Topf and Sons designed and built the crematoria at the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Buchenwald, Belzec, Dachau, Mauthausen and Gusen. At its height sixty-six Topf triple muffle ovens were in operation – forty-six of which were at Auschwitz.

In five years the gas chambers and crematoria of Auschwitz had been the engine of the holocaust, facilitating the murder and incineration of more than one million people, most of them Jews.

Yet such a spectacularly evil feat of engineering was designed not by the Nazi SS, but by a small respectable firm of German engineers: the owners and engineers of J. A. Topf and Sons. These were not Nazi sadists, but men who were playboys and the sons of train drivers. They were driven not by ideology, but by love affairs, personal ambition and bitter personal rivalries to create the ultimate human killing and disposal machines – even at the same time as their company sheltered Nazi enemies from the death camps.

The intense conflagration of their very ordinary motives created work that surpassed in its inhumanity even the demands of the SS. In order to fulfil their own ‘dreams’ they created the ultimate human nightmare.About the Author

KAREN BARTLETT is a writer and journalist based in London. She has written extensively for the Sunday Times, The Times, The Guardian, and WIRED from Africa, India, and the US, and has presented and produced for BBC Radio. Most recently, she worked with Eva Schloss, writing her Sunday Times bestselling autobiography After Auschwitz: A Story of Heartbreak and Survival by the Stepsister of Anne Frank.

Pazīstamā krievu padomju rakstnieka (1907–1972) pēdējais romāns vēsta par notikumiem 4. g. s. p. m. ē., kad Maķedonijas Aleksandra karagājienu un grieķu filozofu humānistu mācību ietekmē veidojās plašāks pasaules un cilvēka esamības redzējums.Kā sarkans pavediens romānam cauri vijas doma par mākslas un tās iedvesmotājas — sievietes nezūdošo daili.Romāna «Atēnu Taīda» pamatā ir kāda antīkās vēstures avotos pazīstama epizode: Persepoles — vienas no persiešu valsts galvaspilsētām — nodedzināšana; to ierosināja slavenā Atēnu hetēra, kas pavadīja Maķedonijas Aleksandru karagājienā.

Ojārs OzoliņšATNĀCĒJI NO SAULLĒKTU PUSESIzdevejsKultūrasociācija-fonds PAGĀNISKĀ EIROPA reģistrācijas apliecība Nr. 2-0570māksliniece Ludmila Stāle grāmatā izmantoti Ojāra Ozoliņa un Līvijas Ozoliņas zīmējumi© Ojārs Ozoliņš © Ludmila Stāle -. mākslinieciskais noformējumsNoskannējis grāmatu un FB2 failu izveidojis Imants Ločmelis

In September 2016 it will be 60 years since the first British mushroom cloud rose above the plain at Maralinga in South Australia. The atomic weapons test series wreaked havoc on Indigenous communities and turned the land into a radioactive wasteland.

In 1950 Australian prime minister Robert Menzies blithely agreed to atomic tests that offered no benefit to Australia and relinquished control over them – and left the public completely in the dark. This book reveals the devastating consequences of that decision. After earlier tests at Monte Bello and Emu Field, in 1956 Australia dutifully provided 3200 square kilometres of South Australian desert to the British Government, along with logistics and personnel.

How could a democracy such as Australia host another country’s nuclear program in the midst of the Cold War? In this meticulously researched and shocking work, journalist and academic Elizabeth Tynan reveals how Australia allowed itself to be duped. Maralinga was born in secret atomic business, and has continued to be shrouded in mystery decades after the atomic thunder stopped rolling across the South Australian test site. This book is the most comprehensive account of the whole saga, from the time that the explosive potential of splitting uranium atoms was discovered, to the uncovering of the extensive secrecy around the British tests in Australia many years after the British had departed, leaving an unholy mess behind.

‘Just as witnesses to our A-bomb tests turned their backs on the blasts, Australia turned its back on the memory of one of the most diabolical times in our history. Compulsive reading? Make that compulsory. This is a brilliant book.’– Phillip Adams

Бомбардировщик «Ланкастер» вызывает у англичан и жителей Британского Содружества чувство привязанности, смешанное с гордостью – примерно так же, как В-17 «Летающая Крепость» у американцев. Если «Спитфайр» олицетворял боевой дух Содружества перед лицом казавшегося неизбежным поражения, то вид и звук моторов армад «Ланкастеров», отправлявшихся в ночной рейд в центр нацистской Германии. воплощали желание измученных войной людей увидеть немецкую военную машину уничтоженной.

История создания самолета В-29 "Суперфортресс"

In this lively and colorful book of popular history, journalist Betsy Israel shines a light on the old stereotypes that have stigmatized single women for years and celebrates their resourceful sense of spirit, enterprise, and unlimited success in a world where it is no longer unusual or unlikely to be unwed.Drawing extensively on primary sources, including private journals, newspaper stories, magazine articles, advertisements, films, and other materials from popular media, Israel paints remarkably vivid portraits of single women—and the way they were perceived—throughout the decades. From the nineteenth-century spinsters, of New England to the Bowery girls of New York City, from the 1920s flappers to the 1940s working women of the war years and the career girls of the 1950s and 1960s, single women have fought to find and feel comfortable in that room of their own. One need only look at Bridget Jones and the Sex and the City gang to see that single women still maintain an uneasy relationship with the rest of society—and yet they radiate an aura of glamour and mystery in popular culture.As witty as it is well researched, as thoughtful as it is lively, Bachelor Girl is a must-read for women everywhere.

Явление «застоя» невозможно понимать без осознания того, чем являлся предшествующий ему период советской истории.Запрос на стабильность в сфере идеологии балансировал между желанием одних групп чиновников укрепить её путём отката назад к признанию «величия Сталина» и возобновлению практики политических репрессий — и намерением других групп чиновников закрепить достигнутые свободы и без особых рывков в дальнейшем искать всё же путь к «подлинному ленинизму». Под ним понималось осторожное движение от диктатуры к модели всё более плюралистического общества, утопическому «новому НЭПу» без нэпманов, троцкистов и сталинистов. Однако большинство аппаратчиков хотело просто стабильности — спокойной работы, вежливого обращения со стороны начальства, гарантированного, говоря современным языком, «социального пакета», отсутствия тревожащих новостей в СМИ, предсказуемой внешней политики.Управлять такой средой можно было уже без террора и чисток, оперируя лишь угрозой увольнения, зачисления в список «невыездных» или запретa на публикацию. Другой вопрос, что подобная культурная гомогенность оказалась возможна только у поколений, выросших в условиях террора и чисток.По прошествии двух десятков лет «застоя» сразу три бывших руководителя отдела пропаганды 1960‑х–1970‑х годов, а впоследствии члены Политбюро — Лигачёв, Медведев и Яковлев — естественным образом переросли «стабильность», осознали необходимость новых реформ и обновления кадрового состава бюрократии всех уровней. Но одним из самых серьезных их заблуждений являлась твердая уверенность в том, что «пряник» советской пропаганды может (ре)формировать общество сам по себе, без «кнута» КГБ. О том, что это не так, они узнали, к счастью, слишком поздно. И узнав, к их чести, не стали поворачивать обратно.

**'With his customary literary flair and capacity to master and mobilize very many and varied sources, Jonathan Dimbleby gives us the best single-volume account of the Barbarossa campaign to date'** Andrew Roberts, author of *Churchill: Walking with Destiny*

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'Like a fast-moving juggernaut of horror, Dimbleby's** Barbarossa **is a page-turning descent into Hell and back. Part warning, part fable, but all too true, this fresh and compelling account of Hitler's failed invasion of the Soviet Union should be on everyone's reading list for 2021'** Dr Amanda Foreman, author of *A World on Fire*

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Operation Barbarossa, Hitler's invasion of Russia in June 1941, aimed at nothing less than a war of extermination to annihilate Soviet communism, liquidate the Jews and create Lebensraum for the German master race. But it led to the destruction of the Third Reich, and was cataclysmic for Germany with millions of men killed, wounded or registered as missing in action. It was this colossal mistake -- rather than any action in Western Europe -- that lost Hitler the Second World War.

Drawing on hitherto unseen archival material, including previously untranslated Russian sources, Jonathan Dimbleby puts Barbarossa in its proper place in history for the first time. From its origins in the ashes of the First World War to its impact on post-war Europe, and covering the military, political and diplomatic story from all sides, he paints a full and vivid picture of this monumental campaign whose full nature and impact has remained unexplored.

At the heart of the narrative, written in Dimbleby's usual gripping style, are compelling descriptions of the leaders who made the crucial decisions, of the men and women who fought on the front lines, of the soldiers who committed heinous crimes on an unparalleled scale and of those who were killed when the Holocaust began. Hitler's fatal gamble had the most terrifying of consequences.

**Written with authority and humanity,** Barbarossa **is a masterwork that transforms our understanding of the Second World War and of the twentieth century.**

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**'Superb. . . stays with you long after you have finished'** Henry Hemming, bestselling author of *Our Man in New York*

**'A chilling account of war at its worst'** Bear Grylls **

In late 1917, the Russians, despite the revolution, were still willing to continue the war against Germany. This is an account of Operation Albion, the highly successful sea borne operation launched by the Germans to change their minds. The Baltic Islands were pivotal for the defense of the Finnish Gulf and St. Petersburg, so their capture was essential for any campaign towards the Russian capital. Only after the fall of the islands did Russia begin peace negotiations (freeing nearly half a million German soldiers for the Kaiser’s last gamble on the Western Front). This then was a campaign of great significance for the war on both Eastern and Western fronts.A large part of the High Sea Fleet took part in the invasion of the Baltic islands, including the most modern dreadnought battleships. The Russians mounted a resolute defense despite being heavily outgunned and over a ten day period there were many naval clashes around the islands as well as the campaign ashore, all of which are described in detail with the use of both Russian and German first hand accounts.This book shatters the myth that the Imperial German Navy spent the last two years of the war cowering in port.‘A very detailed operational account of the highly successful German amphibious landings in October of 1917 on the Russian islands of Ösel and Dagö, off what is now Lithuania…. Important reading for anyone interested in amphibious and joint operations.’The NYMAS Review, Winter 2009[Contain tables.]

The human chain reaction that led to the atom bombOn December 26, 1898, Marie Curie announced the discovery of radium and observed that “radioactivity seems to be an atomic property.” A mere 47 years later, “Little Boy"exploded over Hiroshima. Before the Fallout is the epic story of the intervening half century, during which an exhilarating quest to unravel the secrets of the material world revealed how to destroy it, and an open, international, scientific adventure transmuted overnight into a wartime sprint for the bomb. Weaving together history, science, and biography, Diana Preston chronicles a human chain reaction of scientists and leaders whose discoveries and decisions forever changed our lives. The early decades of the 20th century brought Einstein’s relativity theory, Rutherford’s discovery of the atomic nucleus, and Heisenberg’s quantum mechanics, and scientists of many nations worked together to tease out the secrets of the atom. Only 12 years before Hiroshima, one leading physicist dismissed the idea of harnessing energy from atoms as “moonshine.” Then, on the eve of World War II, the power of atomic fission was revealed, alliances were broken, friendships sundered, and science co-opted by world events. Preston interviewed the surviving scientists, and she offers new insight into the fateful wartime meeting between Heisenberg and Bohr, along with a fascinating conclusion examining what might have happened had any number of events occurred differently. She also provides a rare portrait of Hiroshima before the blast.As Hiroshima’s 60th anniversary approaches, Before the Fallout compels us to consider the threats and moral dilemmas we face in our still dangerous world.

A fresh, controversial, brilliantly written account of one of the epic dramas of the Cold War—and its lessons for today.“History at its best.”— Zbigniew Brzezinski“Gripping, well researched, and thought-provoking, with many lessons for today.”— Henry Kissinger“Captures the drama [with] the ‘You are there’ storytelling skills of a journalist and the analytical skills of the political scientist.”— General Brent ScowcroftIn June 1961, Nikita Khrushchev called it “the most dangerous place on earth.” He knew what he was talking about.Much has been written about the Cuban Missile Crisis a year later, but the Berlin Crisis of 1961 was more decisive in shaping the Cold War-and more perilous. For the first time in history, American and Soviet fighting men and tanks stood arrayed against each other, only yards apart. One mistake, one overzealous commander-and the trip wire would be sprung for a war that would go nuclear in a heartbeat. On one side was a young, untested U.S. president still reeling from the Bay of Pigs disaster. On the other, a Soviet premier hemmed in by the Chinese, the East Germans, and hard-liners in his own government. Neither really understood the other, both tried cynically to manipulate events. And so, week by week, the dangers grew.Based on a wealth of new documents and interviews, filled with fresh—sometimes startling—insights, written with immediacy and drama, Berlin 1961 is a masterly look at key events of the twentieth century, with powerful applications to these early years of the twenty-first.

The Red Army had much to avenge when it finally reached the frontiers of the Reich in January 1945. Political instructors rammed home the message of Wehrmacht and SS brutality. The result was the most terrifying example of fire and sword ever known, with tanks crushing refugee columns under their tracks, mass rape, pillage and destruction. Hundreds of thousands of women and children froze to death or were massacred because Nazi Party chiefs, refusing to face defeat, had forbidden the evacuation of civilians. Over seven million fled westwards from the terror of the Red Army. Antony Beevor reconstructs the experiences of those millions caught up in the nightmare of the Third Reich's final collapse, telling a terrible story of pride, stupidity, fanatacism, revenge and savagery, but also one of astonishing endurance, self-sacrifice and survival against all odds.

Ludmila TimoščenkoBērni un karšDokumentāls vēstījums par Latvijā un citās valstīs dzīvojošo bērnu un pusaudžu - fašistiskajā nebrīvē ieslodzīto likteņiem. Šai grāmatai nav vajadzīgi komentāri. Vienkārši dažu necilvēcīgos apstākļos izdzīvojušo atmiņas. Cilvēces un tās visneaizsargātākās daļas traģēdijas liecības. Stāsts par drausmām un ciešanām, ko pārdzīvojuši mazie mocekļi. Runa ir par Otrā Pasaules kara upuriem. Fašistiskā rasu vai ideoloģiski nepilnvērtīgā „materiāla” iznīcināšana - tēma, kas šodien nav sevišķi modē… Ne atriebība, ne naids veciem cilvēkiem, lielākoties invalīdiem, lika stāstīt par to, kas ar viņiem notika dzīves sākumā. Nepāriet satricinājums, ka to varēja darīt cilvēki. Arī pēc pusgadsimta cilvēkiem nav rimušas sāpes. Un, laikam, nenorims nekad…Par lielu nožēlu un kaunu cilvēcei, XX gadsimtā pret bērnību pastrādāto noziegumu saraksts nav izsmelts tikai ar šajā grāmatā minētajiem.S. KuznecovsSergejs Kuznecovs bijušo mazgadīgo ieslodzīto starptautiskās kustības priekšsēdētājs, rakstnieks publicists,žurnālists, vēsturnieks, Ukraina, Kijeva vēsturnieks, Daugavpils pedagoģiskās universitātes doktors, Latvija, DaugavpilsAleksandra Kovaļova - Krivonosova ilustrācijas Izmantoti arī kara laika fotodokumentiRecenzenti Vladimirs LitvinovsGrāmata izdota ar EP deputāta A. Rubika finansiālo atbalstu tulkotājs: O. Mačs, tulkotāja: A. Zusāne ; priekšvārda, 6. lpp., autors Alfrēds Rubiks ; Aleksandra Kovaļova-Krivonosova ilustrācijas.Izdevējs: Alfrēds Rubiks Rīga 2014

The amazing true story of Great Britain’s quest for the H-Bomb. Sensational new material reveals:-

• Lord William Penney, Britain’s master-bomb-maker was an American stooge they dubbed “The Smiling Killer.”

• Air-Vice Marshal Wilfred Oulton, The Commander of Britain’s H-Bomb tests, lived in fear of a “witch’s Curse.”

• Britain’s biggest bomb, a huge multi-megaton monster, “went rogue” and contaminated thousands of servicemen on Christmas Island.

• Heart-breaking stories of the agonies the men suffered and the dreadful impact it had on their children and grandchildren

• UK spymasters tried to recruit the leader of a veteran’s group who was determined to expose the British Government.

• Dirty tricks, human experiments, lies and deceit are revealed in a book that will make your heart weep.

THE BIG MONEY completes John Dos Passos's three-volume "fable of America's materialistic success and moral decline" (American Heritage) and marks the end of "one of the most ambitious projects that an American novelist has ever undertaken" (Time). Here we come back to America after the war and find a nation on the upswing. Industrialism booms. The stock market surges. Lindbergh takes his solo flight. Henry Ford makes automobiles. From New York to Hollywood, love affairs to business deals, it is a country taking the turns too fast, speeding toward the crash of 1929.Ultimately, whether the novels are read together or separately, they paint a sweeping portrait of collective America and showcase the brilliance and bravery of one of its most enduring and admired writers.