Arguably, the greatest combat contribution of any Hollywood celebrity during World War II was Jimmy Stewart (as opposed to Clark Gable and his photo ops). Stewart entered the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) as a private immediately following Pearl Harbor. Already a licensed pilot, Stewart demanded to be treated as any other enlisted man and by 1943, he was a pilot in the 445th Bombardment Group. In November of that year, the 445th was assigned to RAF Tibenham air base in England. Stewart flew twenty-five missions as a commander of a bomb squadron of B-24s and twenty uncredited missions before being sent home. He was promoted to major in January 1944 and was a full-bird colonel after his service was up. Jimmy Stewart was awarded the Croix de Guerre by Gen. de Gaulle as well as two Distinguished Flying Crosses. Stewart went into the Air Force Reserves and was promoted to brigadier general (one star). On 23 May 1985, President Reagan honored Stewart with the Presidential Medal of Freedom and promoted him to major general (two stars).
Maj. James Stewart confers with a B-24 crew member. Photo by anonymous (c. 1943). PD-U.S. Government. Wikimedia Commons.Memorial to USAAF Tibenham. Photo by Keith Evans (18 July 2008). PD-CCA 2.0 Generic. Wikimedia Commons.
Aerial view of RAF Tibenham airfield. Photo by anonymous (c. 1940s). PD-Expired copyright. Wikimedia Commons.
Former RAF Tibenham image superimposed on an early 1950s aerial photo. You can see that the NE runway has been extended for the new jets. www.invisiblework.co.uk
Today’s blog isn’t about Jimmy Stewart. It’s about the heavy bomber he flew: the B-24, or “Liberator.” We will highlight one plane known by its nose art as “Hot Stuff.” This blog also has a special meaning for my family. My paternal grandmother was a “Rosie the Riveter” during the war. She lived in San Diego and worked at the Consolidated Aircraft factory where B-24s were manufactured. Elsie Ross was assigned to the production line that built the wings for the B-24s. It is very likely she worked on the wings of the B-24 that would eventually be named Hot Stuff.
Women working on a fuselage component for the B-24 at Consolidated Aircraft. Photo by Howard R. Hollem (c. October 1942). PD-U.S. Government. Wikimedia Commons.
One of the byproducts of doing research for my next two books, Where Did They Put the Gestapo Headquarters? A Walking Tour of Nazi Occupied Paris, is learning how many war criminals (Nazi as well as collaborators) were either never brought to justice or received relatively light sentences compared to the enormity of their crimes. Underground rat lines (click here to read Odessa: Myth or Truth) provided notorious Nazis with escape routes to South America. Protection was offered to some by Catholic Church officials. Many escaped during the chaos at the end of the war and returned to Germany to live out their remaining lives under either their given or assumed names. Politicians and government officials pardoned many of them after their convictions. However, it was only after 1998 that we became fully aware of the American, British, and Soviet recruitment of former Nazi scientists, engineers, and doctors during the immediate aftermath of the war. The American efforts were known as Operation Paperclip while the Soviet counterpart was Operation Osoaviakhim.
Dr. Wernher von Braun (left) and Dr. Kurt Debus (right), director of Kennedy Space Center, attend the Saturn 500F rollout. Photo by NASA (26 May 1966). PD-U.S. Government. Wikimedia Commons.
Did you Know?
Did you know the U.S. Government began declassifying World War II documents in the 1960s? However, it wasn’t until 1998 when President Clinton signed into law the Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act that historians began to fully understand the involvement of the Allies in protecting certain Nazis who were clearly either directly or indirectly responsible for war crimes including crimes against humanity. The purpose of the act and its “Interagency Working Group” (IWG) was to fully disclose the remaining millions of pages of classified documents pertaining to war crimes committed by the Nazis and the Japanese. One of the results was the complete declassification of OSS documents (the OSS was the wartime American intelligence agency that morphed into the CIA after the war). The IWG also disclosed the involvement of the former Allied governments (United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union) in a post-war competition to see which country could recruit the most valuable Nazi scientists, engineers, technicians, and doctors. In all, the United States recruited more than 1,600 former Nazis while the Soviet Union forcibly recruited more than 2,200.
Subsequent Nuremberg Trials
After the first Nuremberg trial was finished (click here to read Court Room 600), some of the most ruthless and complicit Nazis captured by the Allies were tried in twelve Nuremberg follow-up trials for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Convicted defendants received prison sentences or were sentenced to death. However, in many cases, death verdicts were eventually reduced to life imprisonment and finally, to shorter and finite prison terms. Some were even given full pardons. By the mid-1950s, with the exception of the original Nuremberg prisoners in Spandau Prison, all imprisoned Nazis had been released including ten SS officers convicted and sentenced to death for their participation in the Einsatzgruppen (mobile SS death squads). Two men recruited by Operation Paperclip, Kurt Blome and Otto Ambros, went to trial. Included in the Doctors’ Trial (Case 1) was Dr. Blome, responsible for all Nazi biological warfare research while Ambros was a defendant in the I.G. Farben Trial (Case 6). We will meet both of these men later.
A guide shows jars containing human organs removed from prisoners in Buchenwald to Jack Levine, an American soldier. Photo by anonymous (27 May 1945). National Archives and Records Administration/United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. PD-U.S. Government. Wikimedia Commons.
From the end of the war to around 1959, there were several categories of ex-Nazis who hid from justice with the assistance of the United States government. They included the scientists and engineers who worked on the development of V-2 rockets in Peenemünde and later, Nordhausen-Mittlewerk-Dora as well as the doctors who developed biological germ warfare. Read More “Hang ‘Em or Hire ‘Em”
“Informative and entertaining, Stew Ross’ newest work evokes a difficult and frightening time in the history of the City of Light. The detailed descriptions of sites such as the Vél’ d’hiv’ or Gestapo headquarters reminds us of the choices people made during those years.”
Cynthia Bisson, PhD, Professor of History, Belmont University, French Resistant Expert
Paris Occupation History and Guide Book
This book presents three detailed walking tours and numerous metro station oriented short walks that identified significant occupation locations. Each location on the walk is fully explained. In addition, the author uses many sidebars to provide additional supporting information. The appendix provides a wealth of additional information and pictures that the novice and well read Occupation scholar will find helpful. Whether your first exposure to the Occupation or one of many books you have read, this book is a must read prior to visiting Paris. The format and size of the book make it easy to carry in your carry-on luggage. The book is the first of a three volume set. I can’t wait to see the information to be presented in Volumes 2 & 3.
Patrick from Albuquerque.
