Kristallnacht

 

Kristallnacht damage

November 9, 1938: The beginning of the systematic pogroms against the Jews by the Nazi regime begins with Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass. Hitler came to power as Chancellor of Germany in 1933 and began his attack against the Jews almost immediately by enacting many restrictive laws. In 1935, The Nuremburg Laws went into effect depriving Jews of German citizenship. By the next year, Jews were banned from any elective process. “Jews Not Welcome” signs were plastered everywhere, but they sensitively came down for the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

 

Jews from Poland but living in Germany were deported and all their possessions were kept by the German state. Poland refused entry and so “relocation camps” were set up on the border. Zindel Grynszpan was one of the deported Jews. His son, living in Paris with an uncle, was outraged. He went to the embassy on November 7 intent on killing the German Ambassador to France. He was out and so the seventeen-year-old shot the Third Secretary, Ernst von Rath, who died on November 9.

Joseph Goebbels used this as an excuse to begin the pogrom. For two nights mobs went wild. Nearly 100 Jews were killed and hundreds more were injured. Between 1000 and 2000 synagogues were burned and 7,500 businesses were destroyed, glass shattered and littering the streets. Cemeteries and schools were vandalized. Around 30,000 Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps.

The Nazis claimed it was a spontaneous outpouring of hate toward the inflammatory Jews and so they instituted even more restrictive laws. All precious metals, stocks, bonds, jewelry, and art would be confiscated by the German state. Jews were segregated and were unable to own radios or even carrier pigeons. Curfews were enforced. Of course, they could not own any weapons. Kristallnacht, literally Crystal Night, was a mocking term employed for the devastation, just one more way to debase the Jews.

“The price of hating other human beings is loving oneself less.” – Eldridge Cleaver

“If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself.  What isn’t part of ourselves doesn’t disturb us.” – Herman Hesse

“Always remember others may hate you but those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them. And then you destroy yourself.” – Richard M. Nixon

“End discrimination. Hate everybody.” – unknown

Also on this day, in 1872 the Great Boston Fire ripped through Boston.

Aerial Warfare

 

Shooting Star (P-80 / F-80)

November 8, 1950: The first jet-to-jet dogfight occurs during the Korean war with US Air Force Lt. Russell J. Brown, flying an F-80 Shooting Star. He shot down two North Korean MiG-15s. Aerial warfare began during the French Revolution in 1794 when balloons were used to direct ground fire from the advantageous position in the air. During the US Civil War, balloons were used to direct artillery fire. However, they were not easily steered and this caused substantial difficulty.

 

Dirigibles or zeppelins were large balloons attached to first steam and then gasoline powered engines. The steam version invented in 1859 first allowed for steering. The Wright Brothers build the first US military airplane in 1909, but the idea was initially rebuffed. The first use of an airplane in warfare was when the Italians used it against the Turks near Tripoli in 1911.

At the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the Germans and the Allies each had about 200 planes. They were used for reconnaissance. At first pilots waved to each other, then opposing pilots began throwing bricks, grenades, or rope to tangle the propellers. Anthony Fokker developed a machine gun that could shoot through the propellers. In 1915, French ace Roland Garros was the first person to shoot down a plane. Oswald Boelcke, a German ace, devised the first air-to-air strategies.

Between the two world wars, planes became faster and more maneuverable. For the next world war, guns and cannons were mounted on the wings and bomb bays were added. Bombs could be dropped on targets with more accuracy, including atomic bombs. Jet aircraft were being developed by the end of World War II. Missiles were added to the arsenals carried by planes. Today, warfare superiority is greatly influenced by aerial warfare.

“Once the command of the air is obtained by one of the contended armies, the war must become a conflict between a seeing host and one that is blind.” – H. G. Wells

“We were once told that the aeroplane had ‘abolished frontiers.’ Actually it is only since the aeroplane became a serious weapon that frontiers have become definitely impassable.” – George Orwell

“Not to have an adequate air force in the present state of the world is to compromise the foundations of national freedom and independence.” – Winston Churchill

“You can shoot down every MiG the Soviets employ, but if you return to base and the lead Soviet tank commander is eating breakfast in your snack bar, Jack, you’ve lost the war.” – Anonymous A-10 Pilot, USAF

Also on this day, in 1602 the Bodleian Library opened at the University of Oxford.

Galloping Gertie

 

Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapsing. (Photo by Barney Elliott; The Camera Shop)

November 7, 1940: The Tacoma Bridge over the Tacoma Narrows of Puget Sound in Washington collapses. The bridge was first suggested by the Northern Pacific Railroad company in 1889. By the mid-1920s there was serious interest in building it. Both Joseph B. Strauss who was the chief engineer on the Golden Gate Bridge and David B. Steinman, builder of the Mackinac Bridge submitted plans. Strauss met with civic leaders several times in 1929 but was fired by them in 1931 because he had not gained funding.

 

Funding remained problematic. The Washington State Toll Bridge Authority was created but it was noted that tolls alone could not finance the bridge. Both the US Army and Navy had bases in the area and they were looked to for financing. Washington State engineer Clark Eldridge petitioned for an $11 million “tried and true conventional bridge” to be built. However Leon Moisseiff, designer of the Golden Gate Bridge thought that he could economize. Eldridge’s design called for 25 feet deep girders supporting the bridge while Moisseiff’s design called for 8 foot supports. The cost of the scaled back design was $8 million.

The Moisseiff design was built and the bridge opened on July 1, 1940. It always had a longitudinal sway in the winds sweeping over Puget Sound. That meant the bridge swayed making hills and valleys across the bridge.

On this date, the winds were at 42 mph without appreciable gusting. Instead of the up and down movement, a torsional sway or rising and lowering from side to side, started. At the highest shift, the left sidewalk was 28 feet higher than the right side. The bridge began to sway with the left side lower and at the other end was right side lower, like wringing a washcloth. The bridge snapped in the middle and a 600 foot span fell into the Sound. The bridge was rebuilt incorporating the new knowledge of aerodynamics necessary to its construction and opened again October 14, 1950.

For an amazing video of the collapse, see this You Tube movie. It is a bit slow to start, but has an amazing finish.

“The surest foundation of a manufacturing concern is quality. After that, and a long way after, comes cost.” – Andrew Carnegie

“People forget how fast you did a job – but they remember how well you did it.” – Howard W. Newton

“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of intelligent efforts.” – John Ruskin

“Half the failures in life arise from pulling in one’s horse as he is leaping.” – J. C. Hare and A. W. Hare

Also on this day, in 1837 Elijah Parish Lovejoy was martyred for the abolitionist cause.

The Most Reverend John Carroll

 

Portrait of Bishop John Carroll, by Gilbert Stuart

November 6, 1789: Pope Pius VI appoints Monsignor John Carroll as the first bishop in the US, assigned to the diocese of Baltimore, Maryland. Carroll was born to Irish immigrant parents. His father was a merchant, his mother’s family wealthy landowners.

 

He was always a good student. At the age of twelve, he first attended a Jesuit school. The next year he attended the College of St Omer in French Flanders. He joined the Society of Jesus, another name for Jesuits, at the age of eighteen. He continued his studies in philosophy and theology and was ordained in 1769 at the age of 34. He remained in Europe teaching until he was nearly 40 years old. In 1773, Pope Clement XIV wrote a Bull “suppressing and dissolving the Society of Jesus.” Carroll wrote an essay supporting his order without the hoped for response coming from Rome.

He returned to the US to care for his widowed mother. However, at the time of his return he was seen as a missionary. Due to discriminatory laws, there was no public Catholic Church in the US. Through his uncle, Carroll became a friend to Benjamin Franklin and was instrumental in setting policy for some pre-Revolutionary War councils. When the constitutions for the newly formed Thirteen States were finalized, only four states had rescinded the discriminatory laws against the Catholics and their ability to practice their religion. Maryland was one of those states that permitted public worship. When Baltimore was elevated to an archdiocese, Carroll became archbishop, again the first in the country.

Carroll not only loved the Catholic Church and his Jesuit order, he also believed in education and liberty. He founded Georgetown University, the first Catholic school in the US and Georgetown Preparatory School, the first Catholic day and boarding school. John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio is named for the bishop.

“You do not lead by hitting people over the head – that’s assault, not leadership.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

“No one’s a leader if there are no followers.” – Malcolm Forbes

“Real leaders are ordinary people with extraordinary determinations.” – John Seaman Garns

“Leadership is action, not position.” – Donald H. McGannon

Also on this day, in 1935 the British fighter plane, Hawker Hurricane, first flew.

Buying and Selling

All twelve tokens from the US Deluxe Edition Monopoly (Photo by ScooterSES)

November 5, 1935: The world’s most popular board game, Monopoly, first goes on sale from Parker Brothers. The game’s history begins before this, however. Clarence Darrow created a game using Atlantic City street names. His game was based on games already being played like The Landlord’s Game by Elizabeth Magie and even one called The Fascinating Game of Finance that was played by college students studying the subject.

Darrow first drew his game out on oilskin, then he drew it out on cardboard. Cardboard was better. He approached both Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers with the idea to sell his game in 1933. Parker Brothers turned him down citing 52 “fundamental flaws” with the game. One of the major flaws was that there is rarely a true winner. Another great flaw was the time it took to play a game. This is usually settled by having a preset time to play and then counting up net worth, the winner being the one with the most money.

The game consists of 22 streets of 8 different colors that can be purchased. One can build houses and hotels when all streets of a certain color are in the player’s possession. There are also 4 railroads and 2 utilities to be purchased and Community Chest and Chance cards direct players as well. Two dice are rolled for movement around the board

Many players not only use the rules provided by Parker Brothers, but include a panoply of house rules to add to the game. The game has been sold in 81 countries in 27 different languages – including a Braille edition. Since the game was introduced, over 200 millions sets have been sold and over half a billion people have played the game. More than 75 billion of the little green houses have been built. The longest game of record was played for 1,680 hours.

“We always felt that forty-five minutes was about the right length for a game, but Monopoly could go on for hours. Also, a game was supposed to have a definite end somewhere. In Monopoly you kept going around and around.” – Edward P. Parker

“To him, money was like the toy bank notes in Monopoly: he wanted it, not for what it could buy, but because it was needed to play the game.” – Ken Follet

“The important thing to remember is that our classic Monopoly game is our flagship game. Nothing can change Atlantic City’s importance to Monopoly fans everywhere.” – Pat Riso

“I think it’s wrong that only one company makes the game Monopoly.” – Steven Wright

Also on this day, in 1885, American author and historian, Will Durant, was born.

Symbolism

 

Sigmund Freud, by Max Halberstadt, 1914 for LIFE Magazine

November 4, 1899: Sigmund Freud’s book The Interpretation of Dreams is first published in German and post-dated to 1900. Freud was an Austrian neurologist who took up the study of brain functioning and interpretation. He was born in 1856, a brilliant child who excelled in academic endeavors. He went to medical school, one of the few options available to Jews in that place and time.

 

His study and lectures offered him a decent living. This book, however, was not a “best-seller” at the time of its first publication. It took several years for the first printing of 600 books to finally sell. Freud was paid around $209 for the book. He revised it a total of eight times. It was first translated into English and Russian in 1913 and six other languages by 1938.

The book discusses the idea of sublimation of thoughts by the subconscious during waking hours. At night, without strict control, the preconscious allows these thoughts to emerge in a warped sense into the conscious. One must interpret the meaning behind the warped images to understand the essence of the dreams. In this book, Freud first mentioned that sexuality was an important part of childhood – an idea that was shocking at the time. Freud called dreams the “royal road to the unconscious” which  mirrored “wish fulfillment” in the awakened dreamer.

Freud first introduced the ego, super-ego, and id – his names for the conscious, preconscious, and unconscious respectively – in an essay written in 1920 called Beyond the Pleasure Principle. He expanded these ideas in a book entitled The Ego and The Id that was published in 1923.

“What a distressing contrast there is between the radiant intelligence of the child and the feeble mentality of the average adult.”

“Just as no one can be forced into belief, so no one can be forced into unbelief.”

“If you can’t do it, give up!”

“The first human who hurled an insult instead of a stone was the founder of civilization.”

“The mind is like an iceberg, it floats with one-seventh of its bulk above water.” – all from Sigmund Freud

Also on this day, in 1839 the Newport Rising failed miserably.

Greensboro Massacre

 

Police in Greensboro

November 3, 1979: A Maoist Communist Workers Party [CWP] rally is held in Greensboro, North Carolina. The rally and parade was booked as “Death to the Klan.” Back in July, the Ku Klux Klan had held a rally in a neighboring town. The CWP crashed that rally and clubbed KKK members with canes and 2×4s, waved guns, and set fire to a Confederate flag. The CWP then planned their own rally.

 

The KKK and some members of the American Nazis joined forced to disrupt the CWP rally. They loaded nine cars with members and filled the trunks with guns. They went to the sight of the parade, having gotten a map of the route two days earlier. A tenth car, a Greensboro police cruiser, joined their caravan. An order came over the radio from Greensboro police dispatch that sent the rest of the police off on breaks.

The KKK/Nazi party parked their cars, got out, went to the trunks to arm themselves, and fired into the crowd. Four people were killed immediately, another person died three days later, and nine more were wounded. Because this was an advertised rally and parade, the news vans were there and the entire massacre was videotaped. Eighty-eight seconds after the firing started, the KKK/Nazi group returned to their cars and drove off.

There was a subsequent trial which ended in acquittal. A civil suit was brought and $300,000 was granted which formed the monetary base for the Greensboro Justice Fund. Dr. Bermanzohns, one of the CWP leaders claimed the purpose of the rally to be twofold – to induce sympathy and to lure the poor African-Americans in the community to join the communist party. They achieved the first goal, but not the second. Bermanzohns also said, while dry-eyed at the funerals of his fallen comrades, that they knew there would be bloodshed and it was unfortunate, but not unexpected.

“Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.” – Saul Alinsky

“The enemy is anybody who’s going to get you killed, no matter which side he’s on.” – Joseph Heller

“Between two groups of people who want to make inconsistent kinds of worlds, I see no remedy but force.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

“It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.” – James Baldwin

Also on this day, in 1957 the Russians sent the first living creature into space. Laika, a dog, died shortly after liftoff.

Mo Ri Xon

Headline in The Baltimore Sun after Morrison's suicide

November 2, 1965: Norman Morrison dies in front of the Pentagon at 5:15 PM in a staged protest against the Vietnam War. Morrison was a 31-year-old Quaker who was a peaceful man – against the war, against the violence of war, and against killing in general. He was born in Erie, Pennsylvania and was married with three children.

 

Morrison held anti-war sentiments for some time. He had not discussed his plans with his wife, Anne. He had discussed the possibility of his demise with friends. Monks in Saigon were protesting the death and destruction heaped upon their nation by setting themselves on fire. This was not a normal occurrence in the US.

Earlier in the day, Morrison had read an article in an anti-war newspaper telling of a priest in Saigon who had his church bombed. He had stated that he watched his congregation being bombed and burned by napalm. Morrison took his youngest child, Emily, who was almost a year old with him as he went to the Pentagon. He doused himself with gasoline and carried Emily to the window of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Prior to lighting a match, he set Emily down, or according to some reports, Emily was snatched away, and then he lit himself on fire.

At the time, he was lauded by the anti-war faction as a hero. In fact, he is a Vietnamese hero even today known as Mo Ri Xon. There is a street named for him in Hanoi. However, in the US where self-immolation is not a popular form of protest, there was outrage that he seemed willing to sacrifice his own baby daughter and that his protest was steeped in insanity. His wife was left to carry on. She picked up Emily later that night and raised her children without a father and without insurance money. Ben, the couple’s son, died of cancer at age 16. The remaining family toured Vietnam in 1999 where they met poet To Huu who had written a devotional poem entitled Emily, My Child.

“An event has happened, upon which it is difficult to speak, and impossible to be silent.” – Edmund Burke

“He who does not bellow the truth when he knows the truth makes himself the accomplice of liars and forgers.” – Charles Péguy

“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” – Eli Wiesel

“Morrison’s death was a tragedy not only for his family but also for me and the country. It was an outcry against the killing that was destroying the lives of so many Vietnamese and American youth” – Robert McNamara

Also on this day, in 1898 Johnny Campbell led the first organized cheering at a Golden Gopher’s football game.

Michigan’s Bridge

Mackinac Bridge at Sunset (Photo by Dehk)

November 1, 1957: The Mackinac Bridge in Michigan opens to traffic. The state of Michigan is comprised of the upper and lower peninsulas, divided by the Straits of Mackinac between Mackinac City and St. Ignace at its closest juncture. Lake Michigan is to the west and Lake Huron is to the east.

The first call for a means of year round connection between the upper and lower peninsulas came on February 5, 1884. Boats were not able to ferry people during the freezing winters and so a bridge or tunnel was suggested. The Brooklyn Bridge had just opened that year and anything seemed possible. However, a bridge was not immediately forthcoming.

On July 1, 1888, Cornelius Vanderbilt stated that he now had the “largest, well-equipped hotel of its kind in the world … we need a bridge across the Strait.” But still no bridge was built. In the 1920s a floating tunnel was suggested but not built. In 1923, state funded ferry service was looked into, but at a cost of $30 million, it was dropped. Again in 1934, a bridge was talked about, but too expensive to build. Finally in 1952, with $86 million in bonds sold, the bridge was a go. The foundations were built at a cost of almost $26 million and the superstructure cost over $44.5 million.

Construction began on May 7, 1954. There were 7,500 offsite workers supporting the 3,500 onsite workers who used 85,000 blueprints and 4,000 engineering drawings submitted by 350 engineers. Nearly 6,000,000 rivets and bolts hold the bridge together. The main towers rise 552 feet over the water. The main span is 3,800 feet long and the total length of the suspension bridge is 8,614 feet long with the total length, including the approaches at 20,372 feet long. Five workers died during the construction of the bridge. The final bond was retired on July 1, 1986. The $3.00 fare per car [higher rates for larger vehicles] covers the cost of maintaining the bridge. The 100 millionth crossing was made on June 25, 1998.

“Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build bridges even when there are no rivers.” – Nikita Khrushchev

“The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn” – David Russell

“He who burns his bridges better be a damn good swimmer” – unknown

“Let every man praise the bridge that carries him over” – English Proverb

Also on this day, in 1894 the Last Tsar of Russian, Nicholas II, rose to the throne.

“I’m just a patsy”

Lee Harvey Oswald while living in Minsk

October 31, 1959: Lee Harvey Oswald, living in Moscow, states that he will never return to the US. Oswald was born in Louisiana. His father died before he was born. By the time he was 18 he had lived in 22 different places and attended 12 schools. At age 14, he was in NYC for a short time and picked up for truancy. He underwent psychiatric evaluation and was diagnosed with schizoid features and passive/aggressive tendencies. He was getting psychological treatment, but his mother moved them back to New Orleans.

He was not a good student but he loved to read. At age 15 he became a devout Marxist based solely on his reading. He dropped out of school at age 17 and joined the Civil Air Patrol. He then enlisted in the US Marine Corps, following his older brother. He was a radar operator for a time. He was not popular in the Marines because of his small size and Marxist leanings. He became violent and court–martialed twice with loss of rank. He applied for early discharge by falsely claiming hardship conditions.

In October 1959 at age 19, he moved to Moscow. He went to the US Embassy there and renounced his US citizenship. The KGB did not want Oswald in Russia, but a high official thought he might be of some use. He was allowed to stay and worked there for 30 months. While there he met a married a local girl.

They moved back to the US in June 1962. Oswald got a graphic arts job in Dallas, Texas from which he was fired in April 1963. Ten days later he attempted to assassinate General Edwin Walker, a vocal anti-Communist. He fled back to New Orleans, attempted to return to Moscow, moved on to Mexico with the hopes of getting to Cuba, and then went back to Dallas. On November 22, 1963 he shot John F. Kennedy. He was caught, arrested, charged and arraigned on that same day. On November 24, while being taken from the jail to the courthouse, he was shot and killed by Jack Ruby with the nation watching via television.

“I want citizenship because I am a communist and a worker, I have lived in a decadent capitalist society where the workers are slaves.”  – Lee Harvey Oswald

“I don’t know why you are treating me like this. The only thing I have done is carry a pistol into a movie.” – Lee Harvey Oswald

“Assassination’s the fastest way.” – Moliere

“Ordinarily he was insane, but he had lucid moments when he was merely stupid.” – Heinrich Heine

Also on this day, in 1912 D.W. Griffith’s movie, The Musketeers of Pig Alley, was released – the first gangster film.