Your RDA of Irony

D-Day Musings

June 6, 1944 should be remembered as Germany’s lucky day. With the Americans and British landing on Normandy, the Germans now had an enemy willing to take prisoners. The Russians were not so amenable; for some reason, they took their attempted annihilation rather badly and were quite vindictive. So, imagine the choice confronting Lieutenant Helmut Schmidt, Private Helmut Kohl and Private Josef Ratzinger. Should they surrender to 20 million Russians enraged with vengeance or 10 million GIs offering Hershey bars?

In films with a German perspective on World War II, I have observed a mathematical impossibility. In “Cross of Iron” there is only one Nazi in the squad. In “The Enemy Beneath” and “Das Boot” there is only one Nazi on each U-Boat. Just how many times did that one Nazi vote in order to elect Hitler.

  1. Alan Perlman says:

    Eugenius,

    Quick question: was D-Day the largest sea-land invasion ever attempted?

    Thanks and best,

    A.

    (Pls. see comments on my blog if you have a minute.)

    • Eugene Finerman says:

      Alan,

      The invasion of Normandy was the largest amphibious invasion ever attempted. There was an even larger one in the planning stages but Hiroshima and Nagasaki made it unnecessary.

      The evacuation of Dunkirk successfully rescued 300,000 Allied soldiers from the beaches of France. However, most of the troops’ vehicles were abandoned. Don’t worry: Detroit would make up the Bristish losses.

      And I haven’t seen “Defiance” yet, but with 437 cable channels I eventually will.

      Eugene

  2. Alan Perlman says:

    PS. Did you see “Defiance”? Very inspiring…about tough Jews who fought back. Probably took liberty with the details, but a great story.

    Best,

    A.

  3. Alan Perlman says:

    Eugenius,

    With all due respect, your scenario sounds more like April 1945. After D-Day came some of the bloodiest fighting of the war. But doesn’t D-Day have its dark-comic moments — something about the Fuehrer not wanting to be awakened, so they couldn’t attack with the Panzers?

    Best,

    A.

    • Eugene Finerman says:

      You are correct that the Junkers were prevented from phoning the Fuhrer for reinforcements. His staff would not dare deprive him of a moment of sleep.

      As for “the bloodiest fighting of the war”, we weren’t even on the same front. The Germans in the West were more belligerent than the Italians, but the battles were still platonic compared to the Eastern Front–where the casualties were casually in the hundreds of thousands. Consider the battle of Kursk; the Russians lost 180,000 men–three times more than the Germans–but the Russians won the battle.

      Eugene

  4. Howard Epstein says:

    Eugene,

    If you decide to watch “Defiance”, reduce your expectations. A good movie script creates a story and makes it seem believable. It has been said that “Defiance” made the real seem unbelievable.

    Howard

    • Eugene Finerman says:

      Howard,

      The casting has already prepared me for a Hollywood version of history. Daniel Craig, direct from London’s East End Yiddish Theater (there was one, once) is everyone’s idea of the modern Maccabee. It reminds me of “Avalon” which had one Jew–in a secondary role–in a story where everyone was supposed to be Jewish. Aidan Quinn? Error Go Bragh!

      Ewan Finnegan

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