I added a few new names to this journal and one person wished to have their name removed--I did. They might be worrisome of some of the stuff I put in this journal and I'll respect that. Years ago when I first began the journal, one of my children was involved in working a top secret job. So, when I wrote to him, knowing key words will set off a warning to the various federal agencies, I used numerous key words to ensure my messages would delight the ears of some of our well-paid listeners. My Son, well he wasn't as amused. But I knew nothing would happen and it Didn't. He's now peeling potatoes for his new specialty- not.
I'm not going to use up space advising my new people with what this journal is all about, as if know. But no news today, I'm ending my journal today with a commentary.
As most of you know I am one-eighth Jewish and I've delved into my people's history, from the Bible to published history books. I've spent a good amount of hours studying Germany and its history back before World War I. I tell you all this because of where I'm going with this commentary.
My mother is full German, her father was an immigrant who came here a couple years after WWI ended. The family name was Von Dreeke and I have yet to find out how the title of Von was granted. Von is similar to the English title of Sir. In some instances the Von was awarded by the German Kaiser, or it might've been passed down for centuries from oldest son to oldest son for the royalty. I have found no evidence of royalty for my mother's side of the family. But my mother used tell me when she was in elementary school she suffered a lot of persecution for being a German. My grandfather decided to drop the Von from their name and they only used Dreeke. Now through my dear friend who is now a Police Captain in the German State Police, I have learned the Dreeke name is well known in the northwest German townships and they are mostly communities of fishermen. My grandfather became a stage actor in Cleveland and other cities they visited. Then he got a very minor role in a Cary Grant WWII movie and had the last line of the movie. Sadly, he died 4-months later and back then they were in the after effects of the Great Depression. There were times they could only eat from the fish my older brother caught. I was told he was known as the Little Fisherman of Morro Bay, which is in California. I fished there myself decades later. But my mom told me stories of living through those times and we've never seen anything like it- thankfully and I hope we never well.
Now my father and our last name was of course Casselman, supposedly from Kassel, Germany. No Von is this name and it was in the 1800's when my Great-Grandfather came across. Also immigrants. My grandfather was an old fashioned blacksmith and I used to visit his place when I was just old enough to remember. He passed on when I was 5-yrs old and back then I was never told of our Jewish heritage from my mother's side. I learned of it after I joined the military in 1971. So I was part Jewish, it didn't matter to me as I had a lot of respect for our history.
Okay, so why am I writing this? It's because I am so tired of seeing the posters and banners that compare Trump to Hitler. These ignorant people have no idea what they are talking about. During the war, the Jewish people, political prisoners and all the Gay, Lesbian and Transgender people who could be identified, lost all their properties as Hitler ordered his Nazi Regime to seize anything and everything of value from all these people. They were forced to ware paper or cloth badges on their outer garments, which identified them as Jewish or Homosexual. Some of the Jewish lost their homes that had been in their property for more than a century, and also their businesses. Only the ones who were important to the Nazi power machine, to help with the war effort, were allowed to have jobs. Then the word came down from Jew to Jew of the camps being built to hold the Jews and Homosexuals. They were soon after hauled away in freezing cattle cars, sometimes for a train trip that took days. Some of the people died of exposure, while others were shot for not behaving properly in front of the German soldiers. Some times the bayonet was used to save on ammo. It was at this time the various gentiles began hiding the Jews and the homosexuals. But in far too many instances their location was ratted out by a family member- often a gentile's son who was now part of the Junior Nazi Brigade. Kids that had once played together with were now looked upon as dirt, all because of Hitler's powerful message. He blamed the Jews and the "Degenerates" for Germany's problems. Some of the writer's of the times believed Hitler was only using the Jews as a scapegoat, to get the German people's mind on them, then worry about German's military losses. For in 1943, Germany began losing.
It was stated several times that Hitler ordered the mass executions primarily because Germany could no longer afford to feed their Prisoners, numbered in the millions. Some of his own officers believed Hitler wanted them killed and buried to prevent the allies from seeing what he had done to a whole people's group. This was when the "special" showers were created and the massive ovens were built. But they reached a point where the victims of the showers far outnumbered what the ovens could handle in the various camps. Most people have seen photos of the Jewish people found in the camps, most of the dead, naked, were piled like cord-wood. Our soldiers who had gone through a year of continual combat wept, while others became ill. They opened the ovens to see where guards had jammed 5 to 10 Jews, alive, into them, before they ran from the camps to flee the Americans. They ran out of time to bake them to ashes, so they simply shot them. The live prisoners were a sight the Americans would never forget as the prisoners, who'd been starved for weeks and months, slowly ambled or crawled out to see the American troops. But there were some prisoners unable to leave their beds and those people would end up dying from organ failure before any American doctor could help them. This was Adolph Hitler, the mass killer of 6-million plus Jews. I've never seen the number of political prisoners and homosexuals who were killed. But I have heard it said it was also in the millions. As we know, Stalin, the Russian leader also killed millions, but most of his focus was on eliminating the Gypsies.
No, Trump is nothing like Hitler. He hasn't ordered the arrest of all the Muslim people in America or ordered them to where cloth badges identifying them as followers of Islam. He has not issued an Executive Order to seize all their properties or ordered the demolition of their mosques. He has asked for 90-120 days to stop the Muslims from coming into the US, while these people are investigated. He really cares about having another 9-11 happen on his watch and this was a promise he made when speaking before his supporters. True, he is coming in fast and hard because the people who elected him wanted him to move this way because they were tired of how slow Obama moved.
But now its "hit the Trump" coming from the news shows, most of them connected to the democratic cause. Even my local Anchorage newspaper shows the liberal cause. Maybe once a week I'll find a conservative commentary- even the Letters to the Editor are liberals- most of the time, but in all honestly, there will be a Republican who'll get his letter published.
I'm going to stop now, I'm crushing my wooden box with my 200 lbs. Just so you know though, I didn't vote for Trump or Hillary, I did a write in of a person I respected most. But I'll keep that vote private, which is my right. You may not know this but a couple of US Senators are putting together a Bill that would force all voters to identify who you voted for and possibly record your personal data.
Have a nice day.