Biographies

• Article by Robert Jan Noks
• Published on June 1st, 2023

Luther, Martin

Martin Franz Julius Luther was born in Berlin on December 16, 1895. He dropped out of grammar school in August 1914. Shortly after the onset of World War I, he enlisted as a volunteer in the Prussian army. Until 1918, he served with the railroad troops. He reached the rank of reserve lieutenant.

• Article by Kevin Prenger
• Published on March 19th, 2023

Ferencz, Benjamin

Benjamin Ferencz (1920) was just 27 years of age when he was appointed chief prosecutor shortly after the war at the Einsatzgruppen tribunal in Nuremberg that was called the 'largest murder trial in history' by the media.

• Article by Ruben Krutzen
• Published on March 4th, 2023

Sporck, Caspar

Caspar / Casper Sporck (1922 – 1945) was a non-commissioned officer of the Waffen-SS during the Second World War. He was awarded the German Knight’s Cross for his heroic actions. This is remarkable, because only three other Dutch people were given this medal. Sporck was awarded several other medals as well, including a medal for sustained injuries. About 22.000 to 25.000 Dutch volunteers joined the Waffen-SS during the Second World War.

• Article by Sanne Jussen
• Published on January 28th, 2023

Hardeveld, Annick van

Annick van Hardeveld was a courier in Amsterdam for the Nederlandse Binnenlandse Strijdkrachten (NBS; English: Dutch Domestic Armed Forces). In the night of May 4, 1945, Annick was travelling on her bike to the inner city of Amsterdam to deliver a message. On the Hekelveld, she was suddenly shot by a patrol of the Grüne Polizei. Annick was only 21 years old.

• Article by Kevin Prenger
• Published on December 28th, 2022

Koch, Ilse

Ilse Koch's name has been synonymous with the horrors of the concentration camps since the American tribunal at Dachau, which took place from November 1945 to August 1948. The blond wife of the camp commander was accused of the most heinous crimes and became notorious in Germany as 'Die Hexe von Buchenwald.' In the American media, she came to be known as 'The Bitch of Buchenwald.'

• Article by Robert Jan Noks
• Published on November 26th, 2022

Kritzinger, Friedrich

Friedrich Wilhelm Kritzinger was born April 24, 1890 in the little village of Grünfier, the son of a Lutheranian reverend. After 3 years of private education, young Kritzinger attended grammar school in Posen from 1899 to 1904 and subsequently the grammar school in nearby Gnesen (in Polish: Gniezno) until 1908. Between 1911 and 1913 and from 1920 to 1921, he served as an apprentice on the courts of Mogilno and at the Staatsanwaltschaft in Hirschberg.

• Article by Arnold Palthe
• Published on November 19th, 2022

Roosevelt Jr, Theodore

Theodore Roosevelt Jr was born November 13, 1887 in Oyster Bay, New York, as son of the later 26th president of the United States of America.

Original article by Max Poorthuis

• Article by Auke de Vlieger
• Published on October 23rd, 2022

Weichs, Maximilian Reichsfreiherr von

Maximilian Maria Joseph Karl Gabriel Lamoral Reichsfreiherr von und zu Weichs an der Glon was born November 12, 1881 in Dessau in Prussian Saxonia. He was the son of a Prussian cavalry officer. After the early demise of his father, Maximilian and his mother moved to Munich where he graduated from high school.

• Article by Kevin Prenger
• Published on October 22nd, 2022

Harlan, Veit

Movie director Veit Harlan was a celebrity within he Nazi cinema. He was known for his melodramatic motion pictures but today he is better known for having directed the anti-Semitic propaganda movie Jud Süß. It was also this director who was selected by Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels to make a motion picture that was to convey the same message as his speech about Total War on February 18, 1943. On June 1, 1943, he sent the director a written order to make this Großfilm of movie corporation UFA which was to be named Kolberg.