On 8 May 1995, the British prime minister, John Major, referred to the end of World War II as the end of a thirty years’ war; in this, he was correct: both sides saw this war as an attempt to complete a task left undone at the close of the First World War – the show-down which ended European global domination. The Second World War was, however, the ultimate catastrophe of modern history, laying waste the heart and soul of Europe. Here you will find contributions about this conflict, its prelude, conduct, and personalities – excluding non-military Nazi personalities, which are covered under the entry “Third Reich Era.” Also covered are contributions dealing with war crimes (and lies about alleged war crimes) committed in the course of the conflict. This does not include the “Holocaust,” which has a separate entry (and is not a war crime in the strict sense).
By Michael A. Hoffman ∙ July 30, 1998
Saving Private Ryan, directed by Steven Spielberg Let's begin with what this latest entry in the Spielbergian canon is not: it is not a “holocaust” or gas chamber flick. Saving Private Ryan is about combat on the Western front during World War Two and the honor and compassion of the U.S. government; overt Jewish themes…
By David Thomas ∙ May 25, 1998
Introduction “Germany must be destroyed” is a collection of quotes made by various political leaders, scholars, and opinion makers in the West over a period stretching back to the 19th century. It gives a feel for the “problem” that Germany has represented to other nations since Bismarck achieved unity in 1870 and the German people burst…
By David Thomas ∙ March 21, 1998
The imperfect translations which follow convey clearly enough the meaning of three documents recently forwarded by an anonymous source from Russian archives of captured German WWII documents to Samuel Crowell. They give details of logistical problems encountered in the building of hundreds of air-raid shelters at Auschwitz-Birkenau in April through November of 1944. This effort…
By Samuel Crowell ∙ July 1, 1997
Recently the argument has been advanced that each of the crematoria at Birkenau was equipped with a gas-tight bomb shelter. The argument was first made in the Summer of 1996 by Arthur R. Butz, with respect to Crematoria II and III in his Vergasungskeller article.[1] In the Spring of 1997 the concept was extended to…
By David Thomas ∙ July 12, 1997
At left: The door at the concentration camp Majdanek from which the USHMM made the replica which is now on display in Washington D.C.At right: The real function of the door and thousands more like it is shown in a widely distributed German ad for bomb-shelter doors and window covers, intended for military and civilian…
By Richard A. Widmann ∙ January 6, 1997
In his recently published book, Why People Believe Weird Things, Skeptic editor Michael Shermer recounts an exchange from the Phil Donahue show. On that particular episode, CODOH director Bradley Smith stated, “It [is] a lie that Germans cooked Jews to make soap from them.” Shermer, who is skeptical of many things, but generally a believer…
By CODOH ∙ January 1, 1997
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Displays Standard German Air-Raid Shelter Door, Describing it as the Door to a “Gas Chamber” At left: The door at the concentration camp Majdanek from which the USHMM made the replica which is now on display in Washington D.C. At right: The real function of the door and thousands more…
By CODOH ∙ January 29, 1943
By Samuel Crowell ∙ April 30, 1997
The personal residence of Auschwitz camp commander Rudolf Höß. Note small gas-proof shutter (Blende) to the right of the door. Introduction It is well known that, although poison gas was used extensively in World War One, it was not used in World War Two. As a result, we tend to forget that most people in…
By Winston Churchill ∙ July 6, 1944
[stamp] PRIME MINISTER'S PERSONAL MINUTE [stamp, pen] Serial No. D. 217/4 [Seal of Prime Minister] 10 Downing Street, Whitehall [gothic script] GENERAL ISMAY FOR C.O.S. COMMITTEE [underlined] 1. I want you to think very seriously over this question of poison gas. I would not use it unless it could be shown either that (a)…
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