Awesome Galore

The Most Awesome Men's Entertainment Site On The Internet

History

Picture of the Day

Hans-Georg Henke – 16 year old German soldier crying after being captured by the Allies, 1945

Hans Georg Henke’s story is a poignant illustration of the impact of World War II on the lives of young Germans. At just sixteen years old, Henke, a member of the Hitler Youth, became a symbol of the devastation wrought by the war.

Born into a family soon to be struck by tragedy, Henke’s life took a dramatic turn after the death of his father in 1938 and his mother in 1944. The loss left the family destitute, forcing a young Hans Georg, at just 15, to join the Luftwaffe anti-air squad to support his siblings. His role involved manning a battery of 88mm guns, a significant responsibility for someone so young.

Henke’s life during the war is marked by two contrasting narratives. According to his own account, he was stationed in Stettin and was eventually pushed back towards Rostock as the Soviets advanced. However, American photojournalist John Florea presents a different story. Florea claims to have captured the iconic photographs of a tearful Henke in Hessen, in the village of Hüttenberg-Rechtenbach, north of Frankfurt am Main. These images show a young soldier in despair, overwhelmed by the horrors of war.

The photographs depict Henke crying from combat shock. Florea asserts that Henke’s tears were not due to his world crumbling but rather the immediate shock of combat.

He lived until October 9, 1997, passing away at the age of 69 in Brandenburg, Germany. His story, particularly the powerful images of his capture, has been widely used to

Source

Picture of the Day

Vasily Blokhin

Vasily Blokhin, Joseph Stalin’s head executioner. Having personally killed tens of thousands of people in his career, including 7,000 Polish officers in under a month during the “Katyn Massacre,” Blokhin was the most prolific murderer in human history

Along with a team of about thirty NKVD men from Moscow, mainly drivers and prison guards, Blokhin arrived at the NKVD prison in Kalinin (Tver) and set himself up in a sound-proofed cellar room that had a sloping floor for drainage. He then put on his special uniform, consisting of a leather cap, long leather apron, and elbow-length gloves.

On a table next to him was a briefcase filled with his own personal Walther PPK pistols, for Blokhin, a true artist at his trade, would use no one else’s tools but his own.

After the prisoner’s identity was verified, he was brought handcuffed into the cellar room where Blokhin awaited in his long apron, like some horrible butcher.

One guard later testified: “The men held [the prisoner’s] arms and [Blokhin] shot him in the base of the skull…that’s all”. Blokhin worked fast and efficiently, killing an average of one man every three minutes during the course of ten-hour nights – the killings were always done at night so that the bodies could be disposed of in darkness.

source

 

Picture of the Day

Four Penny Coffins

The concept of “Four Penny Coffins” is a significant yet somber element in the history of Victorian London, reflecting the plight of the impoverished during that era.

The Victorian era, spanning most of the 19th century, was a time of profound social and economic contrasts. While the Industrial Revolution brought immense wealth and progress to some, it also led to unprecedented levels of poverty and destitution for others. In the overcrowded, disease-ridden slums of London, countless individuals lived on the brink of survival.

[Read more…] about Picture of the Day

Picture of the Day

In 1911, an unlikely baseball team took the field at the Wyoming State Penitentiary – a team comprised entirely of inmates sentenced to death for violent crimes. Led by star player and convicted murderer Joseph Seng, the prison’s baseball team quickly became a fleeting sensation.

The “Death Row All Stars,” as they were known, were thrust into competition by the warden, Felix Alston, as part of his new reform initiatives. Their opponent in all four games was a strong local team, the Wyoming Supply Company Juniors. Against all odds, the All Stars dominated, winning each game decisively.

[Read more…] about Picture of the Day

Picture of the Day

black doll test

“The Doll Test”, which found that given a choice between Black dolls and white dolls, most Black children preferred to play with white dolls and was later cited as a factor in the Brown v. Board of Education decision

In the landscape of American history, the struggle for civil rights has been a persistent battle fought on many fronts. Among the arsenal for change, one of the most poignant and revealing weapons was not a piece of legislation or a violent protest; it was a simple psychological experiment involving children and two dolls. This was the Doll Test, a study that laid bare the insidious impact of systemic racism on young minds and became a cornerstone in the historic Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case that desegregated American schools.

[Read more…] about Picture of the Day

Picture of the Day

Soviet Marshal Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, 1960.

Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov stands among the most prominent military figures in 20th-century history, renowned for his pivotal role in the Soviet Union’s military campaigns during World War II. Born on December 1, 1896, in a small village in the Kaluga Province, Zhukov rose from a peasant background to become one of the Soviet Union’s most decorated generals.

Zhukov’s military acumen was evident early in his career, but it was during the Second World War that his strategic genius truly shone. He was instrumental in several key victories that were turning points in the war against Nazi Germany. His first significant achievement was the defense of Moscow in the winter of 1941, where his leadership helped to halt the advance of the German Army at a critical moment. Following this, he led the Red Army to victory at the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942-1943, a brutal confrontation that is often cited as the bloodiest battle in the history of warfare and a decisive turning point in the war.

[Read more…] about Picture of the Day

Picture of the Day

hermann_goring

The body of Hermann Göring, Oct. 16, 1946

Hermann Göring was a prominent figure in the Nazi Party, second only to Adolf Hitler in the hierarchy of the Third Reich. His influence extended across various sectors of the Nazi regime, where he held numerous titles and wielded significant power. As one of the earliest members of the Nazi Party, Göring was instrumental in the establishment and consolidation of the totalitarian state. He founded the Gestapo, the official secret police of Nazi Germany, and was appointed as Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, the German Air Force, playing a pivotal role in the military campaigns of World War II.

[Read more…] about Picture of the Day

Picture of the Day

crash movie

Choi Eun-hee and her husband, director Shin Jeong-gyun, who were kidnapped in 1978 on his orders and were forced to make North Korean films. In two years they made 17 films, some of them were well-received outside North Korea

Choi Eun-hee and Shin Jeong-gyun were once the golden couple of South Korean cinema. Choi, a leading actress of her time, and Shin, a prolific director, were both instrumental in shaping the South Korean film industry. Their collaborations in the 1960s produced some of the country’s most iconic films. However, by the late 1970s, their personal and professional lives had hit a rough patch. They had divorced, and Shin faced financial troubles.

[Read more…] about Picture of the Day

Picture of the Day

Marcela Gracia Ibeas and Elisa Sanchez Loriga

Marcela Gracia Ibeas and Elisa Sanchez Loriga at their wedding on June 8, 1901. Their wedding was the first same-sex marriage in the history of the Spanish Catholic church. 

On their wedding day, Elisa disguised herself by cutting her hair, wearing a suit, and changing her name to “Mario” on the marriage certificate in Galicia, Spain, 1901. Elisa also created a fake backstory of how Mario was actually her cousin who was an atheist that wanted to be baptized. On their wedding day, Marcela was pregnant with the child of an unknown man. This was most likely pre-planned to help validate their marriage. Unfortunately, they would spend the rest of their lives being persecuted by the law. 

[Read more…] about Picture of the Day

Picture of the Day

Gerda-Weissmann-Klein.j

This is Gerda Weissmann Klein.

She spent three years in several different Nazi concentration camps. In late January of 1945, Gerda and 4,000 other Jewish women were forced to embark on a 350-mile death march to flee the advances of the Allied forces.

By early May, Gerda was one of only 120 women who were still alive. The rest—including several of her childhood friends—had died from exhaustion, starvation, random executions, and exposure to the elements.

Gerda was one day shy of her 21st birthday when she was rescued by American soldiers. Weighing only 68 lbs. (30.84 kg), Gerda’s hair was nearly white and her clothes were tattered and crawling with lice. She hadn’t taken a bath in three years.

[Read more…] about Picture of the Day