Another Anniversary

It's been 75 years since it all began. Every nation became involved and the memories remain. All centered around one person and  his select group . Every year, they remember.

Corporal A. Hitler in WW1 uniform

                                   It was June 19, 1918 when the word came that the long and costly war was finally over.
A young German soldier,Corporal Adolph Hitler, had been partially blinded in a mustard gas attack and sent to a military hospital, where the news of the November 11, 1918, armistice reached him as he was convalescing. The end of the war was an emotional disaster for Hitler, adding more energy to his sense of  antisemitism. Losing the war, Germany’s financial struggles and political upheavals to follow gave him the opportunity to convince the German public that he was the man who would lead them back to greatness.

- - - - - - - - - -

Twenty years later, secretly creating a new army while surrounding himself with men of the same ilk, they set out to recover  lost territory. Many Germans in Austria supported Hitler’s nationalistic“back to The Motherland” movement and found little opposition from any other country and the annexation of Austria  March, 1938 was a simple exercise as the Nazis tested their new power. Adolf Hitler’s popularity grew.

- - - - - - - - -

Glewitz Radio Station

Now, fully confident that bigger countries would not  interfere, The fanatical Nazi army under Hitler’s command  decided to invade Poland. Needing some excuse, they attacked a border Polish radio station falsely accused of broadcasting an “anti-German” sabotage message. After staging the attack,” in self-defense”, the conquest of Poland began September 1, 1939. The lightning war began.

Finnish soldiers in the Winter War

All this time, Finland had been involved in a dispute with Russian as Stalin demanded air bases and ore from Swedish mines.  The Soviets invaded Finland on November 30, 1939. (Stalin claimed that Finnish troops opened fire on Soviet troops.)The Finns needed help in the military action and Germany offered assistance. Finland was not a full supporter of Germany, but needed  help and  Germany  joined Finland to fight the Soviets. Finland remained unoccupied and maintained a democratic government throughout the conflict.
 - - - - - - - - -

  On  April 9th  1940, German warships entered major Norwegian

German warships being sunk in Norwegian Harbor

ports,  deploying thousands of German troops occupying Norway. At the same time, German forces occupied Copenhagen, among other Danish cities. In Denmark, King Christian X, convinced that his army could not fight off a German invasion, surrendered almost immediately, and Denmark, as well as Sweden, became a steppingstone to Norway.
------
Continuing the Nazi Western Movement, Hitler’s war machine came to Sweden. Sweden had always enjoyed being a neutral state and wished to remain as such. For Germany,

German weapons being transported on Swedish railways

Sweden had no strategic importance other than Swedish iron ore and rail lines for Nazi troop movements westward and all this was achieved with no waste of Nazi troops. During the war, Nazi pilots who were shot down were jailed, while allied pilots who were shot down were free to go. Germany ignored the situation and Sweden remained neutral.
During the warm months, there was little German concern regarding the transportation of the ore into Germany. However, when winter snows shut down the railroad,  the route was forced to switched to a westward overland route into Norway, then transferred to

sea-going freighters which hugged the coast . This created a German problem. Germany had to control  the Norway route of Swedish ore to Germany. This, plus Norway’s coast was important for German warships, submarine bases and proximity for luftwaffe attacks on Great Britian. Norway was an  important target. The war that began  in 1939 continues into the next year.

- - - - - - - - -

 partisan saboteurs at work.

Even before Denmark was fully occupied, German transports flew to Oslo from their new Danish airfields. The Norwegians fiercely resisted the Nazi invasion and underground partisans tied up a large portion of Nazi troops who hunted them throughout the “long five years” of occupation.Germany invaded Norway on April 9th 1940 and stayed there until Germany surrendered on May 8th, 1945. Adolf Hitler had hoped that France and Britain would no longer oppose  his conquests and quickly make peace, but was angered when that didn’t happen. On 10 October 1939, the British refused Hitler’s offer of peace and on the 12th of  October, the French did the same.After months of nervous speculation, Germany brought war to Western Europe  May 10, 1940. German bombers hit air bases in France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. French leaders became resigned to an inevitable surrender and signed an armistice with Germany.

- - - - - - - - - -

Hitler’s Western Expansion movement was complete, but   Britain remained unconquered , Russia was now German’s enemy in the east and the USA would soon be forced into the war due to the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Hitler’s blitzkrieg war machine was now fighting a “two front war” and was finally finding heavy opposition.
The German occupation troops in France knew the Allied Forces were coming, but did not know when nor where they would land. After extensive planning, Allied troops completed  their landing operations on 6 June 1944,a day known as  D-Day, the largest

seaborne invasion in history. This began the liberation of France , and  all other countries from Nazi control as the Germany troops were forced into retreat  finally ending with an Allied victory in the war.

- - - - - - - - - -

1939 marked the beginning of armed conflict in Europe that resulted in historic atrocities, destruction, and death of millions of people by sadistic Nazi leaders who strived to liquidate all “sub-humans” and create a master race. Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime were finally pushed back to Germany, relinquishing everything that was gained after 6 years of overrunning Europe.

- - - - - - - - - -

Every country marks the day the Nazis entered their country, beginning in 1939. This year marks the 75th anniversary of these individual country’s horrific day when the Nazis marched into their history.
 

Commemoration ceremony  are annually held in honor of all who served, suffered and died.This year marks the 75th  anniversary of the beginning of World War Two.

Oh, No!

A  Norway maple that stood the test of time and the northern Canadian climate for over eighty years is no longer.

Residents of Riverdale Park , East Toronto, Canada had taken a special interest in this old Norway maple that had recently suffered severe damage caused by a catastrophic ice storm, December 13th. Limbs were broken and the tree was marked  for removal by a city arborist  due to “its state of decline” and a work order  was  issued. After many public pleas , city officials agreed to prune the tree to make it safe and do some repair on the mature tree.

The work order to destroy the tree was rescinded and the service request cancelled. This aged tree was not considered to be “ the prettiest tree around” but it’s location in  the park, it’s appearance of strength and durability was appealing to residents. “The Norway” as it was known, was an important part of the city. So, a pruning crew, led by forestry chief  arrived early one morning, and few hours and 55 cuts later a third of the great tree’s canopy was gone, but the tree remained standing.
The tree was given a 60-70 per cent chance of survival and Dan Valley residents and visitors began to  root for “The Norway”. Arborists later reported that there was  no disease and there was never again any mention of the tree being slated for destruction. The tree's progress began to be a center of attention as everyone watched it’s progress, new growth and rugged durability. It gained even more respect as it survived and began to recover. “Old Norway” was going to remain a important part of local life.

Then, one February evening, residents returned home from work 

and found  “Old Norway” gone.

 That early February morning,contractors had arrived and cut the massive tree down, leaving a stump in the snow and branches and  debris strewn down the embankment towards the Don Valley below. Demands for explanation were  answered with “It was a mistake”. A “clerical error,” according to a city spokesperson . A Parks and Recreation clerk had found the original work order to destroy the tree,decided it was still in order and called the crew to destroy the maple tree.

- - - - - - - - - -

Adam and Eve were told about a tree in The Garden that they were not to touch. They decided to eat the tree’s fruit and everyone knows what happened! That was, again, a special tree!

- - - - - - - - - -

 Some trees achieve special attention, perhaps due to location, age or appearance.Stories past down through generations have resulted in many myths and beliefs concerning trees and their history.

 As elders told stories of the past,  sagas and myths were handed down from one generation to the next throughout the 400 years that marked the Viking episode of the Nordic culture. Some of those sagas concerned trees. The most important tree in Nordic history,

according to Norse myths caused  the end of Asgard, the world of the gods and home to Odin, Thor,and Loki. This great ash tree, known as “The Tree Yggdrasil”, (YEgg-dra-sell) was the “tree of life and wisdom” and was kept alive by the three women of fate (past, present, and future). The giant ash Yggdrasil was the largest of all Guardian Trees; it stretched up to the heavens and spread its branches over the entire earth. It was so large that a squirrel named Ratatoskr ran up and down the trunk carrying insults from Nidhögg up to an eagle who sits in the top-most branches, with a hawk perched between it's eyes. With all the wisdom in the upper branches, it is easy to imagine who resided in the roots! This tree was considered very holy and connected to the affairs of Odin.

 - - - - - - - - - -

Another storied tree was that of "Thor’s Tree”,a sacred tree of the  pagans located in what is now the region of Hesse, Germany. A Christian missionary, who became known as Saint Boniface announced that he would suffer no harm as he accosted the pagans of the area by chopping down the massive tree of their faiths. As he began chopping, a violent wind blew down ‘Thor’s Tree”, causing the earlier pagans to become Christian believers. Wood from the oak was then reportedly used to build a church at the site dedicated to Saint Peter.

- - - - - - - - - -

Scandinavian farms often have a prominent tree standing alone in their farmsteads and maintained to honor the family and their descendants.The care and regard of the tree was believed to help insure the health of the farm and this tradition of planting a tree in   the center of the farm and this custom continues today in parts of Norway. In Sweden ,there is a similar tradition and the tree was
called a vårdträd  or caring/guardian tree.

Here in the US, we have well-respected trees, protected by their age and massive forms that have become tourist attractions,            but their ‘sacredness’ is questionable. 

 - - - - - - - - - -

However, there is one US site that claims the title of " The Sacred Grove" , located  on a farm owned by the Smith family in western

New York. This is a  historical site of the LDS Church. The church operates a welcome center on the farm, which includes a replica of the log home built in 1818 by Joseph Smith, Sr., as well as the original frame home built by the Smiths in 1825 and is open to the public. On this site, Smith claims to have had communication with Heaven.
 The majority of the trees within the Sacred Grove are too young to have been present at the time the Smith family lived there. A forestry specialist hired by the church to care for the grove has identified only six trees in the grove that were alive in 1820, and  these trees are referred to as the "Witness Trees".

 - - - - - - - -

Our most famous present-day tree might be a evergreen  conifer such as spruce, pine, or fir. This tree is sought every winter to 

celebrate Christmas. It is chosen for it’s beauty, then cut down and transported indoors to be decorated with lights and colored balls to celebrate the sacred Christmas season. After the ‘Ten Days of Christmas’ and the closing of the sacred season, the tree, which has lost its needles littering the carpet, is now carried to the curb  and discarded. So much for our practice of “sacred beliefs.”
                                        - - - - - - - - - -



Sagas of our time that will be told to future generations  might consist of more ‘stumps’ then memorable and honorable sagas of our  legacy.

 It’s time to create our symbolic vårdträd .