#memel territory

[carbone14]

Membres de la Ligue des jeunes filles allemandes (Bund Deutscher Mädel) – Territoire de Memel – Allemagne – 1938

Photographe : Paul Isenfels

©Bundesarchiv - Bild 183-E20457

[mapsontheweb]

Allied proposals for partition of Germany after World War 2

by theflagmapguy_2.0

At the Potsdam Conference (17 July to 2 August 1945), after Germany's unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945, the Allies officially divided Germany into the four military occupation zones — France in the southwest, the United Kingdom in the northwest, the United States in the south, and the Soviet Union in the east, bounded on the east by the new Poland-Germany border on the Oder-Neisse line. At Potsdam, these four zones in total were denoted as 'Germany as a whole', and the four Allied Powers exercised the sovereign authority they now claimed over Germany in agreeing 'in principle' to the ceding of territory of the former German Reich east of 'Germany as a whole' to Poland and the Soviet Union. In addition, under the Allies' Berlin Declaration (1945), the territory of the extinguished German Reich was to be treated as the land area within its borders as of 31 December 1937. All land expansion from 1938 to 1945 was hence treated as automatically invalid, including Eupen-Malmedy, Alsace-Lorraine, Austria, Lower Styria, Upper Carniola, Southern Carinthia, Bohemia, Moravia, Czech Silesia, Danzig, Poland, and Memel. • 🗣️ What's your favorite proposal from these?

[aaronburrdaily]

May 2, 1809

Wind all night good, and still on. Two sprightly, sensible women on board, Mrs. Daily and Mrs. Barnes, going to join their husbands, who are in Sweden. Mrs. B. has a very fine little girl about 4 years. I took possession of the long boat. Made a sort of lounging place, where, with an umbrella, I read much at my ease; taking no notice of any one, not even les dames. My territories were invaded yesterday by Madame D. Reads remarkably well, and is indefatigable. Read to me all M’lle Wollstonecraft's “Tour through Sweden,” and the greater part of Sheridan’s “Revolution of 1772.” Madame B. has been some years in Russia. Shipwrecked on the Russian coast lately on her way to England. Passed through a variety of adventures. Played much at chess with Captain Nordenskold, of the Swedish navy, who is rather my superior at chess. Wind still good. At 5 we saw the church and lighthouse of Gottenburg,¹ on the shore. Entered the harbour at 12. Anchored at the lower town. Sent up our passports by the captain. At 2 came on board the two husbands of the ladies. Both prepossessing appearance and manners. Permission came by a custom-house officer to land; our baggage to be taken to the custom-house. Went in custom-house boat with several of the passengers, being nearly two miles to the city. Enter the canal of the main street. Our baggage all passed without any troublesome search. Trunks merely opened for form. My sack, the article about which I was most apprehensive of trouble, on account of the books it contained, passed without opening. But my large trunk, containing all my clothes, is missing. I sent by the captain M’Donnaugh’s letter to Malm et fils,² with a note requesting them to provide me a lodging. While at the custom-house, a brother-in-law of Malm came from him to show me my lodgings. Smith, the British consul, hearing that I had a letter for him from Colonel Mosheim, came also to tender his services. Mr. Oppenheim, of Memel, merchant, fellow passenger, very civil. Offered me a room at his quarters, which, fool-like, I did not accept. Alas! my trunk, my trunk! My lodgings very commodious. Three large rooms well furnished, but not a creature in the house speaks one word of any language of which I have the slightest knowledge. Made my landlord understand that I wished to go to the theatre. He went with me. Paid for two seats in the pit, the boxes being all full. All pantomime to me. Much amused with two young girls in boys’ clothes, tight pantaloons and short waistcoats, one of whom played admirably. The ballet and pantomime amusing enough by force of novelty. Two good dancers. One of each sex. Malm’s young man, seeing me in the pit, got me a place in the box. Out at 10. Got home, but could not make my host understand that I wanted a dish of tea. After labouring in vain for a quarter of an hour, was obliged to take him out to the house of a Frenchman, who spoke Swedish, and who explained for us. Tea was got very cheerfully. A long pipe and tobacco. My bed had a single light coverlet, not heavier than a sheet. No other covering. But, being quilted down, found it very warm. Mem.: While at the custom-house, Captain Nordenskold brought and introduced to me his brother, a lieutenant of artillery, and desired him to devote himself to me. The Lieutenant speaks a few words of French, but no English.

1  For Gothenburg. In Swedish, Goteborg, Goth-city. 2  And son.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 5.8

453 BC – Spring and Autumn period: The house of Zhao defeats the house of Zhi, ending the Battle of Jinyang, a military conflict between the elite families of the State of Jin. 413 – Emperor Honorius signs an edict providing tax relief for the Italian provinces Tuscia, Campania, Picenum, Samnium, Apulia, Lucania and Calabria, which were plundered by the Visigoths. 589 – Reccared I opens the Third Council of Toledo, marking the entry of Visigothic Spain into the Catholic Church. 1360 – Treaty of Brétigny drafted between King Edward III of England and King John II of France (the Good). 1373 – Julian of Norwich, a Christian mystic and anchoress, experiences the deathbed visions described in her Revelations of Divine Love. 1429 – Joan of Arc lifts the Siege of Orléans, turning the tide of the Hundred Years' War. 1450 – Kentishmen revolt against King Henry VI. 1516 – A group of imperial guards, led by Trịnh Duy Sản, murdered Emperor Lê Tương Dực and fled, leaving the capital Thăng Long undefended. 1541 – Hernando de Soto stops near present-day Walls, Mississippi, and sees the Mississippi River (then known by the Spanish as Río de Espíritu Santo, the name given to it by Alonso Álvarez de Pineda in 1519). 1608 – A newly nationalized silver mine in Scotland at Hilderston, West Lothian is re-opened by Bevis Bulmer. 1639 – William Coddington founds Newport, Rhode Island. 1758 – The Maratha Empire captures Peshawar from the Durrani Empire in the Battle of Peshawar. The Maratha Empire was extended to its farthest distance away from Pune that it ever reached, over 2,000 km (1,200 mi), almost to the borders of Afghanistan. 1788 – King Louis XVI of France attempts to impose the reforms of Étienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne by abolishing the parlements. 1794 – Branded a traitor during the Reign of Terror, French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, who was also a tax collector with the Ferme générale, is tried, convicted and guillotined in one day in Paris. 1821 – Greek War of Independence: The Greeks defeat the Turks at the Battle of Gravia Inn. 1842 – A train derails and catches fire in Paris, killing between 52 and 200 people. 1846 – Mexican–American War: American forces led by Zachary Taylor defeat a Mexican force north of the Rio Grande in the first major battle of the war. 1877 – At Gilmore's Gardens in New York City, the first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show opens. 1886 – Pharmacist John Pemberton first sells a carbonated beverage named "Coca-Cola" as a patent medicine. 1898 – The first games of the Italian football league system are played. 1899 – The Irish Literary Theatre in Dublin produced its first play. 1902 – In Martinique, Mount Pelée erupts, destroying the town of Saint-Pierre and killing over 30,000 people. Only a handful of residents survive the blast. 1912 – Paramount Pictures is founded. 1919 – Edward George Honey proposes the idea of a moment of silence to commemorate the Armistice of 11 November 1918 which ended World War I. 1921 – The creation of the Communist Party of Romania. 1924 – The Klaipėda Convention is signed formally incorporating Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory) into Lithuania. 1927 – Attempting to make the first non-stop transatlantic flight from Paris to New York, French war heroes Charles Nungesser and François Coli disappear after taking off aboard The White Bird biplane. 1933 – Mohandas Gandhi begins a 21-day fast of self-purification and launched a one-year campaign to help the Harijan movement. 1941 – World War II: The German Luftwaffe launches a bombing raid on Nottingham and Derby. 1942 – World War II: The German 11th Army begins Operation Trappenjagd (Bustard Hunt) and destroys the bridgehead of the three Soviet armies defending the Kerch Peninsula. 1942 – World War II: The Battle of the Coral Sea comes to an end with Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier aircraft attacking and sinking the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Lexington. 1942 – World War II: Gunners of the Ceylon Garrison Artillery on Horsburgh Island in the Cocos Islands rebel in the Cocos Islands Mutiny. Their mutiny is crushed and three of them are executed, the only British Commonwealth soldiers to be executed for mutiny during the Second World War. 1945 – World War II: The German Instrument of Surrender signed at Berlin-Karlshorst comes into effect. 1945 – End of the Prague uprising, celebrated now as a national holiday in the Czech Republic. 1945 – Hundreds of Algerian civilians are killed by French Army soldiers in the Sétif massacre. 1945 – The Halifax riot starts when thousands of civilians and servicemen rampage through Halifax, Nova Scotia. 1946 – Estonian schoolgirls Aili Jõgi and Ageeda Paavel blow up the Soviet memorial which preceded the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn. 1950 – The Tollund Man was discovered in a peat bog near Silkeborg, Denmark. 1957 – South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem began a state visit to the United States, his regime's main sponsor. 1963 – South Vietnamese soldiers under the Roman Catholic President Ngo Dinh Diem open fire on Buddhists defying a ban on the flying of the Buddhist flag on Vesak, killing nine and sparking the Buddhist crisis. 1967 – The Philippine province of Davao is split into three: Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental. 1970 – The Beatles release their 12th and final studio album Let It Be. 1972 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon announces his order to place naval mines in major North Vietnamese ports in order to stem the flow of weapons and other goods to that nation. 1973 – A 71-day standoff between federal authorities and the American Indian Movement members occupying the Pine Ridge Reservation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota ends with the surrender of the militants. 1976 – The rollercoaster The New Revolution, the first steel coaster with a vertical loop, opens at Six Flags Magic Mountain. 1978 – The first ascent of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen, by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler. 1980 – The World Health Organization confirms the eradication of smallpox. 1984 – Corporal Denis Lortie enters the Quebec National Assembly and opens fire, killing three people and wounding 13. René Jalbert, Sergeant-at-Arms of the Assembly, succeeds in calming him, for which he will later receive the Cross of Valour. 1984 – The USSR announces a boycott upon the Summer Olympics at Los Angeles, later joined by 14 other countries. 1984 – The Thames Barrier is officially opened, preventing the floodplain of most of Greater London from being flooded except under extreme circumstances. 1987 – The SAS kills eight Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers and a civilian during an ambush in Loughgall, Northern Ireland. 1988 – A fire at Illinois Bell's Hinsdale Central Office triggers an extended 1AESS network outage once considered to be the "worst telecommunications disaster in US telephone industry history". 1997 – China Southern Airlines Flight 3456 crashes on approach into Bao'an International Airport, killing 35 people. 2019 – British 17-year-old Isabelle Holdaway is reported to be the first patient ever to receive a genetically modified phage therapy to treat a drug-resistant infection. 2021 – A car bomb explodes in front of a school in Kabul, capital city of Afghanistan killing at least 55 people and wounding over 150.

[thisdayinwwi]

"The German paper from which this interesting photograph is taken describes it as follow: ‘the Russians made this raft and put on it some scarecrows in uniform and an imitation gun. They let it float down the Memel River near Ragnit at dusk, in order that the Germans might fire on it, and thus they would obtain information of their strength and position. This ruse was, however, detected, and the plan failed.' The Memel is the name given to the last seventy miles of the Niemen, where it flows through the north-eastern corner of East Prussia, passing Tilsit. [Now the river forms the northern border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia's western exclave, and Lithuania] The greater part of the Niemen's five hundred miles course is through Russian territory. In the Pillkallen district of East Prussia, a little south of the Memel, the Russians recently resumed the offensive."

Illustrated War News Feb 3 1915

The Chickasha Daily Express., Apr 3 1916

[todaysdocument]

Philip Cowen went on an undercover mission to the Pale of Settlement in Russia to discover the cause of increased Jewish immigration from Russia to the U.S. His findings revealed appalling and unremitting persecution. Report (p. 1, 7 of 193), 12/31/1906.

Series: Subject and Policy Files, 1906 - 1957

Record Group 85: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787 - 2004

Transcription:

New York, December 31st, 1906.

                                                                           SUBJECT:

                                                                                   Immigration from Russia.

[in pen #50,274]

Hon. Frank P. Sargent,

   Commissioner General of Immigration,

                                 Washington, D. C.

Sir:-

        I was directed by you to proceed to Europe to study the

subject of immigration to the United States, the special terri-

tory assigned to me being Russia.  I did this in light

of instructions contained xxxxxxx Department Letter No. 50,724

July 18th, 1906, and the personal instructions you conveyed to

me.

     ��  I sailed from the United States on the steamship Kaiserin

Auguste Victoria on August 17th 1906, stopping over at Ply-

mouth to get some information in London.     While there I went

to Southhampton and Liverpool, then proceeded to Paris and, via

Cherbourg, to Hamburg on the Steamship Pennsylvania.   I visited

Bremen, Berlin and Konigsberg, proceeding thence to Russia via

Eydtkuhnen, after going to Bayoren, Memel, Tilsit and Insterburg.

Excepting St. Petersburg, Libau and Riga, my travels in Russia

were limited to what is known as the Pale of Jewish Settlement,

and even there I was unable, for lack of time, to go further

east than 31 degrees longitude, which would be a line run

from St. Petersburg, through Kief to Odessa.  This includes

about one-half of the territory in the fifteen (15) governments

comprising the Pale of Jewish Settlement, aside of Poland.

        I had planned, besides stopping in each of the governments

of the Pale, to visit the Jewish agriculturalists of Kherson and

Ekaterinaslaw, and the German agriculturalists of Saratov, whence

many are now coming to the United States, and also those sections

of Russia outside of the Pale of Settlement, as the Moscow,

Smolensk, and the Pskov governments, where many Jews have been

permitted to locate.       But as soon as I got into Russia I

found I would have to modify my plans considerably.  For one

thing, the deliberation that marks the life of the people in that

country, in decided contrast to the rush and bustle of the German

and English speaking peoples stood as a bar to rapid work.   To-

                                                                                                                  1 [handwritten]

[page 2]

I.   The exceptional laws against the Jews.

     II.   The efforts of the Government to Russianize

           Russia.

     III.  The pogroms, or uprisings against the Jews

            and the Intelligenzia of Russia.

     IV.   The political, Social and Economic condition

            arising from the foregoing causes, as well

            as from the effort to change the present

            form of government.

     V.   The expulsion of Russian Jews from Germany.

     VI.  The opening of direct passenger traffic be-

            tween Russia and New York.

     VII.  The prosperity of the United States.

     VIII.  The presence in America of a large Russo-

              Jewish population.

     IX.    Various other causes:  The limitation of

              employment open to the Jews; their relig-

              ious observances; the attitude of the Pol-

              ish workmen to their Jewish associates;

              the entry of the Poles into Business; the

              Effect of Pogroms on Business; the Introduc-

              tion of machinery.

1.     THE EXCEPTIONAL LAWS AGAINST THE JEWS

        These, known as the May Laws, were promulgated

May 3rd, 1882.  The two vital paragraphs read as follows:

        (1)  As a temporary measure and until a general revi-

        sion has been made in a proper manner of the

        laws concerning the Jews, to forbid the Jews

        henceforth to settle outside the town and town-

        lets, the only exceptions admitted being in those

        Jewish colonies that have existed before, and

         whose inhabitants are agriculturalists.

                                                                                                                7 [handwritten]

[ixar-of-the-bargains]

Right just so we're clear, if Germans had come to call the fall of their Eastern Territories and the flight of Germans during the latter stages of the War in the Eastern Front as Das Unglück and made a point of periodically calling Poland and Russia genocidal settler states who have illegitimately come to "take their ancestral lands" and maintained a "Oder nach Memel, wird Preußen frei sein" position on the region's legitimate borders meanwhile maintaining that they have a Right to Return to their ancestral homeland, everyone's first reaction would be Yikes, right?

Oh wait, Poles weren't even native to Silesia, East Brandenburg or Pomerania.

[today-in-wwi]

Terms of the Treaty of Versailles

June 28 1919, Versailles--After more than five months of negotiations, the terms of the peace treaty with Germany had been signed by Germany and (almost) all the Allies.

The first article of the Treaty was dedicated to the League of Nations, which Wilson saw as its most important feature.  Initial members of the League would be all the Allied signatories of the treaty, as well as most neutral countries.  Not initially invited were the defeated Central Powers (including Hungary), as well as Mexico, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Luxembourg, Albania, Ethiopia, or any part of the former Russian Empire (including Finland).

The League’s overall structure was largely similar to the later United Nations’; an Assembly with one vote per country, and a Council with the Big Five (the UK, the US, France, Italy, and Japan) as permanent members and four other members chosen by the Assembly (to begin with, Belgium, Brazil, Spain, and Greece).  Decisions, by default, had to be unanimous; like with the UN, this gave the permanent members veto power, but it also gave it to the temporary members as well, and to any country for matters to be considered by the Assembly; this would prove to be a problem in the decades to come. The League would be headquartered in Geneva.

The Council was charged to formulate plans for arms reductions.  League members would "undertake to respect and preserve as against external aggression the territorial integrity and existing political independence of all Members...the Council shall advise upon the means by which this obligation shall be fulfilled."  Disputes between members were to be submitted to inquiry by the Council or arbitration, rather than war.  If war should occur anyway, it would be considered an act of war against all other League members, resulting in (at least) an embargo and blockade against that country; the Council would recommend what forces countries would contribute in any military effort.

German colonies, as well as Ottoman territory in the Middle East, would officially fall under the auspices of the League.  However, the day-to-day governance would fall to one of the Allied powers, holding a mandate over them on behalf of the League.  The degree to which the local population was to have any say in their self-determination would vary; more so in the Middle East, less so in Central Africa, and very little in Southwest Africa [Namibia] (which South Africa effectively annexed) and in Germany’s former colonies in the Pacific.

Additionally, League members were to endeavor to “maintain fair and humane conditions of labour,” ensure “just treatment” of their colonial subjects, help to prevent and control the spread of disease, and “secure and maintain freedom of communications and transit and equitable treatment for the commerce of all Members.”  Furthermore, the League was to supervise agreements against drug and human trafficking, to regulate arms trading, and the Council was to draw up plans for arms reduction.

The rest of the treaty dealt with Germany more directly.  Alsace-Lorraine was to be returned to France.  A large swath of territory was to be given to Poland in the east (cutting off East Prussia except by sea), and small regions were awarded to Belgium and Czechoslovakia.  A plebiscite would be held in northern Schleswig, in areas annexed by Prussia in 1864, to decide whether the region would rejoin Denmark or stay with Germany; if it decided to rejoin Denmark, another plebiscite would be held in southern Schleswig.  Three other plebiscites (two in East Prussia and one in Upper Silesia) would be held in territories disputed between Germany and Poland.  Danzig would become a free city; while it would govern itself, Poland would have free use and service of its port, and full control of its railroads, waterways, and communications.  The territory around Memel, near Lithuania, was to be handed over to the Allies, who would determine its final disposition.

France was to receive ownership of the coal mines in the Saar basin.  The Saarland itself would be under League control, and in 1934 would hold a plebiscite on whether to join France, join Germany, or continue under League administration indefinitely.  If it chose to join Germany, Germany would have to buy the mines back from France in gold within a year. Luxembourg would exit the German customs union.

Germany was prohibited from building, mobilizing, or maintaining any military forces, fortifications, or infrastructure west of the Rhine or 50 km to the east of it.  Doing so would be considered a “hostile act...calculated to disturb the peace of the world.”  All already-existing fortifications in that area were to be dismantled.  Additionally, fortifications and harbors on Heligoland and Dune (in the North Sea) are to be destroyed, and Germany will dismantle all fortifications on her Western Baltic coast, to ensure that she cannot disrupt the free passage of trade there.  Germany is to allow all countries’ ships, civilian or military, passage through the Kiel Canal on equal terms.

Germany was to respect Austrian independence unless the League Council said otherwise.  Germany was to completely repudiate the treaties of Brest-Litovsk and Bucharest that it had signed with Russia, Ukraine, and Romania the previous year.

All German colonies would be handed over to the Allies, who would determine their final disposition as mandates under the League of Nations.  Japan would receive the German concession in Shantung (around Tsingtao); all China would receive is an end to the indemnity payments owed Germany due to the Boxer Rebellion, and a return of the German concessions in Hankow [now part of Wuhan] and Tientsin [Tianjin].  It is little surprise China refused to sign the treaty.

The German army was to be reduced to no more than 100000 men and 4000 officers, with civilian support staff no more than a tenth of pre-war levels.  There would be no conscription and no system of mobilization.  Military missions could not be sent abroad. The treaty also made attempts to prevent paramilitary organizations: “associations of every description...must not occupy themselves with any military matters.”  This proved exceedingly difficult to enforce.  Severe limits were placed on stores of munitions and ammunition; any manufacture thereof would have to be approved by the Big Five.  Import of any war materiel was prohibited.  Germany was forbidden to have any chemical weapons, and would disclose the full details of their wartime chemical weapons program to the Allies.  The manufacture or import of armored cars or tanks was prohibited.  After October 1, 1919, Germany could not have any military air force whatsoever.

German troops in the Baltic were to be returned to Germany when the Allies deemed it fit; in the meantime, they were not to interfere with the Baltic states’ defense nor seize supplies to send back to Germany.

The German Navy would be reduced to no more than 6 pre-dreadnought battleships, 6 light cruisers, 12 destroyers, and 12 torpedo boats--no submarines, no battlecruisers, and no dreadnoughts.  Any ships beyond this number were to be handed over to the Allies or scrapped. The Navy could consist of no more than 15000 men.  Any German ships outside of Germany now no longer belonged to Germany; since the scuttling of the High Seas Fleet at Scapa Flow, however, there were far fewer ships in this category than anticipated.  Germany would sweep all the mines in the North Sea east of 4° E.

All remaining prisoners of war and interned civilians (by this time, mostly German) were to be repatriated “with the greatest rapidity;” the French and British ultimately had different ideas as to what that phrase meant, and many would not be returned from France until 1920.  Some prisoners who had been kept in Siberia would not be returned until after the end of Allied intervention there in 1922.

The Allies were to hold military tribunals to try Kaiser Wilhelm II and other German war criminals.  These provisions were largely moot, however; the Netherlands refused to extradite the Kaiser, and the Allies did not really attempt to make Germany extradite other war criminals.  A few were tried in Germany; fewer were convicted; none served more than a few days of their sentence.

As justifications for war reparations, “Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies.”  Germany was to compensate the Allies for all the damage done to the Allied civilian population and property, for Belgium’s war loans (including interest), pensions to disabled veterans and their dependents, wartime payments to relatives of mobilized soldiers, and any expenses relating to the occupation of the Rhineland.  The amount to be paid was not specified in the treaty, but was to be determined by an Allied commission by May 1921; in the meantime, the Germans were to pay 20 billion marks. 

General Smuts signed the treaty on behalf of South Africa, but left an official note in protest of the harsh reparations terms--this despite the fact that he authored the pension-related terms.

The Germans were also to make in-kind payments of farm equipment, animals, and merchant ships, to replace wartime losses.  Additionally, Germany was to provide large amounts of coal and chemicals to France, Belgium, Italy, and Luxembourg.  Louvain’s library was to be replenished with works from Germany.  Loot seized during the Franco-Prussian war was to be returned (though many French battle flags were burned in Germany in the days before the signing of the treaty, to the consternation of the French).  The control of most German submarine cables was to be given to the Allies.

The payment terms (though not technically the overall sum) could be modified based on Germany’s ability to pay.  Germany would also receive credit for the in-kind payments, as well as property lost due to Germany’s border changes (Alsace-Lorraine excepting).  

Germany was not to impose higher customs duties on the Allies than they would on any other country.  Germany was to take action against counterfeit goods, and recognize “regional appellation” of wine and spirits.  In other words, the Treaty of Versailles codified that Champagne refers only to sparkling wine from Champagne.  The Elbe, Oder, Niemen, and Danube were made international rivers; Czechoslovakia was to be given 99-year leases for free zones in Hamburg and Stettin to give that country some form of access to the sea.

The occupation of the Rhineland and three bridgeheads across the Rhine would continue to ensure German cooperation with the terms of the treaty.  The northern region would be evacuated after five years, the central after ten, and the southern after fifteen; these could be extended if “the guarantees against unprovoked aggression by Germany are not considered sufficient.”

Sources include: Margaret MacMillan, Paris 1919.

[architectureofdoom]

A sweater by Lisbeth Oestreicher, showing the German-occupied Austria, Czechoslovakia and Memel Territory, 1939. (scan from Netherlands ⇄ Bauhaus – Pioneers of a new world)

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“Czechs Not Alien Enemies, But Required To Register,” Toronto Star. October 27, 1939. Page 24. --- ‘Necessary for Identification Only,’ Ottawa Says - Wartime Regulation --- By H. R. Armstrong --- Ottawa, Oct. 27. - Czecho-Slovaks being required to register in Canada as aliens are not regarded as alien enemies, it was explained here today by the external affairs department.

They are being registered ‘for necessary identification only’ under the general regulations governing aliens in the Dominion in wartime, it is stated. The registration edict applies to all persons born within territory ‘which was under the sovereignty of or control of the German Reich on September 3, 1939, and who have not become British subjects.’ Because the order applies to territory ‘under control’ of Germany, the question of recognition of Germany’s sovereignty over Czecho-Slovakia is not involved in registration of Czechs, it is explained by federal authorities.

Great Britain, it is stated, requires registration of all aliens even in peace time, including United States citizens. Under this ruling registration of Czecho-Slovaks in Britain has been proceeding along the same lines as in Canada, according to officials.

No Registration of Poles Though large sections of Poland are now under German control, Poles are not required to register in Canada because no portion of Poland was under control of the Reich on Sept. 3, and because Poland was conquered since the outbreak of the present war. Poland still exists as a legal entity in the eyes of Canada, and is an ally of Britain and France in the war, it is explained.

Answering criticism of registration of Czecho-Slovaks the external affairs department claim the registration regulations follow well-settled precedents both in Britain and Canada. ‘Undoubtedly most of the Czecho-Slovaks in Canada are loyal and their sympathy with the cause of Canada in the war,’ an official told The Star, ‘but the matter is not as simple as that.’

The status of all sorts of people has to be considered, it was explained. There are immigrants to Canada from Austria before it was taken over by Germany, newcomers from the Sudetenland, the Saar and Memel. The question of registration is therefore involved and the general regulations evolved are considered necessary to meet the situation.

Few Known Nazi Supporters While nearly all recent arrivals from these territories are in sympathy with Canada’s war aims, a few were known to be Nazi supporters, it was stated. The whole situation had to be considered when framing regulations. In Britain, it is stated here, all aliens have not only to register but to report changes of address, even in time of peace.

There is no suggestion here that the regulations may be altered to omit requirement of Czecho-Slovaks to register. ‘There have been no complaints from the Czechs themselves.’

[mapsontheweb]

Nazi colonization projects in the East

"Hitler’s Empire", Mark Mazower, Penguin, 2008

 "Atlas of Russian history”, Martin Gilbert, Oxford University Press, 1993

by cartesdhistoire

October 6, 1939: Hitler formulated a project to reorganize European “ethnic relations” through expulsion operations. Poland became the test case for this scheme.

October 7, 1939: Hitler entrusted Himmler with planning and coordinating population transfers. The RKFdV (“Reichskommissariat für die Festigung deutschen Volkstums”, Reich Commission for the reinforcement of Germanity) is responsible for the geographical planning of Germanization.

January 1940:  Meyer-Heitling (RKFdV) submitted a general project for economic and human planning for the annexed territories, to Himmler: this was the first “Generalplan Ost”. The document proposed to Germanize the conquered Polish territories in 25 years, mostly through the expulsion of populations.

January 1940: Eichmann became logistics specialist in charge of the operational dimension of Germanization (coordinate the expulsion of non-Germans and the settlement of “Volksdeutsche”, ethnic Germans, in the occupied territories).

July 15, 1941: According to the second “Generalplan Ost”, 31 million men were to be transferred thoughout all of conquered eastern Europe; Himmler had asked Meyer-Heitling to take the Wehrmacht’s conquests (present or future) into account. The regions of Leningrad and the Crimea were considered “Germanizable”.

February 4, 1942: The RSHA (“Reichssicherheitshauptamt”, Reich Security Main Office) discussed the “Generalplan Ost” and the population selection criteria across eastern Europe.

April 27, 1942: The “Generalplan Ost” was debated, essentially by Wetzel (in charge of racial policy at the Ostministerium).

May 28, 1942: The RKFdV’s third “Generalplan Ost” was issued, defining three settlement zones (Ingermanland, Gottengau, Memel-Narew) and 36 colonization bases.

December 23, 1942 – February 15, 1943: The RKFdV issued its “Generalsiedlungsplan” (General Settlement Plan); the last, expanded version of the “Generalplan Ost” was also issued.

[lascldictionary]

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#CRUSADER KINGS 2 HOW TO PLAY POLAND FULL#

#CRUSADER KINGS 2 HOW TO PLAY POLAND MODS#

#CRUSADER KINGS 2 HOW TO PLAY POLAND FREE#

#CRUSADER KINGS 2 HOW TO PLAY POLAND FULL#

It's still early into the life cycle of CK3, but it's clear that the modding community is already in full flow. If you're on the fence about buying it, we found it to be a great entry point into the complex world of grand strategy games, although make sure you read our Crusader Kings 3 review, just to be sure.

#CRUSADER KINGS 2 HOW TO PLAY POLAND MOD#

At the time of writing there's several thousand mods available via Steam Workshop alone. Turns out people are not only keen to play Crusader Kings 3, they're keen to mod it to high-hell and back again as well.

#CRUSADER KINGS 2 HOW TO PLAY POLAND MODS#

In addition, while while Schlesien is not required to form Poland-Lithuania, cores on it will be gained once Poland-Lithuania is formed, regardless of whether Poland previously owned the state or not.Crusader Kings 3 mods are flying as the game nears the one year mark since release. Only Lithuania will get annexed upon forming Poland-Lithuania! Any other nations with Polish-Lithuanian cores will not transfer any territory. Lithuania's core on Memel in East Prussia is often overlooked and should not be ignored.) This can potentially help stave off further aggression, depending on how this is used. (It should be noted that the Liberate Country CB removes the loser's cores on the liberated country, and is thus preferable over a Take State CB. An easier route to obtaining all these territories is by freeing Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania and Latvia (or United Baltic Nations from Russia and fighting a separate war with Prussia for East Prussia. Taking all of these territories cannot be done in any single war unless the stars align or the war is a Great War. Compared to Poland, Poland-Lithuania has extra cores on Ostpreußen, Lietuva, Latvia, Orsha, and Minsk, as well as the final province in Rovne and five of the seven provinces in Kiev. This is not an easy, task and will probably require help from Austria, Prussia/ NGF/ Germany, or Russia - all of which can be highly situational. Poland can form Poland-Lithuania if it succeeds in obtaining or sphering all of its cores. Poland does not have a great literacy, so promotion from farmers to craftsmen might take a while - however, especially when considering the problems that bestow more backwater powers in Europe, Poland's literacy with parts of Prussia can be considered workable. Poland will also gain two oil RGOs in place of coal in the 1880s and 90s, but this is hardly compensation for their otherwise near-complete lack of raw resources, which will somewhat hamper Poland's industrial efficiency. Unfortunately, Poland has little other industrial opportunity - their only other resources are two fruit RGOs, six or seven cattle RGOs, a fish RGO, a wool RGO, and a single iron RGO in Silesia. If breaking off from Russia, Poland won't have access to nearly as much coal, so the early game might be rough. If the choice is made to form Poland by breaking off from Russia, Poland will begin with many grain-producing provinces, making liquor distilleries a strong possibility in the early game, depending on how well liquor is selling. Poland has several coal mines spread across the south which makes glass and cement obvious industries to invest in. Poland has a relatively high population which can support a fine industry. This can cause them to be quite aggressive. It is also worth considering that Prussian Polish land is needed for Prussia to form Germany and/or the North German Federation, and Prussia knows this. Austria can just remove Krakow from its sphere and attack it if releasing and playing as Poland is planned. When that happens, Poland can declare war on Kraków to conquer it. If playing as a released Poland which has managed to become a Great Power, it is worth trying to remove Kraków from Austria's (or, by the time Poland is strong enough, possibly Russia's or Prussia's) sphere of influence. Austria, with the lowest population and barely any more literacy than Russia, is probably the worst choice for Poland unless one plans to go on to form Poland-Lithuania (as they have territory on Prussia and Russia that Poland does not have, but nothing more on Austria). When released by Prussia, Poland will have better tech, and literacy but less land and a smaller population. When released by Russia, Poland will have more land and a larger population, but worse tech and literacy. Therefore, each possibility has pros and cons to consider. As with all released nations, Poland will get all cores owned by the releasing nation (with the added bonus that the releasing nation losing their cores on Poland) as well as their invented technologies. Poland can be released by either Austria, Prussia and Russia. It is much more likely to see Poland either come about via a crisis or from another nation's Casus Beli.

#CRUSADER KINGS 2 HOW TO PLAY POLAND FREE#

It is a very hard task to become a great power and even more so to free the remaining land. Krakow can only form Poland if it is both a Great Power and has control over all Polish cores.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 5.8 (before 1940)

453 BC – Spring and Autumn period: The house of Zhao defeats the house of Zhi, ending the Battle of Jinyang, a military conflict between the elite families of the State of Jin. 413 – Emperor Honorius signs an edict providing tax relief for the Italian provinces Tuscia, Campania, Picenum, Samnium, Apulia, Lucania and Calabria, which were plundered by the Visigoths. 589 – Reccared I opens the Third Council of Toledo, marking the entry of Visigothic Spain into the Catholic Church. 1360 – Treaty of Brétigny drafted between King Edward III of England and King John II of France (the Good). 1373 – Julian of Norwich, a Christian mystic and anchoress, experiences the deathbed visions described in her Revelations of Divine Love. 1429 – Joan of Arc lifts the Siege of Orléans, turning the tide of the Hundred Years' War. 1450 – Kentishmen revolt against King Henry VI. 1516 – A group of imperial guards, led by Trịnh Duy Sản, murdered Emperor Lê Tương Dực and fled, leaving the capital Thăng Long undefended. 1541 – Hernando de Soto stops near present-day Walls, Mississippi, and sees the Mississippi River (then known by the Spanish as Río de Espíritu Santo, the name given to it by Alonso Álvarez de Pineda in 1519). 1608 – A newly nationalized silver mine in Scotland at Hilderston, West Lothian is re-opened by Bevis Bulmer. 1639 – William Coddington founds Newport, Rhode Island. 1758 – The Maratha Empire captures Peshawar from the Durrani Empire in the Battle of Peshawar. The Maratha Empire was extended to its farthest distance away from Pune that it ever reached, over 2,000 km (1,200 mi), almost to the borders of Afghanistan. 1788 – King Louis XVI of France attempts to impose the reforms of Étienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne by abolishing the parlements. 1794 – Branded a traitor during the Reign of Terror, French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, who was also a tax collector with the Ferme générale, is tried, convicted and guillotined in one day in Paris. 1821 – Greek War of Independence: The Greeks defeat the Turks at the Battle of Gravia Inn. 1842 – A train derails and catches fire in Paris, killing between 52 and 200 people. 1846 – Mexican–American War: American forces led by Zachary Taylor defeat a Mexican force north of the Rio Grande in the first major battle of the war. 1877 – At Gilmore's Gardens in New York City, the first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show opens. 1886 – Pharmacist John Pemberton first sells a carbonated beverage named "Coca-Cola" as a patent medicine. 1898 – The first games of the Italian football league system are played. 1899 – The Irish Literary Theatre in Dublin produced its first play. 1902 – In Martinique, Mount Pelée erupts, destroying the town of Saint-Pierre and killing over 30,000 people. Only a handful of residents survive the blast. 1919 – Edward George Honey proposes the idea of a moment of silence to commemorate the Armistice of 11 November 1918 which ended World War I. 1921 – The creation of the Communist Party of Romania. 1924 – The Klaipėda Convention is signed formally incorporating Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory) into Lithuania. 1927 – Attempting to make the first non-stop transatlantic flight from Paris to New York, French war heroes Charles Nungesser and François Coli disappear after taking off aboard The White Bird biplane. 1933 – Mohandas Gandhi begins a 21-day fast of self-purification and launched a one-year campaign to help the Harijan movement.

[yhwhrulz]

Today's selected anniversaries: 10th January 2022

1475:

Moldavian–Ottoman Wars: Stephen the Great led Moldavian forces to defeat an Ottoman attack under Hadım Suleiman Pasha near Vaslui in what is now Romania. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vaslui

1863:

Service began on the Metropolitan Railway (construction depicted) between Paddington and Farringdon Street, today the oldest segment of the London Underground. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Railway

1923:

Lithuanian residents of the Memel Territory rebelled against the League of Nations decision to leave the area as a mandated region under French control. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaip%C4%97da_Revolt

2007:

A general strike began in Guinea as an attempt to force President Lansana Conté to resign, eventually resulting in the appointment of two new prime ministers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Guinean_general_strike

[imagelightningstrikes]

4 Mark Overprint

• American Photographer Mark Fisher •

History Of Memel

A Land Of Clans,

Fierce Soldiers And Fishermen.

A Small Region Within The Baltic States

Claimed By Germany

A Port Was Developed There

The Territory Became A Prized Place

During The 1920's

The French Supplied Postage

That Was Used

There Was No Real Government

Controlling The Area

Or Able To Perform Services.

Which The Population

Handled, When There Was Call...

This Stamp Is From That Period

German Over Postal Issue Of France

Memel Is Reference Of Running Silent,

Without Outside Intervention

Over And Out

∆

Captured With Normal

Day Time Light

Modified Surface

Giving The Presentation A Nice Look

Manipulated For The Sprocket Assembly

Using The Single Asset

To Create The Visual Result

During Post Production

In New York City 

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Removal Of The Image Or Blog May Violate U.S. Laws.

Photographer Mark Fisher™ Is 

A Well Accomplished Published Photographer 

In Beauty, Fashion, and Music Photography. 

New York City 

Based Image And Filmmaker

Has A Worldwide Following. 

Is A Member Of The Press. 

There Is Fan Page On Facebook.

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

Veteran Of The United States Army

[nebris]

The 1939 German ultimatum to Lithuania was an oral ultimatum which Joachim von Ribbentrop, Foreign Minister of Nazi Germany, presented to Juozas Urbšys, Foreign Minister of Lithuania on 20 March 1939. The Germans demanded that Lithuania give up the Klaipėda Region (also known as the Memel Territory) which had been detached from Germany after World War I, or the Wehrmacht would invade Lithuania. The Lithuanians had been expecting the demand after years of rising tension between Lithuania and Germany, increasing pro-Nazi propaganda in the region, and continued German expansion. It was issued just five days after the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia. The 1924 Klaipėda Convention had guaranteed the protection of the status quo in the region, but the four signatories to that convention did not offer any material assistance. The United Kingdom and France followed a policy of appeasement, while Italy and Japan openly supported Germany, and Lithuania was forced to accept the ultimatum on 22 March. It proved to be the last territorial acquisition for Germany before World War II, producing a major downturn in Lithuania's economy and escalating pre-war tensions for Europe as a whole. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1939_German_ultimatum_to_Lithuania