Germany

History Read Along – Inferno: The World at War, Chapters 15-16

/ Sarah Kay Bierle / 2 Comments

New chapter notes for our summer read-along through some World War II history. If you noticed the lack of Civil War posts on this blog on Monday, my apologies; I encountered some travel craziness (read: extreme weather delays) and couldn’t keep my eyes open by Sunday night to write.

The good news – I did get to have a good discussion about World War II history and that conflict’s historical interpretation with a historian during that trip.

Moving onward now into this new section, and just a reminder – rough language and war details in the book itself, so I’d recommended families and kids read the chapter notes and save the full text for a few years.  Continue reading →

History Read Along – Inferno: The World at War, Chapters 5-6

/ Sarah Kay Bierle / Leave a comment

Hey readers – it’s Fourth of July, but it’s still a great time to talk about our World War II history read-along, so here are my notes for Chapters 5 and 6.

(Kiddos, enjoy the notes on the blog, but check-out the young readers section at the library for World War II history books; the full text of Inferno isn’t for children. You can find a few of my favorite resources on the booklist here!) Continue reading →

1863: “One Of The Brigades Is Wholly German”

/ Sarah Kay Bierle / 1 Comment

June 2, 1863

Now I have command of the Division lately commanded by General Devens. It was the first to break on May 2nd and is in a most disgusting condition as to discipline and morale. But if hard knocks and a tight rein will make them fight they will have to do it. One of the Brigades is wholly German and is commanded by Colonel von Gilsa (or rather is now commanded by a Major as Colonel Gilsa is away and I have the next Colonel in rank in arrest). I expect to have to arrest them all the way down until I find some private soldier who will make them do things properly… Continue reading →

13 Things To Know About Martin Luther

/ Sarah Kay Bierle / 3 Comments

This week we’ve rounded up thirteen things to know about Martin Luther from the biographies we’ve been reading. This post is not a comprehensive biography but hopefully will give you some conversation points or historical facts to share with family and friends as we remember Reformation500 – five hundred years since the Protestant Reformation began.

Martin Luther wasn’t perfect. No one is. Rather, his life is an example of how men of faith can change the world and how imperfect humans can be used in a divine plan. Continue reading →

7 Things You Should About America Entering World War I

/ Sarah Kay Bierle / 8 Comments

It’s April 2017, and 100 years since the United States entered World War I. America was a late-comer to the costly conflict; the war had been going on for almost three years before the U.S. joined. The war started with the assassination of an Austrian archduke and too many alliances.

This month’s blog series will be focusing on American involvement in World War I. If you want to catch more of the European history, check out some earlier posts on Gazette665.

Today we discuss seven important happenings, leading to the United State’s official entrance into World War I. (Part of the blog post was retrieved from 2014 post Where Was America?) Continue reading →

Heinz Knoke: The “Other” Side of the Sky Battlefields

/ Sarah Kay Bierle / Leave a comment

Sometimes it’s good to read “the other side of the story.” Remember, history is (usually) written by the victors, and sometimes the losing side is portrayed with more villainy than perhaps they deserve.

I wasn’t sure what I would find when I started reading a journal by a German fighter pilot from World War II, especially one with “Fuhrer” (German term for leader, usually associated with Hitler) in the title. However, it was a fascinating book to read and I learned a lot. Continue reading →