He was highly decorated and was known as 'The Fuhrer's Fireman' because his unit was often committed to the major battles of WW2 when things were going badly for the German army. There are those who did great deeds that went relatively unknown down history. © 2021 A&E Television Networks, LLC. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. Read the full story here. Freddie Oversteegen was only 14 when she joined the Dutch resistance during World War II, and only a couple of years… He gathered his reports and witnessed for the Nuremberg and IG Farben Trials and even helped about 400 Jewish laborers in Nazi camps to escape – a difficult feat. Aristides de Sousa Mendes do Amaral e Abranches. He saved thousands … A German attache, he warned Danish Jews about their coming deportation in 1943. He even issued official Swiss protection to safe houses throughout Budapest. He and his wife Yikiko were honored Righteous Gentiles. It seemed that after he returned to Italy, he never spoke about what he did back in Hungary even to his family. Rudolph Rummel (1990-1997)- According to the calculations of R. J. Rummel the combined German and Austrian death toll due to the war and political killings by governments in the World War II era was 10.1 million persons. Thanks to a Steven Spielberg biopic, the world knows the deeds of German businessman Oskar Schindler. The German was only 10 years old when captured in the German city of Kronach on April 27, 1945. In a time when Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party was engulfing Europe in hatred and fear, everyday heroes emerged to stand up to the terror. Many German soldiers and two motorcycles will approach your position, so make sure you keep an eye on your ammo. Swiss Diplomat Carl Lutz among the ruins of the former British legation in Budapest, Hungary. A German attache, he warned Danish Jews about their coming deportation in 1943. 3 kms north of the city of Cassino, on the road to Monte Cassino. “We shall fight them on the beaches. 21. To the people on the list below and to those who acted bravely unknowingly in these times, kudos! he was also responsible for saving about 6,500 Jews and Allied Troops during the war. She was an American, Virginia Hall, but the Nazis knew her only as “the limping lady.” Read the full story here. Many fought quietly, as a Swiss diplomat who took advantage of Nazi officers' respect for paperwork, or the Dutch teacher who saved 600 children by smuggling them out of Nazi-occupied Amsterdam in baskets. Schindler was a German spy and a Nazi Party member yet he spent his fortunes saving 1,200 Jews during WWII by employing them in his enamelware and ammunition factories. Werner Klemperer was born in Cologne, Germany, and John Banner and Leon Askin (General Burkhalter) were born in Austria; all were Jewish. Below are some of the 25 men and women who showed acts fit to be classified as acts of heroism. Winston Churchill. Giovanni Palatucci. At first, he just … Once the road area is clear, collect some supplies (including a box of matches or two) and send all of your troops north-west to the two buildings below the field in the middle of the map. Name. When the ambassador was asked to leave the country, he again took to his impersonating talents – this time, as a Spanish consul. World War II justified by former German soldiers. He became the symbol of the French resistance and triumphantly return… Watch later. He was able to stand ground against them using his influence as a Nazi Party member. (1874–1965) Churchill epitomised the British bulldog spirit. His works is immortalized in the Spielberg film Schindler’s List which premiered in 1993. German Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny Otto Skorzeny was an Austrian SS-Obersturmbannführer during WW2. It is relatively certain that 2,500 German fighter pilots attained ace status, having achieved at least 5 aerial victories. He was among the few foreigners who stayed in nanking, then the capital of China, and established the Nanking Safety Zone where he was able to save 200,000 people from mindless slaughter by the Japanese army. In partnership with Gyorgi Mandl, a Jewish-Hungarian businessman, the colonel was able to save about 40,000 Jews and Central Europeans from the harsh Nazi by giving them fake Salvadorian visas. (1890–1970) When France surrendered to the Germans, Charles de Gaulle escaped to England to fly the flag for Free France. The cargo wasn’t food or supplies: It was Jewish children, smuggled and saved by van Hulst and his colleagues during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. This figure makes her one of the top military snipers of all time. World War II justified by former German soldiers - YouTube. Coward, though bearer of such surname, was no weakling during WWII. Evert-Jan Daniels/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock. German Military Cemetery at Cassino (Caira, Frosinone Province, Italy) - 20,027 burials, WWII. Sanz-Briz and Perlasca were also part of the network of western diplomats in contact with Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish consul who set up the group to save Hungarian Jews from being sent into German concentration camps. Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith. As World War II begins, German freighter Captain Karl Ehrlich tries to get his ship back to Germany through a gauntlet of Allied warships. He was involved in a string of operations, including the rescue mission for dictator Benito Mussolini. Palatucci was an Italian police official in the city of Fiume. While the most widely distributed edition by Codemasters bears the name Soldiers: Heroes of World War II, its original English language title is Outfront. Semen Nomokonov was an indigenous Siberian, a member of the Evenk people. A Portuguese diplomat, Abranches defied his government’s orders and issued Portuguese visas free of charge  to over 30,000 refugees, 12,000 of which are Jews. ?maxt], lit. Attested spouses, sexual partners and loves. because of his actions, he was exiled and died in poverty. First and foremost a Swedish businessman, Wallenberg was recruited by the US War Refugee Board in to travel to Hungary with a status of a diplomat in June 1944. He argued with Nazi generals and troops to save Iranian Jews which he did so successfully. It was passed over a hedge, hidden in basket and sacks, and then whisked out of Amsterdam by bicycle. The game is primarily a strategy game, but the player can take control of his forces and direct them with the keyboard and mouse for additional depth of control. Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz Mr. Duckwitz was a member of the German forces during WWII but he chose to save Jews instead of sending to concentration camps to be gassed. A World War II hero returns to Germany to solve a mystery -- and meet an enemy. In the end, he even managed to issue Iranian passports to non-Iranian Jews to save them. By John Blake, CNN. Though he was a very inexperienced  diplomat, he managed to rise up and lead one of the most broad and successful Jewish rescue operations during the Holocaust. In every single episode of the popular US television sitcom “Hogan’s Heroes” (1965-1971), World War II Germans, and especially German military personnel, were portrayed as timid, easily fooled and cowardly, while the Allied soldiers, especially Americans, were always smart, resourceful and creative. Former Dutch teacher and politician, Johan van Hulst, in 2012. A diplomat who used the power of paperwork, a 16-year-old girl who shot Nazis from her bicycle and a teacher who hid Jewish children in baskets were among those who risked their lives to save others during World War II. Virginia Hall (1906-1982) American journalist and member of the Special Operations Executive during World War Two. Klemperer and his family fled Germany for the United States in 1935, as Adolf Hitler was rising to power, and Klemperer joined the U.S. Army when World War II broke out. Watch the Emotional Reunion of a Concentration Camp Survivor and One of His Liberators. Freddie Oversteegen was only 14 when she joined the Dutch resistance during World War II, and only a couple of years older when she became one of its armed assassins. Costermano (Costermano, Verona Province, Veneto Region, Italy) - 21,951 burials, WWII. German Shipwreck said to contain Peter The Great’s Amber Room Reveals New Treasures, Did you Know in 1945, the Navy Secretly Handed Over 150 Warships to Russia for an Invasion of Japan, The Odd Looking German Light Armored Cars in 19 Images, Why Did Germans Shoot Female Russian Soldiers on Sight, Breathtaking Images – Downed Luftwaffe Planes During The Battle of Britain, Concentration Camp Guard Who Hid in US for 75 Years Will Be Deported, The $5 Billion Army Camouflage That Failed to Hide its Soldiers, Beaufighter Discovered by Couple Walking on the Beach, The World War II Classic Movie That Still Thrills Fifty Years Later. READ & WATCH MORE: Watch the Emotional Reunion of a Concentration Camp Survivor and One of His Liberators. Just having such boys in the war zone exposed them to artillery fire and bombing, let alone the other risks of combat, Many such boys were anonymous, buried without fanfare, forgotten among the millions of dead (colorized). These people are not the only heroes of WWII, though. Hollywood War Heroes – 5 Famous Actors Awarded Medals for their WWII Service Oct 24, 2018 Tijana Radeska Regardless of their fame, lifestyle, and on-going movie projects, many Hollywood actors enlisted in WWII. This is a list of Germanic heroes . A real Spanish diplomat, he was the “partner in crime” of Giorgio Perlasca with both men saving 5,200 Hungarian Jews between April 1944 and January 1945 when Russian liberators have arrived in Hungary. Research German Military Records (WW2 German Soldier Databases) The following listing is of a number of important contacts for information on WWII German soldiers, various units, matters of importance to family members or relatives, and details on MIAs and KIAs. Because of his selflessness, he was able to save 6,000 Jews. The sisters' actions weren't only subversive, they were dangerous. Very interesting story of Heinz Drossel, also saving a jewish woman from commiting suicide, who he married after the war. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. This memorial is located on a hillside outside the small town of Hilpoltstein, in the Swiss Franconia region of northern Bavaria. In 1942 and 1943, Dutch educator Johan van Hulst arranged for the transport of some very precious cargo. He fought on New Britain, Peleliu, and Okinawa. It was even said he wrote and threw visas out of the window when he traveled through train. It was not until many years after the war that Giorgio’s story became known to the world. 14. The player can take control of American, British, Soviet or German forces to play out battles that are set in World War II. Coronel Jose Arturo Castellanos Contreras. Fregattenkapitän Otto Kretschmer - German U-boat Commanders of WWII - The Men of the Kriegsmarine - uboat.net - outstanding U-boat captain. he then proceeded to naturalize thousands of Hungarian Jews into Spanish citizens through the Rivera Law, thus, saving them from deportation and harm. 2. He saved half of Budapest's Jewish population during the Holocaust. During World War II, Nazi officials were constantly hunting down resistance fighters and the allied spies who aided them. Based on a true story, this action-packed tale is about an African American … Director: John Farrow | Stars: John Wayne , Lana Turner , David Farrar , Lyle Bettger And, as thousands of Jews were forced to walk to various concentration camps in Austria and Germany, Lutz, with his wife, pulled as many people as they could from the grim march and issued them protective documents. Sharing his father’s views, Fritz joined the Young Communist League of Germany. Updated 0027 GMT (0827 HKT) November 11, 2018 Credited with saving half of Budapest’s Jewish population from the Holocaust, Carl Lutz used paper, not weapons, to fight the Nazis. "defence force") was the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1946.It consisted of the Heer (army), the Kriegsmarine (navy) and the Luftwaffe (air force). Feltre (Feltre, Belluno Province, Veneto Region, Italy) - … German business John Rabe was in China at the time of WWII. Others were more brazen in their defiance, including a teenage girl who, with her sister, shot Nazi officers from her bicycle. A Salvadorian army colonel, Contreras was assigned as a diplomat in Geneva, Switzerland during the Second World War. Hans-Ulrich Rudel - most decorated German war hero (pilot). Some of these heroes would survive the war, others weren't as fortunate. The Wehrmacht (German pronunciation: ['ve:? A Japanese diplomat who served in Lithuania, Sugihara risked his life and that of his family when he went against the decree of the Japanese Empire and saved Jews by issuing them handwritten visas. Second World War – It is but normal that in dire need, there are always people who rise up above the rest to give more to meet that need. Pavlichenko had 309 confirmed kills during WWII – 36 of which were highly decorated German snipers. He saved hundreds of Jewish children from the Nazis. His name may be the longest in this list of WWII unknown heroes but his actions merit to be remembered. All demonstrated a humanity that history shows persists even in the darkest of times. Read the full story here. Fritz Schmenkel had always despised and hated Nazism, especially since the Nazis had killed his father during a communist demonstration in 1923. R.V. Known as the Schindler of Iran, Iranian diplomat Sardari was in-charge of Iranian Consular office in 1941 when war broke out. 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