esrosedotblog

The years of the holocaust are of special interest to me.

I was just a kid. Eight when the War was over.

But for many, the War was never over.

I have tried to simply be a witness and read and study about it. A private regime.

It is sometimes extremely painful to see the levels to which humans can fall. But there are also heroic stories. This is one.

Nicholas Winton Is Dead at 106; Saved Children from the Holocaust

It is men like this who won the War inside the walls. There are others. Many others.

They are an inspiration.

Labels: WW II

The story of the French underground during World War II is endlessly fascinating to me.

It all occurred during my life time far away in a land torn by war and terror.

I lived quietly as a kid in Pennsylvania.

Today's film supports many viewings. This is my fourth or fifth time.

Army of Crime (2009)

What they were called by the Nazis.

This is a wonderful film and it still holds up after so many viewings.

Of course, the story is riveting. But the acting and the story line, the real people who hold the lines tight to the truth, is superbly written.

There are many fine actors in this film. Most would be well out of the memory of the war. But they are so genuine. I think because they are French and the French have not forgotten what was done to them. It is in their genetic makeup now.

A 5 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films, WW II

John is away and it seems quiet in the house.

But he is not noisy. I am sure it is me. No footfalls. No "presence".

Marcus is here and is doing very well. He is a very gentle presence. Not much bugs him.

We went to visit a friend on the other street and she wasn't there. It was hot. But he went along and when we came back just got down and did a snooze. The universal solution to any life problem. Naps simply disappear the problem.

This won't last long and if I enjoy it I won't get to savor it.

The HAC guy was supposed to come today for the summer service. Spring. But we rescheduled it. I am not up for anything like that after noon. He will come at 830 AM next Thursday.

I watched the first part of the miniseries Generation War today.

Germany in the thirties in a German production.

It is heart stopping and probably not good for me to watch. It is at a level of reality which I have not seen before. And, it is very good.

Labels: films, WW II

I remember this day in 1941 quite vividly.

We were listening to the radio (no teevee then) and there were bulletins. I was almost five so this is vivid.

My Dad got hyper excited and my mother, missing out on the attention, I think, fainted.

No one knew what it meant but I do remember the "presence" of Franklin Roosevelt who calmed us down and then declared war.

It took up most of my young life, the war. It was a central fact.

My Dad volunteered for the Navy. I think he didn't want to miss it. This was his war.

Don't be surprised. A lot of guys felt this way. Bellicosity. We may have calmed down some from that time as we have seen the realities of war, global or otherwise.

The day's events are indelibly written in these photographs.

There was rationing. There was crazy shit going on in families. A lot of the rules were lifted.

I remember as vividly the day my Dad came home from the Navy. He had served as a radar man (one of the first) on a destroyer escort. Tough duty across the North Atlantic, subs and the rest.

He never slept a complete night for the rest of his life.

The day has always meant a lot to me. One other guy my age used to mention it. He is gone now. Not many other people remember it. The "day of infamy". 73 years ago. 1941 to 2014.

Labels: WW II

I lived through World War II and have vivid memories of it.

But they are all personal. I was four when it started for the United States and eight when it ended. Almost all movies about the war have not really touched me. I guess I am averse to bluster and big booms.

But there are a few quiet films that tell me a lot about what the war was like and, oddly, these end up being European films. The American ones tended to John Wayne and such propaganda that in retrospect they are hard to take.

Today's movie is especially dear to me. It is Danish and tells about a hero of the War there. Distance makes it more real somehow.

Max Manus (2008)

Manus was an underground leader during the German occupation and the film quietly depicts his contributions but also his personality in a compelling way.

This film is a 5 out of Netflix5 and I have bought it for my collection.

Its appeal is hard to describe but I think that the performances are key. The quiet progress of the simple lives of its resistance leaders toward what came to be hero status at the end of the War.

Real heroes.

Labels: films, WW II

I was seven when the allies invaded the French coastline. 70 years ago today.

I would like to say that I remember the event but I do not.

I do know now that it was a big deal.

I remember, in high school, that someone had put that label on the wall in Shop where we learned, well, shop. How to make stuff. D-Day: The Sixth of June.

I didn't pay it much attention. I was mostly terrified of using a buzz saw or anything else that might chew my fingers off. The war was a far way off by that time.

My awareness of WWII is limited to some key memory moments. I remember my mother fainting when the news of Pearl Harbor came over the radio. I think that they didn't want me to know what was happening but the question of why she was fainting couldn't be easily answered with a lie.

I remember a lot of scuffle. Blackouts. Air raid practices. My Dad going to a hotel on the top of a mountain to look for enemy planes. Later, when I was in high school I did the same thing looking for Russian planes. The red scare was pretty heavy about that time.

I remember the men in my family leaving for the war and then my Dad in 1943. He enlisted. My mother was furious and, I think, never forgave him. It didn't help that he had war dreams for years. Maybe for the rest of his life. So it was never over for them.

I do remember some other things. Roosevelt dying. Then the end of the war. It is hazy.

I like the before and after pictures here.

Labels: WW II