1.
Nazi Germany
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Nazi Germany is the common English name for the period in German history from 1933 to 1945, when Germany was governed by a dictatorship under the control of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Under Hitlers rule, Germany was transformed into a fascist state in which the Nazi Party took totalitarian control over all aspects of life. The official name of the state was Deutsches Reich from 1933 to 1943, the period is also known under the names the Third Reich and the National Socialist Period. The Nazi regime came to an end after the Allied Powers defeated Germany in May 1945, Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany by the President of the Weimar Republic Paul von Hindenburg on 30 January 1933. The Nazi Party then began to eliminate all opposition and consolidate its power. Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934, and Hitler became dictator of Germany by merging the powers and offices of the Chancellery, a national referendum held 19 August 1934 confirmed Hitler as sole Führer of Germany. All power was centralised in Hitlers person, and his word became above all laws, the government was not a coordinated, co-operating body, but a collection of factions struggling for power and Hitlers favour. In the midst of the Great Depression, the Nazis restored economic stability and ended mass unemployment using heavy military spending, extensive public works were undertaken, including the construction of Autobahnen. The return to economic stability boosted the regimes popularity, racism, especially antisemitism, was a central feature of the regime. The Germanic peoples were considered by the Nazis to be the purest branch of the Aryan race, millions of Jews and other peoples deemed undesirable by the state were murdered in the Holocaust. Opposition to Hitlers rule was ruthlessly suppressed, members of the liberal, socialist, and communist opposition were killed, imprisoned, or exiled. The Christian churches were also oppressed, with many leaders imprisoned, education focused on racial biology, population policy, and fitness for military service. Career and educational opportunities for women were curtailed, recreation and tourism were organised via the Strength Through Joy program, and the 1936 Summer Olympics showcased the Third Reich on the international stage. Propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels made effective use of film, mass rallies, the government controlled artistic expression, promoting specific art forms and banning or discouraging others. Beginning in the late 1930s, Nazi Germany made increasingly aggressive territorial demands and it seized Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1938 and 1939. Hitler made a pact with Joseph Stalin and invaded Poland in September 1939. In alliance with Italy and smaller Axis powers, Germany conquered most of Europe by 1940, reichskommissariats took control of conquered areas, and a German administration was established in what was left of Poland. Jews and others deemed undesirable were imprisoned, murdered in Nazi concentration camps and extermination camps, following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the tide gradually turned against the Nazis, who suffered major military defeats in 1943
2.
Iron Cross
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The Iron Cross was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire and Nazi Germany. It was established by King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia in March 1813 backdated to the birthday of his late wife Queen Louise on 10 March 1813 during the Napoleonic Wars, Louise was the first person to receive this decoration. The recommissioned Iron Cross was also awarded during the Franco-Prussian War, World War I, the Iron Cross was normally a military decoration only, though there were instances of it being awarded to civilians for performing military functions. The design of the symbol was black with a white or silver outline. It was ultimately derived from the cross pattée occasionally used by the Teutonic Order from the 13th century, the black cross patty was also used as the symbol of the German Army from 1871 to March/April 1918, when it was replaced by the Balkenkreuz. In 1956, it was re-introduced as the symbol of the Bundeswehr, the Black Cross is the emblem used by the Prussian Army, and by the army of Germany from 1871 to present. It was designed on the occasion of the German Campaign of 1813, from this time, the Black Cross also featured on the Prussian war flag alongside the Black Eagle. The design is due to neoclassical architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel, based on a sketch by Frederick William, the design is ultimately derivative of the black cross used by the Teutonic Order. This heraldic cross took various forms throughout the history, including a simple Latin cross. When the Quadriga of the Goddess of Peace was retrieved from Paris at Napoleons fall, an Iron Cross was inserted into her laurel wreath, making her into a Goddess of Victory. The Black Cross was used on the naval and war flags of the German Empire, the Black Cross was used as the symbol of the German Army until 1915, when it was replaced by a simpler Balkenkreuz. The Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic, the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany, the traditional design in black is used on armored vehicles and aircraft, while after German reunification, a new design in blue and silver was introduced for use in other contexts. The ribbon for the 1813,1870 and 1914 Iron Cross was black with two white bands, the colors of Prussia. The non-combatant version of this award had the same medal, but the black, the ribbon color for the 1939 EKII was black/white/red/white/black. Since the Iron Cross was issued several different periods of German history. For example, an Iron Cross from World War I bears the year 1914, the reverse of the 1870,1914 and 1939 series of Iron Crosses have the year 1813 appearing on the lower arm, symbolizing the year the award was created. The 1813 decoration also has the initials FW for King Frederick William III, the final version shows a swastika. There was also the 1957 issue, a replacement medal for holders of the 1939 series which substituted an oak-leaf cluster for the banned swastika
3.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
4.
Bundeswehr
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The Bundeswehr is the unified armed forces of Germany and their civil administration and procurement authorities. The States of Germany are not allowed to maintain armed forces of their own, the Bundeswehr is divided into a military part and a civil part with the armed forces administration. The military part of the defense force consists of the Heer, Marine, Luftwaffe, Streitkräftebasis, Zentraler Sanitätsdienst. In addition the Bundeswehr has approximately 27,600 reserve personnel. 2%, the Bundeswehr are in the process of integrating smaller NATO members Brigades into divisions of the German army. The Bundeswehr is to play a role as anchor army for smaller NATO states. 2 of 3 Royal Netherlands Army Brigades are now under German Command, in 2014 the 11th Airmobile Brigade, was integrated into the German Division of fast forces. Also the Dutch 43rd Mechanized Brigade, will be integrated into the 1st Panzer Division of the German army, with the integration starting at the beginning of 2016, and the unit becoming operational at the end of 2019. The Dutch-German military cooperation are seen as an example for setting up a European defense union, also the Czech Republics 4th Rapid Deployment Brigade, and Romania’s 81st Mechanized Brigade, will be integrated into Germany’s 10 Armoured Division and Rapid Response Forces Division. The name Bundeswehr was first proposed by the former Wehrmacht general and Liberal politician Hasso von Manteuffel, the Iron Cross is its official emblem. It is a symbol that has an association with the military of Germany. The Schwarzes Kreuz is derived from the black cross insignia of the medieval Teutonic knights, when the Bundeswehr was established in 1955, its founding principles were based on developing a completely new military force for the defence of West Germany. In this respect the Bundeswehr did not consider itself to be a successor to either the Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic or Hitlers Wehrmacht, neither does it adhere to the traditions of any former German military organization. One of the most visible traditions of the modern Bundeswehr is the Großer Zapfenstreich, the FRG reinstated this formal military ceremony in 1952, three years before the foundation of the Bundeswehr. Today it is performed by a band with 4 fanfare trumpeters and timpani. The Zapfenstreich is only performed during national celebrations or solemn public commemorations and it can honour distinguished persons present such as the German federal president or provide the conclusion to large military exercises. Another important tradition in the modern German armed forces is the Gelöbnis, there are two kinds of oath, for conscripts/recruits it is a pledge but its a solemn vow for full-time personnel. The pledge is made annually on 20 July, the date on which a group of Wehrmacht officers attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944, recruits from the Bundeswehrs Wachbataillon make their vow at the Bendlerblock in Berlin. This was the headquarters of the resistance but also where the officers were executed following its failure
5.
Adolf Hitler
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Adolf Hitler was a German politician who was the leader of the Nazi Party, Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and Führer of Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945. As dictator of the German Reich, he initiated World War II in Europe with the invasion of Poland in September 1939 and was central to the Holocaust, Hitler was born in Austria, then part of Austria-Hungary, and raised near Linz. He moved to Germany in 1913 and was decorated during his service in the German Army in World War I and he joined the German Workers Party, the precursor of the NSDAP, in 1919 and became leader of the NSDAP in 1921. In 1923 he attempted a coup in Munich to seize power, the failed coup resulted in Hitlers imprisonment, during which he dictated the first volume of his autobiography and political manifesto Mein Kampf. Hitler frequently denounced international capitalism and communism as being part of a Jewish conspiracy, by 1933, the Nazi Party was the largest elected party in the German Reichstag, which led to Hitlers appointment as Chancellor on 30 January 1933. Hitler aimed to eliminate Jews from Germany and establish a New Order to counter what he saw as the injustice of the post-World War I international order dominated by Britain, Hitler sought Lebensraum for the German people in Eastern Europe. His aggressive foreign policy is considered to be the cause of the outbreak of World War II in Europe. He directed large-scale rearmament and on 1 September 1939 invaded Poland, resulting in British, in June 1941, Hitler ordered an invasion of the Soviet Union. By the end of 1941 German forces and the European Axis powers occupied most of Europe, failure to defeat the Soviets and the entry of the United States into the war forced Germany onto the defensive and it suffered a series of escalating defeats. In the final days of the war, during the Battle of Berlin in 1945, Hitler married his long-time lover, on 30 April 1945, less than two days later, the two killed themselves to avoid capture by the Red Army, and their corpses were burned. Hitler and the Nazi regime were also responsible for the killing of an estimated 19.3 million civilians, in addition,29 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of military action in the European Theatre of World War II. The number of civilians killed during the Second World War was unprecedented in warfare, Hitlers father Alois Hitler Sr. was the illegitimate child of Maria Anna Schicklgruber. The baptismal register did not show the name of his father, in 1842, Johann Georg Hiedler married Aloiss mother Maria Anna. Alois was brought up in the family of Hiedlers brother, Johann Nepomuk Hiedler, in 1876, Alois was legitimated and the baptismal register changed by a priest to register Johann Georg Hiedler as Aloiss father. Alois then assumed the surname Hitler, also spelled Hiedler, Hüttler, the Hitler surname is probably based on one who lives in a hut. Nazi official Hans Frank suggested that Aloiss mother had been employed as a housekeeper by a Jewish family in Graz, and that the familys 19-year-old son Leopold Frankenberger had fathered Alois. No Frankenberger was registered in Graz during that period, and no record has been produced of Leopold Frankenbergers existence, Adolf Hitler was born on 20 April 1889 in Braunau am Inn, a town in Austria-Hungary, close to the border with the German Empire. He was one of six born to Alois Hitler and Klara Pölzl
6.
Necklet
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A neck order is a type of decoration which is designed to be worn and displayed around a persons neck, rather than hung from the chest as is the standard practice for displaying most decorations. Most of the insignia of orders are issued in several degrees which include a neck order version for Commanders. In countries which do not typically bestow orders with degrees, neck orders are usually considered to be high-ranking decorations. In the Middle Ages most orders were worn on a collar – see livery collar, later, in the 16th century the insignia of the French Order of the Holy Spirit were worn on a ribbon. For comfort, the ribbon was put under one shoulder when riding, giving birth to the sash order. When, in the late 17th century, orders were divided into several classes, a decoration in that rank is usually awarded to high-ranking officials like brigadiers, consuls and secretaries of State. A female usually wears her commanders cross on a bow on the shoulder of her dress, in chivalric orders like the Order of Malta or the German Order the insignia of the knights is worn hanging from a ribbon around the neck. The same is true of the Order of the Golden Fleece, a number of nations confer honors which are signified in the form of an insignia on a collar or chain, including, Order of the Garter. Order of the Seraphim Order of St Olav, Order of the Chrysanthemum, Collar Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, Collar. Order of the National Coat of Arms, Collar, Order of the White Star, Collar. Order of the Three Stars, Collar, Order of the Seal of Solomon. Order of the Queen of Sheba, Order of the Liberator General San Martin. Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, chain of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary Order of Merit. Order of Saint James of the Sword, Order of the Pioneers of Liberia. Order of the Tower and Sword, Order of the Star of Romania. The Order of Merit or Order of the Companions of Honour, knights Cross of the Iron Cross Grand Cross of the Iron Cross Commanders Cross with Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary Royal Order of Sahametrei, if rank of Commander. Order of Ontario Medal of Honor, Legion of Merit, if at the rank of Commander. The Legion of Merit is awarded in degrees only to foreign nationals, presidential Medal of Freedom Texas Medal of Valor Order Chivalric orders Livery collar Duckers, Peter
7.
German Cross
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The German Cross was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions, gold for repeated acts of bravery or achievement in combat, and silver for distinguished war service. The German Cross was unique in that the gold and silver divisions were considered as separate awards but were not to be worn simultaneously, however, pictures of recipients wearing both grades exist. The order consists of a badge, containing a swastika. It had a diameter of 6.5 cm and was worn on the side of the tunic. If a recipient had been awarded both the silver and gold divisions, the division should be worn only. Far more awards in gold were presented than in silver, specimen copies of a special grade, the German Cross in Gold with Diamonds, was manufactured in 1942 but this grade was never instituted or bestowed. In 1957 alternative de-nazified replacement versions of the German Cross were authorized for wear by the Federal Republic of Germany and this replaced the swastika with a representation of the Iron Cross for the gold division, and the War Merit Cross with Swords for the silver division. Wearing Nazi-era decorations was banned in Germany after the war, as was any display of the swastika, the 1957 replacement of the World War II decorations consequently enabled recipients to wear the German Cross again but only in the new version of the insignia. The German Cross was disparagingly referred to as Hitlers fried egg by Colonel Hans von Luck and other officers of his acquaintance, the extent to which this nickname was used is uncertain. It also been referred to in history books as the Nazi Party Badge for the near-sighted
8.
Albert Speer
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Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer was a German architect who was, for most of World War II, Reich Minister of Armaments and War Production for Nazi Germany. Speer was Adolf Hitlers chief architect before assuming ministerial office, Speer joined the Nazi Party in 1931, launching himself on a political and governmental career which lasted fourteen years. His architectural skills made him increasingly prominent within the Party and he became a member of Hitlers inner circle, Hitler instructed him to design and construct structures including the Reich Chancellery and the Zeppelinfeld stadium in Nuremberg where Party rallies were held. Speer also made plans to reconstruct Berlin on a scale, with huge buildings, wide boulevards. In February 1942, Hitler appointed Speer Reich Minister of Armaments, after the war, he was tried at Nuremberg and sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the Nazi regime, principally for the use of forced labor. Despite repeated attempts to gain early release, he served his full sentence and he later wrote a third book, Infiltration, about the SS. Speer died of a stroke in 1981 while on a visit to London, Speer was born in Mannheim, into an upper-middle-class family. He was the second of three sons of Luise Máthilde Wilhelmine and Albert Friedrich Speer, in 1918, the family moved permanently to their summer home Villa Speer on Schloss-Wolfsbrunnenweg, Heidelberg. According to Henry T. King, deputy prosecutor at Nuremberg who later wrote a book about Speer, Love, Speer was active in sports, taking up skiing and mountaineering. Speers Heidelberg school offered rugby football, unusual for Germany, and he wanted to become a mathematician, but his father said if Speer chose this occupation he would lead a life without money, without a position and without a future. Instead, Speer followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, Speer began his architectural studies at the University of Karlsruhe instead of a more highly acclaimed institution because the hyperinflation crisis of 1923 limited his parents income. In 1924 when the crisis had abated, he transferred to the more reputable Technical University of Munich. In 1925 he transferred again, this time to the Technical University of Berlin where he studied under Heinrich Tessenow, after passing his exams in 1927, Speer became Tessenows assistant, a high honor for a man of 22. As such, Speer taught some of Tessenows classes while continuing his own postgraduate studies, in Munich, and continuing in Berlin, Speer began a close friendship, ultimately spanning over 50 years, with Rudolf Wolters, who also studied under Tessenow. In mid-1922, Speer began courting Margarete Weber, the daughter of a craftsman who employed 50 workers. The relationship was frowned upon by Speers class-conscious mother, who felt that the Webers were socially inferior, despite this opposition, the two married in Berlin on 28 August 1928, seven years were to elapse before Margarete Speer was invited to stay at her in-laws home. Speer stated he was apolitical when he was a man. On March 1,1931, he applied to join the Nazi Party, in 1931, Speer surrendered his position as Tessenows assistant and moved to Mannheim
9.
East Germany
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East Germany, formally the German Democratic Republic, was an Eastern Bloc state during the Cold War period. The Soviet zone surrounded West Berlin, but did not include it, as a result, the German Democratic Republic was established in the Soviet Zone, while the Federal Republic was established in the three western zones. East Germany, which lies culturally in Central Germany, was a state of the Soviet Union. Soviet occupation authorities began transferring administrative responsibility to German communist leaders in 1948, Soviet forces, however, remained in the country throughout the Cold War. Until 1989, the GDR was governed by the Socialist Unity Party, though other parties participated in its alliance organisation. The economy was centrally planned, and increasingly state-owned, prices of basic goods and services were set by central government planners, rather than rising and falling through supply and demand. Although the GDR had to pay war reparations to the USSR. Nonetheless it did not match the growth of West Germany. Emigration to the West was a significant problem—as many of the emigrants were well-educated young people, the government fortified its western borders and, in 1961, built the Berlin Wall. Many people attempting to flee were killed by guards or booby traps. In 1989, numerous social and political forces in the GDR and abroad led to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the following year open elections were held, and international negotiations led to the signing of the Final Settlement treaty on the status and borders of Germany. The GDR was dissolved and Germany was unified on 3 October 1990, internally, the GDR also bordered the Soviet sector of Allied-occupied Berlin known as East Berlin which was also administered as the states de facto capital. It also bordered the three sectors occupied by the United States, United Kingdom and France known collectively as West Berlin. The three sectors occupied by the Western nations were sealed off from the rest of the GDR by the Berlin Wall from its construction in 1961 until it was brought down in 1989, the official name was Deutsche Demokratische Republik, usually abbreviated to DDR. West Germans, the media and statesmen purposely avoided the official name and its abbreviation, instead using terms like Ostzone, Sowjetische Besatzungszone. The centre of power in East Berlin was referred to as Pankow. Over time, however, the abbreviation DDR was also used colloquially by West Germans. However, this use was not always consistent, for example, before World War II, Ostdeutschland was used to describe all the territories east of the Elbe, as reflected in the works of sociologist Max Weber and political theorist Carl Schmitt
10.
Philipp Bouhler
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Philipp Bouhler was a senior Nazi Party official who was both a Reichsleiter and Chief of the Chancellery of the Führer of the NSDAP. Bouhler was captured and arrested on 10 May 1945 by American troops and he committed suicide on 19 May 1945 while in the U. S. internment camp at Zell am See in Austria. Bouhler was born in Munich, to a colonel. He took part in the First World War and was badly wounded, from 1919 to 1920, he studied philosophy for four semesters and in 1921 became a contributor in the publishing house that put out the newspaper Völkischer Beobachter. He joined the Nazi Party in July 1922 with membership number 12, by autumn 1922 he had become deputy manager of the NSDAP. After the failed Beerhall Putsch in Munich and the subsequent refounding of the party in 1925, after the seizure of power in 1933, he became a Reich Leader and Member of the Reichstag for Westphalia. He joined the SS in the rank of Gruppenführer on 20 April 1933 with membership number,54,932, on 30 January 1936, Bouhler was promoted to the rank of Obergruppenführer. He held that position until 23 April 1945, in this job, for instance, secret decrees might be prepared, or internal business managed, before being brought before Adolf Hitler. Bouhlers office was responsible for all correspondences for Hitler which included private and his personal adjutant was SS-Sturmbannführer Karl Freiherr Michel von Tüßling. By 1944, much of the functions of the Kanzlei des Führers were absorbed by the Party Chancellery under Martin Bormann, Bouhler was responsible for the killing of disabled German citizens. By order of Hitler, Bouhler with Karl Brandt developed the Nazis early euthanasia program, Aktion T4 in which mentally ill, the actual implementation was supervised by Bouhler. Various methods of killing were tried out, the first killing facility was Schloss Hartheim in Upper Austria. The knowledge gained from the program was later applied to the industrialized annihilation of other groups of people. In 1941 Bouhler and Heinrich Himmler initiated Aktion 14f13, Bouhler instructed the head of the Hauptamt II of Hitlers Chancellery, the Oberdienstleiter Viktor Brack to implement this order. Brack was already in charge of the various front operations of T4, the scheme operated under the Concentration Camps Inspector and the Reichsführer-SS under the name Sonderbehandlung 14f13. Sonderbehandlung was the term for execution or killing. In 1942, Bouhler published the book Napoleon – Kometenbahn eines Genies and he had also published a National Socialist publication Kampf um Deutschland in 1938. Bouhler and his wife, Helene, were arrested by American troops at Schloss Fischhorn in Bruck near Zell-am-See on 10 May 1945 and his wife Helene jumped from a window at Schloss Fischhorn
11.
Wernher von Braun
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He was one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Nazi Germany, where he was a member of the Nazi Party and the SS. In his twenties and early thirties, von Braun worked in Germanys rocket development program, following the war, von Braun worked for the United States Army on an intermediate-range ballistic missile program before his group was assimilated into NASA. In 1975, he received the National Medal of Science and he continued insisting on the human mission to Mars throughout his life. Wernher von Braun was born on 23 March 1912 in the town of Wirsitz, in the Posen Province. He was the second of three sons and he belonged to a noble family, inheriting the German title of Freiherr. His father, conservative civil servant Magnus Freiherr von Braun, served as a Minister of Agriculture in the Reich Cabinet during the Weimar Republic, Von Braun had an older brother, Sigismund, and a younger brother, also named Magnus. After Wernher von Brauns Lutheran confirmation, his mother gave him a telescope, the family moved to Berlin in 1915 where his father worked at the Ministry of the Interior. He was taken into custody by the police until his father came to collect him. Wernher von Braun was an amateur pianist who could play Beethoven. He learned to both the cello and the piano at an early age and at one time wanted to become a composer. He took lessons from the composer Paul Hindemith, the few pieces of von Braun’s youthful compositions that exist are reminiscent of Hindemith’s style. Beginning in 1925, von Braun attended a school at Ettersburg Castle near Weimar. There he acquired a copy of By Rocket into Planetary Space by rocket pioneer Hermann Oberth, in 1928, his parents moved him to the Hermann-Lietz-Internat on the East Frisian North Sea island of Spiekeroog. Space travel had always fascinated von Braun, and from then on he applied himself to physics and mathematics to pursue his interest in rocket engineering. In 1930, he attended the Technische Hochschule Berlin, where he joined the Spaceflight Society, in spring 1932, he graduated from the Technische Hochschule Berlin, with a diploma in mechanical engineering. His early exposure to rocketry convinced him that the exploration of space would require far more applications of the current engineering technology. He also studied at ETH Zürich, although he worked mainly on military rockets in his later years there, space travel remained his primary interest. In 1930, von Braun attended a presentation given by Auguste Piccard, after the talk the young student approached the famous pioneer of high-altitude balloon flight, and stated to him, You know, I plan on traveling to the Moon at some time
Nazi Germany
