Today's update is late but I am going to try and keep it weekly, until I can get back to my RL routine properly.
So, we see what's going down at the block.
The guy in the black hood was the terror of neighborhoods and blocks. They were called “Masks” for obvious reasons and were Greek traitors that lived among the rest of the Greeks without drawing any attention to themselves, spying on the occupied population for the benefit of the Reich. When the time came, they put on the hood so as not to be recognized by the rest of the Greeks and silently pointed to those that were a danger to the Reich. Those pointed at where either executed on the spot or taken for questioning.
You couldn't know, and often never suspected who was hiding under the hood, betraying you to the enemy, or just giving you to them for other ulterior purposes.
Also, Anna is saying some words from the jewish prayer/hymn ‘Adon Olam’ in her terror. So now we see why she's especially terrified of Nazis… :(
(by the way, as I am not jewish, if you feel an other prayer or hymn would be more appropriate for her to say, please tell me so! Thank you!)
bravo1102: Oh I see what you meant now. I took it (and responded) from an entirely different impression. You are right, all of those did fight in Greece.
They all fought in Greece. The Bulgarian army fought in Greece as part of the tripartate occupation. The Croats and Cossacks were Waffen SS units that were transferred from Yugoslavia to fight against the Greek Resistance along with other veteran combat units.
bravo1102: That's true (about coldblooded killing), but I beg to differ, at least for Greek standards, where it comes to hunting down and killing turn coats. Collaborators weren't touched much as late as 1945, though they were scorned and ostracised and met with hostility/belligerence.
Now traitors like the Masks, these WERE hunted down and killed, often even by lynching. And considering just how many they caused to die (resistance and civilians) and how much they sacked homes, I can't bring myself to blame the people that did it.
That was not cold blooded. That was in rage.
Of course there are the factions that took up where the nazis left off, for sure, and the Balkans are notorious for these things. Resistance in Greece has its own political story, and how two faced power monger crept in their ranks, took control and even came to eradicating the original, far more pure hearted members.
Just wait until mid-late-1944 when the resistances would be hunting down and killing any and all they even suspected of collaboration. By many acounts it made the SS look merciful. But then so did the Croats, Cossacks and Bulgarians in the Balkans and Russia. No one has a monopoly on cold-blooded killing.
DAJB: Yes, that's very right. Some of the things done even as we speak around the world are hideous, making one wonder if we've regressed, rather than progressed, from the cave man state.
But I should also say that tangible violence aside, atrocities of this kind happen every day where we live, only at the social and financial level. Just how many are executed daily on the altar of profit and 'free markets'?
Sadly, real life villains have always been capable of far greater atrocities than those in fiction. We think of the Nazis as having been especially barbaric but - although they did it on a larger scale - many of the same things were done in the Balkans just recently and countries throughout South America (like Chile), Asia and the Middle East. We just don't hear so much about them.
Terrifying page, especially in that it reminds us just how recently these things were done in our own backyard.
At the best of times war brings out the absolute worst in people, however the SS seemed to have a talent for sniffing out those who would be Quislings (for those who don't understand the reference http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vidkun_Quisling)and exploiting them to turn other fellow travelers. Of course the SS officer and non commissioned officer corp tended to attract those who were sadists,sociopaths, bullies and the like. They took absolute delight in working with traitors such as the Masks.As Tantz so graphically illustrated in the opening pages of this story, their prisoner interrogation techniques were the harshest used anywhere since the Inquisition.
Tantz my hats off to you for your research and detail in this story.
Nicotine: The Masks were cowards, strong only as long as they were hiding behind the hood and had the SS backing them. Nothing strong about them. The few that were discovered and identified as hoods did NOT keep a cool head about it.
And yes, let's hope so!
Usedbooks: It is harsh :(
I'm happy to be updating too :)
Ruthless!
Not that they were likeable people among the Greeks, but the mask must have been strong people to betray their people and keep a cool head about it. Hopefully Anna doesn't have the same fate as that poor woman :/
HawkandFloAdventures at 2:21PM, Jan. 1, 2023
D: wow... burtal a moments silence for the kid who was shot... dang
Tantz_Aerine at 11:49AM, March 9, 2011
bravo1102: Oh I see what you meant now. I took it (and responded) from an entirely different impression. You are right, all of those did fight in Greece.
bravo1102 at 12:56AM, March 9, 2011
They all fought in Greece. The Bulgarian army fought in Greece as part of the tripartate occupation. The Croats and Cossacks were Waffen SS units that were transferred from Yugoslavia to fight against the Greek Resistance along with other veteran combat units.
Tantz_Aerine at 5:32AM, March 2, 2011
bravo1102: That's true (about coldblooded killing), but I beg to differ, at least for Greek standards, where it comes to hunting down and killing turn coats. Collaborators weren't touched much as late as 1945, though they were scorned and ostracised and met with hostility/belligerence. Now traitors like the Masks, these WERE hunted down and killed, often even by lynching. And considering just how many they caused to die (resistance and civilians) and how much they sacked homes, I can't bring myself to blame the people that did it. That was not cold blooded. That was in rage. Of course there are the factions that took up where the nazis left off, for sure, and the Balkans are notorious for these things. Resistance in Greece has its own political story, and how two faced power monger crept in their ranks, took control and even came to eradicating the original, far more pure hearted members.
bravo1102 at 3:56AM, March 1, 2011
Just wait until mid-late-1944 when the resistances would be hunting down and killing any and all they even suspected of collaboration. By many acounts it made the SS look merciful. But then so did the Croats, Cossacks and Bulgarians in the Balkans and Russia. No one has a monopoly on cold-blooded killing.
Tantz_Aerine at 1:37AM, Feb. 28, 2011
DAJB: Yes, that's very right. Some of the things done even as we speak around the world are hideous, making one wonder if we've regressed, rather than progressed, from the cave man state. But I should also say that tangible violence aside, atrocities of this kind happen every day where we live, only at the social and financial level. Just how many are executed daily on the altar of profit and 'free markets'?
DAJB at 12:58AM, Feb. 27, 2011
Sadly, real life villains have always been capable of far greater atrocities than those in fiction. We think of the Nazis as having been especially barbaric but - although they did it on a larger scale - many of the same things were done in the Balkans just recently and countries throughout South America (like Chile), Asia and the Middle East. We just don't hear so much about them. Terrifying page, especially in that it reminds us just how recently these things were done in our own backyard.
Tantz_Aerine at 1:52PM, Feb. 26, 2011
Darwin: Yes, I know :( Dragonrider: Thank you so much! It means a lot to me. And you are, of course, quite right in your comment.
Darwin at 1:37PM, Feb. 26, 2011
Yikes...so wrong...all over the place!
dragonrider at 12:32PM, Feb. 26, 2011
At the best of times war brings out the absolute worst in people, however the SS seemed to have a talent for sniffing out those who would be Quislings (for those who don't understand the reference http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vidkun_Quisling)and exploiting them to turn other fellow travelers. Of course the SS officer and non commissioned officer corp tended to attract those who were sadists,sociopaths, bullies and the like. They took absolute delight in working with traitors such as the Masks.As Tantz so graphically illustrated in the opening pages of this story, their prisoner interrogation techniques were the harshest used anywhere since the Inquisition. Tantz my hats off to you for your research and detail in this story.
PIT_FACE at 11:51AM, Feb. 26, 2011
Basil's gettin ready to eat ya for breakfast, punk...
Tantz_Aerine at 10:54AM, Feb. 26, 2011
Nicotine: The Masks were cowards, strong only as long as they were hiding behind the hood and had the SS backing them. Nothing strong about them. The few that were discovered and identified as hoods did NOT keep a cool head about it. And yes, let's hope so! Usedbooks: It is harsh :( I'm happy to be updating too :)
Nicotine at 10:33AM, Feb. 26, 2011
Ruthless! Not that they were likeable people among the Greeks, but the mask must have been strong people to betray their people and keep a cool head about it. Hopefully Anna doesn't have the same fate as that poor woman :/
usedbooks at 9:57AM, Feb. 26, 2011
Yikes. Harsh stuff. Nice surprise to see an update today. I fell off the regular update wagon myself. :P