Christmas, December 1944

Christmas in Nazi Germany  "This picture shows a mother holding her child next to a Christmas tree, while three soldiers trudge through the snow of the east. It faces a poem by Herybert Menzel titled “Soldiers’ Christmas"
Another comment shows a picture of Hitler looking at a Christmas tree with these words:  "The facing page has these words from Goebbels’s 1941 Christmas Eve speech: “On this evening we will think of the Führer, who is also everywhere present this evening wherever Germans gather, and place ourselves in the service of the fatherland." ...

CHRISTMAS AND THE WORLD WAR II GYRENE (In the Pacific)

Eisenhower's Christmas Message to Troops 1944


Right: Christmas 1944
 

A Christmas Miracle At The Battle Of The Bulge   "A man now, Fritz Vincken, narrates this true story about when he was a small boy at the time in 1944. The Battle of the Bulge was at its height. A German cook who was with the German Army there had left his wife and the above mentioned little boy in a shack way in the woods seemingly from harm's way.
      " It was December 24th, Christmas Eve and it was a very cold night. Many soldiers on both sides became lost from their units and were looking for a place to stay. Three American Soldiers were lost around the area where the shack was. They saw the light from the shack and the smoke from the chimney. They saw their chance to warm up. They knocked on the door and asked if they could come in. The German lady had a small chicken cooking for themselves but invited the Americans in to warm up and for the Christmas meal.
       "One of the American Soldiers was wounded and the lady tried to make him comfortable. There was a language barrier for a time till one of the soldiers found out the lady could speak French as well as German! So everything was going well and the Americans were feeling right at home!
       "Then suddenly there was a knock at the door." ...

Christmas Eve in Bastogne

 

"To boost morale, Brigadier General Anthony C. McAuliffe, the acting commander of the 101^st Airborne, issued this announcement:

"What’s merry about all this you ask? We’re fighting—it’s cold—we aren’t home. All true, but what has the proud Eagle Division accomplished with its worthy comrades of the 10th Armored Division, the 705th Tank Destroyer Battalion and all the rest? Just this: We have stopped cold everything that has been thrown at us from the north, east, south and west. We have identifications from four German panzer divisions, two German infantry divisions and one German parachute division. These units, spearheading the last desperate German lunge, were heading straight west for key points when the Eagle Division was hurriedly ordered to stem the advance. How effectively this was done will be written in history; not alone in our Division’s glorious history but in world history. The Germans actually did surround us, their radios blared our doom. Allied troops are counterattacking in force. We continue to hold Bastogne. By holding Bastogne we assure the success of the Allied armies. We know that our Division commander, General Taylor, will say: “Well done!” We are giving our country and our loved ones at home a worthy Christmas present and being privileged to take part in this gallant feat of arms are truly making for ourselves a merry Christmas.

Christmas, 1944 - The Battle of the Bulge

Stories of Christmas and the Battle Of The Bulge ..."One of the most poignant stories I ever heard about World War II was about American servicemen fighting in the fierce battles in Europe, and how they stopped firing at the nearby German soldiers for a few moments because it was Christmas Eve. And, for some mysterious and awesome reason, the Germans stopped firing as well.

"Someone began to sing the beloved hymn Silent Night, and the Germans joined the Americans with Stille Nacht." ...   More here.