D-Day was June 6, 1944.
Over 160,000 troops from America, Britain, Canada, free France, Poland and other nations landed along a 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast of France. It was the largest amphibious invasion force in world history, supported by 5,000 ships with 195,700 navy personnel and 13,000 aircraft. On that day, the sea along the heavily fortified beaches of Omaha, Utah, Gold, Juno, Sword and Pointe du Hoc ran red with the blood of almost 9,000 killed or wounded. It was a significant turning point in World War II.
The steps which led up to D-Day deserve serious examination.
After World War I, Germany’s economy suffered from depression and a devaluation of their currency. On Jan. 30, 1933, Adolph Hitler was elected Chancellor of Germany by promising hope and universal healthcare. Less than a month later, on Feb. 27, 1933, a crisis occurred – the Rheichstag, Germany’s Capitol Building, was suspiciously set on fire. Hitler was quick to use this crisis as an opportunity to seize emergency powers, suspend basic rights, and accuse his political opponents of conspiracy.
He ordered mass arrests followed by executions, even ordering his SS and Gestapo secret police to murder rivals, as during the Night of the Long Knives. Hitler confiscated guns, forced old German military leaders to retire, and swayed the public with mesmerizing speeches.
Using diplomatic intimidation, deception, and Blitzkrieg “lightning” attacks, Hitler’s National Socialist Workers’ Party proceeded to take control of:
- Austria
- The Sudeten Region
- Bohemia
- Moravia
- Poland
- Denmark
- Norway
- Luxembourg
- Belgium
- Holland
- France
- Monaco
- Greece
- The Channel Island (UK)
- Czechoslovakia
- Baltic states
- Serbia
- Italy
- Hungary
- Romania
- Bulgaria
- Slovakia
- Finland
- Croatia, and more
The National Socialist Workers Party operated over 1,200 concentration camps where an estimated 4,251,500 people lost their lives.