Vesuvius from Portici by Joseph Wright of Derby(1734–1797) Image:Public Domain
It was just around noon on 24 August 79 AD when Mt. Vesuvius erupted with a massive 10-mile mushroom cloud sent into the stratosphere. Ash and pumice would rain down on the area for over twelve hours. People who did not flee would face something much worse when a pyroclastic flow would sweep down killing everyone in its path. The choking cloud suffocated everyone even rescuers.
The Bay of Naples where Mt. Vesuvius is located was known for trade and luxury. The cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were near the mountain and had a high standard of living. There was even a small resort town named Stabiae. The mountain was not seen as a problem as no major eruption had occurred in Roman history. Tremors had already been felt before that terrible day as excavations indicate they were repairing streets and underground plumbing. However, they had no idea the tremors related to the nearby mountain. Pliny The Younger, staying west across the Bay of Naples, recorded what he saw in two letters he sent to Tacitus. Sadly, his uncle, Pliny the Elder, would perish when he went over in his boats to Stabiae. Pliny wrote the eruption lasted eighteen hours with Pompeii buried under 14-17 feet of ash and pumice. Herculaneum was buried under 60 feet of mud and volcanic material. Except for some who returned to reclaim what they had lost; the entire area was left buried and abandoned.
Significant excavations beginning in 1927 on have revealed much of what life must have been like before the destruction. More somber were the finding of some 2,000 bodies. Volcanic ash hardened and preserved the outlines of their bodies. Once the flesh had gone, the outline remained but filled in with plaster revealed those final moments of their lives. And it was not pleasant at all.
Vesuvius is still an active volcano. Its last major eruption was in March 1944 and destroyed several small villages with lava. The eruption was seen from Naples and damaged (thanks to hot ash and other things) or destroyed up to 88 B-25 medium bombers based in Terzigno, Italy. The volcano is kept under constant watch to prevent anything on the scale of the eruption of 79 AD to the people who live under its shadow.
Bay of Naples today with Mt. Vesuvius in the background. The densely populated city of Naples lies nearby. Public Domain
Stalin and Ribbentrop shaking hands over the newly signed pact between Germany and Soviet Union. August 23,1939 Source: German Federal Archive
On August 23, 1939 it was announced that Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union had signed a non-aggression treaty. The pact has various names but was commonly known as the Nazi–Soviet Pact or the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Both countries had suffered in World War I. Both ended with their monarchies toppled and both started as nascent democracies. Neither survived and both countries became ruled by authoritarian states. In Russia, the Communists seized power and for a while sought to bring about promised world-wide revolution that never happened thanks to British efforts to expose their purposes in neighboring countries. Germany fell into NAZI power because Hitler promised to end the chaos, bring order, and restore German power in Europe.
By 1939 though, it was evident Germany was on a collision course in Europe. The winds of war were certainly blowing with the French and British appeasing Germany. The view in Moscow was simple: they did not want war with Germany but saw Hitler as the means to weaken and divide Europe to their advantage. The view there was that an all out war in the West would so weaken them that they would be able to infiltrate and take over (either by stealth or force). Stalin too wanted territory and the Nazi-Soviet Pact gave his country much of what it needed: spheres of influence. Poland and Romania were divided between the two in secret protocols to the pact. And the countries of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland were similarly divided as well. It gave them access to raw materials (iron, coal etc) and oil. All needed to build up the Soviet Union. For Hitler it was strategy. He wanted to invade Poland but did not want to risk war with the Soviets at that time. Although the officer corps had been severely depleted during the Great Purge of 1936-1938 (aided in part by the German Gestapo who created documents that implicated military officers or party officials of spying for Germany or others),the Soviet Union was not underestimated either.
The announcement of the pact was sensational. Many were aghast and surprised the two would sign such a pact. And when Hitler invaded Poland in September, Stalin invaded a few days later to claim the territory ceded to him in the secret parts of the pact.
Aftermath
Stalin unfortunately believed Hitler would hold up his end of the bargain. He thought Hitler would be more interested in subduing the West rather than heading East. And he also believed Hitler would not want a two front war. He was wrong. Despite getting warnings from the British and his own intelligence services, Hitler invaded on Sunday, June 22, 1941. Operation Barbarossa had as its goal to completely defeat the Soviet Union, kill its leadership, and reduce its population so that German settlers would occupy the land. The Germans had initial successes but after the failure of Battle of Moscow in 1942, the German army would be held back and a vicious war between the two countries along what was called the Eastern Front would emerge. It ended up demanding more resources and manpower that caused severe problems for Hitler. The Soviet Union was being supplied by the Allies (at great cost to those doing the dangerous supply missions from the North Atlantic to Murmansk). Ultimately as Germany became weaker after Allied forces invaded Europe and the Soviet Union pushed through towards Berlin, Hitler was forced to commit suicide rather than be captured by the Russians.
Stalin though came out ahead in the end. After expanding westward to push back the German army, the Soviet Union would hold on to the territory it gained. Communist parties would gain control in everyone of those countries creating, as Winston Churchill would say later, an Iron Curtain. East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Romania, and Bulgaria were all part of that curtain with the Soviet Union. Only Czechoslovakia would stay out of the Warsaw Pact but only because Tito had an independent streak but otherwise was a dedicated Communist. Only after the fall of Communism in Russia in 1992 would many of these states finally be liberated from the Soviet Union.
The Incredible Story of the Iceberg That Sank the Titanic (Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Aug 2022)
This course of events has become so widely known—told endlessly in films, books, museum exhibits, consumer products and looping TV specials—that it’s easy to forget the most astounding detail: how close it came to not happening. Icebergs had struck ships as long as there had been ships to strike, but the one that felled the largest passenger liner ever built was nearly gone. After three years adrift, the icy mass likely had one week to live, two at most. It was getting smaller while wading into warmer water. As icebergs melt from the bottom. They grow top?heavy and flip, followed by more erosion and more flipping, until eventually, when they’ve been reduced to the size of a basketball, they’re constantly flipping until nothing is left.
During the interwar years, it was regarded as Poland’s floating embassy, carrying passengers to New York in state-of-the-art luxury. After the outbreak of World War II, it was fitted out to serve as a transport ship but sank during its first military voyage. It was the largest Polish vessel to be lost during the war. Subsequently nicknamed ‘the Polish Titanic’, the ocean liner MS Pi?sudski now rests intact just off the coast of northeast England only 30 metres under the water. Though the wreck has been well-researched by divers, the circumstances of its sinking in the first weeks of WWII remain one of the greatest naval mysteries of the war.
After the Titanic struck an iceberg and sank in 1912, the group was formed to monitor the movement of icebergs in the North Atlantic and keep mariners safe. More than 110 years later, the team continues to plot ice from the air and advise seafarers about any threat. The U.S. Coast Guard, which runs the operation, allowed CBC cameras aboard in May to watch the team in action.
That is where Romero and his company Choco-Expo, which was founded by his parents 20 years ago, are exhibiting a replica of the legendary British ship the Titanic, which is six metres long and made with 500 kilos of chocolate, and several famous London and New York buildings. In total, 1,500 kilos of pure chocolate – white, dark and milk – have been used for this display, as well as nuts and other ingredients for the emblematic buildings such as the Empire State Building and Chrysler Building in New York and Big Ben and St Paul’s Cathedral in London. “They took over 20,000 hours of work and are completely hand-crafted by me,” Romero told SUR.
We have passed the midpoint of August and moving quickly towards September. Autumn is soon approaching but here in the Northern Hemisphere, we will still have a little summer left to enjoy. Some places are having bracing heat, others monsoon rains that come down hard and fast. Many will be happy to see the transition to cooler weather that autumn generally brings.
In 1585 the first English colony at Roanoke Island (now part of North Carolina) was established. Faced with food supply issues and Indian attacks, they left in 1586. Sir Walter Raleigh assembled another group of settlers under John White. The 100 settlers arrived in 1587 and began establishing the colony. Governor White had to return to England for more supplies but was delayed in returning due to war with Spain. When he returned on 18 August 1590, he found it deserted and no trace of its inhabitants could be found. Only the word CROTOAN carved into the palisade built around the settlement provided a clue.
Searching that island some 50 miles away proved fruitless. There was no indication of them ever being there. And nothing back at the colony suggested something violent had occurred. They did find though something had occurred since many houses had been dismantled and many items that could be carried away were gone. This suggested to White they relocated elsewhere and were not dead. However they failed to locate any evidence as to where they might be. Explorations by others failed to shed light except for John Lawson.
John Lawson’s 1701-1709 expedition of northern Carolina revealed some intriguing details. He encountered the Hatteras people and found they had some influence of English culture. They revealed that several of their ancestors had been white. Some of the people he encountered had grey eyes, which seemed to collaborate the claim. At the old colony he found the remains of the fort, some English coins and firearms. He believed the 1587 colony had been assimilated with the Hatteras when the community lost hope of hearing back from England.
Reconstructed earthworks from archeological records of Fort Raleigh in the 16th century. Credit: Sarah Stierch (Wikimedia Commons)
Interest in what happened diminished over time and other more promising areas to colonize were used. It was not until the 19th century interest in the lost colony would be rekindled. Many theories have been put forth, including a few supernatural ones. Modern day research has shown that during the period in question, tree rings show the area suffered persistent drought. This may have caused them to leave since, without water, you could not survive. Probably the simplest explanation, and there is some genetic evidence that may support it, is that faced with drought and starvation, they lived with a local Indian tribe. And over time became assimilated into them.
In 1939 the systematic killing of children deemed “mentally defective” (Kinder-Euthanasie) began under the direction of SS-Oberfuehrer Viktor Brack. The program was given the code name T-4 to hide its true purpose and the euphemism used for the killings was disinfection. It was Brack’s job to determine who would be killed in the program. Six centers were set up but the most well known was Hadamar. Children were transported to these centers and were killed. Jewish children were especially targeted but also non-Jews. Each child had to be certified mentally ill, schizophrenic, or incapable of murder. Children were either killed by lethal injection or were gassed to death. The program was expanded to adults who met the same classifications as well.
The program, however, was not well hidden and became publicly known. Doctors and clergy began voicing protests in letters to Nazi officials and even Hitler itself. In 1940 the Vatican made its opposition known to such a practice. Catholic bishops began speaking out against the program as well and there were protests. Hitler was jeered during the summer of 1941 when his train was held up while they off loaded patients into trucks. It was clear that there was serious opposition to the program, so on 18 August 1941, Hitler suspended the program. This was followed up with a formal order of 24 August 1941 which rescinded his order for the euthanasia operation. It was formally disbanded on 28 August 1941. The death toll is estimated to be 90,000. Of those 80,000 were mental patients and 10,00 came from concentration camps.
Heinrich Himmler commented that had the SS overseen the program, they would have made sure there would have been no uproar.
Seattle Post Intelligencer Announcing Arrival of Yukon Gold, 17 Jul 1897 Seattle Post Intelligencer Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
The Klondike Gold Rush would begin when George Carmack, fishing for salmon in the Klondike River in Canada, would spot gold nuggets in the creek bed. This would lead to the last gold rush of the American West. While stories differ as to whether he or his other two companions actually spotted the gold nuggets, word of the gold strike spread across Canada and United States. Carmack and his companions staked a claim to the creek bed thick with gold. Over 50,000 would rush to the area to mine for gold. “Klondike Fever” ran high in both countries.
The fever reached its highest pitch in mid-July 1897 when two steamships from the Yukon arrived in San Francisco and Seattle bringing two tons of gold with them. This would spark the imagination of many to head north to strike it rich. A mine-fitter industry boomed selling what was called “Yukon kits” to these prospectors. These contained food, clothing and tools for the Yukon bound miner. Few, however, would strike it rich. The famous novelist Jack London, a young man at the time, found nothing but wrote short stories later of his Klondike experience. Many found when they got to the Yukon that the most promising areas had already been claimed by earlier prospectors.
Carmack would become rich and had over a $1 million worth of gold when he left. Many would sell their profitable stakes to mining outfits or organize themselves into their own mining companies. The gold fever would fade but the large scale gold mining in the Yukon would continue until 1966. By that time some $250 million in gold had been taken out of the Yukon Territory. Small gold mines still operate in the region.
In the aftermath of World War II, Berlin was divided into four Allied occupation zones. Although Berlin was deep inside Soviet held territory, this was the situation as the Allie powers decided on the future of Germany. Berlin, of course, had been the capital of Germany prior to and during World War II. Significant differences over that future caused major tensions between the United States, Britain, and France on one side, and the Soviet Union on the other. In 1948 the United States, Britain, and France decided to unite their zones into one entity that became the Federal Republic of Germany This would become West Germany and half of Berlin was in that zone.
The Soviet Union responded by launching a blockage of the city to try and force the Allies to leave. In response, U.S. President Harry Truman along with Britain organized a massive airlift to keep the West German part of Berlin stocked with food and fuel. The Soviets abandoned the blockade in May 1949. Berlin would become the gateway to the West as people would flee East Germany through Berlin. It soon became apparent to the Communists running East Germany they were losing significant portions of their society from intellectuals to skilled laborers. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev suggested that East Germany close off access to East and West Berlin.
Starting on the night of 12 August 1961, East German soldiers began placing 30 miles of barbed wire through Berlin and reduced the checkpoints where Westerners could cross into East Germany. Western governments protested but did nothing to stop and on 15 August, the barbed wire was replaced by concrete. East Germany declared that by sealing off their country to the west, the influence of decadent capitalist culture would be stopped. As the wall started going up, many made frantic moves to get across before it was completed. As time went on, the Berlin Wall would grow with walls reaching up to 15 feet high in some places. Streets were now walled up cutting off access to neighborhoods that before could be easily accessed by walking back and forth. The effect was grim as the top of the walls had barbed wire and watchtowers manned with soldiers with machine guns to deter anyone from trying to escape.
The system of walls, and later with electrified wires, would stretch 75 miles around West Berlin, separating it from East Germany. The East Germans also erected barriers on the entire border between East and West Germany. With the erection of this wall, it aptly fit Winston Churchill’s descrption of the Iron Curtain that had fallen in Europe between the democracies of Western Europe and the Communist dictatorships of Eastern Europe. The wall became the most visible symbol of Communist oppression. Many would still try to escape and 5,000 did succeed though many failed either being killed in the attempt or arrested and sent to prison. As the East Germans added even more fortifications, the successful escapes became rare. Checkpoint Charlie became the most visible border between the East and West.
East Berlin Death Strip as seen from Axel Springer Building, 1984 Photo by George Garrigues Image credit: GeorgeLouis via Wikimedia Commons
By the late 1980’s, the Soviet Union was starting to collapse and many of its client states were starting to feel the pressure of people who resented the oppression they had been forced to endure. It would be on 12 June 1987 that a call would be made that would start a movement that would bring down the Berlin Wall. President Ronald Reagan, in Berlin to celebrate the 750th anniversary of the city, would stand 100 yards away from the concrete barrier and say to the world:
“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”
It electrified the crowd and was a major departure from the previous presidents who said nothing. While many in the State Department thought it unwise, Reagan looked at this most visible sign of Communist oppression and said it should come down. Gorbachev dismissed the comment, and many Western leaders thought it a reckless comment. Yet what began was a movement to challenge the Communist leaders in East Germany and elsewhere. And it began to bear fruit when, on 9 November 1989, East Germany announced citizens could cross between East and West Berlin freely. Thousands on both sides went to the wall and began taking the wall down with hammers, chisels, and other tools. The wall would be dismantled in several weeks and 26 years of having a divided city was over. And on 3 October 1990, both East and West Germany were officially reunited ending the separation that had occurred at the end of World War II.
Today only historic signs, photos, and tour guides will point out where the infamous wall once stood. You can see the differences in some areas that have the old Soviet style buildings right next to the modern areas that were once part of West Germany. Rick Steves in his travel show about Berlin shows how much it has changed since those terrible days. The wall put up to keep people from moving from East Germany to the freedom of the west itself is now a memory, with people selling parts of the wall now to collectors.
Green Mountain Valley, New Mexico Photo: Ken Kistler www.publicdomainpictures.net
Hard to believe we are almost at the middle of August. For many, this is summer vacation times with thousands crowding the beaches and tourist spots. It is also a time for getting ready to go back to school. Kids see it coming and try to get as much summer as they can before school reopens. Parents are also getting stuff for their kids as well, though with the difficult inflationary times we are in, only necessities are being bought. Everyone is being hit by high prices at retail and grocery stores. It does not look like it will get any better soon either.
At least Sunday is a day one can at least relax. Enjoy the day and some nice music to go with it. Happy Sunday everyone.
Touring the Titanic wreck is no easy thing, unless you are doing it virtually. First you have to fork over a lot of money to go on an expedition. And if you are good health, you get inside a submersible craft that will slowly descend for 2 1/2 hours down to the wreck. The atmospheric pressure is immense and the craft small enough for 3 people and the equipment. The article is incorrect about there not being a toilet. Previous submersibles didn’t have them, but the OceanGate Titan does. However because of the tight space, using it is a last resource. According to their website,
“By limiting Mission Specialist’s diets before and during the dive, the need to use the bathroom is largely eliminated.”
Vintage News recounts how this journey goes leaving you at the end wanting to just watch a video of the wreck or a computer simulation of it.
The two-and-a-half-hour trip down to the Titanic wreckage isn’t your standard vacation boat trip. The underwater pressure on the ocean floor is roughly 5,541.9 pounds per square inch, enough to explode the submersible vessels used in the expeditions if even a small hole or scratch occurs. The submersible vessels can only fit three people. Each expedition takes roughly eight to ten hours round trip, and with limited space, basic amenities like a private bathroom are out of the question.
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I do not watch The Antiques Roadshow that much. Occasionally though they come upon a real prize. Many people have brought Titanic related items to such places, only to be disappointed. Not in this case according to the Express. The lucky person had some memorabilia that is worth some decent money. And something autographed by a Titanic survivor is going to get a good valuation.
Antiques Roadshow expert Clive Farahar left one guest “amazed” when he explained the valuation of Titanic items she’d been left by her relative Millvina Dean, who was the last remaining survivor of the doomed passenger liner.
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Wayback Machine:
Vintage Battlestar Galactica opening. The old BSG series, I think, had more heart and soul than the newer one. While it had many flaws (and I have written about it here and here.) it had something the newer one didn’t.
Sharon Tate, 1967 Author Unknown Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Beginning near midnight on August 8 and in the early morning of August 9, 1969, Sharon Tate, the wife of movie director Roman Polanski, was killed along with four others in their Beverly Hills home. The murders made national headlines and two days later a second series of murders would occur. The savage murders were done by followers of Charles Manson and the murders would make him a criminal icon.
Charles Manson was born in 1934 to an unwed 16-year-old mother; he would never know his father. After his mother was imprisoned for armed robbery, he went to live with an aunt and uncle in West Virginia. He would spend much of his youth getting into trouble and being put into prison in his early adult years. He moved to California in 1967 after being released from jail. In San Francisco he used his charm and other things to attract a small group of followers from the youth rebelling the standards of the day. By 1968, he had become the head of a group who called themselves his “Family.”
While he was not present when the murders occurred, he certainly planned and directed it. Roman Polanski was not the target on 8 August, and he was out of town during that period of time. His intended target was Terry Melcher, a music producer that had been introduced to him through a chance encounter with Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. Manson was a singer-songwriter and one of his songs had been performed by them (though uncredited for it). Melcher considered and then decided to not produce a record by him. Melcher had leased the home that Polanski and his pregnant wife Sharon Tate now occupied.
Manson’s beliefs were an odd mix of religion, fringe psychology, and even science fiction. He believed in a coming apocalyptic race war that would devastate the country. Blacks would rise up to kill whites but would still need a leader after it was done. Manson would become that leader and his Family would be the nucleus of a new order. He would adopt the term “Helter Skelter,” taken from the Beatles’ record White Album, to refer to this order.
Sharon Tate was a fledging actress who had come to fame in Valley of the Dolls (1967) and also in the British horror-comedy The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967). While her husband Roman was off in Europe shooting a movie, Tate, now eight months pregnant, was living in the home with his friend Wojciech Frykowski and his girlfriend Abilgail Frykowski (coffee heiress). On 8 August Manson ordered Charles “Tex” Watson and several other members of the family to go there and kill everyone as gruesome as possible. They would arrive near midnight or just a little after and encounter Steve Parent, an 18 year old boy visiting the caretaker, in his car and kill him. Then Watson, Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel, and Linda Kasabian entered the main house. There were four people in the home-Tate, Frykowski, Folger and celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring. They were assembled in the living room.
Sebring was both shot and stabbed to death. Frykowski and Folger managed to escape but were tracked down and killed by Krenwinkel and Watson. Sharon Tate was stabbed to death after being hung from a ceiling beam. The rope was found wrapped around her neck and there were no post mortem injuries found. Her blood was used to write the word “PIG” on the front door. The following night Manson ordered that grocery store executive Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary be murdered. Manson was involved in this action as he and Watson tied up and robbed. He then left with three others of his Family leaving Watson, Leslie van Houten, and Patricia Krenwinkel in the home. They stabbed the couple to death and left words written in blood on the walls.
The murders shocked Los Angeles considering that Frykowski had been stabbed fifty times as well as shot. The police were baffled as to the motives and who the assailants were. The two crimes were not connected at first. There was a belief that a drug transaction gone bad may have led to the gruesome deaths at the Polanski home. What broke the case and connected both murders were the arrests of Manson’s family at the Spahn Ranch in Death Valley for vehicle theft and burning equipment. One of those arrested would implicate Susan Atkins in a murder. Atkins apparently boasted of the Tate murders to cellmates. All of the killers would be arrested including Charles Manson. Although he did not personally commit the murders, he ordered his Family to do them. All were brought to trial in June 1970. Linda Kasabian was given full immunity and was the main prosecution witness. All were convicted of murder and given the death penalty. However those sentences were changed to life imprisonment when capital punishment was abolished in 1972. Although eligible for parole at various times, none of their requests were granted. Charles Manson would die in prison in 2017 at age 83.
