, Christmas journeys from its historical origins to its modern incarnation as a global commercial event, stopping along the way to look at the controversies and traditions of the celebratory day. Delving into the long story of this unifying but also divisive holiday, Tara Moore describes the evolution of Christmas and the deep traditions that bind a culture to its version of it. She probes the debates that have long accompanied the season—from questions of the actual date of Christ’s birth to frictions between the sacred and the secular—and discusses the characters associated with the holiday’s celebration, including Saint Nicholas, the Magi, Scrooge, and Krampus. She also explores how customs such as Christmas trees, feasting, and gift giving first emerged and became central facets of the holiday, while also examining how Christmas has been portrayed in culture—from the literary works of Charles Dickens to the yearly bout of holiday films, television specials, traditional carols, and modern tracks. Ultimately, Moore reveals, Christmas’s longevity has depended on its ability to evolve. Packed with illustrations, Christmas is a fascinating look at the holiday we only think we know.

Book Enemy at the Gates

    Book Details:
  • Author : William J. Craig
  • Publisher : Open Road Media
  • Release : 2015-09-29
  • ISBN : 1504021347
  • Pages : 509 pages

Download or read book Enemy at the Gates written by William J. Craig and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2015-09-29 with total page 509 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times bestseller that brings to life one of the bloodiest battles of World War II—and the beginning of the end of the Third Reich. On August 5, 1942, giant pillars of dust rose over the Russian steppe, marking the advance of the 6th Army, an elite German combat unit dispatched by Hitler to capture the industrial city of Stalingrad and press on to the oil fields of Azerbaijan. The Germans were supremely confident; in three years, they had not suffered a single defeat.The Luftwaffe had already bombed the city into ruins. German soldiers hoped to complete their mission and be home in time for Christmas. The siege of Stalingrad lasted five months, one week, and three days. Nearly two million men and women died, and the 6th Army was completely destroyed. Considered by many historians to be the turning point of World War II in Europe, the Soviet Army’s victory foreshadowed Hitler’s downfall and the rise of a communist superpower. Bestselling author William Craig spent five years researching this epic clash of military titans, traveling to three continents in order to review documents and interview hundreds of survivors. Enemy at the Gates is the enthralling result: the definitive account of one of the most important battles in world history. It became a New York Times bestseller and was also the inspiration for the 2001 film of the same name, starring Joseph Fiennes and Jude Law.

Book Red Christmas

    Book Details:
  • Author : Robert Forczyk
  • Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
  • Release : 2012-04-20
  • ISBN : 1849085870
  • Pages : 82 pages

Download or read book Red Christmas written by Robert Forczyk and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-04-20 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By December 1942, the Soviets had surrounded the German 6th Army in Stalingrad, cutting off all lines of supply except through the air. Seeking to sever this last German lifeline, Soviet Command decided to launch a raid with the entire 24th Tank Corps to seize the airfield at Tatsinskaya, the primary operating base for the German airlift efforts. On 17 December, the 24th Tank Corps advanced toward Tatsinskaya, seizing the airfield on Christmas Eve. The Soviet tankers succeeded in destroying many Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground, but afterwards found themselves isolated and out of fuel behind the German lines. Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein rapidly organized a counterattack with elements of two panzer divisions, crushing most of the raiding force between 26 and 28 December. Just before the raiding force was annihilated, it received permission to abandon its heavy equipment and escape back to Soviet lines on foot. Thus, the raiders accomplished their mission of severely disrupting the airlift to Stalingrad, but at the cost of an entire tank corps.

Book Ardennes 1944

    Book Details:
  • Author : Antony Beevor
  • Publisher : Penguin
  • Release : 2015-11-03
  • ISBN : 0698411498
  • Pages : 480 pages

Download or read book Ardennes 1944 written by Antony Beevor and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2015-11-03 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The prizewinning historian and bestselling author of D-Day, Stalingrad, and The Battle of Arnhem reconstructs the Battle of the Bulge in this riveting new account On December 16, 1944, Hitler launched his ‘last gamble’ in the snow-covered forests and gorges of the Ardennes in Belgium, believing he could split the Allies by driving all the way to Antwerp and forcing the Canadians and the British out of the war. Although his generals were doubtful of success, younger officers and NCOs were desperate to believe that their homes and families could be saved from the vengeful Red Army approaching from the east. Many were exultant at the prospect of striking back. The allies, taken by surprise, found themselves fighting two panzer armies. Belgian civilians abandoned their homes, justifiably afraid of German revenge. Panic spread even to Paris. While some American soldiers, overwhelmed by the German onslaught, fled or surrendered, others held on heroically, creating breakwaters which slowed the German advance. The harsh winter conditions and the savagery of the battle became comparable to the Eastern Front. In fact the Ardennes became the Western Front’s counterpart to Stalingrad. There was terrible ferocity on both sides, driven by desperation and revenge, in which the normal rules of combat were breached. The Ardennes—involving more than a million men—would prove to be the battle which finally broke the back of the Wehrmacht. In this deeply researched work, with striking insights into the major players on both sides, Antony Beevor gives us the definitive account of the Ardennes offensive which was to become the greatest battle of World War II.

Book Stalingrad

    Book Details:
  • Author : Rupert Matthews
  • Publisher : Arcturus Publishing
  • Release : 2013-01-02
  • ISBN : 1782122583
  • Pages : 334 pages

Download or read book Stalingrad written by Rupert Matthews and published by Arcturus Publishing. This book was released on 2013-01-02 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The bitter Battle of Stalingrad was the turning point of WWII on the Eastern Front. The relentless and unstoppable German advances that had seen the panzers sweep hundreds of miles into Russia was finally brought to a halt at Stalingrad. The elite German 6th Army was first fought to a standstill, then surrounded and forced to surrender. For the ...

Book Christmas Around the World

Download or read book Christmas Around the World written by Anna Claybourne and published by Usborne Publishing Ltd. This book was released on 2014-11-01 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christmas customs, festive food, present-giving, songs and traditional stories from around the world with easy-reading text for children who have just started reading alone. Part of the Usborne Reading Programme developed with reading experts at the University of Roehampton. "Irresistible for children learning to read'" - Child Education Plus

Book Christmas in Germany

    Book Details:
  • Author : Joe Perry
  • Publisher : Univ of North Carolina Press
  • Release : 2010-09-27
  • ISBN : 0807899410
  • Pages : 416 pages

Download or read book Christmas in Germany written by Joe Perry and published by Univ of North Carolina Press. This book was released on 2010-09-27 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For poets, priests, and politicians--and especially ordinary Germans--in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the image of the loving nuclear family gathered around the Christmas tree symbolized the unity of the nation at large. German Christmas was supposedly organic, a product of the winter solstice rituals of pagan "Teutonic" tribes, the celebration of the birth of Jesus, and the age-old customs that defined German character. Yet, as Joe Perry argues, Germans also used these annual celebrations to contest the deepest values that held the German community together: faith, family, and love, certainly, but also civic responsibility, material prosperity, and national belonging. This richly illustrated volume explores the invention, evolution, and politicization of Germany's favorite national holiday. According to Perry, Christmas played a crucial role in public politics, as revealed in the militarization of "War Christmas" during World War I and World War II, the Nazification of Christmas by the Third Reich, and the political manipulation of Christmas during the Cold War. Perry offers a close analysis of the impact of consumer culture on popular celebration and the conflicts created as religious, commercial, and political authorities sought to control the holiday's meaning. By unpacking the intimate links between domestic celebration, popular piety, consumer desires, and political ideology, Perry concludes that family festivity was central in the making and remaking of public national identities.

Book Escape from Hong Kong

    Book Details:
  • Author : Tim Luard
  • Publisher : Hong Kong University Press
  • Release : 2011-12-01
  • ISBN : 9888083767
  • Pages : 385 pages

Download or read book Escape from Hong Kong written by Tim Luard and published by Hong Kong University Press. This book was released on 2011-12-01 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On 25 December 1941, the day of Hong Kong's surrender to the Japanese, Admiral Chan Chak—the Chinese government's chief agent in Hong Kong—and more than 60 Chinese and British intelligence, naval and marine personnel made a dramatic escape from the invading army. They travelled on five small motor torpedo boats—all that remained of the Royal Navy in Hong Kong—across Mirs Bay, landing at a beach near Nanao. Then, guided by guerrillas and villagers, they walked for four days through enemy lines to Huizhou, before flying to Chongqing or travelling by land to Burma. The breakout laid the foundations of an escape trail jointly used by the British Army Aid Group and the East River Column for the rest of the war. Chan Chak, the celebrated "one-legged admiral", became Mayor of Canton after the war and was knighted by the British for his services to the Allied cause. His comrade in the escape, David MacDougall, became head of the civil administration of Hong Kong in 1945. This gripping narrative account of the escape draws on a wealth of primary sources in both English and Chinese and sheds new light on the role played by the Chinese in the defence of Hong Kong, on the diplomacy behind the escape, and on the guerillas who carried the Admiral in a sedan chair as they led his party over the rivers and mountains of enemy-occupied China. Escape from Hong Kong will appeal not just to military historians and those with a special interest in Hong Kong and China but also to anyone who appreciates a good old-fashioned adventure story.

Book The Darkest Christmas

    Book Details:
  • Author : Peter Harmsen
  • Publisher : Simon and Schuster
  • Release : 2022-11-30
  • ISBN : 1922896071
  • Pages : 412 pages

Download or read book The Darkest Christmas written by Peter Harmsen and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-11-30 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: December 1942 saw the bloodiest Christmas in the history of mankind. From the islands in the Pacific to the China front, from the trenches in Russia to the battlelines in North Africa, in the skies over Europe and in the depths of the Atlantic, men were killing each other in greater numbers than ever before. The Holocaust continued, and innocent civilians were murdered by the thousands throughout the evil Nazi empire, even as the perpetrators celebrated the birth of Christ. At the same time as the slaughter continued unabatedly, throughout the world there were random acts of kindness, born out of an instinctive feeling of the essential brotherhood of man. These gestures also straddled religious barriers and sometimes included those of non-Christian faiths. Even some Japanese, otherwise embarked on a self declared crusade against the West, relented for a few precious hours in acknowledgment of the holiday. At the same time, Christmas 1942 saw the injunction of “good will to man” distorted in ugly and callous ways. At Auschwitz, SS guards played cruel games with their prisoners. In Berlin, the German heart of darkness, Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels spent time with his family while still buried in feverish fantasies about the Jewish world conspiracy. Christmas 1942 saw the entire range of man’s conduct towards his fellow man, reflecting the extremes of behavior, good and bad, that World War Two gave rise to. The way the holiday was marked around the world tells a deeper and more universal story of the human condition in extraordinary times.

Book The True Story of the Christmas Truce

Download or read book The True Story of the Christmas Truce written by Anthony Richards and published by Greenhill Books. This book was released on 2021-12-03 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ‘One of them shouted “A Merry Christmas English. We’re not shooting tonight.” . . . [then] they stuck up a light. Not to be outdone, so did we. Then up went another. So, we shoved up another. Soon the lines looked like an illuminated fete.’ Rifleman Leslie Walkington On Christmas Eve 1914, a group of German soldiers laid down their arms, lit lanterns and started to sing Christmas carols. The British troops in nearby trenches responded by singing songs of their own. The next day, men from both sides met in No Man’s Land. They shook hands, took photos and exchanged food and souvenirs. Some even played improvised football games, kicking around empty bully-beef cans and using helmets for goalposts. Both sides also saw the lull in fighting as a chance to bury the bodies of their comrades. In some parts of the front, the truce lasted a few hours. In others, it continued to the New Year. But everywhere, sooner or later, the fighting resumed. Today, the Christmas Truce is seen as a poignant symbol of hope in a war that many people regard as unnecessary and futile. But what was the real story of those remarkable few days? In this fascinating new book, historian Anthony Richards has brought together hundreds of first-hand reminiscences from those who were there – including previously unpublished German accounts – to cast fresh light on this extraordinary episode.

Book Zero Night

    Book Details:
  • Author : Mark Felton
  • Publisher : Macmillan
  • Release : 2015-08-25
  • ISBN : 125007374X
  • Pages : 318 pages

Download or read book Zero Night written by Mark Felton and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2015-08-25 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Non-fiction that reads like a novel! A thrilling, moment by moment account of an epic escape and the real-life adventures that followed.