So, besides my first post above from the Radio Vestnik newspaper, Iāve found some other newspapers from other newspapers. What might be most interesting is that Radio Vestnik is an underground newspaper, organized by the Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation (or simply OF for āOsvobodilna Frontaā (Liberation front)), while the other newspapers are controlled by the occupation forces. The differences between them are obvious. Those controlled by Italians and Germans are basically all the same, even containing the same articles and titles across different newspapers. The newspapers published on June 6th donāt mention the invasion at all, but still focus on the capture of Rome. They try to present axis powers in good light, while shoving the guilt for suffering, deaths, etc. on the allies. One such is āSlovenec - politiÄen list za slovenski narodā (The Slovenian (man) - Political paper for the Slovenian nation).
Iāve also found some newspapers of Slovenian settlers in USA. They still used Slovenian language for writing most articles. Iāll link one of them here and you can get back to me if you need something translated.
On the 7th, most āofficialā papers still donāt report on the invasion. But there are a couple of exceptions. So Iāll separate them in a different response to this post and translate them once I have time.
Excellent input Martin, many thanks. It is indeed an interesting angle: the resistance knew much more of the invasion than the official Axis news sources did. And both had their own motivations to share the news. It can create an interesting storyline.
If you have more translations, please post it here.
Best, Wieke
Info for you on the 320th Anti-Aircraft Barrage Balloon Battalion (VLA) at Omaha Beach. The 320th was the first Black Unit to see combat in World War II and among the first troops to set foot on the Normandy Beachhead. My Uncle was a member. He said that āIt seemed like the whole German Army was shooting at meā. He was near by when his Sargent was killed by shrapnel when he looked up from the little cover they had to find a way off the beach.
Hervieux, Linda (2015). Forgotten: The Untold Story of D-Dayās Black Heroes, At Home and at War. United States: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-231379-9.
Protecting the Beaches with Balloons: D-Day and the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion
Here are some of the 320th. Unfortunately my Uncle Jameās [James Preston Brown] name is switched with Scottās(?) in the caption. He kept a framed copy of the same photo (minus the names) in his living room in Darlington, S. C.
My Father (Tuskegee Airman), his two brothers (Navy SeaBee and 320 VLA Barrage Balloon), & my Momās brother (Tuskegee Airman) were all anti-fascists. Uncle Jamesā 320th VLA Barrage Balloon unit that was the only Black unit at Omaha Beach on #DDay. #DDay76
No worries. There are lots of different views of the times and events and lots of different motivations. My Uncles thought that fighting fascism there would help them fight it here, but my Father was less optimistic about that given what happened after WWI. He joined the Air Corps, he told me, because infantry slept on the ground whereas airmen got a cot, and he was not the kind of person that sleeps on the ground!
Thanks for Sharing this wonderful information brbrowniii801. So they were supposed to land and 630AM in the first waves to put up barrage balloons which sounds like an incredibly dangerous assignment. All the respect for them.
It also reminded me of one of my old school sources, Dr. Quintard Taylor which taught me a lot of new stuff, this is on D-Day:
Another thanks for the posts!!! And I would not use the word āforgottenā- you canāt forget something that nobody knows about- the contributions are not identified. Based on the pictures, the barrage balloons were there, but Iāve never seen who put them there. Thanks for filling in that missing piece.
The December following D-Day, Iām interested in seeing coverage of Bastonge, too- as reading some books clearly IDās an African American artillery unit right along with the 101st Airborne. But itās hard to find any info, and shows like Band of Brothers suggest they were the only ones there (which is worse, because I also hear there were some tanks there) . But thatās for a completely different thread.
To all the other posters- from just a reader and supporter, this is going to be really interesting!!!
Indeed I stand corrected, thanks for the correction, she was deported to Auschwitz and then deported 700+ kilometers to Bergen-Belsen to die there. I knew that earlier but apologies for the mistake and many thanks for the correction!
Also, @martin00 , would you have more information the Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation? I read that they had underground theaters, but also a radio program. Would be very interested to see if somehow transcripts of these recordings still exist.
Also general information on how news was spread by the Slovene resistance would be interesting to read.
No problem, just remembered differently in school.
Giving some more thought to it though, I think it is important to keep stressing this. Not all jews from the west died in Auschwitz. There was a whole system of concentration camps, which of course many of us know, but not every average Joe. As she is such an āiconicā figure in the Holocaust (for better or worse), it will keep being important to stress her specific fate, because it emphasizes the entire system of terror set up to starve, exhaust and eventually kill the jews.
I remember my girlfriend telling me her granddad kept diaries from that period. I will ask her and see if there is anything relevant in there. He lived in the south of the Netherlands at the time (Brabant). There is probably more about operation Market Garden a bit later as that is when the American airborne troops walked through their village.
I have already looked into it and, unfortunately, there was no active resistance radio during the D-day, so thatās a dead end. The story of radio in Slovenia during the second world war is still very interesting though. Hereās an article about it: A clandestine radio station operated in the midst of Fascist-occupied Ljubljana - RTVSLO.si
The story of Kricac (Shouter) is very interesting in itself and there are many heroic stories involved.
The second illegal radio emerged in July 1944 (so just after D-day) as Radio Osvobodilna Fronta (Liberation Front).
There was also the āofficialā Radio Ljubljana, which was overtaken after occupation. First by the Italians, later by the Germans. Both have gradually limited the content in Slovenian and replaced it with music and shows in Italian/German language. On the picture above is Ivan Pengov who was a reporter at Radio Ljubljana even during occupation. At one point he even went to Rome, from where the Slovene news were read for a time. He continued his work at the radio in Ljubljana when Italy capitulated and the Germans took charge of the occupation in the territory of Slovenia, that was previously controlled by Italy.
As for the liberation front itselfā¦ Oh boy.
Letās just say that books have been and will continue to be written about this topic. But, I suppose, thatās the same in every country. There is always more that can be said about the second world war, since there are so many viewpoints, experiences and means to record them all. Which is good.
Anyway. Iāll link two publications that cover this field pretty well, in the reply to this (Since Iāve already pasted two links in here). Iām sure youāll find something interesting in there, including how they handled information.
Iāll keep looking and let you know when I find something interesting.
Best wishes.
