Global Tragedy

I soon realized that Austria, the capital of western classical music, had also given Hitler to the world. A memorial stone for the victims of the Nazi regime is located in front of Salzburger Vorstadt 15, Braunau am Inn, Upper Austria. This was where Adolf Hitler was born in 1889 and spent his first three years.

The charming town, about 60 km north of Salzburg, is on the south bank of the Inn river which marks international boundary of Austria with Germany. The inscription translated into English is: "For Peace, Freedom and Democracy. Never Again Fascism. Millions of Dead Warn (us)".  Estimates of total dead range from 50 million to over 70 million.

Hitler’s first name "Adolf", meaning "noble wolf", was from Old High German. As a boy he was often whipped by his father. He was a good student in elementary school, but failed in the sixth grade and had to repeat it.

His teachers noticed that he had no desire to work. At age 16, he dropped out of high school. From 1905 on, he lived a bohemian life in Vienna on an orphan's pension and some support from his mother.

Hitler wanted to be a painter by profession,  but was rejected twice by the Academy of Fine Arts.  He struggled in Vienna, copying scenes from postcards and selling his paintings to tourists and merchants. When he ran out of money, he sought  refuge in a homeless shelter and settled into a house for poor workers.

During First World War,  he served in France and Belgium as a runner for the Bavarian Reserve Regiment. This exposed him to enemy fire. He drew cartoons and instructional drawings for the army newspaper. In 1914, he was decorated for bravery and awarded the Iron Cross, Second Class, followed by the First Class four years later.

Having been a long admirer of Germany, he had become a passionate German patriot during the war, even though he did not become a German citizen until 1932.

After the Nazi Party seized power in 1933,  Hitler pressured Austria into unification with Germany.  In 1938 his troops invaded Austria and he made a triumphal entry into Vienna with a cheering crowd of several thousands.

The annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany was proclaimed by Hitler from the balcony of the city hall in Linz. This was in violation of the Treaty of Versailles, the terms of which had been drawn up by the victorious Allies without the participation of Germans.

Hitler’s first act of aggression against an independent sovereign nation was the start of the events that ultimately led to World War II, a global tragedy.  His rapid rise from almost total deprivation to the zenith of power in a few years ultimately ended in losing it all, including his own life and those of sixty million,  after becoming so ruthless and oppressive.

Vienna, the musical capital

Salzburg is renowned also as the birthplace of  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.  He was born here on 27th January of 1756, in a 3-bedroom apartment  now a museum that is frequented by thousands of visitors every year.

Mozart learnt his first musical piece when 5-year old in 1761. That was the year when the British captured Pondicherry to mark the end of French dominance in India. He wrote 626 compositions within the short span of 35 years of his life and was the prolific and influential composer of the Classical era.

His compositions include works widely acknowledged as pinnacles of a great variety of classical music. He astonished his audiences with his precocious skills and played to the French and English royal families.

Mozart is recognized as one of the most enduringly popular composers.  Many of his works are part of the standard concert repertoire and widely adapted for popular music, even for a Hindi  song that I heard when watching an Indian film.

Hayden paid tribute to him as the greatest composer having the taste and the greatest knowledge.

Leaving Salzburg for Vienna was an enjoyable drive through peaceful mountains and calm valleys that are part of the watershed of Danube, the second longest river of Europe. Originating in the Black Forest in Germany, it flows eastwards through several Central and Eastern European capitals before emptying into the Black Sea with deltas in Ukraine and Romania.

The Austrian stretch of the river is one of the most winding in its entire course and is dotted with towns that offer many relaxing facilities and sports.  It has been an important international waterway for centuries.

Vienna is the capital and the largest city of Austria, with its historic City Centre selected for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List.  It is the hub of country's musical life, especially western classical music.

Austrians over the years have made great contributions through musical compositions of famous composers and conductors such as Mozart (1756-1791), Hayden (1732-1809) , Schubert (1732-1809), Bruckner (1824 – 1896 ) and Mahler (1860–1911).

Johann Strauss Sr (1804 - 1849), born in Vienna, was the most popular conductor and composer of dance music of his time. His son, Johann Jr. (1825 - 1899), earned the title of "The Waltz King" with his prolific output.  His best-known work, The Blue Danube, was written in 1867.  At the world-famous New Year celebrations in Vienna each year, it is a must among other favourites.

Ludwig van Beethoven,  born in Germany in 1770,  spent most of his life in Vienna.  When Napoleonic forces attacked the city in 1809,  he is reported to have moved away from the  dreadful noise to a cellar, with mufflers round his ears to protect the last of his hearing.

Eagle's Nest in Bavarian Alps

In a speech to the party in Salzburg in 1920, Hitler is quoted to have said: "This
is the first demand we must raise and do (the reversal of the Versailles Treaty provisions): that our people be set free, that these chains be burst asunder, that Germany be once again captain of her soul and master of her destinies, together with all those who want to join Germany."  He gave them  new hope and confidence in the future of their country.

As a Corporal, he had been sent by the German intelligence to investigate German Worker's Party (DAP), founded in 1919 by seven  members. Impressed by his brilliant speaking skill in an argument, he was invited to join the party, and became their leader soon thereafter.

Moving back to the picturesque mountainous Obersalzberg after early release from prison,  he dictated his second volume of Mein Kampf  at a room in Hotel Pension Moritz and later on at a cottage.

The underground bunker system constructed in the Bavarian Alps was monumental . Perched on a mountain summit was 'Eagles Nest',  a daring engineering feat, with a unique teahouse and conference centre.  It was his 50th Birthday present from the Nazi Party.

At the foot of the Eagle’s Nest mountain was Hitler’s residence and headquarters,  the second seat of 3rd Reich power.

The whole mountainside was the very idyllic stage where  many of  the ideas and decisions regarding World War II were made.

Race Theories
Nazism developed several theories concerning human race. They claimed to scientifically measure the race hierarchy.

At the top was the 'Nordic race', followed by lesser races.

At the bottom were the so-called ‘parasitic’ races, or 'sub-humans', and these were designated as dangerous to society.

Bavarian Alps and Salzburg remind me how some of my friends and families had expressed their desire to be somewhere in the high mountains to escape the savage brutality that was unleashed by the invading armies.

Hitler, on the other hand, had spent much of his time in the solitude and the
safety of mountains to plan his strategies in World War II.

Salzburg and Eva Braun

Salzburg and Eva Braun

I was a little sad to leave Germany, as I had learnt a lot from my German landlady about the country when I was residing in Logan, Utah, for my PhD.

Mrs. Montigel had lived and suffered heavily during the destructive World War triggered by the territorial ambitions of Adolph Hitler. Her husband was a war casualty and her family suffered great deprivation during the global conflict.

As a teenager, I was carefully reading about the ghastly details of the war being fought. My younger uncle and an elder cousin were in active service from the very start of the war. My grandfather was a veteran of World War I and the family was well-aware of the war sufferings and deaths as it raged in Europe and Africa, and later on in Asia when Japan became Germany's partner on the eastern front.

The extra time spent ln border crossing formalities after the long delay resulting from the Police search for the terrorists they were looking for, had left me tired and thirsty. After receiving permission to enter Austria, I was looking for a brief stop to rest before driving further.

There was a fountain tap with running water on a nearby mountain that caught my attention. I parked the car and started walking towards it happily, just as I would have done on seeing such an attractive spot in the Canadian Rockies. There was something written in German language above the tap which I was unable to translate. As soon as I extended my hand to touch the refreshing flow of cool water, a lady shouted from a distance with forbidding gestures to stop me from drinking it.

She was right, it was polluted water and not meant for drinking even when it looked to be so.

I returned to where I had parked car and drank bottled water before resuming drive on the autobahn towards Salzburg, situated about 150 km from Munich. The panoramic beauty of the Alps was soothing and enchanting.

Salzberg is a famous resort, renowned for being the birthplace of Mozart. I had picked up pamphlets that invited tourists to come and enjoy Greater Salzberg in its entirety and to fulfill any dream to live as a part of 'The Sound of Music' phenomenon!

I had seen the musical masterpiece while visiting the Rashtrapati Bhavan estate in New Delhi. Salzburg city and surroundings were used for the film in the 1960s.

There are two Mozart memorial museums, one in the birthplace of the genius and the other in his former living place. The nearby Obersalzberg, with its beautiful and sweeping mountain view, was the favourite spot for Hitler and known as the location of his mountain residence, the Berghof. Göring also had a house nearby.

I remember that as a concerned teenager I had wanted to learn more about why Hitler had precipitated the global war so furiously. I had gone to the local library to read Mein Kampf (My Struggle), the book by him written as autobiography and a political treatise. However, it turned out to be beyond my understanding level at that time. A great part of the book was authored by him in the picturesque mountainous on release from a short prison term earlier.

Many years later, I had read a quote from a November 1938 article published in Homes & Garden that described Hitler as a life-long vegetarian at table, who never smoked, nor took alcohol in any form. Being such an ascetic, and living in peaceful mountains, I wondered how he could so mercilessly engulf the neighbouring countries, and eventually other global communities, in an unprecedented war with more than sixty million casualties.

Hitler and his sweetheart Eva Braun spent much time there in the 1930s. She was born in Munich and 23 years younger. They had never appeared as a couple in public, partly due to Hitler's concern that he would lose popularity among female supporters.

The German people were unaware of Eva Braun and her relationship with Hitler until after the war had ended. In recognition of her loyalty, Hitler had married her at midnight on April 28 - 29, 1945.

On April 30 they jointly committed suicide.

Abduction

Abduction

The long delay was caused by the terrorist activities of the Baader-Meinhof gang - or Red Army Faction, as they came to be known.

On 5 September, 1977, a woman with a pushchair stepped out in front of a car in Cologne, and forced to halt the driver who was chauffeuring one of West Germany's most powerful industrialist.

She pulled out two machine guns and killed his bodyguards. Her accomplices, who were following behind, abducted the industrialist to hold him hostage for their demands from the government.

It was September 11 already, and the police were still looking for them everywhere.

RAF had started in the late 1960s, with a campaign against members of the German elite and the US military personnel.

It was born out of the radical student movement of that period, and comprised mainly middle-class youngsters who saw themselves as fighting a West German capitalist establishment which to them was little different from a reincarnation of the Third Reich.

Described by the West German government as terrorists, RAF was one of postwar West Germany's most active and prominent militant left-wing groups.

They were committing numerous crimes, especially in the autumn of 1977, leading to a national crisis that became known as "German Autumn".

At the height of its popularity, around a quarter of young West Germans were believed to have some sympathy for the group.

Many condemned their tactics but understood their disgust with the new order, particularly one where former Nazis enjoyed prominent roles.

Another terrorist group active at that time was the Red Brigade. Formed in 1970, these Marxist-Leninist terrorists sought to create a revolutionary state through armed struggle and to separate Italy from the Western Alliance (NATO).

I became aware of the armed groups in the prime of their terrorist activities after I had decided to drive through Germany and wondered if I had made the righr choice. However I went ahead, treating it as a prelude to what lay ahead in the strife-ridden Iran.

It was another hour before the long row of vehicles started moving again.

We soon reached the border with Austria. There were some formalities to be completed before leaving Germany with a duty-free car that was to be driven back at the end of my UN assignment.

Paradise

Driving out of Munich ushered unmatched vistas of scenic beauty.

Just about to leave Germany behind me, I was reminiscent of what Iqbal had written about it years ago:

"Firdaus jo taira hai kissi nai naheen daikhaa,

Afrang kaa herr quriyaa hai firdaus ki maanind"

which translates as:

" Nobody has seen Your Paradise;

(This) corner in Europe has a close similarity to it."

In 1907, Iqbal had travelled to Germany to pursue a doctorate from the Faculty of Philosophy of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität at Munich.

Driving through the south-eastern part of Germany in early autumn, what I saw was exactly what Iqbal had mentioned in this verse. It excels in unparallel beauty and charm.

In another poem, 'Ek shaam" (one evening) written at Hidelberg, he pays tribute to the beauty and solitude of river Neckar. Recently a park has been named in his honour.
　
I was enjoying it all when made to halt suddenly near the Austrian border.

German Police was looking for the terrorists who had abducted a top industrialist.

There was a long waiting line, stretching as far as I could see.

It was early part of September and still quite warm. Travellers had opened their car windows for comfort.

I saw two young adults walking by as I opened my side window to get a breath of fresh air.

They seemed to be exchanging a few words with the help of 'English to the German language translation' guide books, held in their hands.

Suddenly the young lady started turning over the pages of her book swiftly as if looking for something particular.

On not finding it, she shouted in great disgust : " Can't find the German word for it!"

The young man, who was also turning over pages of his book, was taken by surprise.

" Do You speak English?", he asked.

"Yes, ... I am from New York", the lady replied.

"And I am from California!", said the young man.

They burst into laughter as they closed their language help books.

They seemed so happy to suddently talking to each other in their own language.

Holding their hands together, they were smiling as they slowly walked away embracing each other.

Secret Diary

Secret Diary

How would you feel when you find something sensational happening in the country you had recently visited?

That is exactly what happened to me.

It was the news concerning Kujau, who had fled from East Germany
and eventually settled in Stuttgart, the city where I came to pick up
my car to start my travel.

He had made a sale, one of the greatest historical buys of the 20th century: Sixty-two handwritten volumes of a secret diary kept by Adolf Hitler!

The person had established his credibility earlier, by selling Nazi memorabilia such as paintings of and duly signed by Hitler during his early years in Austria.

Der Stern, the German magazine, had paid millions of dollars to gain the exclusive rights to it, hoping to make big money by selling it later on to the news media.

Kujau had sold his first "Hitler Diary" to a collector in 1978.

He was contacted by Gerd Heidemann, a journalist, in 1980 after he had learned about the diaries.

Kujau told him that the diaries were in the possession of his brother, whom he described as a General in the East German army.

He sold the remaining 61 volumes of the secret diary to Heidemann for DM 2.5 million.

Heidemann collected DM 9 million from his employers at Stern, for the purchase made by him for the magazine.

Stern had paid the huge amount, hoping to make a fortune on the reprint rights.

The global media jumped on the story. Newsweek, ParisMatch and London's Sunday Times were among many to make bids for reprint rights to all or part of the diaries.

However, the diaries were proven to be fake when published by Stern in 1983 with the head cover showing one of the black bound volumes, and stating: "Hitler's Diary Discovered."

Kujau and Heidemann were arrested and charged.

Both were convicted: Kujau sentenced to four and a half years for forgery and his wife to one year as an accomplice.

Heidemann was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 4 years 8 months.

The judge had strictures against the owners and editors of Der Stern, for being too ready to believe that they had scooped all the global news organizations by purchasing the secret diary.

Deadliest War

Deadliest War

Driving leisurely through Munich impressed me greatly.

It was enchanting to see the vast and lush green landscape, with highly scenic backdrop of Bavarian Alps that define border with Austria.

The tall and upright ornamental trees along main avenues help make the city look so beautiful.

As a capital city, Munich has been an important political centre in Germany.

Historically, it was the birthplace of National Socialism, and in 1923 Hitler and his supporters had made the abortive attempt to overthrow the Weimar Republic.

The revolt failed, resulting in Hitler's arrest and the temporary crippling of the Nazi Party.

While in prison, Hitler began the dictation of his book Mein Kampf (My Struggle). It combines elements of autography with an exposition of his political ideology.

He projected three stages of Germany’s political emergence on the world scene, the first stage being a programme of massive re-armament to overthrow the shackles of the Treaty of Versailles.

The resentment generated by the Treaty had provided fertile psychological ground for the rise of the Nazi party and Adolf Hitler.

Military build-up began almost immediately, in direct defiance of the Treaty which by then had been destroyed in front of a cheering crowd.

Munich become a Nazi stronghold in Germany in 1933. The adulation of Hitler was the hallmark of the Nazi middle years.

His sudden rise in power, and militancy, brought Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister, to Munich in 1938 on a doomed mission to ensure " peace in our time".

Munich Agreement forced Czechoslovakia to surrender its Sudetenland to Germany because of Hitler's territorial and ethnic claim.

However, the agreement, backed also by France and Italy to avert war, failed to stop Hitler from occupying the rest of Czechoslovakia soon thereafter.

His invasion of Poland came nearly a year after the Munich Agreement. Britain and France responded with ultimatums, and started the second global conflict in 1939 that continued up to 1945.

I was in my teens but vividly remember the start of World War II, when my father was posted in Rangpur, Pakistan.

A visitor had cone to inform him that he had heard the news of war outbreak on radio.

World War II was the deadliest military conflict in history.

Although the casualty statistics vary greatly, estimates of total dead range from 50 million to over 70 million.

Civilians killed totalled from 40 million to 52 million, including 13 to 20 million from war-related disease and famine.

Munich

Visiting Munich brought sad memories of the two global wars.

My grand-father and his two brothers were the veterans of the World War I, and our family was painfully aware of the great havoc and loss of life caused by it.

Munich presents an ironic contrast: the immense power humans have acquired to destroy through war vs. the colossal human potential to re-build and prosper when in peaceful co-existence.

The city was very heavily damaged by allied bombings during World War II, and rebuilt completely after its occupation by Americans in 1945.

Munich is heavily industrialized and has the strongest economy of any German city.

It is a leading location for science and research, and prides itself with a long list of Nobel Prize laureates.

Munich hosted the 1972 Summer Olympics, marred by Palestinian terrorists who broke into the Olympic Village, killing two members of the Israeli team and taking some as hostages.

Near the Olympia park are the headquarters of BMW, the luxury auto-maker company.

Historically, Germany was not permitted to take part in negotiations near the end of hostilities in the First World War.

Germans protested against what they deemed as unfair demands in the peace treaty.

The Chancellor had resigned and it was his successor who agreed to sign the Versailles Treaty.

Of the many terms in the treaty, the important provisions required Germany and its allies to accept full responsibility for the war, and to disarm and make substantial territorial concessions in addition to big reparations to certain countries that had formed the Allies.

German economy was so weak that only a small percentage of reparations could be paid in money.

This caused severe financial hardship that contributed to post-treaty hyper-inflation in the country.

The implementation of the requirements triggered a chain reaction.
The treaty was undermined by subsequent events starting as early as 1922, and it was flouted widely by the mid thirties.

Some historian believe that the seeds of World War II were sown by the way Germany was treated by the Allies after its defeat in World War I.

Language pitfalls

The festive environment created by the Bavarian young couples was a thrilling and unexpected experience.

While all this was going on, I had to leave the main hall to look for a washroom.

I was told to walk straight forward a few more steps to locate it.

I soon saw one marked 'Herr', which immediately triggered the memory of the word 'her' in English language.

Thinking it was to be avoided, I started moving away from it quickly to go for the one adjoining it.

The two ladies talking to each other near the door entrance looked at me coming in their direction and started screaming loudly.

It was most embarrassing moment for me, but certainly a sure indication that I should haves gone to the one that was just ignored by me.

Being in a rush I had made a mistake inadvertently, as 'Her' is sometimes used in North America for ladies washroom.

The similar sounding 'Herr' means exactly opposite in German language.

This was as a great learning experience, as it illustrated clearly how a similar sounding word could mean something entirely different in another language.

When I returned, the beer festivitivity and dancing was still goining on.

Soon Lavinia and I decided to return to our hotel, to have some sleep before resuming our journey next morning.

We had seen ourselves, and confirmrd later on, that Bavarians are known as some of the world's most beer-loving people.

While starting our hotel the next day, the receptionist told us that the group drinking of last night was a prelude to the Oktoberfest festival.

And what they wore while dancing were the Bavarian costume and their beer was the traditional Bavarian Beer.

We were driving on Autobohn again and were soon in the outskirts of Munich located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps and the capital of Bavaria.

Bavarian sociability is best experienced at the Oktoberfest, the world's largest beer festival which attracts around six million visitors every year.

Taking place each year it starts in the middle of September and runs through the beginning of October.

The festival is full of fun: singing, drinking and dancing while bands of all sorts play.

Large amounts drunk during the festival tend to create some problems with young people, who overestimate their ability to handle such amounts of alcohol.

The especially drunk patrons, often called "Bierleichen" (German for "beer corpses"), are regularly brought by staff to a medical tent where drunks and the sick are treated.

The first "Oktoberfest" took place in 1810, to commemorate the marriage of the Bavarian Crown Prince.

Since 1950, there has been a traditional opening for the festival: A twelve gun salute, and the tapping of the first keg of Oktoberfest beer, at 12:00 by the Mayor of Munich, with the cry "O'zapft is!" ("It's tapped!" in the Austro-Bavarian dialect.

Statistically, beer consumption per capita in Bavaria is higher than in the rest of Germany.

Bavarians are particularly proud of their purity law as a tradition, initially established by the Duke of Bavaria in 1516.

According to this law, only three ingredients are allowed in beer: water, barley, and hops.