World War II

Village grapples with church bell emblazoned with Nazi insignia

As is the case with many structures in post-war Germany, one church is realizing it still has a connection to the Nazi party.

The Jakobskirche village church in the small town of Herxheim am Berg holds a bell that created controversy after it was discovered to be emblazoned with Nazi insignia.

The church is 1,000 years old and thus was standing throughout the country’s dark period during World War II and the Holocaust. The bell was reportedly added to the church in 1934.

The bell was found to bear a swastika under the phrase “All for the Fatherland, Adolf Hitler.”

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Looking back at the beaches of Normandy on D-Day: June 6, 1944

On June 6, 1944, the world was forever changed.

World War II had already been raging around the globe for four years when the planning for Operation Neptune — what we now know as “D-Day” — began in 1943.

Operation Neptune was part of the larger Operation Overlord, the Allies’ undertaking to invade Western Europe and free the nations from the control of Nazi Germany.

After intense and successful deception of the Axis forces, both operations began on Tuesday, June 6, 1944, with the storming of France’s Normandy shore.

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