Submitted by RedTomatoSauce t3_zu69z4 in gifs
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TertiumNonHater t1_j1hrpm2 wrote
Straight to the top. The first German city taken by the Allies. Very intense urban combat. The Germans had a habit of hiding in and ambushing from basements— so Shermans would blast houses starting from the bottom and up floor after floor. One round was said to have gone through three houses before exploding in the fourth.
(Not so) fun fact: German civilians were afraid to evacuate to Cologne because there was a rumor that the Allies had dropped biological weapons there.
Aachen doesn't get much coverage, seeing the pic brought into frame made me very happy.
type-username_here t1_j1hzey9 wrote
My grandpa was there, he told me about once. He said they would move in small groups and throw a grenade down the cellar stairs first when clearing houses. He rarely talked about the war because of PTSD, the stories he told me about fighting in Germany were intense, close up brutal combat.
Bleedthebeat t1_j1idze9 wrote
I’ve heard from a few veteran friends of mine say that they don’t talk about war, not because of the trauma, but because of the way their friends and family look at them as if they are either damaged or heartless afterwards.
type-username_here t1_j1ifi3j wrote
When my Grandpa told me about it, it was just kind of out of nowhere. I had just finished doing some plumbing work at his house and he was writing me a check for the supplies, and just started telling me stories about the war. He just had a thousand mile stare and you could tell he could see these events replaying in his head as he told them to me. He told me about killing men from only feet away, and how he covered himself in debris as a German tank rolled over a trench he was in, he said he was shot at directly from an 88. He said everyone he fought alongside was killed, he spent 32 days in front line combat and collapsed from battle fatigue. He said he woke up in a hospital in Paris and cried tears of joy to be out of that hell.
Silua7 t1_j1ikwar wrote
Hearing stories like these really helps understand why they always thought us grandkids are soft. We were all born in the long summer.
Erlian t1_j1iptbs wrote
Born in a long summer in some ways. Though in other ways we face threats just as existential/ if not more so, more complex, and with no escape in sight, and things just keep getting worse. No war can solve what we face now.
We have to rely on the dwindling political will in our polarized and eroding democracy. A young electorate that is tough and hardworking, and better educated than ever, yet understandably disenchanted and depressed / anxious about the state of our democracy and the world.
News outlets that peddle fear over truth. A global pandemic. Fascism rearing its ugly head on our own home turf, in our lifetimes, along with treasonous actions from our own elected leaders. Monopolies and conglomerates that have eroded both policy and the free market - including pharma, healthcare, and health insurance. A climate disaster hundreds of years in the making.
Animal_Courier t1_j1iv2rr wrote
If it gives you any hope those tough, hardworking, better educated people you mentioned are coming up with a ton of potential solutions to climate change - better renewables, better batteries, more efficient tech and more efficient systems. Even without international cooperation scientists around the world are dragging us off the precipice of a climate catastrophe.
Which is not to say the climate won’t change, or that people won’t be harmed during this process, but it is being mitigated. As a fantastic cherry on top the United States passed an enormous climate change hill that has already inspired huge investments in the green revolution. The world tends to follow American trends, and with only a few exceptions voters around the world are demanding their politicians take part in the solution.
Though I do foresee the possibility of great and terrible times ahead, I do not think they are inevitable, probable or even likely unless we let some of these bad actors use law and politics to wipe away our gains (aka Americans can fuck it up if they give too much power to Republicans, as that party is currently constituted). Humanity is pushing forward through these stormy times. Try not to despair, that which is good in this word is not yet lost, not nearly, and billions of your fellow humans are fighting to keep it, improve it and thrive.
Erlian t1_j1jy8qm wrote
Thank you for this message :) the Inflation Reduction Act was huge for green energy investment + I'm glad we're moving towards more renewables and EVs. No sense in despairing and we must keep working hard and moving forward!
Slexx t1_j1jgqrs wrote
if you think jan 6 and infowars is as bad as (if not worse) than WW2 you really need to turn off MSNBC and touch grass
Erlian t1_j1jyf84 wrote
That's not what I was saying at all, silly goose :) happy holidays & keep warm
gnomz t1_j1kd387 wrote
You must be high, the 'threats' in 2022 are nothing compared to 2 empires simultaneously waging brutal wars in an attempt to conquer the globe
Old_Passage_5670 t1_j1j9row wrote
Love hearing these stories God bless him!!
Fuckredditadmins117 t1_j1l1arq wrote
My father was in Vietnam and I had the exact same experience with him. Just out of the blue like it was playing in his head. Worst part is him and the friends he lost have never been acknowledged as having been in the conflict due to some shady government shit and an NDA. So not only has he had to live through that he has been accused of false honour for even mentioning it. But having met a few veterans of combat you can't fake that retelling, when you see them it's clearly real and running in their head.
KaHOnas t1_j1iesrx wrote
It's weird describing combat to someone who hasn't been there. I don't need comforting, I just get strange looks when I describe things I've done or what I was thinking of doing.
P4_Brotagonist t1_j1j76hz wrote
It's weird because many people have this "idea" in their head of what combat or fighting is, but in reality it's basically nothing like that. Try describing being stuck up halfway up on a massive hillside in a valley taking shots from enemy like 400 meters away on the opposite hill trying to hit you with their irons while you move around and also return fire in the slowest process known to man. People think of combat as some sort of "yeah you see the guy and then you shoot him and then it's over and you win!" They don't realize it's like a half an hour process that feels like 5 hours while you awkwardly maneuver around what somehow always seems to be the most cluttered area of your life and then suddenly it's "over."
8ad8andit t1_j1ihq33 wrote
It seems like it's pretty common for people that do horrible things when they're in wartime conditions for a long time.
I suspect that a lot of police officers in the United States have a similar thing going on; a kind of PTSD from dealing with violent people regularly.
Do you have any thoughts about that? I'd be curious for your opinion since you have actual experience of this and I don't.
Bleedthebeat t1_j1ijhpa wrote
I don’t think you can compare police officers in the us to soldiers in war. The media and our society in general makes being a police officer seem like a much more dangerous job than it actually is. Sure the threat is there and that is worthy of respect for their willingness to take that risk but in nyc at least something like 95% of officers will go their entire career without ever having to fire a shot. Part of why officers are rarely punished for shooting someone is precisely because it happens so rarely that they’re not expected to really know how to handle the situation. No amount of training is going to adequately prepare you for how you’ll react to a threat on your life when adrenaline takes over
8ad8andit t1_j1irrog wrote
Well I think it varies in different locations. Areas with deep poverty have a lot more violence than other places.
But otherwise PTSD doesn't come from drawing your gun out of its holster.
It doesn't even come necessarily from violence happening to you.
It comes from being in situations where you fear for your life.
Cops who work very poor and violent neighborhoods are experiencing that everyday.
Trust me, I've lived in neighborhoods where gunshots were a daily occurrence, and even automatic rifles could be heard occasionally. It scared me just to hear it, and I'm not even the one getting the phone call to go check it out every time it happens. That's what cops have to do.
As usual I'm going to get downvoted for daring to suggest that maybe cops could use some empathy.
Unfortunately, the only way to improve human beings is to first empathize and understand what's actually on their plate.
The idea that cops are just this special breed of bad human beings, is stupid. And as long as that is the predominant belief system, nothing will ever change. There will just be this feud that never ends and hurts all of us.
Bleedthebeat t1_j1j36l7 wrote
I never said or even implied that they are bad people. Sure I know that sentiment is popular on reddit but that’s not at all the point I was trying to make.
And your points above about the inner city officers. That’s because their departments have failed them by never rotating them out of that environment. Those officers need to spend time in an area with less criminal activity to avoid the problem of seeing all citizens as criminals.
All of our problems with the police could be solved internally but the problem is both sides see themselves as being attacked. In some circumstances that seems justified but we seem to have gone away from the days where officers of the law were tasked with serving the commmunity and are now in the mindset of its us against them.
Fishamble t1_j1izpls wrote
I am not from the US, but from the outside the population have a terrible relationship with the police. Going by reddit it appears they recieve no respect, which is nescessary for them to be an affective force.
NotTRYINGtobeLame t1_j1iky5q wrote
I am not a combat veteran, but I have been forward deployed in the Navy. If it's hard for me to explain what happens during a deployment to friends and loved ones, holy fucking shit... I can't imagine how hard it would be for an actual combat vet to talk about it.
TheDocJ t1_j1jyw8n wrote
Many years ago, a terminally ill patient of my ex gave her his A4 notebook/ sketchbook of his combat experiences, and I had a look through it.
He had fought at Monte Cassino, there were pen-and-ink sketches of his comrades sheltering in some of the ruins or a tank going over the rubble, and things like that. He showed it to my ex because he said his family weren't interested in it and would just throw it away once he had died, I think she did give it back to him in the end but i suggested he offered it to the Imperial War Museum. I hope it did get preserved.
enraged768 t1_j1jvj72 wrote
It's hard to talk about because it seems absolutely ridiculous to most people. The only people you can honestly talk about with are other war veterans.
[deleted] t1_j1j83ip wrote
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Beizelby t1_j1l5ooh wrote
Yes.
Experiencing actual combat, not training, changes a person forever no matter how people want to try and explain it.
The passing of time has a way of changing everyone.
TertiumNonHater t1_j1i5k34 wrote
Your grandfather took part in a historically significant battle. White phosphorus grenades and flamethrowers were also used. The allies used AP rounds to shoot through floors and ceilings and would make a dash to the top floor of a building and work their way down— forcing the Germans into a basement. The allies found it safer to shoot bazooka rounds and use explosives to blast entryways known as "mouse holing". This lesson was learned and applied later by soldiers engaged in urban combat in Vietnam— even today as noted in the Baghdadi compound raid.
The German force holding the city was about 18,000 strong. Some of the personnel used as infantry were originally Kriegsmarine intended to crew U-boats (funny how history rhymes, given the use of Navy crews by Russia).
TinFoilRobotProphet t1_j1irs9l wrote
My Grandfather never talked about it either. He did have his scotch and smokes every day though.
JAYCEE-- t1_j1irxz5 wrote
It’s crazy how we as people fight like this. We all live on the same damn planet. It is what it is I guess.
vile_things t1_j1i3ws1 wrote
After the occupation their mayor was assassinated by a werewolf commando. Their aim was to make Germans afraid to collaborate with the Allies but this stands out as one of the few actual, successful missions they undertook.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Oppenhoff
One of my favourite factoids about Aachen is how the Nazis tried to remove the enormous bronze gates of the Aachen cathedral (cast around the year 800), among other relics, to get them out of allied hands. But the gates were too well built in and they had to give up.
TertiumNonHater t1_j1i6cpi wrote
That is really interesting. Speaking of the werewolf teams, which I believe were the idea of Otto Skorzeny (I could be wrong), there were a few instances where allies found cables strung across the road intended as a trap for jeep crews. This lead to them placing posts at the front of the jeep such as this one.
Sfumatographer t1_j1ijxx9 wrote
Fighters trying to oust the Dutch from Indonesia (1940s) used the same trick. Lots of beheadings happened because usually the front windows were kept collapsed. Fun fact: thé Indonesians won freedom after 300 years of colonial rule and Sukarno became its president.
DarthWeenus t1_j1ibv0i wrote
Wild
vile_things t1_j1j19n5 wrote
Interesting. I had never heard about this before. Reminds me a little of the Rommelspargel (Rommel's asparagus). War makes for odd sights.
NotTRYINGtobeLame t1_j1iknrb wrote
>werewolf commando
Heh. I was doing some quick reading about them, and they were trained at Schloss Hülchrath. If you go to their current website (the castle, not the werewolves lol) - and use Google translate - you get this greeting:
>Schloss Hülchrath is the perfect place for your celebration. As soon as you enter this extraordinary event location, you will not be able to escape the fascination of the history of bygone times. The desire to discover more is awakened and rewarded.
I know it's a tiny skid mark on the history of that castle, but I still chuckled at the unfortunate context of that when I looked it up.
Potato_Muncher t1_j1ian2m wrote
I'm fairly positive this was the battle where the Americans had to use a 155mm self-propelled gun to knock out German positions inside large, old buildings. The Sherman's 75/76mm guns couldn't penetrate the thick stone facades, so they resorted to open-sight artillery instead. The Germans were pretty pissed about it's use and wanted the practice to be outlawed.
TertiumNonHater t1_j1ibwxx wrote
You are correct! Here is a M12 Gun Motor Carriage in action in Aachen.
I am having a hard time finding the quote (so take it with a grain of salt), but I recall a German commander in Aachen saying something along the lines of "when the Americans begin to use artillery as sniper fire— you have lost."
[deleted] t1_j1iyqsz wrote
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PlayMp1 t1_j1iv75w wrote
The US was known for incredibly rapid, widespread, and accurate use of artillery in WW2. The Soviets might have taken a half hour to line up artillery after it's been requested for defensive support fire (to their credit, the Eastern Front was vastly larger than the Western, and they had less industrial capacity than the US), and the Germans maybe 15 minutes. Because of extensive planning work and the most incredible feats of logistics work in history, the US could do it in 2 minutes, sometimes as low as 30 seconds.
zegg t1_j1ji97r wrote
Well, guess it's true what they say - men win battles, but logistics win wars.
Amedais t1_j1in4a3 wrote
That really is just like the old COD campaign haha.
Duckboy_Flaccidpus t1_j1ityfl wrote
When you get pissed enough and just want to end the battle yet make a statement.
EverydayPoGo t1_j1i5rcp wrote
Does your second paragraph imply that these could be civilians who were hiding in the basements when houses were blasted?
TertiumNonHater t1_j1i81vv wrote
From what I've read, the Germans prior to the battle had pulled civilians out starting with children. It was noted that they simply dropped a bunch of kids off just east outside of the city. They later rushed in and began escorting out elderly and women— who were horrified to see the soldiers immediately fortifying their houses with concrete and such as they were escorted out.
That's not to say there weren't civilians left in the city. It's interesting to note that Hitler had ordered the evacuation of the city because he suspected the population preferred American occupation because allied bombing would cease. Generalleutenant Gerhard Graf von Schwerin had paused the evacuation and appealed to the allies to treat the populace "mercifully". Word got out to Hitler that he did this and ordered him arrested— but surprisingly forgave him later. As far as I know, the Germans resumed the evacuation of civilians and that it was enforced pretty "harshly".
Tarwah t1_j1inzdc wrote
It‘s at the Kaiserplatz, isn‘t it? Lived in Aachen for 10 years and think I recognize this house.
lavahot t1_j1j8pca wrote
Boy, that gate held up pretty well.
Quirky-Ad5417 t1_j1j0brn wrote
Wow, I was there about three weeks ago. Beautiful Christmas market in the old town square. I was looking around at the buildings and I notices the limestone frame around the doors of old buildings have bullet holes in them.
Kinda shocking when you're standing there and realized what happened.
It's a wonderful town BTW.
[deleted] t1_j1hzymz wrote
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trashyman2004 t1_j1ll78k wrote
Great video, with lots of now/then footage
MoonZinuM t1_j1hgozk wrote
Love how on the second "box" on the pilar there is the light spot that appears to be a bullet hit, can be seen in the now photo still.
steventempered t1_j1hjgoq wrote
The V&A museum, and some of the surrounding buildings, have retained the damage from the blitz. Always thought it's one of the best memorials to how close the war was to home. https://images.app.goo.gl/8ha1gi48G3RNV2qJ6
C6H5OH t1_j1hp2dt wrote
A lot of Museums and other buildings in Berlin have conserved these wounds as a memorial too. The Siegessäule in the Tiergarten for example.
BushDidN0thingWr0ng t1_j1i9bd4 wrote
I saw the victory column earlier this year! The tower itself is really cool, but preserving the damage to the tower felt very symbolic and made me try to imagine where the projectiles came from. Same at the Brandenburg gate, though I mostly only saw small arms fire
StatusSea5409 t1_j1op8g0 wrote
I loke the way Germany has done things. Just left the scars from the world wars as a reminder. Sure nazi uniforms and such are illegal as fuck but there's a ton of fucked up shit from then left in plain view.
TheDocJ t1_j1k0qmb wrote
Ripley Castle in North Yorkshire still has musket ball holes visible in one wall from when Oliver Cromwell had some prisoners shot after the battle of Marston Moor in 1644.
madplayshd t1_j1hy8tg wrote
Many places in Germany still have bullet holes. Not because they couldn't fix it, but as a reminder. The Parliament building even has them behind glass.
Couple examples: https://www.berlin.de/kultur-und-tickets/fotos/stadtleben/6162891-1852685.gallery.html?page=1
Also fun fact: Berlin has a couple of hills. These weren't there before the war. They are made from the rubble of what used to be Berlin. One of them used to be a flak tower and at the top a part of that tower is still exposed. If you dig down a bit in pretty much any hill, you find bricks after a couple centimeters. https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gro%C3%9Fer_Bunkerberg
LadislausBonita t1_j1i1cbp wrote
https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulaner_(Berg) Mont Klamott/Insulaner, just added this because I love this name.
GOOD_BONE_N_CALCIUM t1_j1i5m9v wrote
I feel like as a sole civilian person, may not be a great idea to go digging straight down in berlin.
KeinFussbreit t1_j1iw3v7 wrote
Stuttgart has one too, they are often called Monte Scherbelino.
curryslapper t1_j1i1tji wrote
Plenty on Brandenburg gate!
Diablojota t1_j1hoee8 wrote
I stayed in an apartment near museum island in what was formerly east Berlin that still had all the bullet holes in it. Was crazy to see it every day going into the building and thinking about what all took place back then.
Shirt_Royal t1_j1hxbr8 wrote
Similar in Freiburg. The old university buildings still show plenty of bullet holes. Not necessarily from fighting though, but from liberation. French and American soldiers didn't bother to get ladders to remove Nazi symbols from the facades, they simply erased them with gun fire.
StatusSea5409 t1_j1hmsmq wrote
Holy fantastic eye, batman! That's an awesome catch and awesome period as well. Thanks for pointing it out
[deleted] t1_j1i9ajh wrote
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muschik t1_j1hnaqn wrote
That's one high quality gate!
RandomUsername12123 t1_j1hpp30 wrote
Looks like it
I bet the upper part of the water pipe is the same too
Trendiggity t1_j1hzlox wrote
They literally don't make stuff like they used to. The house we rent is just about 100 years old and the chain link fence posts are original. The clay (!) pipes that run the sewer to the municipal system only failed 3 years ago.
(I'm glad we rent a hundred year old house because that fix cost our landlord like 30K lol)
[deleted] t1_j1i4y64 wrote
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narayans t1_j1ih41w wrote
It's inherently difficult to pick up on bias so I appreciate when it's pointed out
marsman t1_j1icvh0 wrote
Not so much with housing because the materials and approach to building have changed and that has had a very real impact on longevity (older houses are not over-engineered as such, but they did tend to be built out of heavier/more solid materials because the alternatives didn't exist and using far more labour intensive approaches). That still leads to issues but they tend to be different.
Take UK housing stock, a 100 year old house is not particularly unusual (about 25% of the total stock), most is more than 60 years old. Many of those 100 year old houses are built from solid engineering brick, actual stone, have stone lintels, joists tend to be far thicker/larger than they would be if built now to support thicker/heavier wooden floor boards than would be the norm now too, albeit not as well finished. You'll likely still have a slate roof and heavier rafters to support it. They have/had lime plaster on the walls, lath and plaster ceilings etc.. And would have had internal plumbing/gas/electricity retrofitted at some point in the last 60 years.
That means that the structures tend to be incredibly solid (until someone tries to take out a chimney and fails to support things properly etc..), but also have lots of rough edges, walls aren't quite parallel, nothing is level, insulation (beyond the plaster and ceilings) is poor because the expectation was that the house would need to breathe and would have open fires internally..
Newer builds on the other hand tend to be built using a minimum of material, and using processes that are as light on labour as possible. You have far more complex materials involved, and plumbing, wiring and so on are embedded. The downside of that is that things can go wrong quickly when they do, weathering can be pretty catastrophic, a roof might be expected to last 15-25 years rather than 50-100 years for example, but broadly there is simply less room for wear before it becomes a problem.
There is probably a sweet spot (in the UK at the moment it's likely a 60's built semi/detached house) that balances a decent finish with a solid structure.
Trendiggity t1_j1ilyv6 wrote
Agree 100%. I live in Halifax (the Canadian one!) which is on the short list of oldest Canadian cities. There is 6-7 square kilometers of residential development where I live that was all built in the 1920s-1930s and over 95% of them are still standing, many with renovations and add-ons over the years. Including my own; it was reno'd in the 70s or early 80s and it's... very apparent which sections are built cheaper.
Also agreed on the 1950s-1960s builds. A friend has a house from the mid 50s in a subdivision about 10km from here and it's a very well built house. Not as overbuilt as mine but from an era of cheap lumber, before plywood became common in residential construction. It's the perfect middleground and is what my partner and I are looking for in a house when we buy... if we can get over the 60s asthetics of most of those builds
RandomUsername12123 t1_j1ikgnv wrote
You can buy and build stuff today that will outlast this millenium.
Are you ready to pay for it tho?
F0sh t1_j1jdyzq wrote
It's pretty hard to tell whether you're buying a high quality property, because the things which determine longevity are not obvious. Even if you could, house prices are so expensive that there is enormous pressure to build cheap, so you're unlikely to be able to find it readily. Hence you're not just paying for the actual cost of building a longer-lasting building, but also the cost of competing for a limited supply of them.
Trendiggity t1_j1iksl9 wrote
There are hundreds of not thousands of houses in this area of my (very old) city that date back to the 1920s (rebuilding after the Halifax explosion). Most streets are all original to that decade; there is the odd new build but due to things like fire or neglect. I wouldn't call it survivorship bias. There's easily three times more construction material in houses of this era than new prefabs.
[deleted] t1_j1ijqi6 wrote
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Blazlyn t1_j1i4ll7 wrote
There are a lot of reasons why they don't make it that way anymore and what you see standing is survivorship bias. Dollars, life of building, and cost of life all play into the changes. Construction used to have formulas for how many people would die per $1,000 spent on different types of construction.
F0sh t1_j1jeb24 wrote
it's not like large numbers of 100-year-old houses in the places we're talking about have been destroyed (through natural processes - we're not talking about whether buildings can survive a bomb blast).
You can't have a survivorship bias if the vast majority of things from the population survived.
jld2k6 t1_j1idtjl wrote
My stepdad has an 8500²ft house that was built by a super rich person in the mid 1800's. As soon as you walk in there's a gigantic handmade custom ornate winding wooden hardwood varnished staircase going upstairs (looks like it would have taken months to carve) and the dining room looks like a cathedral with the same hardwood forming squares coming down from the 15ft ceiling ceiling with decorative cloth between each one and a huge hand carved 14 person table in the middle. It even has a maid's quarters upstairs on the third floor and there's little hidden hallways built so the maids could bring food straight from the kitchen to the dining room without using the main door. It's crazy to me that the house is valued at like 40k, the inside is absolutely beautiful and has like 6 fireplaces with custom themed rooms like "the oriental room" and "the trophy room" with tons of old exotic taxidermied animals all over the walls with a poker table in the middle. Used to love getting drunk and exploring all over there but he gave it to his son and got a smaller house with my mom so I haven't been inside in a while
doctorcrimson t1_j1jpm7a wrote
I replaced a municipal clay pipe juncture in North Dakota years back, to make a bigger pipeline tie in, and it was much older. In fact it was pretty damn close to the train yard. If it was buried and made properly the clay pipe shouldn't have failed so soon in the first place, yours was a shoddier example to use.
Trendiggity t1_j1mb84x wrote
Our landlord also loved using the really caustic industrial drain cleaner because he was too cheap to hire a proper plumber to snake out our back bathroom sink (it's part of the renovations I was talking about). I have a feeling the dozens of applications didn't do our clay sewer pipe any favours
Our next door neighbours failed a couple of years after ours. Apparently many of the houses on our street had theirs taken out the last time they paved and the owners who didn't were told it was a matter of time.
I imagine they were cheaper products used (at the time) due to the reconstruction in our city after the Halifax explosion (look it up if you haven't heard about it, a WWI munitions ship exploded and basically levelled half our city). I was impressed they had a 100 year lifespan, I didn't know they lasted longer!
the5thspaceman t1_j1hl5nk wrote
How does one fight history?
Robert999220 t1_j1hl8my wrote
By erasing it.
ImJustSo t1_j1ht6q9 wrote
And denying it, etc
reverandglass t1_j1i51aa wrote
Or the flip side. Take a terrible history and change and grow, like Germany.
MisterPeach t1_j1ijw0f wrote
The opposite of what the Japanese did. I have a lot of respect for the German people taking responsibility and being so vigilant against fascist ideology today. If something similar to the Holocaust happens again, it certainly won’t originate in Germany.
Duckboy_Flaccidpus t1_j1iv6tc wrote
IMO, it's overkill how they try and be as vigilante as you say. Lot's of contextual reasons led to Hitler's rise as the fuhrer and while he maintained his ardent supports the populace as a whole likely started regretting it and he also seized power, really.
They were initially downtrodden, humiliated and stifled by clauses from Treaty Versailles and someone came to them claiming birth right cultural and heritage pride and to be prosperous once again, to be fair it sounded good. I'm not an apologist, well, actually I might be for most of the people, it happens to the best of us and will again too.
eggman64 t1_j1kezmn wrote
What's your prediction for Germany? How soon for another "Nazi"-like party to take power?
Duckboy_Flaccidpus t1_j1m5jjl wrote
They are nowhere near the same stifled, crippled and depressed society they once were; the political alliances, economic prosperity, diplomatic lines drawn and sovereign superpowers are nearly all different, in modern times, besides US hegemony (which could be waning, depending on perspective taken).
I think we are very far off, if at all, from a Nazi-Germany repeat of history, it doesn't really make sense in this climate.
Danitoba t1_j1kgpzw wrote
Your wording suggests you change and alter history, like Germany is trying to do.
reverandglass t1_j1kjj8d wrote
In essence you do. It turns WW2 and The Holocaust into an abhorrent mistake and not a defining national trait.
[deleted] t1_j1i4g6f wrote
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naytttt t1_j1j1942 wrote
Or maybe they’re not an English speaker?
H__D t1_j1jfxes wrote
Then write an easier title? I like when people correct my grammar on the internet as it helps me to not come off as an idiot in the real world conversation.
naytttt t1_j1kduqj wrote
Maybe just don’t be a dick and assume someone’s an idiot because they messed up some grammar in their second language?
HaikuBotStalksMe t1_j1hy6va wrote
By signing up for hist1302 and defeating the teacher.
lavahot t1_j1j90c9 wrote
I would still lose. My 102 teacher was a fucking beast.
gnarkilleptic t1_j1icpvi wrote
With a machine gun, clearly
BiigDaddyDellta t1_j1k1aix wrote
I did that in highschool
dwpea66 t1_j1k2jov wrote
Time travel
oschmidtac t1_j1hu643 wrote
Anybody who would like to know the exact location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/iygBNn6SCP3cpBy89?g_st=ic
It’s Adalbersteinweg 88, 52070 Aachen
typhoonbrew t1_j1i03ow wrote
No way! I literally walked down that street earlier this year!
Briggster t1_j1hzbo4 wrote
It's one entrance to the city's court building I believe
super_lenin t1_j1jp2ml wrote
Lmao didn't expect to see my street on Reddit today
[deleted] t1_j1l1pg0 wrote
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Mikez63 t1_j1l1t7t wrote
iain_1986 t1_j1hr9ll wrote
FYI too others who are impatient like me on mobile.
It's a gif.
Hellknightx t1_j1id94y wrote
If anything, this didn't need to be a gif. A still frame would've been fine.
[deleted] t1_j1hrv2m wrote
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MissingLink101 t1_j1jw8vx wrote
Yep, I thought it was a picture with a "420" reference I didn't understand so I backed out before seeing it was in r/gifs
Administratr t1_j1hpjcj wrote
Amazing. Even look a like the same gates?
Alana_Piranha t1_j1hp4ij wrote
blaze it
toolargo t1_j1huowm wrote
Is there a sub for pictures like this? War time pictures and current day locations.
TheSultan1 t1_j1hy3lz wrote
Not focused on war, but r/oldphotosinreallife
Coltand t1_j1idbrw wrote
/r/historicaloverlays
KentuckyFuckedChickn t1_j1i5fj1 wrote
Imagine if we had markers for every place someone died. That'd be wild.
IAmNotAllergicToNuts t1_j1jeehy wrote
Count me out, that would be creepy as hell
tanzmeister t1_j1hwy08 wrote
/r/oldphotosinreallife
SuchCoolBrandon t1_j1hlopu wrote
Photo is held too low 😖
hedgecore77 t1_j1iilcn wrote
I went on a walking tour of Amsterdam where the tour guide had a bunch of pics like this. The biggest contrast was in Dam Square, there was a Dutch KSB recruiting office with SS lightning bolts on top of the half circle windows, and when he lowered the photo to show us what it looked like today, it was an H&M.
Traveledfarwestward t1_j1i6qyg wrote
Is there a way to contribute money to posting photo plaques where historical pictures were taken?
I'd pay $10 to see that photo be posted on a plaque on that wall right there.
WeAreTheEnd t1_j1i7zg4 wrote
/r/historicaloverlays
ku-fan t1_j1itqyl wrote
10 posts total over 2 years, yet for some reason people are recommending this sub.
WeAreTheEnd t1_j1iytck wrote
Glad you're enjoying it
niceBobJobShowVagene t1_j1ifcuh wrote
I don't think they were fighting history
user_ihardlyknowher t1_j1irhef wrote
Why were they fighting history tho
doggexbay t1_j1hr1yi wrote
Some durable fucking gates
GameDestiny2 t1_j1i5jv3 wrote
Some things are changed, but wow. That’s kinda unreal.
BetterBagelBabe t1_j1i6btq wrote
I love seeing these kinds of things. Does anyone know if there’s a subreddit or an Instagram account that posts these historical/modern comparisons?
Haxorz7125 t1_j1igu25 wrote
If you’re gonna do this at least match it up
NWSanta t1_j1iubni wrote
That’s prety emotional, thank you for sharing!!
xoverthirtyx t1_j1iux7o wrote
Where the freedom braveries.
GhostPepperIceCream t1_j1iz9y5 wrote
We're arrogant enough to assume this is only in the past.
jh67ds t1_j1j09dg wrote
Oldphotosinreallife
chang_bhala t1_j1hcwec wrote
Location?
AntiLachs t1_j1hmx01 wrote
Aachen, I think I have walked by that before in case you want to know exactly where I could habe a look around.
oschmidtac t1_j1htqjv wrote
https://maps.app.goo.gl/iygBNn6SCP3cpBy89?g_st=ic
That’s the gate you see on the picture. It’s in aachen at the Adalbersteinweg next to the Amtsgericht.
[deleted] t1_j1hks5s wrote
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[deleted] t1_j1hy7xr wrote
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kangis_khan t1_j1i0imv wrote
Yeah fuck history, glad we put up a fight against their regime!
DrShankenstein10 t1_j1i2bur wrote
Powerful... I hope for no more war.
NoFilanges t1_j1i9okh wrote
Good idea to take down the massive lamp post that would have been in their way first, to be fair.
Me-as-I t1_j1ib4v6 wrote
Don't fight history, history always wins.
At least it used to.
builtlikethewall t1_j1ibjg7 wrote
I wish there was a subreddit for content like this. I absolutely love these.
BABarracus t1_j1ich4n wrote
Imagine when ar glasses become mainstream and you could relive history as you travel
[deleted] t1_j1imj6r wrote
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OOPManZA t1_j1ipg3p wrote
I think you mean "where history has been made".
Not sure I've ever heard of anyone getting into a fight with history, besides revisionists that is XD
sitting_sideways t1_j1irgkc wrote
This is the coolest thing I’ve seen today.
BeltfedOne t1_j1iywwz wrote
You go put this up on /r/wwIIpics right now!
babyProgrammer t1_j1jalto wrote
Ah yes, the war on history! It rages on to this day
ehrenschwan t1_j1jf9xq wrote
Ayy, my hometown. Actually recognized it because of the Grafitti.
jiovanni12 t1_j1jfos6 wrote
Before they held up the photo, I thought they'd show the Gulag😂
HogDad1977 t1_j1jl8dk wrote
This is fascinating and gave me chills.
RCM20 t1_j1jlp9p wrote
Are those Nazis in the photograph?
If yes, were they Wehrmacht or Waffen-SS?
Quake2Marine t1_j1jrpnu wrote
Those are definitely allied soldiers
erikeltipo t1_j1jokk0 wrote
The 2 world histories
doctorcrimson t1_j1jp08v wrote
ITS THE SAME GATE TOO
fnnkybutt t1_j1jp90x wrote
This made me suddenly emotional.
[deleted] t1_j1jrm07 wrote
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labanjohnson t1_j1jvkhd wrote
This could be a whole subreddit
fifteentango88 t1_j1kcc71 wrote
r/ghostsofhistory is generally dead, but this would fit perfectly.
maddill1998 t1_j1kfruj wrote
Whoa... that gave me goosebumps
[deleted] t1_j1kshqo wrote
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NeatoLeato t1_j1lbnp8 wrote
I swear there is something off on the scale of the two and I can't tell what it is for sure.
Odd_Status_9326 t1_j1lsmll wrote
And it happens over and over in some foreign land.
PoeReader t1_j1hztrz wrote
This gave me chills.
l0V3DBi7ll t1_j1i8wqh wrote
420 Smoking Barrel
ctrovato t1_j1hqk85 wrote
You may be in the wrong ally
donaggie03 t1_j1iryvw wrote
Clearly not the same spot since there's no 4205 in the picture
Cetun t1_j1hzcoh wrote
Does anyone know how common it was for Americans to just pick up MG42s? The M1919 with the tripod must have been hell carrying around. The MG42 was probably 10 lbs lighter
jreykdal t1_j1i0hw7 wrote
Probably not common. Needed different ammo and you need training for each guns peculiarities.
Cetun t1_j1i1xaj wrote
They actually issued field manuals for the use of captured enemy weapons. The use of the weapon would assume the ammo is captured also.
Kraka01 t1_j1ig56i wrote
There’s no need. And proficiency wouldn’t be nearly as good, regardless of manuals.
FWIW, tripods are much better than bipods.
FiredFox t1_j1isops wrote
This would be a terrible idea:
- The crews are not trained on the MG42 and they definitively would not have had the possible many years of muscle memory build crewing the M1919
- Adding foreign weapons to squads on the assault would complicate resupply logistics to the detriment of the speed of the assault
- Most importantly, firing a very recognizably sounding MG like the MG42 would turn you into a magnet for friendly fire, including mortars and tank rounds.
jeanphilli t1_j1hrp2y wrote
Is 420 the address or Hitler’s birthday?
HG1998 t1_j1i0h9l wrote
Graffiti
Ultima_RatioRegum t1_j1i6jbq wrote
With the exceptions of geothermal, tidal, and wave energy, all forms of energy we use are just deferred solar.
Nevergiiveuphaha t1_j1j5ykz wrote
Oh my God, enough WW2 posts!
EggKey5513 t1_j1hv3xq wrote
I see 420! Is this where I could score some weed?
[deleted] t1_j1h9874 wrote
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TheWorldMayEnd t1_j1hoqjc wrote
Hard to place... for you.
tigerdrummer t1_j1hprbd wrote
Are you ok?
oschmidtac t1_j1httbd wrote
It’s aachen/Germany and that’s the exact location for sure!
briefnuts t1_j1hemab wrote
15 Oktober 1944, Aachen, Germany
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Aachen