Posted on July 30, 2022 September 8, 2022

Blonde Poison

Not much surprises me any more based on the research I’ve done for my books and blogs. But every so often, I run across a story that makes me shake my head in disbelief.

It’s bad enough reading about Nazi collaborators and traitors who were responsible for thousands of deaths either directly or through deportations to the concentration camps. But imagine my surprise running across the story of Stella Goldschlag-Kübler who was responsible for intentionally betraying up to three thousand Jews to the Nazis. Why the surprise? Stella was Jewish. Berlin Jews knew her as the “Blonde Lorelei” while the Nazis referred to her as “Blonde Poison.”

She earned those wartime nicknames at the expense of thousands of lives.

Did You Know?

Did you know that most of us have forgotten about Art Buchwald (1925−2007) or don’t recognize his name? Buchwald was a legendary writer who wrote satirical newspaper columns. Beginning in 1950, he published three columns per week (“Paris After Dark”) for the European edition of the New York Herald Tribune (later, the International Herald Tribune). The columns quickly became popular, and Buchwald established his reputation on both sides of the Atlantic.

He moved back to the States in 1962 and began writing for the The Washington Post. His biting political satires touched both sides of the Beltway aisle. Buchwald once spoofed a press conference held by President Eisenhower’s press secretary, James Hagerty. In response, Hagerty presided over his own press conference and called Buchwald’s article as “unadulterated rot.” The famous retort by Buchwald was, “Hagerty is wrong. I write adulterated rot.”

Although Art Buchwald did poorly in science (“I still don’t know how to make a hydrogen bomb”), he was very astute and clairvoyant in history. He once said, “You can’t learn from history, unless you rewrite it.” Fifteen years after his passing, Buchwald’s words certainly ring true today, don’t they?

I don’t know a contemporary satire columnist in the same league as Buchwald. If you do, please let me know. I can be reached at stew.ross@yooperpublications.com.

Humor columnist Art Buchwald in his Washington office. Photo by Charles Bennett (c. 1977). Associated Press.

As an aside, I mentioned in our last blog that the last living World War II Medal of Honor recipient, Woody Williams, passed away recently. Congress honored Woody by allowing his remains to lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol. It is a tribute reserved for the nation’s most distinguished private citizens. Mr. Williams certainly meets and exceeds that requirement.

Hershel “Woody” Williams’ casket is carried by service members from the U.S. Capitol after lying in honor on Thursday, 14 June in Washington. Photo by Haiyn Jiang (14 June 2022). New York Times via AP Pool.

Stella Goldschlag

Stella Goldschlag (1922−1994) was born in Berlin, Germany and raised in a middle-class Jewish family. Her father, Gerhard Goldschlag (1889−1944) was a composer and conductor working for the film company Gaumont. Stella’s mother, Toni Goldschlag (1890−1944) was a well-known concert singer in Berlin. Their daughter was very intelligent, attractive (blonde with blue eyes), and vivacious. After the Nazis took power in 1933, Stella and other Jewish children were no longer allowed to attend public schools. She and the others joined a private school founded and operated by the Jewish community. At the same time, Jews were being purged from their jobs and her father lost his position at Gaumont. Read More Blonde Poison

Posted on June 5, 2021 June 12, 2023

Professor Dr. Six

Have you ever wondered what the world would be like today had Hitler and the Nazis won the war? That scenario would likely include the fact that the Germans successfully invaded Britain. Today, we will examine the German plans for “Operation Sea Lion,” the planned invasion of England and what the consequences for British citizens might have been had the Germans occupied the country.

Did You Know?

Did you know that Stalin and Hitler signed a non-aggression treaty on 23 August 1939? Otherwise known as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the treaty allowed both dictators to partition Poland into satellite territories for Germany and the Soviet Union. Of course, you knew this. However, did you know that Stalin signed a neutrality pact with Japan on 13 April 1941? Of course, most of us don’t know about this. Yōsuke Matsuoka (1880−1946), Japan’s foreign minister, negotiated and signed on behalf of Hirohito and the government.

The Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact had similar consequences. The German treaty allowed Hitler to turn his attention to the west without worrying about a second front (and it secured Stalin’s western boundary). The Japanese pact eliminated a second front for Hirohito’s generals (and it secured Stalin’s eastern borders). By this time, Japan was preparing to attack Pearl Harbor and Hitler was planning Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. The Japanese did not know if Hitler was going to invade England or the Soviet Union. By then, Hitler had given up on invading the British Isles and it is thought that had the Führer informed Japan about his intent to invade Russia (22 June 1941), the Japanese may have launched an attack on Siberia (likely sparing Pearl Harbor). After Matsuoka failed in his attempt to convince the Japanese cabinet to tear up the treaty and attack the Soviet Union, he resigned in disgrace.

Matsuoka signs the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact. Photo by anonymous (13 April 1941). PD-Russia. Wikimedia Commons.

Despite Roosevelt’s attempts to “bribe” Stalin into committing to fight the Japanese alongside the Allies, the Soviet Union remained “neutral” with respect to the war against Japan. That is, until America dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. Stalin tore up the Soviet/Japanese neutrality pact and invaded Manchuria and Korea. Stalin joined the fight against the Japanese in the waning days of the war and reaped the expected rewards.

The Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact showing the signatures of the Japanese delegation. Photo by World Imaging (c. 2009). Japan Foreign Ministry Archives. PD-CCA-Share Alike 3.0 Unported. Wikimedia Commons.

As we’ve seen throughout history, a treaty with a dictator or totalitarian regime is only as good as long as the regime needs it to be.

War-time Nazi Documents

Most of us are aware that the Germans were fastidious in their attention to detail and documentation. Toward the end of the war as they began retreating from the occupied countries, many documents were destroyed to prevent them from ending up in the hands of the Allied army. At the same time, Himmler gave orders to destroy all evidence of Nazi crimes in the concentration and extermination camps. Similar scenarios occurred in Berlin as the Soviet army began its final assault. Read More Professor Dr. Six