HFOTD: 6 June 1944

On this day in history in 1944, the world woke up to discover that the Allied forces had invaded the beaches of Normandy, France in an attempt to push back the German forces and to take the first step in defeating them. The fighting took place on 5 separate beaches (Omaha, Utah, Gold, Juno, and Sword) that the Allies had split up.

For those BAND OF BROTHERS buffs, you know that the Airborne was dropped the night before the invasion to secure the beach. The invasion started at 0630 and though they would secure the beach by the end of the day, the battle of Normandy would last the full month of June as they slowly advanced towards Berlin.


For a U.S. Government newsreel on D-Day, click here.

For a brief German perspective on D-Day, click here.

For a summary of D-Day, click here.

For current news articles about the anniversary, click here, here, here, or here.

Why you should always do research before becoming a skinhead...

Olga and Pawel. Love at first sight...or so they claimed. Perhaps it was more of a love at first beat down kind of thing instead?

Even in today's Poland, people are anxious to A: forget about the horrors that took place during the Holocaust. (I once had a person in Krakow ask me why I studied the Holocaust because it was in the past and there was no reason to keep dwelling on it.) and, B: minorities are still not as greatly accepted as they may have been before the war.

Olga and Pawel....neo-Nazi lovers. Or so they thought. Something that Olga's mother said about Jewish ancestry finally made her do some research, only to discover that both her and Pawel had Jewish roots. Today, they look as normal as any other young Polish couple walking down the streets of Warsaw. Pawel even spends time in the synagogue learning the Torah.

What does this story teach us? Hmmm...besides the obvious that even in today's world, the Nazi hatred is still running wild with Neo-Nazi and Ku Klux Klan movements. It also shows that many European Jews may not know they are actually Jewish. This story is enlightening. It makes you feel good to know that two Neo-Nazis were able to take a step back and re-do their lifestyle choices that didn't play into the hate of their fellow skinheads.

For the article click here, or for the CNN video click here.