In honor of the defenders of Stalingrad, King George VI of the United Kingdom commissioned a ceremonial longsword to be presented to the Soviet Union. Thirty six inches long, with a hand grip bound in 18 carat carat gold wire and a pommel of rock crystal, the blade was inscribed in Russian and English with the words:

“TO THE STEEL-HEARTED CITIZENS OF STALINGRAD. THE GIFT OF KING GEORGE VI. IN TOKEN OF THE HOMAGE OF THE BRITISH PEOPLE”

Believe it or not the sword was created by Wilkinson Sword, yes, the same company who make the razors (Our American readers might know them by the name Schick). The sword was presented by Winston Churchill to Joseph Stalin at the Tehran Conference in 1943 and resides today at the Stalingrad Museum in Volgograd.



Sword of Stalingrad

A young couple exchange sweet nothings inside a swastika-decorated sand fort in carefree prewar days.

In his story, "On Reugen Island, Summer 1931", English writer Christopher Isherwood describes the phenomenon of beach forts as follows:

"There are now a good many summer visitors to the village.  The bathing beach by the pier, with its array of banners, begins to look like a medieval camp.  Each family has its own enormous hooded wicker beach-chair, and each chair flies a little flag.  There are the German city-flags - Hamburg, Hanover, Dresden, Rostock and Berliin, as well as the National Republican and Nazi colours.  Each chair is encircled by a low sand bulwark upon which the occupants have set inscriptions in fir-cones: Waldesruh. Familie Walter. Stahlhelm. Heil Hitler !  Many of the forts are also decorated with the Nazi swastika.  The other morning I saw a child of about five years old, stark naked, marching aloong all by himself with a swastika flag over his shoulder and singing 'Deutschland uber alles' ".

The young couple in the 'photo have, understandably, dispensed with the beach-chair, but not with the swastikas.  I should be curius to know whether making beach-forts is still a common German custom while at the seaside ?  Best regards, JR.

Fortress Germany ?

Farewell ceremony held by Chinese for rescued American aviators

Somewhere in China 1942