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.
Toward the end of World War II, Hitler and his generals were anxiously waiting for the “miracle weapons” to turn the tide of war in their favor. There were two new weapons that the Nazis had developed which ultimately proved ineffective: a jet fighter and the electro-U-boat. How close did they come to using them against the enemy? More than one thousand jet planes, the Messerschmitt Me 262, were produced and put into action by mid-1944. The Allied fighter planes were no match for the Me 262 in the air. However, very few of the jets ever left the ground. German oil refineries were destroyed thereby limiting the availability of jet fuel. Second, runways had to be extended to accommodate the jets. When they saw the altered runways, Allied bomber and attack plane pilots knew the jets were parked nearby and went out of their way to target them. So, most of the Me 262s were destroyed on the ground and the jets never had any significant impact on the course of the war. Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz (1891−1980) promised Hitler that 126 new electro-U-boats would be put out to sea to once again wreak havoc on British/American shipping lanes. Only two were ever launched and like the jet, never lived up to expectations.
Site of the former hydroelectric plant where heavy water was manufactured underground. The building which stood in front of the plant facility, was demolished in 1971. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Gausta Telemark Norway. www.gausta.com.
The third “miracle weapon” and the one that worried Roosevelt and Churchill the most was the development of the German atomic bomb. After Frédéric and Irène Joliot-Curie wrote that atomic fission was possible and could be used to develop a powerful weapon, Hitler decided to begin his atomic weapons program in 1939. It needed two very important components to be successful: uranium and heavy water. The problem for the Nazis turned out to be heavy water was very scarce and hard to produce. That problem was soon solved after Germany invaded Norway on 9 April 1940. The Vemork Norsk Hydro plant near Rjukan, Norway was capable of producing heavy water. Read More Heavy Water
Stewart Ross’ book is full of interesting documents and research, it put you well on the tracks of Marie Antoinette, Danton, Robespierre and many more, whether in Paris or in Versailles, extremely interesting and easy to read!
Raphaelle Crevet | Certified Tour Guide, Paris, France
Mr. Ross brings the streets of Paris to life, making it possible for you to stand on the very spots where the grand and tragic events of the French Revolution took place. If you are looking for more than just the typical tourist experience in Paris, then this book is must reading!
