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Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence
Back from 44 - The Sacrifice and Courage of a Few. Nick Bentas,
Staff Sergeant US Army Air Force, finds himself in a severely
crippled B-26 Marauder, trying to return to base, he remembers the
different times in his life that led him up to this point. From
enlistment to basic training to saying goodbye to his new wife, he
remembers his deadly missions around France, Germany and the wider
Mediterranean. Experience how it was first hand to encounter enemy
flak and fighter attacks, while dealing with the emotional impact
of losing close friends. Back From 44 is an in-depth look into the
bravery and sacrifice of ordinary men who did extraordinary things
during WWII.
"I have decided to prepare for, and if necessary to carry out, an
invasion against England."--Adolph Hitler, July 16, 1940
Operation Sealion was the codename for the Nazi invasion of Britain
that Hitler ordered his generals to plan after France fell in June
1940. Although the plan ultimately never came to fruition, a few
sets of the Germans' detailed strategy documents are housed in the
rare book rooms of libraries across Europe. But now the Bodleian
Library has made documents from their set available for all to
peruse in this unprecedented collection of the invasion planning
materials.
The planned operation would have involved landing 160,000 German
soldiers along a forty-mile stretch of coast in southeast England.
Packets of reconnaissance materials were put together for the
invading forces, and the most intriguing parts are now reproduced
here. Each soldier was to be given maps and geographical
descriptions of the British Isles that broke down the country by
regions, aerial photographs pinpointing strategic targets, an
extensive listing of British roads and rivers, strategic plans for
launching attacks on each region, an English dictionary and phrase
book, and even a brief description of Britain's social composition.
Augmenting the fascinating documents is an informative introduction
that sets the materials in their historical and political context.
A must-have for every military history buff, "German Invasion Plans
for the British Isles, 1940" is a remarkable revelation of the
inner workings of Hitler's most famous unrealized military
campaign.
Numerous studies concerning transitional justice exist. However,
comparatively speaking, the effects actually achieved by measures
for coming to terms with dictatorships have seldom been
investigated. There is an even greater lack of transnational
analyses. This volume contributes to closing this gap in research.
To this end, it analyses processes of coming to terms with the past
in seven countries with different experiences of violence and
dictatorship. Experts have drawn up detailed studies on
transitional justice in Albania, Argentina, Ethiopia, Chile,
Rwanda, South Africa and Uruguay. Their analyses constitute the
empirical material for a comparative study of the impact of
measures introduced within the context of transitional justice. It
becomes clear that there is no sure formula for dealing with
dictatorships. Successes and deficits alike can be observed in
relation to the individual instruments of transitional justice -
from criminal prosecution to victim compensation. Nevertheless, the
South American states perform much better than those on the African
continent. This depends less on the instruments used than on
political and social factors. Consequently, strategies of
transitional justice should focus more closely on these contextual
factors.
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