1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,000 Speaker 1: Hey everyone. Technically you're getting two days in history today 2 00:00:03,120 --> 00:00:05,920 Speaker 1: because we're running two episodes from the History Vault. I 3 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:10,720 Speaker 1: hope you enjoy. Greetings everyone, welcome to this Day in 4 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:13,960 Speaker 1: History class, where we bring you a new tidbit from 5 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:27,360 Speaker 1: history every day. The day was June seventh. Ninette Paul 6 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:30,600 Speaker 1: blow Bill, a German s S commander and war criminal 7 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:34,000 Speaker 1: in charge of Zonder Acton one thousand five, was hanged 8 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:38,599 Speaker 1: at Landsburg Prison just after midnight. The exact number of 9 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:42,519 Speaker 1: people killed under Nazi policies is unknown, but there is 10 00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:45,000 Speaker 1: no doubt that the death toll is in the millions. 11 00:00:46,159 --> 00:00:49,200 Speaker 1: Despite the lack of an official number and the destruction 12 00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:53,720 Speaker 1: of Nazi documents, the devastation and atrocity of Nazi actions 13 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:58,959 Speaker 1: is well documented still. Once Western countries began receiving reports 14 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 1: of the atrocities the Nazis perpetrated in Europe, the Nazis 15 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: began devising ways to conceal and destroy evidence of so 16 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:12,360 Speaker 1: called Jewish extermination. Actillon one thousand five or zonder Acteon 17 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:16,160 Speaker 1: one thousand five was Nazi Germany's campaign to destroy all 18 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:19,480 Speaker 1: evidence of the mass murder it had committed during World 19 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:25,480 Speaker 1: War Two. Action means action Actillon one thousand five was 20 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:29,920 Speaker 1: overseen by Zonder Commando one thousand five, the security Service 21 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:35,680 Speaker 1: and the police force of Nazi Germany. Zonder Commando euphemistically 22 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:41,120 Speaker 1: meant special unit. In March of nineteen forty two, German 23 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:45,880 Speaker 1: s S official Reynard Hydra put SS Stan dartin fire 24 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:49,800 Speaker 1: Paul Blowbell at the head of the operation, but the 25 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:54,080 Speaker 1: operation was delayed after Hydrick was killed in early June. 26 00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:58,760 Speaker 1: Later that month, head of the Gestapo, Hirach Mueller, gave 27 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:02,800 Speaker 1: Blowbell the go ahead it The point of the operation 28 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:06,320 Speaker 1: was to get rid of all evidence of Jewish genocide, 29 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:11,760 Speaker 1: but evidence was also destroyed of non Jewish murders. Part 30 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:14,079 Speaker 1: of the Nazi plan to get rid of the evidence 31 00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:18,760 Speaker 1: was to burn corpses. The first corpses were burned at Kelmno, 32 00:02:19,240 --> 00:02:24,120 Speaker 1: an extermination camp in Poland. At first, Blobel attempted to 33 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:29,359 Speaker 1: use incendiary bombs to destroy bodies dug up from mass graves, 34 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:34,440 Speaker 1: but that set nearby forests on fire, so instead Blowbell 35 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:39,040 Speaker 1: decided to build pires of bodies on iron grills. He 36 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:43,520 Speaker 1: layered corpses between firewood, soaks the pire and fuel and 37 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:49,400 Speaker 1: burned everything. Bones were crushed and reburied. The land was 38 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:54,440 Speaker 1: then flattened, plowed, and replanted. Acting on one thousand five 39 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 1: officially begin at Sobibor, an extermination camp in Poland, prisoner 40 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:03,920 Speaker 1: known as Liking Commando or Corps units were forced to 41 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 1: dig up bodies for mass graves and burn them. Since 42 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:10,480 Speaker 1: the operation was a secret, the prisoners who were forced 43 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:14,239 Speaker 1: to take part in the cover ups were killed. German 44 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:17,600 Speaker 1: staff who have been sworn to secrecy were not sent 45 00:03:17,639 --> 00:03:20,960 Speaker 1: back to their units in nineteen forty two. In nineteen 46 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:26,200 Speaker 1: forty three, corpses were also burnt in Treblinka, Belzec and Auschwitz. 47 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:31,239 Speaker 1: By mid nineteen forty three, corpses were being systematically destroyed 48 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:36,880 Speaker 1: and occupied Soviet Union, Poland and Yugoslavia. Extermination camps that 49 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:41,280 Speaker 1: had crematoria, like Auschwitz and Belson did not need acting 50 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:44,840 Speaker 1: on one thousand five commands, and the operation went to 51 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:48,720 Speaker 1: the scenes of earlier mass killings at Bobby Yard, Ponary, 52 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:54,080 Speaker 1: the ninth Fort and Rona Gora. As Soviet armies advanced, 53 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:58,800 Speaker 1: in nineteen forty four, s S official Wilhelm Coppa ordered 54 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: that each of the guinner all government five districts set 55 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 1: up as own units to get rid of evidence of 56 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 1: the mass murders quickly. The Ginnerall Government was an administrative 57 00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:12,920 Speaker 1: unit that the Germans established made up of the parts 58 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:16,440 Speaker 1: of Poland that were not incorporated into the Third Reich, 59 00:04:17,120 --> 00:04:19,880 Speaker 1: but Soviet troops reached some of those sites before all 60 00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:24,080 Speaker 1: the corpses could be destroyed. The operation continued until late 61 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:28,479 Speaker 1: nineteen forty four. The Nuremberg Trials, conducted between nineteen forty 62 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:32,679 Speaker 1: five and nineteen forty nine prosecuted Nazis for war crimes 63 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:36,600 Speaker 1: and their participation in the Holocaust. The irons At scrup 64 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:39,800 Speaker 1: In trial took place from September nineteen forty seven to 65 00:04:39,920 --> 00:04:44,000 Speaker 1: April nineteen forty eight. Ms At Scrubbing were units of 66 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:47,560 Speaker 1: the s S Security Police and Order Police that carried 67 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:51,240 Speaker 1: out mass killings during the German invasions of Poland and 68 00:04:51,279 --> 00:04:55,640 Speaker 1: the Soviet Union. In this trial, a U S military 69 00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:59,680 Speaker 1: tribunal tried and convicted Paul Blowbell for crimes against humanity, 70 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:06,080 Speaker 1: war crimes, and membership and criminal organizations. On June seven, ninette, 71 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:10,839 Speaker 1: Paul Blowbill was executed along with other Nazi criminals. The 72 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:13,840 Speaker 1: destruction of the remains of victims of Nazi killings through 73 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:19,840 Speaker 1: acting on one thousand five contributed to Holocaust denial. I'm 74 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:22,400 Speaker 1: Eve Jeff Coote and hopefully you know a little more 75 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:26,800 Speaker 1: about history today than you did yesterday. If you feel 76 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:30,480 Speaker 1: like correcting my pronunciation or my accent on anything that 77 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:32,919 Speaker 1: I've said in the show, feel free to leave a 78 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 1: very kind comment on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook at T 79 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:42,360 Speaker 1: d i h C podcast. If you want to learn 80 00:05:42,400 --> 00:05:45,560 Speaker 1: even more about history, you can listen to a podcast 81 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:50,159 Speaker 1: I host called Unpopular. Unpopular is a podcast about people 82 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:53,760 Speaker 1: in history who challenged the status quo. They rebelled, and 83 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:57,480 Speaker 1: they resisted the conventions of the day, and sometimes they 84 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 1: were persecuted for it. Thanks again for listening, and we'll 85 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:18,760 Speaker 1: see you tomorrow. Hey, y'all on Eve's and welcome to 86 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:21,680 Speaker 1: this sand History Class, a podcast where history waits for 87 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:33,159 Speaker 1: no one. The day was June seven, nineteen seventeen. Poet 88 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:36,760 Speaker 1: Gwendolyn Brooks was born in Topeka, Kansas. Brooks was the 89 00:06:36,800 --> 00:06:41,120 Speaker 1: first black American writer to win a Pulitzer Prize. Brooks 90 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:43,680 Speaker 1: was raised in Chicago, where she grew up reading poets 91 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:47,240 Speaker 1: like Paul Lawrence Dunbar and writing her own work. She 92 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:50,080 Speaker 1: was introverted, but her parents supported her love for reading 93 00:06:50,120 --> 00:06:54,040 Speaker 1: and writing. She published her first poem Even Tied when 94 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:57,159 Speaker 1: she was a teenager, and by age seventeen, she was 95 00:06:57,200 --> 00:07:00,839 Speaker 1: publishing poems frequently in the newspaper The chic Ago Defender. 96 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:05,240 Speaker 1: After graduating from junior college, Brooks began working as a 97 00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:08,960 Speaker 1: publicity director of the youth organization of the National Association 98 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:11,840 Speaker 1: for the Advancement of Colored People for in Double a CP. 99 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:16,160 Speaker 1: She also continued developing her craft by going to poetry workshops, 100 00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:19,920 Speaker 1: and she pursued a career in writing. All the while, 101 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:22,600 Speaker 1: Brooks was paying attention to the racial dynamics in the 102 00:07:22,600 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: city of Chicago. She once said, quote, I wrote about 103 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:29,520 Speaker 1: what I saw and heard on the street. Brooks published 104 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:34,080 Speaker 1: her first poetry collection, A Street in Bronzeville. In In it, 105 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:37,360 Speaker 1: she chronicled the everyday life of black people in her neighborhood. 106 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:41,080 Speaker 1: The book garnered her critical acclaim and people welcomed her 107 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:45,040 Speaker 1: as a new voice in contemporary poetry. Four years later, 108 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:48,520 Speaker 1: Brooks published Any Allen, a book of poetry that tells 109 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:51,400 Speaker 1: the story of a black woman's growth from childhood to 110 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:55,160 Speaker 1: adulthood in Bronzeville. Brooks won the poet Surprise for this 111 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:59,200 Speaker 1: book in nineteen fifty. Her earlier work was characterized by 112 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:03,960 Speaker 1: social realism, technical expertise, and a different perspective on black life. 113 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:08,000 Speaker 1: She published her first and only novel, Maud Martha, in 114 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:11,120 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty three. The book told the story of Mad 115 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:15,520 Speaker 1: Martha's life in short vignettes. After Books attended the Second 116 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:19,280 Speaker 1: Black Writer's Conference at Fisk University in nineteen sixty seven, 117 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:22,200 Speaker 1: her writing style changed and her work took a more 118 00:08:22,280 --> 00:08:26,280 Speaker 1: political stance. In The Mecca, published in nineteen sixty eight, 119 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:29,680 Speaker 1: included a long narrative poem about a mother searching for 120 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:34,000 Speaker 1: her lost child in a Chicago housing project. Author and 121 00:08:34,040 --> 00:08:37,079 Speaker 1: activist Tony K. Vambara wrote in The New York Times 122 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:42,480 Speaker 1: Book Review that Brooks had quote a new movement and energy, intensity, richness, 123 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:46,160 Speaker 1: power of statement, and a new stripped, lean, compressed style, 124 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:49,320 Speaker 1: a change of style prompted by a change of mind. 125 00:08:50,440 --> 00:08:53,640 Speaker 1: In the nineteen seventies, Brooks left the publishing house Harper 126 00:08:53,679 --> 00:08:58,360 Speaker 1: and Row and turned to new black publishing companies. She 127 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:02,000 Speaker 1: also published her first a biography, Report from Part One, 128 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:05,600 Speaker 1: in nineteen two. While some critics said that it didn't 129 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:08,680 Speaker 1: give them the insight that they hoped for, others praise 130 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:12,280 Speaker 1: its acknowledgment of her role as a poet. Brooks was 131 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:14,920 Speaker 1: the first black woman to become the poetry Consultant to 132 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:19,400 Speaker 1: the Library of Congress. Through this work, Brooks visited local schools. 133 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:21,880 Speaker 1: She was also a Poet Laureate of the State of Illinois, 134 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:26,040 Speaker 1: and in this role she visited colleges, prisons, hospitals, and 135 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:31,280 Speaker 1: other community institutions. Altogether, Brooks wrote more than twenty books 136 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:35,400 Speaker 1: of poetry. She also taught at universities around the United States. 137 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:40,440 Speaker 1: Brooks died in two thousand. I'm Eve Chef Cote and 138 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:43,199 Speaker 1: hopefully you know a little more about history today than 139 00:09:43,200 --> 00:09:46,079 Speaker 1: you did yesterday. And if you have any kind words 140 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:47,679 Speaker 1: you want to send us, you can hit us up 141 00:09:47,679 --> 00:09:50,599 Speaker 1: on social media where at t d i h C 142 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:54,040 Speaker 1: Podcast on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can also send 143 00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:56,760 Speaker 1: your notes to us via email at this day at 144 00:09:56,760 --> 00:09:59,600 Speaker 1: I heeart media dot com. Thanks so much for listening 145 00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:08,920 Speaker 1: to the oh and we'll see you tomorrow MM. For 146 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:11,120 Speaker 1: more podcasts from My Heart Radio, visit the I Heart 147 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:13,720 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 148 00:10:13,720 --> 00:10:14,400 Speaker 1: favorite shows.