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Paris History Museums

In previous blogs, I have mentioned certain museums for various reasons. One that I often mention is the Musée Carnavalet. After two thousand years, Paris certainly has plenty of history to fill a lot of buildings (or underground bunkers), satisfy the interests of every professional or amateur historian, and provide a peek into mainstream or quirky historical events.

Today, I thought I’d share with you some of these Paris museums. Click here to visit the Paris Info web-site.  I haven’t covered all the historical museums in this blog, but I did pick the ones I enjoy visiting and ones that are often overlooked. I will start with the three museums that, in my opinion, are the most interesting. I would consider them to be “general” museums as opposed to ones dedicated to a singular topic or event. Read More Paris History Museums

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The Wise Men

Disguised as an Austrian private, former SS-Obergruppenführer Karl Oberg (1897−1965) was captured in June 1945 by American troops. Oberg was responsible for Nazi security forces (e.g., Schutzstaffel, Gestapo, and Sicherheitsdienst) in occupied France from April 1942 until the country’s liberation in August 1944. He was directly responsible for the deportations to KZ Auschwitz II-Birkenau of more than forty thousand Jews. Originally convicted of crimes against humanity by the British and then separately by a French court in 1954, Oberg’s death sentence was commuted to life in 1958 by the French president. A year later, the life sentence was further reduced to twenty years. In 1962, President Charles de Gaulle pardoned Oberg and he was set free. An aberration of justice in a case of a former Nazi convicted of crimes against humanity? No. Unfortunately, this was not an exception but rather the norm during the early postwar years.

Former SS General Karl Oberg in custody of the American army. Photo by anonymous (c. June 1945). PD-U.S. Government. Wikimedia Commons.
Former SS General Karl Oberg in custody of the American army. Photo by anonymous (c. June 1945). PD-U.S. Government. Wikimedia Commons.

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