1945

Articles from 1945

Atheist or Christian? (U.S. Dept. of War, 1945)

Was Adolf Hitler a follower of Jesus Christ or was he a man who saw no intelligence in the universe whatever? Today, for reasons that are quite understandable, neither the atheists or the Christians are eager to count the madman in their ranks. Hoping to diffuse this never-ending argument (that has found a home on the internet) OldMagazineArticles.com offers this page of research from a U.S. Army study on Hitler’s military that indicates Hitler’s sympathy for atheists.


Read about Hitler’s persecution of the Christian Church…

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Some Trivial Facts About Hitler (Yank Magazine, 1945)

Assorted observations from the man who operated Hitler’s elevator at Berchtesgaden can be found herein.


What you won’t find herein is a piece of Hitler trivia that I just picked-up. The story goes that the American comedian Bob Hope was given a tour of Hitler’s bunker shortly after the German surrender. Accompanied by a U.S. colonel, the two men brought lots of American cigarette cartons with them to bribe the Russian guards (the bunker was in the Soviet sector); Hope walked away with the enormous banner that was draped in the dictator’s lounge, as well as the handle off of Hitler’s toilet. The toilet handle has remained among the comedian’s possessions in Toluca Lake, California ever since.


Read about the earliest post-war sightings of Hitler: 1945-1955

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Hitler’s Last Days in Power (Yank Magazine, 1945)

YANK reporter Harry Sions listened in as sixteen Nazi officials, having known and worked with Hitler in various capacities through the years, sat back and recalled the events of Hitler’s last 365 days in power. Much was said regarding the failed assassination attempt (project Valkyrie) but some of the more interesting content refers to the closing days in the bunker with Bormann, Keitel and Jodl.


It was reported that shortly after he took up residence in the bunker, Hitler’s hair and mustache was transformed to a bright white, yet he was not the only man in Europe in need of hair dye; click here about these other fellows.

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Berchtesgaden: Hitler’s Mountain Retreat (Yank Magazine, 1945)

A report on what Hitler’s Bavarian retreat, Berchtesgaden, looked like after the 101st Airborne got through redecorating the place. This is an amusing article written by Yank reporter Harry Sions, who seemed to really want to know what Hitler’s taste in furnishings, books and movies truly was like. However the most entertaining parts of the article were the interviews with Hitler’s dimwitted domestic staff:

Is it true, we asked her, that the Fuhrer chewed on rugs when he became excited?

‘Only you Americans believe such nonsense,’ she replied.

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Assessing the Late-War German Soldier (U.S. Dept. of War, 1945)

The German soldier is one of several different types depending on whether he is a veteran of 4 or 5 years, or a new recruit. The veteran of many fronts and many retreats is a prematurely aged, war weary cynic, either discouraged and disillusioned or too stupefied to have any thought of his own…The new recruit, except in some crack SS units, is either too young or too old and often in poor health.

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Medal of Honor Recipient Robert D. Maxwell (Collier’s, 1945)

This 1945 article by George Creel reported on the brave and selfless acts of Robert D. Maxwell (1920 – 2019):

COURAGE, like everything else, has its kinds of degrees. No one would detract a hair’s weight from the bravery of the firing line, but in battle there is the heartening touch of a comrade’s shoulder, the excitement of the charge, and the 50-50 chance of coming out alive. All these aids are lacking in those epic instances where men make death a deliberate choice…one example that stands out for sheer drama and sustained fortitude is that of Technician Fifth Grade Robert D. Maxwell, who covered a German hand grenade with his body, smothering the explosion that would have killed every member of his group.


Maxwell survived his wounds; seven months later he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his courage. He currently reside in Oregon.

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When the U.S. Home Front Found Out About Nazi Atrocities (Yank Magazine, 1945)

The editors of YANK reported that the week of VE Day the

…first-run movie houses showed films of a kind seldom if ever seen by American audiences. The films, made for the most part by the U.S. Army signal corps, showed piles of human bones, mass graves and beaten, starving men who looked more like corpses than human beings…Homefronters sat in shocked silence, broken now and then in by low gasps.

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Marlene Dietrich Did Her Bit (Yank Magazine, 1945)

A post-game interview with Hollywood star Marlene Dietrich (1901 – 1992) concerning all the many places throughout the European Theater of Operations that she performed before Allied audiences, at times performing very close to the German front line.


Marlene Dietrich’s only daughter, Maria Riva Dietrich (b. 1924), wrote that her mother, feeling a deep sense of pity and gratitude, made love to a very large number of front line soldiers.


Click here to read about the woman who entertained the U.S. troops during the First World War.

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When General Eisenhower Came Home (Yank Magazine, 1945)

The General had seen welcomes in Paris and London and Washington and New York, but he got the warmest reception of all when he hit his boyhood home town, little Abilene, Kansas.

As soon as the Eisenhower party was seated a gun boomed and the parade began. It wasn’t a military parade. It told the story of a barefoot boy’s rise from fishing jaunts on nearby Mud Creek to command of the Allied expeditionary force that defeated Fascism in Western Europe.


In 1944, a class of sixth graders wrote General Eisenhower and asked him how they can help in the war effort; click here to read his response…

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