1914 - 1945   Guten Tag  / Index  / Histoire
The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.

— Edward Grey, July 1914
Christer Strömholm, Hiroshima
Johann Wilhelm Trollmann (27 December 1907 - 9 February 1943) was a German Sinto boxer. Trollmann became prominent in the late 1920s. On 9 June 1933, he fought for the German light-heavyweight title and although he clearly led by points over his opponent Adolf Witt, the fight was judged “no result”. The audience rebelled, and the Nazi officials were forced to acknowledge Trollmann as the victor. Six days later, however, he was again stripped of the title. A new fight was scheduled for 21 July, with Gustav Eder as Trollmann’s opponent. Trollmann was threatened that he had to change his “dancing” style or lose his license. Trollmann, of Sinti heritage, arrived the day of the match with his hair dyed blonde and his body whitened with flour, the caricature of an Aryan. He took the blows of his opponent for five rounds before he collapsed. The persecution of Sinti and Roma in Germany dramatically increased in the following years. Sterilization often prevented their internment in concentration camps, and Trollmann too underwent this operation. In 1939 he was drafted into the Wehrmacht, and fought on the eastern front. He was wounded in 1941 and was returned to Germany as a result. The Gestapo arrested him in June 1942, and he was interned in Neuengamme concentration camp. He tried to keep a low profile, but the camp commandant had been a boxing official before the war and recognized Trollmann. He used Trollman as a trainer for his troops during the nights. The prisoners committee decided to act, as Trollman’s health deteriorated. They faked his death and managed to get him transferred to the adjacent camp of Wittenberge under an assumed identity. The former star was soon recognized and the prisoners organized a fight between him and Emil Cornelius, a former criminal and hated Kapo (a prisoner given privileges for taking on responsibilities in the camp). Inevitably Trollmann won. Cornelius soon sought revenge for his humiliation and forced Trollmann to work all day until he was exhausted, before attacking and killing him with a shovel at 36 years old. In 2003 the German boxing federation decided to recognize Trollmann as the winner of the 1933 championship.
picturesofwar: The Sullivan Brothers: On January 3, 1942 all five Sullivan brothers enlisted into the Navy given the informed consent that they all serve on the same ship.  Soon after, they were all assigned to the USS Juneau and sent to the Pacific theatre of war. Later on that year, on Friday the 13th of November during the Battle of Guadalcanal, the Juneau was subject to Japanese torpedo attacks, one of which hit the cruiser’s ammunition storages.  The damage was critical and the cruiser sank shortly thereafter. There were more than 100 sailors who survived the immediate aftermath of the sinking, but rescue efforts were only an afterthought and commenced days later. All five Sullivan brothers: George, Frank, Joe, Matt, and Al perished following the sinking.  Some of the remaining survivors stated that George was still alive days later but abandoned his raft and fell into the ocean due to the immense grief he carried. Two months later their parents were informed of their loss by a Naval officer: “I have some news for you about your boys,” the naval officer said. “Which one?” “I’m sorry,” the officer replied. “All five.” November 13, 1942 - 69 years ago today.
vashti: Eileen Dunne, London Bomb Victim (1940), Cecil Beaton
steinundbein: A photo of Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl and Christoph Probst taken in 1942
womenatwar: Corry (Cornelia) van Baalen-Bosch, female member of the Dutch Resistance, executed by the Germans in 1945, less then an hour before the liberation.
sodiumlitskies: On May 7, 1917, Albert Ball became disoriented during an aerial engagement with German pilot, Lothar von Richthofenon, and crashed in Annœullin, France. He died in the arms of Cecille Deloffre, a young Frenchwoman who had had come to help Ball and lifted him from his wrecked S.E.5. At the time, Ball was the leading Allied air ace at the time with 44 confirmed victories, second only to Manfred von Richthofen — Lothar’s brother and the “Red Baron.” He was 20 years old.