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War, defined as armed conflict between nations or between opposing factions within a nation, can have grave consequences for the environment, public health, and natural resources. The impact of military tactics and weaponry extends beyond military targets to affect civilian populations and their infrastructure, air and water; armed forces directly target forests, jungles, and other ecosystems in order to deprive enemy troops of cover, shelter, and food; mass refugee movements and other disruptions caused by armed conflict can deplete nearby sources of timber and wildlife; and the general atmosphere of lawlessness that often prevails during or after conflict can make it difficult to prevent illegal logging, mining, and poaching. Even peacetime military activities and preparation for war can be extraordinarily harmful to the environment.

Although wartime environmental damage is as old as war itself, it is modern, industrial warfare that has raised the possibility of destruction on an ecosystem or global scale. From the use of poison gases in World War I and atomic bombs in World War II to the use of chemical defoliants in Vietnam and land mines in numerous internal conflicts, war now leaves a legacy that extends far beyond the battlefield and long past the duration of the original conflict. This problem has resulted in international treaties that attempt to constrain the adverse impacts of warfare on civilian populations and the environment. It also has ensured that environmental issues are closely monitored during wartime by the international community, in much the same way as humanitarian or refugee issues.

History

Wartime environmental impacts were noted as far back as the ancient world, when the Romans salted the earth around Carthage to keep the Carthaginians from replanting their fields. Medieval sieges took a heavy toll on soldiers and civilians alike. During the U.S. Civil War, General William Tecumseh

Sherman's "March to the Sea" laid waste to large areas of the South, including civilian settlements and farms. In World War I, British forces deliberately set Romanian oilfields afire; in World War II, both Germany and the Soviet Union engaged in "scorched earth" tactics; and in the Korean War, the United States intentionally bombed North Korean dams to cause floods.

Such tactics have always been controversial and led to periodic attempts to regulate them. The Old Testament (Deuteronomy 20:19-20) prohibits armies from cutting down fruit-bearing trees, and the Qur'an similarly commands against cutting trees or killing animals unless necessary for food. In 1863 the U.S. Army adopted the Lieber Code, which limited the actions of Union troops and was a precursor of modern military manuals. Since the twentieth century, international armed conflict has been governed by a series of treaties, the Geneva Conventions and the Hague Conventions , that have progressively restricted military tactics and weaponry, such as banning the targeting of civilian property or the use of poisonous gases. Occasionally, this body of law was directed toward environmental damage. For example, at the Nuremberg Trials, German General Alfred Jödl was found guilty of war crimes for his scorched earth tactics in occupied territory (although another general who used similar tactics, Lothar Rendulic, was found not guilty on the grounds that his actions were dictated by military necessity). However, the primary purpose of the international law of war remained humanitarian, aimed at eliminating inhumane weapons and reducing civilian casualties.

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was the first conflict to highlight the devastating effects of modern warfare on entire ecosystems. There, U.S. forces adopted a strategy of defoliating jungle canopy, ultimately spraying "Agent Orange" and other toxic herbicides over 10 percent of South Vietnam. In addition to destroying vegetation, the public health implications of these actions-primarily birth defects, diseases, and premature deaths-have since become apparent, both in the Vietnamese population and U.S. war veterans. In his memoir My Father, My Son, Admiral Elmo Zumwalt Sr., the commander of U.S. naval forces in Vietnam, defended his order to defoliate Vietnamese river banks as

necessary to save American sailors from ambush, even though he acknowledged that it ultimately may have caused cancer in his own son, who was serving there at the time. U.S. veterans eventually were compensated for illnesses resulting from their exposure to Agent Orange, but proposals to compensate the Vietnamese victims have remained controversial.

The defoliation campaign and other U.S. tactics in Vietnam led to an international movement for treaties that specifically protect the environment during wartime. This resulted in adoption of the Environmental Modification Convention (1976), which prohibits manipulating the environment as a weapon of war, and of Protocol Additional I to the Geneva Conventions (1977), which includes a prohibition against "widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment." However, many critics have called these treaties vague and impractical, and in fact they have yet to be applied to a specific case of wartime environmental damage. The U.S. government signed both treaties, but has never formally ratified Protocol Additional I.

Persian Gulf War

Wartime environmental damage again came to the fore during the 1990 to 1991 Persian Gulf War, in which Iraq invaded and occupied neighboring Kuwait. Driven from Kuwait by a U.S.-led military alliance, Iraqi troops deliberately ignited hundreds of Kuwaiti oil wells and diverted pipelines directly into the Persian Gulf. The resulting smoke plumes and oil slicks caused enormous harm to the Kuwaiti population and to desert and marine ecosystems and wildlife. Smoke from the oil fires was reported as far away as the Himalayas and was visible from space.

As images of the devastation circulated around the globe, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 687, which held Iraq liable for all damage, including environmental damage, resulting from the occupation and liberation of Kuwait. This unprecedented action resulted in the establishment of a special commission, the United Nations Compensation Commission, to verify damage claims and issue awards. Kuwait and other Gulf countries filed more than sixty billion dollars in environmental, natural resource, and public health claims against Iraq, which a decade later were still being resolved. The extraordinary nature of the Security Council's action led to renewed calls for an international treaty or institution to regulate the environmental impacts of armed conflict. Subsequently, prohibitions against environmental damage were included in the charter for the International Criminal Court, a new tribunal that will have global jurisdiction over war crimes.

Internal Conflicts

Although the best-known examples of wartime environmental damage occurred during international conflicts, the vast majority of recent conflicts have been civil wars or other internal strife, in places such as Angola, Cambodia, Colombia, Congo, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Liberia, Nicaragua, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and the former Yugoslavia. These conflicts often take the form of low-level guerrilla warfare that continues for years, with the same territory changing hands several times. In addition to the tragic toll on civilian

populations, such conflicts have considerable environmental impacts: Opposing armies engage in deforestation and defoliation, hunt wildlife for food, lay thousands of antipersonnel land mines, and clash over valuable natural resources (such as timber and diamonds) to finance their arms purchases.

Because sovereign nations generally control their own affairs, it has been very difficult for the international community to address internal conflicts and their human and environmental consequences. Most international treaties governing wartime environmental damage do not apply to internal conflict, and even where they do, they are difficult to apply to loosely organized guerilla forces. Armed intervention or peacekeeping missions can solve some humanitarian and environmental problems while creating others. For example, the 1999 NATO bombing of Kosovo ignited a petrochemical plant in the city of Pancevo, exposing thousands of civilians to a cloud of toxic fumes; during the Rwandan civil war, United Nations refugee camps stressed natural resources and wildlife reserves in neighboring Congo. Another attempted solution has been global consumer boycotts of tropical timber, diamonds, and other commodities that originate in war-torn countries and give rise to or finance armed conflict.

The Cold War Legacy

Military activities and preparations for war can have enormous environmental impacts even without a shot being fired. The development of the atomic bomb during the early 1940s, referred to as the Manhattan Project, not only had devastating consequences in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but also produced a long-lasting legacy of deadly radioactive pollution in the United States. In 1939 Nobel Prize physicist Niels Bohr warned that although it was possible for the United States to build an atom bomb, it could not be done without "turning the country into a gigantic factory." Following the end of the Cold War in 1991, it became apparent to what extent that factory had contaminated such diverse sites as Hanford, Washington; Oak Ridge, Tennessee; and Rocky Flats, Colorado; where the air, groundwater, surface water, soil, vegetation, and wildlife all show signs of radioactivity. The Soviet Union's nuclear program created similar problems, concentrating production in "secret cities" such as Chelyabinsk-7, which many have called the most polluted city on earth. Given the highly toxic nature and extremely long half-life of most radioactive waste, cleanup and containment of these sites will pose problems for generations.

The Cold War legacy brings into focus the "necessity" and "proportionality" calculations that underlie most reasoned decisions about environmentally damaging wartime actions: whether there are alternatives to taking a particular action, and whether the military advantage gained from taking such an action outweighs the environmental and other harm that potentially may result. Most scholars would agree that the development of the atomic bomb was justifiable as a means of defeating fascism and winning World War II; they similarly agree that Iraq's actions in retreating from Kuwait were indefensible, even on military grounds. Other cases, such as the United States' defoliation campaign in Vietnam or bombing of civilian infrastructure in Kosovo, are more controversial. In any case, the historical record, the continued development of international treaties and institutions, and the increasing awareness that environmental issues must be considered even during wartime, all should provide a basis for improved military tactics and more environmentally aware decision making in the future.

Bibliography

Austin, Jay E., and Bruch, Carl, eds. (2000). The Environmental Consequences of War: Legal, Economic, and Scientific Perspectives. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Bloom, Saul; Miller, John M.; Warner, James; and Winkler, Philippa, eds. (1994). Hidden Casualties: The Environmental, Health and Political Consequences of the Persian Gulf War. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.

Browne, Malcolm W. (1991). "War and the Environment." Audubon 93:89.

Dycus, Stephen. (1996). National Defense and the Environment. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England.

Earle, Sylvia A. (1992). "Persian Gulf Pollution: Assessing the Damage One Year Later." National Geographic 181:122.

Feshbach, Murray, and Friendly, Albert. (1992). Ecocide in the U.S.S.R.: The Looming Disaster in Soviet Health & Environment. New York: Basic Books.

Hawley, T.M. (1992). Against the Fires of Hell: The Environmental Disaster of the Gulf War. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

Lanier-Graham, Susan. (1993). The Ecology of War: Environmental Impacts of Weaponry and Warfare. New York: Walker & Co.

Levy, Barry S., and Sidel, Victor W., eds. (1997). War and Public Health. New York: Oxford University Press.

Rhodes, Richard. (1986). The Making of the Atomic Bomb. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Roberts, Guy B. (1991). "Military Victory, Ecological Defeat." In Worldwatch , July/Aug. 1991.

Webster, Donovan. (1996). Aftermath: The Landscape of War. New York: Pantheon.

Weinberg, William J. (1992). War on the Land: Ecology and Politics in Central America. London: Zed Press.

Zumwalt, Elmo Jr.; Zumwalt, Elmo III; and Pekkanen, John. (1986). My Father, My Son. New York: Macmillan.

Internet Resources

Environmental Change and Security Project. "Bibliographic Guide to the Literature." Available from http://wwics.si.edu/PROGRAMS .

Environmental Law Institute. (1998). "Addressing Environmental Consequences of War: Background Paper for the First International Conference on Addressing Environmental Consequences of War: Legal, Economic, and Scientific Perspectives." Washington, D.C.: Environmental Law Institute. Available from http://www.eli.org/pdf .

Environmental Law Institute. (1998). "Annotated Bibliography: First International Conference on Addressing Environmental Consequences of War: Legal, Economic, and Scientific Perspectives." Washington, D.C.: Environmental Law Institute. Available from http://www.eli.org/pdf .

Hoffman, Leslie. "Saving the Ghost Ship." Albuquerque Tribune , July 31, 1998. Available from http://www.abqtrib.com/arc1 .

United Nations Environment Programme. (1999). "The Kosovo Conflict: Consequences for the Environment & Human Settlements." Geneva: United Nations Environment Programme. Available from http://www.grid.unep.ch/btf .

The pollution associated with military preparedness is substantial, ranging from the effects of housing, feeding, supplying, and moving large bodies of people, to the impacts of weapons practice and war games. The closure, under protest, of the U.S. Navy's live-fire bombing and artillery ranges on Vieques Island off the coast of Puerto Rico will require the cleanup of nearly sixty years of accumulation of bomb fragments, unexploded ordinance, waste munitions, and landfills. The Navy is conducting an environmental investigation under a consent order signed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, or Superfund, requires the military to clean up hazardous waste on its bases. In particular, this is required at bases being closed. The scope and cost of these cleanups are staggering, even for the Department of Defense. A RAND research study of the closure of six California bases recommended setting interim cleanup goals, concluding that "cleanup too long delayed-in the interest of fulfilling a total cleanup program-is cleanup never realized."

Ever since the U.S.S. Arizona sank in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, a slow trickle of fuel oil has seeped toward the surface, casting a rainbow sheen on the now-still waters. The Arizona had 1.5 million gallons of oil in its tanks when it was attacked, and it is unknown how much remains. Although the current 2.5-gallon-per-day leak does not present much of an environmental hazard, the caretakers of what is now the Pearl Harbor National Monument have made plans to minimize impacts if the Arizona's hull collapses and releases the remainder into the harbor's fragile marine ecosystem.

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War, defined as armed conflict between nations or between opposing factions within a nation, can have grave consequences for the environment, public health, and natural resources.

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Over the past few years, there has been a lot of debate over the unintended consequences of military invasions. A recent study demonstrated how an occupying army might even affect a region's natural environment.

Transcript

An unintentional Allied offensive. I'm Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update.

Since the sixteenth century, the Italian forest estate of Castelporziano has been a walled oasis. But recently, its famous stone pine trees have been dying off.

Italian scientists asked forest pathologist Matteo Garbelotto of the University of California at Berkeley, to help figure out why. They were surprised to find that the culprit is a fungus from the eastern United States.

Garbelotto:
Because how can we explain the presence of an organism from the eastern United States in an estate that's been sealed off to the rest of the world since 1562? It just doesn't make any sense.

By combining historical and genetic research, they traced the infection to a brief encampment by American troops during World War II. Garbelotto says the fungus probably hitched a ride on infected supply crates.

He says this shows that any military invasion may spread diseases that could threaten local food crops and natural resources.

Garbelotto:
And when we talked to the military, we found out that there are prescriptions for cleaning up tools and troops when they go back into the United States, but there's none when the troops go into areas that they're invading.

He says a change in policy could help protect other nations' from unintended invaders. I'm Bob Hirshon for AAAS, the Science Society.

Making Sense of the Research

For nearly five hundred years, very few people set have foot in Castelporziano-except for a few Popes, wealthy hunters, and their guests. During that time, the natural ecology of Italy was forever changed by people who built houses, cleared forests, and planted non-native trees and crops. But inside the walls of Castelporziano, time stood still. If you want to look at the original landscape of the Mediterranean coast, Castelporziano is the place to do it. However, only a handful of people have ever been given that privilege.

In times of war, however, priorities change. And so for a very short time in 1944, this exclusive estate was lent to American forces for use as a temporary camp. Its walls protected the soldiers as they regrouped and planned for the next battle. Once the soldiers left, their presence there was all but forgotten.

Flash-forward to the present. For the past fifteen years, the estate's stone pines have been dying off in record numbers. When Garbelotto and his colleagues examined the trees, they couldn't believe what they found. The fungus they identified was common enough, but its genetic profile matched strains that are found only on the American East Coast, not Europe. How did the fungus get there?

Garbelotto knew that the fungus is a common problem in the lumber industry. And he discovered that untreated lumber was sometimes used in military supply crates. He believes that the fungus spread to just a few trees in Castelporziano at first, but over the next few decades, the fungus spread from one tree to the next through root-to-root contact and airborne spores. As a result, the disease radiated outward from the initial point of infection like ripples in a pond. This view is supported by the fact that although they are all descended from a North American strain, the fungus samples found on the estate today are somewhat different from each other genetically. This could only happen if the fungus had been mutating and reproducing over many years.

What can be done about this? Unfortunately, the answer isn't clear. By the time the disease can be seen, it's already too late, since the disease rots the tree from the inside out. The big concern now is that the airborne spores might spread beyond the walls of the estate, and threaten the entire Mediterranean coast's stone pine population.

Obviously, when you think of the possible consequences of war, the first thing that comes to your mind isn't the spread of plant diseases. But that's precisely why situations like these can happen. In this case, the occupying army was actually fighting on the same side as its host country, and still introduced a threat to its native plant life that may persist for centuries to come.

But it could have been worse. Imagine what would happen if an army accidentally introduced a disease that killed off an important food crop in a poor country. Or a crop that was essential to that country's economy, like coffee plants or rubber trees. In fact, many scientists believe that occupying armies have been doing just that for generations. This case is the first hard evidence that their suspicions may be correct.

Now try and answer these questions:

1. How did the tree fungus get from North America to Castelporziano?

2. Why did it take so long for the disease to spread? What evidence supports the belief that the disease started many decades ago?

3. Why is it important to control the spread of plant diseases during military operations?

4. What are some possible consequences of spreading plant diseases to remote parts of the world?

5. Do you think military operations have also helped spread human diseases around the world? Why or why not?

Send us feedback about this Science Update >

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Over the past few years, there has been a lot of debate over the unintended consequences of military invasions. A recent study demonstrated how an occupying army might even affect a region's natural environment. An unintentional Allied offensive. I'm Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update.

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At the beginning of World War II, a government pamphlet led to a massive cull of British pets. As many as 750,000 British pets were killed in just one week. This little-discussed moment of panic is explored in a new book.

The cull came as the result of a public information campaign that caused an extraordinary reaction among anxious Britons.

In the summer of 1939, just before the outbreak of war, the National Air Raid Precautions Animals Committee (NARPAC) was formed. It drafted a notice - Advice to Animal Owners.

The pamphlet said: "If at all possible, send or take your household animals into the country in advance of an emergency." It concluded: "If you cannot place them in the care of neighbours, it really is kindest to have them destroyed."

The advice was printed in almost every newspaper and announced on the BBC. It was "a national tragedy in the making", says Clare Campbell, author of new book Bonzo's War: Animals Under Fire 1939 -1945.

Campbell recalls a story about her uncle. "Shortly after the invasion of Poland, it was announced on the radio that there might be a shortage of food. My uncle announced that the family pet Paddy would have to be destroyed the next day."

After war was declared on 3 September 1939, pet owners thronged to vets' surgeries and animal homes.

"Animal charities, the PDSA, the RSPCA and vets were all opposed to the killing of pets and very concerned about people just dumping animals on their doorsteps at the start of the war," says historian Hilda Kean.

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home opened its doors in 1860 and survived both wars. "Many people contacted us after the outbreak of war to ask us to euthanise their pets - either because they were going off to war, they were bombed, or they could no longer afford to keep them during rationing," a spokesman says.

"Battersea actually advised against taking such drastic measures and our then manager Edward Healey-Tutt wrote to people asking them not to be too hasty."

But Campbell cites an Arthur Moss of the RSPCA who, "gloomily pronounced that the primary task for them all would be the destruction of animals".

In the first few days of war, PDSA hospitals and dispensaries were overwhelmed by owners bringing their pets for destruction. PDSA founder Maria Dickin reported: "Our technical officers called upon to perform this unhappy duty will never forget the tragedy of those days."

In Memoriam notices started to appear in the press. "Happy memories of Iola, sweet faithful friend, given sleep September 4th 1939, to be saved suffering during the war. A short but happy life - 2 years, 12 weeks. Forgive us little pal," said one in Tail-Wagger Magazine.

The first bombing of London in September 1940 prompted more pet owners to rush to have their pets destroyed.

Many people panicked, but others tried to restore calm. "Putting your pets to sleep is a very tragic decision. Do not take it before it is absolutely necessary," urged Susan Day in the Daily Mirror.

But the government pamphlet had sowed a powerful seed.

"People were basically told to kill their pets and they did. They killed 750,000 of them in the space of a week - it was a real tragedy, a complete disaster," says Christy Campbell, who helped write Bonzo's War.

Historian Hilda Kean says that it was just another way of signifying that war had begun. "It was one of things people had to do when the news came - evacuate the children, put up the blackout curtains, kill the cat."

It was the lack of food, not bombs, that posed the biggest threat to wartime pets. There was no food ration for cats and dogs.

But many owners were able to make do. Pauline Caton was just five years old at the time and lived in Dagenham. She remembers "queuing up with the family at Blacks Market in Barking to buy horsemeat to feed the family cat".

And even though there were just four staff at Battersea, the home managed to feed and care for 145,000 dogs during the course of the war.

In the middle of the pet-culling mayhem, some people tried desperately to intervene. The Duchess of Hamilton - both wealthy and a cat lover - rushed from Scotland to London with her own statement to be broadcast on the BBC. "Homes in the country urgently required for those dogs and cats which must otherwise be left behind to starve to death or be shot."

"Being a duchess she had a bit of money and established an animal sanctuary," says historian Kean. The "sanctuary" was a heated aerodrome in Ferne. The duchess sent her staff out to rescue pets from the East End of London. Hundreds and hundreds of animals were taken back initially to her home in St John's Wood. She apologised to the neighbours who complained about the barking.

But at a time of such uncertainty, many pet owners were swayed by the worst-case scenario.

"People were worried about the threat of bombing and food shortages, and felt it inappropriate to have the 'luxury' of a pet during wartime," explains Pip Dodd, senior curator at the National Army Museum.

"The Royal Army Veterinary Corps and the RSPCA tried to stop this, particularly as dogs were needed for the war effort."

Ultimately, given the unimaginable human suffering that followed over the six years of the war, it is perhaps understandable that the extraordinary cull of pets is not better known.

But the episode brought another sadness to people panicked and fearful at the start of hostilities.

The story is not more widely known because it was a difficult story to tell, says Kean.

"It isn't well known that so many pets were killed because it isn't a nice story, it doesn't fit with this notion of us as a nation of animal lovers. People don't like to remember that at the first sign of war we went out to kill the pussycat," she says.

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Bonzo's War: Animals Under Fire 1939 -1945 is written by Clare Campbell with Christy Campbell.

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The little-told story of the massive WWII pet cull

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At the beginning of World War II, a government pamphlet led to a massive cull of British pets. As many as 750,000 British pets were killed in just one week. This little-discussed moment of panic is explored in a new book.

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On September 1st, 1939, Hitler's armies invaded Poland. Six years of war would follow with the full participation of the Hitler Youth eventually down to the youngest child.

At the onset of war, the Hitler Youth totaled 8.8 million. But the war brought immediate, drastic changes as over a million Hitler Youth leaders of draft age and regional adult leaders were immediately called up into the army.

This resulted in a severe shortage of local and district leaders. The problem was resolved by lowering the age of local Hitler Youth leaders to 16 and 17. The average age had been 24. These 16 and 17-year-olds would now be responsible for as many as 500 or more boys. Another big change was the elimination of the strict division between the Jungvolk (boys 10 to 14) and the actual HJ (Hitler Youth 14 to 18).

The HJ organization had sprawled into a giant bureaucracy with 14 different regional offices. It was now cut back to just six main offices. Hitler Youth Leader Baldur von Schirach, not wanting to be left out of the war, received Hitler's permission to volunteer for the army. He underwent training and received a rapid rise through the ranks, becoming a lieutenant in just a few months. He was replaced by Artur Axmann, who had headed the HJ Social Affairs Department and had been involved with the organization since the late 1920s.

Inside a sewing room of the BDM in 1942 as Hitler Youth uniforms are brought in to be mended. On the wall hangs a portrait of Hitler saying: "We follow Thee." Below: HJ- Schnellkommandos (Emergency Squads) help put out fires after an Allied air raid on Düsseldorf.

Below: Young replacements huddle in a foxhole on the Russian Front in early 1942--now out of the Hitler Youth and in the German Army--and soon to face the ferocious Red Army.

The war returned a sense of urgency to the daily activities of the Hitler Youth. The organization had experienced a bit of a slump after 1936 when participation had become mandatory. For many young Germans, weekly HJ meetings and required activities had simply become a dreary routine. The original mission of the HJ had been to bring Hitler to power. Victory in the war became the new mission and HJ boys enthusiastically sprang into action, serving as special postmen delivering draft notices in their neighborhoods along with the new monthly ration cards. They also went door to door collecting scrap metals and other needed war materials.
BDM - Girls
Girls also enthusiastically participated, although they were assigned limited duties in keeping with the Nazi viewpoint on the role of females. An old German slogan, popular even during the Nazi era, summed it up - Kinder, Kirche, Küche (Children, Church, Kitchen). The primary role of young females in Nazi Germany was to give birth to healthy, racially pure (according to Nazi standards) boys. All women's organizations were thus regarded as auxiliaries ranking below their male counterparts.

BDM girls were assigned to help care for wounded soldiers in hospitals, to help in kindergartens, and to assist households with large families. They also stood on railway platforms, offering encouragement and refreshments to army troops departing for the front.

Following the rapid German victory over Poland, girls from the Land Service were assigned to the acquired territory in northern Poland (Warthegau) to assist in the massive Nazi repopulation program in which native Poles were forced off their homes and farms by Himmler's SS troops to make way for ethnic Germans. Hitler Youths also assisted in this operation by watching over Polish families as they were evicted from their homes, making sure they took only a few basic possessions. Everything else of value was to be left behind for the Germans.

Hitler considered the war in the East to be a "war of annihilation" in which those considered racially inferior, the Slavs and Jews, would be forcibly resettled or destroyed. Masses of unwanted humanity were thus forced into the southeastern portion of Poland where ghettos sprang up along with slave labor camps and eventually the extermination camps.

Following the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, ethnic Germans began arriving into the Warthegau from areas of Russia and Eastern Europe. Hitler Youths were utilized to help resettle and Nazify the new arrivals, many of whom did not even speak German. Children of the arrivals were also subject to mandatory participation in the HJ.
Flak Gun Crews
In August 1940, British air raids began against Berlin in retaliation for the German bombing of London. Hitler Youth boys had already been functioning as air raid wardens and anti-aircraft (flak) gun assistants in Berlin and other cities since the outbreak of war, and now saw their first action.

The first thousand-bomber raid occurred in May 1942 against Cologne. In that same month, newly created Wehrertüchtigungslager or WELS (Defense Strengthening Camps) went into operation in Germany providing three weeks of mandatory war training for all boys aged 16 to 18 under the supervision of the Wehrmacht. They learned how to handle German infantry weapons including various pistols, machine-guns, hand grenades and Panzerfausts (German bazookas).

By the beginning of 1943, Hitler's armies were stretched to the limit, battling the combined forces of Soviet Russia, United States, Britain and other Allies. By this time, most able-bodied German men were in the armed services. As a result, starting on January 26, 1943, anti-aircraft batteries were officially manned solely by Hitler Youth boys.

At first they were stationed at flak guns near their homes, but as the overall situation deteriorated, they were transferred all over Germany. The younger boys were assigned to operate search lights and assist with communications, often riding their bicycles as dispatch riders. In October 1943, a search light battery received a direct bomb hit, killing the entire crew of boys, all aged 14 and under.

Following each bombing raid, Hitler Youths assisted in neighborhood cleanup and helped relocate bombed out civilians. They knocked on doors looking for unused rooms in undamaged houses or apartments. Occupants refusing to let in the new 'tenants' were reported to the local police and could likely expect a visit from Gestapo.
KLV Camps
America's entry into the war in December of 1941 had resulted in a massive influx of air power into England. As the Allies stepped up their bombing campaign, the Nazis began evacuating children from threatened cities into Hitler Youth KLV ( Kinderlandverschickung) camps located mainly in the rural regions of East Prussia, the Warthegau section of occupied Poland, Upper Silesia, and Slovakia.

From 1940 to 1945, about 2.8 million German children were sent to these camps. There were separate KLV camps for boys and girls. Some 5,000 camps were eventually in operation, varying greatly in sizes from the smallest which had 18 children to the largest which held 1,200. Each camp was run by a Nazi approved teacher and a Hitler Youth squad leader. The camps replaced big city grammar schools, most of which were closed due to the bombing. Reluctant parents were forced to send their children away to the camps.

Life inside the boys' camp was harsh, featuring a dreary routine of roll calls, paramilitary field exercises, hikes, marches, recitation of Nazi slogans and propaganda, along with endless singing of Hitler Youth songs and Nazi anthems. School work was neglected while supreme emphasis was placed on the boys learning to automatically snap-to attention at any time of the day or night and to obey all orders unconditionally "without any if or buts."

Isolated in these camps and without any counter-balancing influences from a normal home life, the boys descended into a primitive, survival of the fittest mentality. Weakness was despised. Civilized notions of generosity and sympathy for those in need faded. Rigid pecking orders arose in which the youngest and most vulnerable boys were bullied, humiliated, and otherwise made to suffer, including repeated sexual abuse.
Total War - The 12th SS-Panzer Division Hitlerjugend
1943 marked the military turning point for Hitler's Reich. In January, the German Sixth Army was destroyed by the Russians at Stalingrad. In May, the last German strongholds in North Africa fell to the Allies. In July, the massive German counter-attack against the Russians at Kursk failed. The Allies invaded Italy. An Allied invasion of northern Europe was anticipated.

The war could only end with the "unconditional surrender" of Germany and its Axis partners, as stated by President Franklin Roosevelt at the Casablanca Conference in January 1943. In February, Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels retaliated by issuing a German declaration of "Total War."

Amid a dwindling supply of manpower, the existence of an entire generation of ideologically pure boys, raised as Nazis, eager to fight for the Fatherland and even die for the Führer, could not be ignored. The result was the formation of the 12th SS-Panzer Division Hitlerjugend.

A recruitment drive began, drawing principally on 17-year-old volunteers, but younger members 16 and under eagerly joined. During July and August 1943, some 10,000 recruits arrived at the training camp in Beverloo, Belgium.

To fill out the HJ Division with enough experienced soldiers and officers, Waffen-SS survivors from the Russian Front, including members of the elite Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler, were brought in. Fifty officers from the Wehrmacht, who were former Hitler Youth leaders, were also reassigned to the division. The remaining shortage of squad and section leaders was filled with Hitler Youth members who had demonstrated leadership aptitude during HJ paramilitary training exercises. The division was placed under of the command of 34-year-old Major General Fritz Witt, who had also been a Hitler Youth, dating back before 1933.

Among his young troops, morale was high. Traditional, stiff German codes of conduct between officers and soldiers were replaced by more informal relationships in which young soldiers were often given the reasons behind orders. Unnecessary drills, such as goose-step marching were eliminated. Lessons learned on the Russian Front were applied during training to emphasize realistic battlefield conditions, including the use of live ammunition.

Northern Belgium early 1944--Members of the SS-Division Hitlerjugend stand in front of their Panzer IV tanks ready for the arrival of Field Marshal Rundstedt. Below: A young machine-gunner totes an MG-42 at Caen in northern France shortly after D-Day.

By the spring of 1944, training was complete. The HJ Panzer Division, now fully trained and equipped, conducted divisional maneuvers observed by General Heinz Guderian and Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, both of whom admired the enthusiasm and expressed their high approval of the proficiency achieved by the young troops in such a short time. The division was then transferred to Hasselt, Belgium, in anticipation of D-Day, the Allied invasion of northern France. A few days before the invasion, SS-Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler visited the division.

On D-Day, June 6th, 1944, the HJ Division was one of three Panzer divisions held in reserve by Hitler as the Allies stormed the beaches at Normandy beginning at dawn. At 2:30 in the afternoon, the HJ Division was released and sent to Caen, located not far inland from Sword and Juno beaches on which British and Canadian troops had landed. The division soon came under heavy strafing attacks from Allied fighter bombers, which delayed arrival there until 10 p.m.

The HJ were off to face an enemy that now had overwhelming air superiority and would soon have nearly unlimited artillery support. The Allies, for their part, were about to have their first encounter with Hitler's fanatical boy-soldiers.

The shocking fanaticism and reckless bravery of the Hitler Youth in battle astounded the British and Canadians who fought them. They sprang like wolves against tanks. If they were encircled or outnumbered, they fought-on until there were no survivors. Young boys, years away from their first shave, had to be shot dead by Allied soldiers, old enough, in some cases, to be their fathers. The "fearless, cruel, domineering" youth Hitler had wanted had now come of age and arrived on the battlefield with utter contempt for danger and little regard for their own lives. This soon resulted in the near destruction of the entire division.

By the end of its first month in battle, 60 percent of the HJ Division was knocked out of action, with 20 percent killed and the rest wounded and missing. Divisional Commander Witt was killed by a direct hit on his headquarters from a British warship. Command then passed to Kurt Meyer, nicknamed 'Panzermeyer,' who at age 33, became the youngest divisional commander in the entire German armed forces.

After Caen fell to the British, the HJ Division was withdrawn from the Normandy Front. The once confident fresh-faced Nazi youths were now exhausted and filthy, a sight which "presented a picture of deep human misery" as described by Meyer.

In August, the Germans mounted a big counter-offensive toward Avranches, but were pushed back from the north by the British and Canadians, and by the Americans from the west, into the area around Falaise. Twenty four German divisions were trapped inside the Falaise Pocket with a narrow 20 mile gap existing as the sole avenue of escape. The HJ Division was sent to keep the northern edge of this gap open.

However, Allied air superiority and massive artillery barrages smashed the HJ as well as the Germans trapped inside the pocket. Over 5,000 armored vehicles were destroyed, with 50,000 Germans captured, while 20,000 managed to escape, including the tattered remnants of the HJ.

By September 1944, the 12th SS-Panzer Division Hitlerjugend numbered only 600 surviving young soldiers, with no tanks and no ammunition. Over 9,000 had been lost in Normandy and Falaise. The division continued to exist in name only for the duration of the war, as even younger (and still eager) volunteers were brought in along with a hodgepodge of conscripts. The division participated in the failed Battle of the Bulge (Ardennes Offensive) and was then sent to Hungary where it participated in the failed attempt to recapture Budapest. On May 8, 1945, numbering just 455 soldiers and one tank, the 12th SS-Panzer Division Hitlerjugend surrendered to the American 7th Army.
Volkssturm - The Final Defense

On the German home front, HJ boys clean up the rubble after yet another air raid. Below: Decorated HJ flak helpers are seen during a war rally held amid Germany's declining fortunes.

Below: The last reserves--ever younger--learn how to fire anti-tank Panzerfausts to stop the Russians.

Below: Near the end--April 20th, 1945--the Führer with Hitler Youths outside his Berlin bunker.

Hitler's own generals tried to assassinate him on July 20, 1944, to end Nazi Germany's all-out commitment to a war that was now clearly lost. But the assassination attempt failed. Hitler took revenge by purging the General Staff of anyone deemed suspicious or exhibiting defeatist behavior. Nearly 200 officers and others were killed, in some cases, slowly hanged from meat hooks.

Germany under Hitler would now fight-on to the very last, utilizing every available human and material resource. In September, Hitler Youth Leader Artur Axmann proclaimed: "As the sixth year of war begins, Adolf Hitler's youth stands prepared to fight resolutely and with dedication for the freedom of their lives and their future. We say to them: You must decide whether you want to be the last of an unworthy race despised by future generations, or whether you want to be part of a new time, marvelous beyond all imagination."

With the Waffen-SS and regular army now depleted of men, Hitler ordered Hitler Youth boys as young as fifteen to be trained as replacements and sent to the Russian Front. Everyone, both young and old, would be thrown into the final fight to stop the onslaught of "Bolshevik hordes" from the East and "Anglo-American gangsters" from the West.

On September 25, 1944, anticipating the invasion of the German Fatherland, the Volkssturm (People's Army) was formed under the overall command of Heinrich Himmler. Every available male aged 16 to 60 was conscripted into this new army and trained to use the Panzerfaust anti-tank weapon. Objections to using even younger boys were ignored.

In the Ruhr area of Germany, HJ boys practiced guerilla warfare against invading U.S. troops. In the forests, the boys stayed hidden until the tanks had passed, waiting for the foot soldiers. They would then spring up, shoot at them and throw grenades, inflicting heavy causalities, then dash away and disappear back into the forest. The Americans retaliated with furious air-attacks and leveled several villages in the surrounding area.

If the boys happened to get cornered by American patrols, they often battled until the last boy was killed rather than surrender. And the boys kept getting younger. American troops reported capturing armed 8-year-olds at Aachen in Western Germany and knocking out artillery units operated entirely by boys aged twelve and under. Girls were also used now, operating the 88mm anti-aircraft guns alongside the boys.

In February 1945, project Werewolf began, training German children as spies and saboteurs, intending to send them behind Allied lines with explosives and arsenic. But the project came to nothing as most of these would-be saboteurs were quickly captured or killed by the Allies as they advanced into the Reich.

The Russians by now were roaring toward Berlin, capitol of Nazi Germany, where Hitler had chosen to make his last stand. On April 23rd, battalions made up entirely of Hitler Youths were formed to hold the Pichelsdorf bridges by the Havel River. These bridges in Berlin were supposed to be used by General Wenck's relief army coming from the south. That army, unknown to the boys, had already been destroyed and now existed on paper only. It was one of several phantom armies being commanded by Hitler to save encircled Berlin.

At the Pichelsdorf bridges, 5,000 boys, wearing man-sized uniforms several sizes too big and helmets that flopped around on their heads, stood by with rifles and Panzerfausts, ready to oppose the Russian Army. Within five days of battle, 4,500 had been killed or wounded. In other parts of Berlin, HJ boys met similar fates. Many committed suicide rather than be taken alive by the Russians.

All over the city, every able-bodied male was pressed into the desperate final struggle. Anyone fleeing or refusing to go to the front lines was shot or hanged on the spot by SS executioners roaming the streets hunting for deserters.

In his last public appearance, just ten days before his death, Adolf Hitler ventured out of his Berlin bunker on his 56th birthday into the Chancellery garden to decorate twelve-year-old Hitler Youths with Iron Crosses for their heroism in the defense of Berlin. The extraordinary event was captured on film and remains one of the most enduring images chronicling the collapse of Hitler's thousand-year Reich, as the tottering, senile-looking Führer is seen congratulating little boys staring at him with worshipful admiration. They were then sent back out into the streets to continue the hopeless fight.

On April 30, 1945, as the Russians advanced to within a few hundred yards of his bunker, Hitler committed suicide. The next day, Hitler Youth Leader Artur Axmann, who had been commanding an HJ battalion in Berlin, abandoned his boys and fled to the Alps. In Vienna, Baldur von Schirach abandoned HJ units fighting to defend that city.

The war ended with Germany's unconditional surrender on May 7, 1945. However, it was soon realized that this defeat was unlike any other in history. In addition to his war of military conquest, Hitler had also waged a war against defenseless civilians. The events of that war, revealed in the coming months during the Nuremberg trials, would stun the world, and even resulted in a new term to describe the systematic killing of an entire race of people - genocide.

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The History Place - Hitler Youth: Hitler's Boy Soldiers 1939-1945

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On September 1st, 1939, Hitler's armies invaded Poland. Six years of war would follow with the full participation of the Hitler Youth eventually down to the youngest child. At the onset of war, the Hitler Youth totaled 8.8 million.

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The Boy Scouts' motto was "Be Prepared." But nothing could prepare Max Ebel, a German teenager, for what happened after Hitler banned the Boy Scouts. As other boys cheered, the 17-year-old was surrounded by a gang of Nazi Youth-one of whom had a knife. Ebel's refusal to leave scouting behind had just turned into a fight for his life.

From Boy Scouts to Hitler Youth

It was 1937, and the Boy Scouts were one of many youth organizations on the Nazis' verboten list. Now, every non-Jewish boy in Germany was required to be part of the Hitler Youth, the Nazis' youth arm, instead. Ebel, a pacifist who distrusted the Nazis, refused-and paid the price.

The Boy Scout was harassed and then attacked by a group of Nazi Youth. In an attempt to force him to join, one of the members stabbed him in the hand. Ebel fought back, grabbed the knife, and cut the other boy's face. Later, realizing his life was in danger, he escaped Germany and eventually became a U.S. citizen.

Ebel was just one of millions of young Germans whose lives were changed by the Hitler Youth-a group designed to indoctrinate kids into Hitler's ideology, then send them off to war.

By the time Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, hundreds of thousands of kids were members of youth organizations like the Boy Scouts, which was invented in England in 1909 and quickly spread to Germany. But there was also another powerful youth movement afoot-one invented by the Nazis. Since 1922, the National Socialists had had a youth arm designed to train and recruit members for its paramilitary. As the Nazis became more powerful, their youth arm grew.

The Nazis' Youth Movement Surges

In January 1933, there were 50,000 members of the Hitler Youth. By the end of the year, there were more than 2 million. And as the 1930s progressed, the Nazis waged war on the groups so popular among German youth. First, they banned children's groups associated with political movements like Communism. And in 1936, they banned all youth groups-including the Boy Scouts-and forced members to become part of the Hitler Youth instead. Jewish children were banned from participation.

Banning scouting sent a message-obey, or be punished. It had a practical effect, too: Since other scouting organizations were banned, the only way for kids to get scouting experience was to join the Hitler Youth. As Germany hurtled toward war, children who refused to join were alienated, then punished. By 1939, over 90 percent of German children were part of the Hitler Youth organization.

For the Nazis, the group had other benefits. Not only did it allow the Third Reich to indoctrinate children at their most impressionable, but it let the Nazis remove them from the influence of their parents, some of whom opposed the regime. The Nazi Party knew that families-private, cohesive groups not usually under political sway-were an obstacle to their goals. The Hitler Youth was a way to get Hitler's ideology into the family unit, and some members of the Hitler Youth even denounced their parents when they behaved in ways not approved of by the Reich.

Hitler's Youth Co-opted Boy Scouts Traditions

Though the Boy Scouts were banned, the Nazis co-opted many of its activities and traditions. Hitler Youth took part in typical scouting-type activities like camping trips, singing, crafts and hiking. They went to summer camps, wore uniforms, recited pledges and told stories over campfires.

But over time, the activities changed. Though girls' groups focused on things like rhythmic gymnastics and winter coat drives, the boys' groups became more like a mini military than a Boy Scout den. They imposed military-like order on members and trained young men in everything from weapons to survival. And all groups included hefty doses of propaganda that encouraged an almost religious devotion to the Führer.

Alfons Heck's experience was typical. As he told the Boston Globe in the 1980s, he couldn't wait to become a full-fledged Hitler Youth member and relished marching, singing and attending rallies. "I belonged to Adolf Hitler, body and soul," he recalled. It took him years to step away from that indoctrination after the end of World War II.

Some boys refused to join the Hitler Youth and took their youth groups underground. One such group, the Edelweiss Pirates, even attacked Hitler Youth members and worked to sabotage their activities. About 5,000 Edelweiss Pirates are thought to have defied the Nazis, scribbled anti-war graffiti on walls, and participated in various types of violent and nonviolent resistance. In 1944, six were hanged in Cologne without a trial due to their suspected involvement in the black market. Scouts in occupied countries resisted, too: In France, for example, Boy Scouts rescued 40 Jewish children from deportation, and in Auschwitz, a group of Polish boy scouts resisted and even escaped the Nazis.

The Hitler Youth Become Soldiers

As the war ground on, it became clear that the Hitler Youth's real goal was to create more soldiers for the Reich. Children who had been saturated in Nazi ideology for years made obedient, fanatical soldiers. Eventually, those soldiers became younger and younger. Starting in 1943, all boys 17 and older were forced to serve in the military.

In 1945, the desperate Nazi leadership began pulling younger boys out of school and sending them to the front. These inexperienced children were essentially conscripted for suicide missions-and if they balked, they were executed. Those who survived faced harsh treatment at the hands of the Allies who captured them.

After the war, the Hitler Youth was disbanded. Today, the group is considered one of the most chilling facets of the Nazi regime-proof that a totalitarian state can use children to feed its armies and further its hateful ideologies.

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How the Hitler Youth Turned a Generation of Kids Into Nazis | HISTORY

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Hitler's war against Boy Scouts fueled the Third Reich's ideology-and its military might.

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Throughout history, dogs have accompanied man at work and play. Even in the midst of men's wars, dogs have been found serving in functions ranging from mascots to weapons of war. Therefore, it was not without precedence that in 1942, following the attack on Pearl Harbor and the entrance of the United States into World War II, a small group of civilian dog enthusiasts approached the Army about creating a program that would utilize the special traits and skills of "man's best friend" in order to further the war effort.

When the Japanese attacked on 7 December 1941, the U.S. Army possessed only a small number of sled dogs for use in arctic regions. Drawing on the lessons of the past, a group of civilians came together in the belief that dogs could serve the Army in a variety of other functions. These dog fanciers formed a coalition called Dogs for Defense, Inc. (DFD). This organization encouraged dog owners across the country to donate their dogs for training as sentry dogs that would be used to patrol borders, beaches, and industrial facilities in order to prevent sabotage. With the endorsement of the American Kennel Club, DFD quickly began procuring dogs for experiments in training the animals for guard duty under the nominal oversight of the Plant Protection Branch of the Office of the Quartermaster General. In short order, some 100 dogs were procured by DFD and an ad hoc training program was initiated.

At first, the volunteer organization was responsible not only for procuring the dogs, but also for their housing and training. However, it soon became apparent that the varying levels of experience among the volunteer civilian trainers and the inconsistent courses of training in different locations led to dogs that were often incapable of performing the duties expected of them. At the same time, the military began to show interest in a variety of different roles for dogs, both on the home front and in combat theaters. As a result, on 16 July 1942, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson issued a directive that assigned responsibility for procuring and training dogs to the Remount Branch of the Quartermaster Corps (QMC) and expanded their mandate to include the training of dogs for both sentry duty and possible tactical missions as well.

At the outset of the program, DFD and the Remount Branch accepted many different breeds of dogs as long as the dogs were healthy and showed the proper disposition. It was soon discovered, however, that certain breeds were superior to others in performing the types of duties the Army desired, and by 1944, the list of acceptable breeds had shrunk to just seven: German shepherd, Doberman pinscher, Belgian sheepdog, collie, Siberian husky, malamute, and Eskimo dog. These dogs all proved to be hearty in various conditions, eager to work, and capable of the tasks assigned them by the Army.

After narrowing the field of acceptable breeds and consolidating control of the program under the Remount Branch, the stage was set for an expansion and formalization of dog training in the Army. The expertise necessary was put down on paper by one of the organizers of DFD, Mrs. Alene Stern Erlanger, who wrote TM-10-396-WAR DOGS, the Army's first formal training manual on the subject of dogs in warfare. In addition, by the end of 1942, the QMC opened four dog training facilities at Front Royal, Virginia; Fort Robinson, Nebraska; Camp Rimini, Montana; and San Carlos, California. At these facilities, the Army began an ambitious program to train dogs for duties on the front lines and at home.

The training of the dogs was certainly important in a successful war dog program, but just as important was the training of each animal's human handler. It was quickly learned that the dogs worked best if they were trained with their handler and assigned to duty as a pair. This allowed for continuity and the formation of a bond between handler and dog, which would be important once they were in the field. Handlers were taught to care for their dogs' diet, exercise, ongoing training, and housing. Only handlers were allowed to feed their own dogs, and petting and playing were also limited so that dogs soon considered all but their handler to be a threat. This made the dogs extremely effective at detecting and alerting to unauthorized presences. This sort of training did not always stick with the dog, however, and some became detrained by too much interaction with people on beaches or in other public places.

The first of the Army's canine members were trained for sentry duty. This was deemed the most pressing need since German and Japanese submarine activity off both coasts raised concerns about the potential landing of saboteurs who might be able to gain access to military facilities and important war industries. In response to this threat, dogs were trained to alert their handlers to any strangers in their vicinity, and on command, to attack those intruders. One of the most vital missions performed by these early sentry dogs was the patrol of America's coastlines. For this task, the QMC-trained dogs were assigned to Coast Guard handlers who used the dogs' keen senses to patrol the beaches and other areas along the coast. Within a year, more than 1,800 dog teams patrolled the coastlines. By the end of the war, the QMC would assign 3,174 dogs to the Coast Guard.

As the tide of the war changed and the threat of submarine-landed saboteurs diminished, emphasis shifted in the training program from sentry dogs for domestic industry to tactical scout and messenger dogs. It was at this time that one of the most bizarre programs in Army history was conceived, a plan to train canines to recognize and kill Japanese soldiers without a handler or other human guidance.

The idea for these killer dogs came from an unlikely source. William A. Prestre, a Swiss expatriate living in Santa Fe, New Mexico, approached the government with a bold plan to train dogs for the task. The Army was intrigued by the idea which, if successful, might help keep soldiers out of direct contact with the enemy. Prestre was given control of a contingent of dogs and handlers. In order to mimic conditions in the Pacific theater, the Army leased a small island off the coast of Mississippi. Ironically, this small strip of land in the Gulf of Mexico was known as Cat Island.

The entire Cat Island program was predicated on the assumption that Japanese soldiers, whether from diet or racial characteristics, had a distinct odor which dogs could be trained to recognize and attack. Unsurprisingly, the program soon ran into difficulties. First, Prestre had to find Japanese "bait" to train his dogs. It was quickly determined that using prisoners of war was unacceptable. Instead, twenty-five Japanese-American servicemen from Company B, 100th Infantry Battalion (Separate), stationed at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, were "volunteered" for the assignment. Among those selected was Ray Nosaka, a second-generation Japanese-American (often referred to as Nisei) from Hawaii.

On 3 November 1942, Nosaka and his comrades boarded a plane in secret and headed south to a location unknown to them. They made a short stop in Memphis, Tennessee, in order to refuel, but security was so tight that the soldiers were not allowed to deplane, instead eating a hasty lunch of sandwiches delivered to the aircraft while still onboard. When they arrived in Gulfport, Mississippi, they once again were forced to wait. Only when darkness fell were they allowed to exit the plane, and then they were quickly ushered into boats for the trip out to Ship Island, which served as the living quarters for the men involved in the project. Each day, the men would climb into a boat and make the short trip to nearby Cat Island to conduct training.

Training the dogs was a slow and brutal process, both for men and dogs. Cat Island was swampy and humid, and while the dogs were being trained to track down the Nisei bait, the men had to simply wait and hide in these unpleasant conditions. Then things got worse. In order to instill an aggressive spirit in the dogs, Prestre insisted on such brutal methods as whipping and shocking the dogs. Nosaka and the others were also forced to abuse the dogs in order to make them more vicious. Then the dogs would be set loose upon the Nisei. For the most part, the men were protected by their padded gear, but a few bites got through, and most of the men ended up with scars from their service on Cat Island.

Despite these measures to maximize the aggressiveness of the dogs, they continued to perform poorly. Prestre's plan to use packs of unguided dogs was further undermined when Master Sergeant John Pierce arrived at the project. Pierce, an army dog trainer, firmly believed that the dogs required human handlers, and he quickly proved his point by training a small contingent of dogs to alert their handlers to enemy presence, and to attack only on command. These dogs attacked with much more ferocity, and proved to be much more effective despite having only a few weeks of training, as opposed to the months Prestre had spent trying to train his dogs. The final straw came on 12 January 1943, when a demonstration was held for officers of the Army Ground Forces (AGF). It was plainly apparent to the officers that the program was not working. In short order, Prestre was released, and the project was abandoned.

Assault dog packs were not the only idea being considered, and the Army also conducted experiments in teaching dogs to detect mines. The Germans had begun to use several varieties of non-metallic landmines, which made detection by standard methods all but impossible. It was believed that dogs, designated M-dogs, might be able to detect the mines, and a training program was established. At the time, it was not yet understood how acute the canine sense of smell truly is, and, as a result, training practices were based on false assumptions and incomplete data. The dogs were trained to detect disruption of the ground by humans through a method of self-preservation. Dogs were exposed to partially buried live wires. When the dogs discovered a wire, they received an electric shock. They quickly learned to be wary of any human disturbances in the ground, as presumably, this would allow them to detect mines. In initial demonstrations, these dogs displayed an eighty percent success rate, and this was deemed sufficient.

This system was believed to be effective from the one demonstration carried out stateside in a controlled environment, and the 228th Engineer Mine Detection Company (Dog) was established in November 1943. On 5 May 1944, the men and dogs of the unit boarded a ship and embarked for Africa, arriving in Oran, Algeria, on 30 May. They then crossed the Mediterranean to Naples, Italy, and went to work. Unfortunately, the dogs did not perform as expected, and casualties, both of dogs and handlers, quickly mounted in the unit. Another controlled test was performed in Italy, and it was discovered that the dogs had a mine detection rate of only thirty percent. The unit did not perform any further mine clearing tasks, and by February 1945, the company had returned to the United States to be inactivated.

The M-dog project was innovative but ultimately doomed to failure. It was determined that the dogs could not distinguish between the deliberately turned earth of mine placement and the rubble and debris caused by shells and bombs. In addition, testing was conducted assuming the dogs would be working behind the front lines, but in actual use, they often had to endure combat conditions which further degraded their efficacy. It was only after the war that it was discovered that the canine's sense of smell is so acute that they can be trained to pick out the chemical components of explosives. As a result, dogs are currently used to detect bombs and mines with great success.

At the same time that the M-dogs were falling out of favor, other tactical dogs began to prove their abilities on the battlefield. In the spring of 1943, a detachment of six scout dogs and two messenger dogs was sent to the Pacific in a test of their usefulness in combat situations. An observer was sent along, and after following the dogs around New Guinea from July to December of that year, he reported back that the animals had performed "consistently excellent." The most important discovery in this report was that the scout dogs warned their handlers of the presence of Japanese forces at ranges up to 1,000 yards, allowing the Americans to avoid ambush and to gain the element of surprise. The messenger dogs fared just as well. They were observed delivering messages over rough terrain and in short amounts of time over distances of 600 to 1,000 yards. In addition, they presented a much smaller target than a human runner. This was the first true success of the Army's canine programs in combat, and while some weaknesses were exposed, training in these fields was quickly modified and expanded with superb results.

Two major weaknesses were identified by the 1943 report. First, the stateside training of the dogs included acclimatization to gunfire, but the program failed to address a major component of frontline combat: artillery. The dogs had no experience with artillery fire, and once on the front, they quickly became skittish and ineffective when in the presence of an artillery bombardment. The other shortcoming was that, from time to time, the dogs would bark at night or when they sensed the enemy, effectively giving away their position and that of any accompanying troops. As a result, the Army adjusted its training regimen to address these issues, adding artillery fire to the course and stressing silence at all times.

By June 1944, the War Department had authorized the creation of fifteen Quartermaster war dog platoons. These units had their own Table of Organization and Equipment that included eighteen scout dogs, sixteen messenger dogs, twenty enlisted men, and one officer. All fifteen platoons were shipped overseas by the end of the year, seven to Europe and eight to the Pacific.

Once in theater, another obstacle revealed itself. While in the United States, both dogs and handlers were provided and trained by the QMC, so when they arrived at the front and were attached to infantry units, they often lacked the tactical expertise necessary to effectively carry out their duties. This brought on more changes, and by December 1944, the table of organization had changed once more, eliminating all messenger dogs. In addition, handlers were picked from AGF units so that they entered dog training already having the skills necessary for infantry operations.

Even before all these issues had been addressed, army dogs and their handlers got to work assisting soldiers on the battlefield. The first unit to go overseas was the 25th Quartermaster (QM) War Dog Platoon which left San Francisco on 11 May 1944 and arrived at Guadalcanal on 6 June. By the end of June, they had travelled to Bougainville and joined the 164th Infantry in mopping up the Japanese forces on the island. The dogs performed well, and reports indicated that the infantry troops appreciated the dogs and the service they performed. The second platoon to arrive, the 26th, accompanied soldiers of the 41st Infantry Division on New Guinea and the surrounding islands. It was shortly thereafter assigned to the 31st and 32d Infantry Divisions. On Morotai, in the Dutch East Indies, the 31st Division used the 26th QM War Dog Platoon to help conduct 250 patrols in the course of two-and-a-half months. In this period, not a single one of these patrols was ambushed, proving the invaluable nature of the scout dogs who could alert soldiers to the presence of the enemy at distances ranging from seventy to 200 yards away. Often, the advanced warning of the scout dog enabled GIs to reverse the odds and surprise Japanese defenders.

For the invasion of the Philippines, the 25th, 26th, 39th, 40th, 41st, and 43d QM War Dog Platoons were attached to various infantry units. By this time, the effectiveness of the dogs was well known, and there were not enough to go around for all the units that requested them for their patrols. The dogs were invaluable in the jungle warfare that characterized much of the combat the Pacific Theater. The thick jungle limited human effectiveness, reliant on eyesight and hearing, but the dogs could smell the presence of the enemy despite the obstacles.

Dogs were found to be much less effective in the open, fast-paced fighting in Europe, though they found use there as well. Artillery was more commonly used in Europe, and despite training, intense shelling still caused dogs to become skittish and lose effectiveness. Often Allied troops were making such rapid advances against the Germans, especially in the closing days of the war, that dogs were of little use, so they were relegated to sentry duties. Still, dogs did prove themselves useful in some situations.

In a report to the Quartermaster, Fifth Army, dated 25 December 1944, First Lieutenant Austin Risse told the story of the actions of Corporal Robert Bennett and his dog assigned to the 33d QM War Dog Platoon in Italy. According to the report, Bennett and his dog were leading a patrol in enemy territory to reconnoiter a small village. As they approached, the dog halted, nose pointed and hair bristling. When the patrol leader crept forward, he discovered a large group of German soldiers waiting in ambush less than 200 yards away. As a result of the dog's action, the patrol withdrew without casualties and ordered in mortar fire on the enemy position, wiping it out.

Another dog in Europe also had the distinction of being the only canine to receive decorations for action. "Chips" was a German shepherd-husky-collie mix who, along with handler Private John Rowell, was attached to the 30th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division. On 10 July 1943, the division landed on Sicily, and Chips and Rowell went to work. As they approached a grass-covered hut, a machine gun opened fire. The hut was, in fact, a camouflaged bunker. Chips quickly escaped Rowell's control and made a beeline for the bunker. Within seconds, the machine gun fell silent and an Italian soldier tumbled out with Chips chomping at his throat and arms. In short order, three others exited the bunker with arms raised. Chips was lightly wounded in the incident, suffering powder burns and several cuts.

On 24 October 1943, Headquarters, 3d Infantry Division, issued General Order No. 79, which included a citation for the award of the Silver Star to "Chips, 11-A, U.S. Army Dog." A short time later, he was awarded the Purple Heart. Regulations technically prohibited such an award, and there was some controversy over whether awarding medals intended for humans to dogs was appropriate. In the end, the awards were rescinded, and future such awards banned. Chips went on to serve the Army for another two years and was discharged to his prewar owners on 10 December 1945.

Following the war, many dogs were returned to owners or given to their wartime handlers. This involved retraining so the dogs would be able to function safely in a peacetime civilian setting. Due to their classification as government property, any unclaimed dogs had to be sold as surplus, with the new owner footing the bill to return the shipping crate and food bowl to the Army. Still, this program allowed some civilians to purchase a well-trained and physically fit animal for a bargain price.

The Army took great care in retraining its dogs. The program included handling by multiple people to lessen the dogs' aggressive tendencies. They were encouraged to play and rewarded for good social behavior. Eventually they would be exposed to an aggressive person and trained not to react aggressively. A few dogs were incapable of retraining or had untreatable diseases and were destroyed, but the vast majority were carefully processed by the QMC and eventually sent to civilian homes. In the end, more than 15,000 applications were received for the returning dogs, and each dog was given a certificate of faithful service and an honorable discharge certificate. Of all the dogs returned to civilian life, about 3,000 in total, only four were returned to the Army as unsuitable for civilian life.

Both dogs and handlers provided an invaluable contribution to the American war effort in World War II. Despite the almost constant peril and close combat experienced by scout dog platoons, handlers were ineligible for the Combat Infantryman Badge due to their assignment to the Quartermaster Corps. Though man and beast alike may not have received the credit they deserved during the war, they proved their worth and pioneered many new tactics. Their legacy can still be found in the military working dogs of the modern Army and the explosives-detecting dogs used by both the armed forces and government agencies.

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The Dogs of War: The U.S. Army's Use of Canines in WWII - The Army Historical Foundation

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Written by Seth Paltzer Throughout history, dogs have accompanied man at work and play. Even in the midst of men's wars, dogs have been found serving in functions ranging from [...]

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Japan and the Path to War

The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise, but Japan and the United States had been edging toward war for decades.

The United States was particularly unhappy with Japan's increasingly belligerent attitude toward China. The Japanese government believed that the only way to solve its economic and demographic problems was to expand into its neighbor's territory and take over its import market.

To this end, Japan declared war on China in 1937, resulting in the Nanking Massacre and other atrocities.

American officials responded to this aggression with a battery of economic sanctions and trade embargoes. They reasoned that without access to money and goods, and especially essential supplies like oil, Japan would have to rein in its expansionism.

Instead, the sanctions made the Japanese more determined to stand their ground. During months of negotiations between Tokyo and Washington, D.C., neither side would budge. It seemed that war was all but inevitable.

Where Is Pearl Harbor?

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is located near the center of the Pacific Ocean, roughly 2,000 miles from the U.S. mainland and about 4,000 miles from Japan. No one believed that the Japanese would start a war with an attack on the distant islands of Hawaii.

Additionally, American intelligence officials were confident that any Japanese attack would take place in one of the (relatively) nearby European colonies in the South Pacific: the Dutch East Indies, Singapore or Indochina.

Because American military leaders were not expecting an attack so close to home, the naval facilities at Pearl Harbor were relatively undefended. Almost the entire Pacific Fleet was moored around Ford Island in the harbor, and hundreds of airplanes were squeezed onto adjacent airfields.

To the Japanese, Pearl Harbor was an irresistibly easy target.

USS Arizona

The Japanese plan was simple: Destroy the Pacific Fleet. That way, the Americans would not be able to fight back as Japan's armed forces spread across the South Pacific. On December 7, after months of planning and practice, the Japanese launched their attack.

At about 8 a.m., Japanese planes filled the sky over Pearl Harbor. Bombs and bullets rained onto the vessels moored below. At 8:10, a 1,800-pound bomb smashed through the deck of the battleship USS Arizona and landed in her forward ammunition magazine. The ship exploded and sank with more than 1,000 men trapped inside.

Next, torpedoes pierced the shell of the battleship USS Oklahoma. With 400 sailors aboard, the Oklahoma lost her balance, rolled onto her side and slipped underwater.

Less than two hours later, the surprise attack was over, and every battleship in Pearl Harbor- USS Arizona, USS Oklahoma, USS California, USS West Virginia, USS Utah, USS Maryland, USS Pennsylvania, USS Tennessee and USS Nevada-had sustained significant damage. (All but USS Arizona and USS Utah were eventually salvaged and repaired.)

Impact of the Pearl Harbor Attack

In all, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor crippled or destroyed nearly 20 American ships and more than 300 airplanes. Dry docks and airfields were likewise destroyed. Most importantly, more than 2,000 people died.

But the Japanese had failed to cripple the Pacific Fleet. By the 1940s, battleships were no longer the most important naval vessel: Aircraft carriers were, and as it happened, all of the Pacific Fleet's carriers were away from the base on December 7. (Some had returned to the mainland and others were delivering planes to troops on Midway and Wake Islands.)

Moreover, the Pearl Harbor assault had left the base's most vital onshore facilities-oil storage depots, repair shops, shipyards and submarine docks-intact. As a result, the U.S. Navy was able to rebound relatively quickly from the attack.

How Many People Died in Pearl Harbor?

The attack on Pearl Harbor killed 2,403 U.S. personnel, including sailors, soldiers and civilians. Additionally, 1,178 people were wounded. 129 Japanese soldiers were killed.

Half of the dead at Pearl Harbor were on the USS Arizona. Today the sunken battleship serves as a memorial to all Americans who died in the attack.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress on December 8, the day after the crushing attack on Pearl Harbor.

"Yesterday, December 7, 1941-a date which will live in infamy-the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."

He went on to say, "No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again."

America Enters World War II

After the Pearl Harbor attack, and for the first time during years of discussion and debate, the American people were united in their determination to go to war.

The Japanese had wanted to goad the United States into an agreement to lift the economic sanctions against them; instead, they had pushed their adversary into a global conflict that ultimately resulted in Japan's first occupation by a foreign power.

Did you know? The single vote against Congress's declaration of war against Japan came from Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana. Rankin was a pacifist who had also voted against the American entrance into World War I. "As a woman," she said, "I can't go to war, and I refuse to send anyone else."

On December 8, Congress approved Roosevelt's declaration of war on Japan. Three days later, Japan's allies Germany and Italy declared war against the United States.

For the second time, Congress reciprocated, declaring war on the European powers. More than two years after the start of World War II, the United States had entered the conflict.

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Pearl Harbor is a U.S. naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii, that was the scene of a devastating surprise attack by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941. The day after the attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan.

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The Andrews Sisters - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy 1941

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10 Little-Known Facts About The Holocaust

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WWII in 7 Minutes

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World War 2 in 7 Minutes - Manny Man Does History

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In September 1939, Britain entered into what would become the world's most devastating war to date. Learn all about the events that changed the lives of millions in our World War 2 facts....
World War 2 facts

1. World War 2 was a battle between two groups of countries

- the " Allies" and the " Axis ". The major Allied Powers were Britain, France, Russia, China and the United States. The major Axis Powers were Germany, Italy and Japan.

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2. Before World War 2 began, Germany was ruled by a man named Adolf Hitler

Together with the Nazi Party, he wanted Germany to rule Europe. To gain more land and power, on 1 September 1939 German troops invaded Poland. After Hitler refused to stop the invasion, Britain and France declared war on Germany - World War II had begun.

3. During the course of the war, German forces advanced through Europe

Did you know that we have a FREE downloadable Second World War primary resource? Great for teachers, homeschoolers and parents alike!

4. Millions of Germans were imprisoned and killed because they didn't fit the image of the 'perfect' German

Hitler wanted to create what he thought was the "best" and strongest race - and to the Nazi Party, this excluded certain groups, such as Jews, Gypsies and those with physical and mental disabilities. In an attempt to eliminate a "racial enemy" outside of Germany, such groups were also persecuted in the countries invaded by German forces.

5. The group most heavily targeted by the Nazis were the Jews

Around six million Jewish people were killed during World War 2 in one of history's most terrible events - the Holocaust. Racist in his views, Hitler blamed Jewish people for Germany losing World War I and claimed they were dangerous to German people and society.

6. Around the same time that Germany fought for power in Europe, Japan wanted to control Asia and the Pacific

In 1937 (before World War 2 had officially begun) under Emperor Hirohito, Japan attacked China, bringing the two nations into years of conflict.

7. The US didn't join the war until 1941, when Japan attacked the United States

- at their Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. On 8 December 1941 (the very next day), the US declared War on Japan and, in turn, its German allies.

8. Some countries remained 'neutral' in World War 2

Such countries were Spain, Sweden and Switzerland - who chose not to join either side.

9. The Germans surrendered on 8 May 1945

In 1944, an Allied army crossed from Britain to free France from Nazi rule. One year later, Allied armies invaded Germany, forcing the Germans to surrender. After nuclear attacks on Japan's major cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan also surrendered to Allied forces in August the same year. World War 2 had ended.

Did you know we have a FREE downloadable Anne Frank primary resource? Perfect for teachers, homeschoolers and parents alike, the resource introduces children to the young girl whose tragic tale from WWII became a story of hope.

10. Around 64 million people died in World War 2

- that's more than the entire population of the United Kingdom.

*Yugoslavia was a country established in 1918 in south-east Europe, which included modern-day Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

*USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or the Soviet Union) was a former country which included modern-day Russia, Ukraine and Estonia, as well as other socialist states.

What did you think of our World War 2 facts? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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In September 1939, Britain entered into what would become the world's most devastating war to date. Learn all about the events that changed the lives of millions in our World War 2 facts.... - the " Allies" and the " Axis ". The major Allied Powers were Britain, France, Russia, China and the United States.

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Kids learn about World War II in history. Educational articles for teachers, students, and schools including WWII battles, leaders, generals, countries, Allied vs. Axis powers, Europe, Germany, Hitler, Holocaust, atomic bomb, daily life, weapons, and causes.

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For almost six years from 1939 to 1945 Britain fought the toughest war it had ever experienced. World War II was total war - every person, every business, every service was involved.

Britain did not fight alone, the war also involved many countries. World War II involved 61 countries with 1.7 billion people (three quarters of the world's population).

Fifty million people lost their lives and hundreds of millions people were injured.

How did the Second World War start?

After World War One ended in 1918, Germany had to give up land and was banned from having armed forces.

In 1933 the German people voted for a leader named Adolf Hitler, who led a political party in Germany called the National Socialists or Nazis. Hitler promised to make his country great again and quickly began to arm Germany again and to seize land from other countries.

Shortly before 5am on Friday 1st September, 1939, German forces stormed the Polish frontier. Tanks and motorised troops raced into the country over ground, supported by Stuka dive bombers overhead. A total of 1.25 million Germans soldiers swept into Poland

When did World War Two begin?

World War Two in Europe began on 3rd September 1939, when the Prime Minister of Britain, Neville Chamberlain, declared war on Germany. It involved many of the world's countries.

Click on the play button below to hear Chamberlain's speech (now the full speech)

Why did the Second World War start?

The Second World War was started by Germany in an unprovoked attack on Poland. Britain and France declared war on Germany after Hitler had refused to abort his invasion of Poland.

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For almost six years from 1939 to 1945 Britain fought the toughest war it had ever experienced. World War II was total war - every person, every business, every service was involved. Britain did not fight alone, the war also involved many countries.

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Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 - April 30, 1945) was appointed chancellor of Germany in 1933 following a series of electoral victories by the Nazi Party. He ruled absolutely until his death by suicide in April 1945. Upon achieving power, Hitler smashed the nation's democratic institutions and transformed Germany into a war state intent on conquering Europe for the benefit of the so-called Aryan race. His invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, triggered the European phase of World War II. During the course of the war, Nazi military forces rounded up and executed 11 million victims they deemed inferior or undesirable-"life unworthy of life"-among them Jews, Slavs, homosexuals, and Jehovah's Witnesses.

Hitler had supreme authority as führer (leader or guide), but could not have risen to power or committed such atrocities on his own. He had the active support of the powerful German officer class and of millions of everyday citizens who voted for the National Socialist German Workers' (Nazi) Party and hailed him as a national savior in gigantic stadium rallies.

How were Hitler and the Nazis possible? How did such odious characters take and hold power in a country that was a world pacesetter in literature, art, architecture, and science, a nation that had a democratic government and a free press in the 1920s?

Hitler rose to power through the Nazi Party, an organization he forged after returning as a wounded veteran from the annihilating trench warfare of World War I. He and other patriotic Germans were outraged and humiliated by the harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles, which the Allies compelled the new German government, the Weimar Republic, to accept along with an obligation to pay $33 billion in war reparations. Germany also had to give up its prized overseas colonies and surrender valued parcels of home territory to France and Poland. The German army was radically downsized and the nation forbidden to have submarines or an air force. "We shall squeeze the German lemon until the pips squeak!" explained one British official.

Paying the crushing reparations destabilized the economy, producing ruinous, runaway inflation. By September 1923, four billion German marks had the equal value of one American dollar. Consumers needed a wheelbarrow to carry enough paper money to buy a loaf of bread.

Hitler, a mesmerizing public speaker, addressed political meetings in Munich calling for a new German order to replace what he saw as an incompetent and inefficient democratic regime. This New Order was distinguished by an authoritarian political system based on a leadership structure in which authority flowed downward from a supreme national leader.

In the new Germany, all citizens would unselfishly serve the state, or Volk; democracy would be abolished; and individual rights sacrificed for the good of the führer state. The ultimate aim of the Nazi Party was to seize power through Germany's parliamentary system, install Hitler as dictator, and create a community of racially pure Germans loyal to their führer, who would lead them in a campaign of racial cleansing and world conquest.

Hitler blamed the Weimar Republic's weakness on the influence of Germany's Jewish and communist minorities, who he claimed were trying to take over the country. "There are only two possibilities," he told a Munich audience in 1922. "Either victory of the Aryan, or annihilation of the Aryan and the victory of the Jew." The young Hitler saw history as a process of racial struggle, with the strongest race-the Aryan race-ultimately prevailing by force of arms. "Mankind has grown great in eternal war," Hitler wrote. "It would decay in eternal peace."

Jews represented everything the Nazis found repugnant: finance capitalism (controlled, the Nazis believed, by powerful Jewish financiers), international communism (Karl Marx was a German Jew, and the leadership of the German Communist Party was heavily Jewish), and modernist cultural movements like psychoanalysis and swing music.

Nazi Party foreign policy aimed to rid Europe of Jews and other "inferior" peoples, absorb pure-blooded Aryans into a greatly expanded Germany-a "Third Reich"-and wage unrelenting war on the Slavic "hordes" of Russia, considered by Hitler to be Untermenschen (subhuman).

Once conquered, the Soviet Union would be ruled by the German master race, which would exterminate or subdue millions of Slavs to create lebensraum (living space) for their own farms and communities. In a conquered and racially cleansed Russia, they would work on model farms and factories connected to the homeland by new highways, called autobahns.

Hitler was the ideologue as well as the chief organizer of the Nazi Party. By 1921, the party had a newspaper, an official flag, and a private army-the Sturmabteilung SA (storm troopers)-made up largely of unemployed and disenchanted WWI veterans. By 1923, the SA had grown to 15,000 men and had access to hidden stores of weapons. That year, Hitler and WWI hero General Erich Ludendorff attempted to overthrow the elected regional government of Bavaria in a coup known as the Beer Hall Putsch.

The regular army crushed the rebellion and Hitler spent a year in prison-in loose confinement. In Landsberg Prison, Hitler dictated most of the first volume of his political autobiography, Mein Kampf (My Struggle). The book brought together, in inflamed language, the racialist and expansionist ideas he had been propagating in his popular beer-hall harangues.

By 1932, the Nazis were the largest political party in the Reichstag. In January of the following year, with no other leader able to command sufficient support to govern, President Paul von Hindenburg appointed Hitler chancellor of Germany. Shortly thereafter, a fire broke out in the Reichstag building in Berlin, and authorities arrested a young Dutch communist who confessed to starting it.

Hitler used this episode to convince President Hindenburg to declare an emergency decree suspending many civil liberties throughout Germany, including freedom of the press, freedom of expression, and the right to hold public assemblies. The police were authorized to detain citizens without cause, and the authority usually exercised by regional governments became subject to control by Hitler's national regime.

Almost immediately, Hitler began dismantling Germany's democratic institutions and imprisoning or murdering his chief opponents. When Hindenburg died the following year, Hitler took the titles of führer, chancellor, and commander in chief of the army. He expanded the army tremendously, reintroduced conscription, and began developing a new air force-all violations of the Treaty of Versailles.

Hitler's military spending and ambitious public-works programs, including building a German autobahn, helped restore prosperity. His regime also suppressed the Communist Party and purged his own paramilitary storm troopers, whose violent street demonstrations alienated the German middle class.

This bloodletting-called the "Night of the Long Knives"-was hugely popular and welcomed by the middle class as a blow struck for law and order. In fact, many Germans went along with the full range of Hitler's policies, convinced that they would ultimately be advantageous for the country.

In 1938, Hitler began his long-promised expansion of national boundaries to incorporate ethnic Germans. He colluded with Austrian Nazis to orchestrate the Anschluss, the annexation of Austria to Germany. And in Hitler's most brazenly aggressive act yet, Czechoslovakia was forced to surrender the Sudetenland, a mountainous border region populated predominantly by ethnic Germans.

The Czechs looked to Great Britain and France for help, but hoping to avoid war-they had been bled white in World War I-these nations chose a policy of appeasement. At a conclave held at Munich in September 1938, representatives of Great Britain and France compelled Czech leaders to cede the Sudetenland in return for Hitler's pledge not to seek additional territory. The following year, the German army swallowed up the remainder of Czechoslovakia.

British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, one of the signers of the Munich pact, had taken Hitler at his word. Returning to Britain with this agreement in hand, he proudly announced that he had achieved "peace with honor. I believe it is peace for our time."

A year later, German troops stormed into Poland.

Learn More

After being released from prison, Hitler vowed to work within the parliamentary system to avoid a repeat of the Beer Hall Putsch setback. In the 1920s, however, the Nazi Party was still a fringe group of ultraextremists with little political power. It received only 2.6 percent of the vote in the Reichstag elections of 1928.

But the worldwide economic depression and the rising power of labor unions and communists convinced increasing numbers of Germans to turn to the Nazi Party. The Nazis fed on bank failures and unemployment-proof, Hitler said, of the ineffectiveness of democratic government. Hitler pledged to restore prosperity, create civil order (by crushing industrial strikes and street demonstrations by communists and socialists), eliminate the influence of Jewish financiers, and make the fatherland once again a world power.

Modern mechanized armies need a robust logistics chain to provide fuel, ammunition, and other sinews of war to sustain combat operations. Fighting the Allies during the North African campaign of 1942-1943, German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps (DAK)was resupplied by a concerted air and sea lift effort.

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How Did Adolf Hitler Happen? | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans

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Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 - April 30, 1945) was appointed chancellor of Germany in 1933 following a series of electoral victories by the Nazi Party. He ruled absolutely until his death by suicide in April 1945.