 | Zvolen - Slovakia In 2003 the town of Zvolen celebrated the 760th anniversary of its foundation.The first reliable document of the independent royal town of Zvolen is the royal charter of King Belo IV of December 28, 1243 reinstating the Zvolen's town privileges. Written documents on the existence of the town (settlement), however, date back also earlier than 1243. In 1222 it is written about Detrik - a head of the Zvolen County; at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries the chronicler Anonymus dates foundation of Zvolen Castle back to the 10th century. Zvolen has lived for years under the auspices of the Castle, today known as the Deserted Castle, which was the seat of the royal "komitat", that is a territory stretching in the area of the whole today's Central Slovakia. The importance of this vast castle (it was divided into the Upper and Lower Castle and its area was over 7 hectares!) faded away a little after building up the new castle right in the town. In the end, the Deserted Castle was burnt down by Ján Huňady's troops in 1452 (according to the latest research) and it remained in ruins. Hungarian King Louis the Great of Anjou had Zvolen Castle built in the second half of the 14th century. Since the time of its founding the Castle has often been rebuilt and had several owners. King Matthias Corvinus and his wife Beatrix would enjoy coming here; it was also a residence of Ján Jiskra of Brandýs, and the Ján Thurzo's possession. The cruelest period in the history of Zvolen was the 16th century. The Hungarian Empire was tossed about by struggling for the throne; it held Turkish and Tartar attacks off. In the 1580's Zvolen was dealt by the plague blow. Another disaster affected the town in 1601. At that time huge fire destroyed the church, school, orphanage and many houses. To renew the town its inhabitants needed to spend much finance and for that reason they asked the monarch for forgiving them taxes. The destructive fire hit Zvolen also in 1708. ObrázokThe years of the Slovak National Revival movement (1848 -- 1849) have left an imprint on Zvolen too. The town is connected with the name of Ľudovít Štúr who was the first deputy in the Hungarian Parliament and he represented just the town of Zvolen. Štúr spoke five times at the Hungarian Parliament during the years 1848 -- 1848 and he tried to pursue the national freedom of the Slovaks, recognition of the Slovak language, serfdom abolition, equal civil rights and other demands of the whole Slovak nation. ObrázokIn 1871 a railway station was built in Zvolen and one year later the Hungarian northern railway Pešť -- Zvolen -- Vrútky was completed. It meant further development of the town alike the sheet iron factory called Union. Also a savings bank, bank and printing house sprouted up in Zvolen. At the beginning of the 20th century the working class in the town became stronger. In the aftermath of the World War I (88 soldiers from Zvolen died during it) the 28th October 1918 comes and brings the establishment of the new state -- the Czechoslovak Republic. The new republic had to cope with various problems. As early as in the summer 1919 Slovakia was invaded by the troops of the communist Hungarian Republic Order that in June occupied also Zvolen. Zvolen could not be prevented from the tragedy of the World War II. After liberation in 1945 not only started renovation of the property destroyed by the war in Zvolen, but also former small businesses started to be expanded and new ones were built up. On the north-eastern outskirts of the town went up Bucina, the large integrated wood-processing plant, and near the Hron river one of the most modern dairies in Slovakia of that time. Furthermore, there were textile factories, a new railway station, schools, dormitories, new blocks of flats. New roads, streets, pavements, water supply system, the town's drainage were built; they continued in electrifying the town. ObrázokNowadays Zvolen is a seat of several prosperous businesses, quality elementary and secondary schools and also the Technical University that is the only one in Slovakia that educates experts in the wood-processing area. Culture is represented by the J.G. Tajovsky Theatre with its permanent scene as well as by the tens of dance, theatre, song and musical groups which spread a good reputation of the town in Slovakia and foreign countries as well. |
 | First JAS-39C Gripen Arrives Caslav AFB The Saab JAS 39 "Gripen" (Griffin) is a fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace company Saab. The aircraft is in service with the Swedish Air Force and the Czech Republic Air Force and has been ordered by the Hungarian Air Force and South African Air Force.n April 2007, Norway signed an agreement on a joint development programme of the aircraft. Gripen International acts as a prime contracting organisation and is responsible for marketing, selling and supporting the Gripen fighter around the world.The Gripen is designed for performance, flexibility, effectiveness and survivability in air combat. The designation JAS stands for Jakt (Air-to-Air), Attack (Air-to-Surface), and Spaning (Reconnaissance), indicating that the Gripen is a multirole aircraft that can fulfill each mission type. Gripen got its name in a public competition in 1982.The griffin is the heraldry on Saab's logo and suited the multi-role characteristics of the aircraft. Furthermore, the griffin is the symbolic animal of Södermanland,a province neighbouring the location in which Saab AB is headquartered (Linköping, Östergötland). Flying properties and performance are optimised for fighter missions with high demands on speed, acceleration and turning performance. The combination of delta wing and canards gives the JAS 39 Gripen good take-off and landing performance and flying characteristics. The totally integrated avionics make it a "programmable" aircraft. The Gripen also has a built in electronic warfare unit making it possible to load more ordnance onto the aircraft without losing self defence capabilities.The JAS 39 Gripen affords far more flexibility than earlier generations of combat aircraft, and its operating costs are about two thirds of those for JA 37 Viggen.The specifications for the Gripen required the ability to operate from 800 m runways. Early on in the programme, all flights from Saab's facility in Linköping were flown from within a 9 m × 800 m outline painted on the runway. Stopping distance was reduced by extending the relatively large air brakes using the control surfaces to push the aircraft down enabling the wheel brakes to apply more force and tilting the canards forwards, making them into large air brakes and further pushing the aircraft down.One interesting feature is the Gripen's ability to land on public highways. Once on the ground, it can be refuelled and re-armed in ten minutes by a five man mobile ground crew operating out of a truck, then take off again and resume flying sorties. This gives its users a remarkable level of flexibility in deployment and resupply. * Crew: 1--2 * Length: 14.1 m (46 ft 3 in) * Wingspan: 8.4 m (27 ft 7 in) * Height: 4.5 m (14 ft 9 in) * Wing area: 25.54 m (274.9 ft) * Empty weight: 6,620 kg (14,600 lb) * Loaded weight: 8,720 kg (19,200 lb) * Max takeoff weight: 14,000 kg (31,000 lb) * Powerplant: 1× Volvo Aero RM12 (GE404) afterburning turbofan, 54 kN dry, 80 kN with afterburner (12,000 lbf / 18,100 lbf) * Wheel track: 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) * Maximum speed: Mach 2 * Range: Combat radius 800km, (500 miles), (430nm). () * Service ceiling: 15,000 m (50,000 ft) * Rate of climb: m/s (ft/min) * Wing loading: 341 kg/m² (70,3 lb/ft²) * Thrust/weight: 0.94 |
 | Czech republic Czech(Ceska republika) The Czech Republic (IPA: /ˈtʃɛk riˈpʌblɨk/) (Czech: Česká republika (help·info), short form in Czech: Česko, IPA: [ʧɛsko]), is a landlocked country in Central Europe and a member state of the European Union. The country has borders with Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west, Austria to the south, and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague (Czech: Praha), a major tourist destination. The country is composed of the historic regions of Bohemia and Moravia, as well as parts of Silesia. Following the Battle of the White Mountain, the Czech lands fell under the Habsburg rule from 1526, later becoming part of the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary. The independent Republic of Czechoslovakia was formed in 1918, following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire after World War I. After the Munich Agreement, German occupation of Czechoslovakia and the consequent disillusion with the Western response and gratitude for the liberation of the major portion of Czechoslovakia by the Red Army, the Communist party won plurality (38 %)[1] in 1946 elections. In an 1948 overturn, Czechoslovakia became a communist-ruled state. In 1968, the increasing dissatisfaction has culminated in attempts to reform the communist regime. The events, known as Prague Spring of 1968, had ended with a invasion of armies of Warsaw Pact countries, and the troops remained in the country until the overturn in 1989 Velvet Revolution, when the communist regime collapsed. On January 1, 1993 the country Czechoslovakia peacefully split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czech Republic made economic reforms such as massive privatization and flat tax. Annual gross domestic product growth has recently been around 6%. The country is the first former member of the Comecon to achieve the status of a developed country (2006) according to the World Bank.[2] The Czech Republic also ranks best compared to the former Comecon countries in the Human Development Index.[3] The Czech Republic is a pluralist multi-party parliamentary representative democracy. President Václav Klaus is the current head of state. The Prime Minister is the head of government (currently Mirek Topolánek). The Parliament has two chambers — the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. It is also a member of the OECD, the Council of Europe and the Visegrád Group.Czech(Ceska republika) The Czech Republic (IPA: /ˈtʃɛk riˈpʌblɨk/) (Czech: Česká republika (help·info), short form in Czech: Česko, IPA: [ʧɛsko]), is a landlocked country in Central Europe and a member state of the European Union. The country has borders with Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west, Austria to the south, and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague (Czech: Praha), a major tourist destination. The country is composed of the historic regions of Bohemia and Moravia, as well as parts of Silesia. Following the Battle of the White Mountain, the Czech lands fell under the Habsburg rule from 1526, later becoming part of the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary. The independent Republic of Czechoslovakia was formed in 1918, following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire after World War I. After the Munich Agreement, German occupation of Czechoslovakia and the consequent disillusion with the Western response and gratitude for the liberation of the major portion of Czechoslovakia by the Red Army, the Communist party won plurality (38 %)[1] in 1946 elections. In an 1948 overturn, Czechoslovakia became a communist-ruled state. In 1968, the increasing dissatisfaction has culminated in attempts to reform the communist regime. The events, known as Prague Spring of 1968, had ended with a invasion of armies of Warsaw Pact countries, and the troops remained in the country until the overturn in 1989 Velvet Revolution, when the communist regime collapsed. On January 1, 1993 the country Czechoslovakia peacefully split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czech Republic made economic reforms such as massive privatization and flat tax. Annual gross domestic product growth has recently been around 6%. The country is the first former member of the Comecon to achieve the status of a developed country (2006) according to the World Bank.[2] The Czech Republic also ranks best compared to the former Comecon countries in the Human Development Index.[3] The Czech Republic is a pluralist multi-party parliamentary representative democracy. President Václav Klaus is the current head of state. The Prime Minister is the head of government (currently Mirek Topolánek). The Parliament has two chambers — the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. It is also a member of the OECD, the Council of Europe and the Visegrád Group. |
 | Romania - Maramures ( Baia Mare ) Ancient names Dacian: Maramarista Latin: Marmatia Maramures' history is ancient, enchanting and beautiful. It is a civilization and culture carved in wood and stone in word and soul. There is evidence that this region was first settled as far back as 35,000 BC, the Superior Paleolithic era. Archaeological discoveries of this primitive society have been uncovered in the Iza Valley near the village of Nanesti. Remnants from a Neolithic culture were discovered in many regions of Maramures. Artifacts were found around Sighetu-Marmatiei, Costiui, Oncesti, Cornesti and Giulesti. Some discoveries can be dated to 6,000 BC. Later, around 2000 BC, the migration of Indo-Europeans occurred. By the Bronze Age the region of Maramures was well settled, though due to the geography the population was quite sparse. Major archaeological discoveries have been found in more than twenty locations from the Bronze Age. This cultural establishment provides the first proof that the settlers of this region were of Gaeto-Dacian ancestry. During this time the lands of Maramures and much of modern Romania was the kingdom of Dacia. In antiquity the region governed by Thracian tribes, also known as Getae-Dacians. Around 300 BC - 200 BC, the migration of Celts brought Central Europe a more advanced technological culture. At the beginning of the 1st century BC the latter, under king Burebista, militarily defeated the Celts, forcing them to retreat to the territory of today's Germany. The Dacians during that period built their houses on higher banks of rivers, remains of which still exist at Cetatea (near Ocna Slatina). The salt from this town was also very valuable during that period. In 107, they established the Roman province of Dacia Superior, with an initial northern boundary along the Someş River, later to be moved further north. Maramureş became a region immediately adjacent to the Roman province. Although the Roman administration retreated after 168 years , the influence of Rome remained, due to the now linguistically Roman and ethnically (traditions) Daco-Roman locals (romanians), who along with the Empire Dacia became Christian in 325. At the end of the 7th century until 10th - 11th century the whole surrounding region was under the Avar khanate. The population of Maramureş remained linguistically and ethnically Vlach (Romanians); however, little is known regarding political control over the area. The social organization of Maramureş during the Middle Ages was also very specific: the people in many mountain villages, where each family by definition had a considerable domain, were called nămeşi [nameshi], i.e. free peasants taking pride in their families. The term points to the belonging to a small clan, from the Romanian "neam" [bigger old family]. This term has been preserved to this day, both in the areas that remained Romanian In the middle of the 14th century, Maramureş, still partly preserving the institution of Voevodate, was an important catalyst in uniting the lands to the east of the Carpathian mountains and forming the Moldavian Principality. The last incursion of the Ottomans into Central Europe proved disastrous to them. In 1683, the Austrians and the Poles defeated the Ottomans at the gates of Vienna. In 1686, they conquered Buda, and in 1690 took over Transylvania, abolishing the principality. At the end of the World War I, when Austria-Hungary dissimulated/broke down, the nations inhabiting it elected national and/or regional assemblies to determine their fate and to decide the future political configurations. As a result Maramureş County was divided into North and South. The National Assembly of the Romanians of (inner) Transylvania, Crişana, Banat and Maramureş, composed of 1228 elected members, has decided on December 1, 1918 in Alba Iulia upon their union with Romania. On December 15, 1918, in Mediaş, the Council of the Transylvanian Saxons and Danubian Swabians (ethnic Germans that moved to live in Transylvania in the 12th-13th, respectively in the 18th centuries) decided to support the Romanians, mainly because of their adversity to the prospect of otherwise living in a Hungarian national state, which was due to the Magyarization policy practiced in the Transleitanian part of Austria-Hungary after 1870 and until World War I Throughout the summer of 1919, Czech troops began to take control over most of what is today Carpathian Ruthenia, with Romanian troops gaining control of its southern regions (Maramures) in late spring, in their push, at the request of the Versailles Conference, against the Communist Hungarian Republic. |
 | Dajos Béla Tanzorchester plays tango from Berlin, 1929 DAJOS BÉLA (Leo Golzmann), violinist and a bandleader of the Weimar Republic. Born in Jewish Russian/Hungarian family in Kiev (1897), died in La Falda, Argentine (1978). As a 9 y.o. boy he gave his first violin public performance in Kiev. During WWI he was a soldier of the Tzarist army and when the war was over, he attended conservatory studies in Moscow, in the violin class of prof. prof. Michajl Press and Issay Barmas. After completing education, he left for Germany, where he started performing as violinist in the night cafes and clubs of North Berlin, using a pseudonym „Dajos Béla" (Dajos was his Hungarian mother's maiden name). It did't take long when he was invited to record his first sides for Carl Lindström Aktien Gesellschaft (labels: Odeon, Parlophon and Beka), using the nick names of Take Banescu, Arpád Városz, Jenő Fesca, Sándor Jószi) and, in following years, for Homocord label as Giorgi Vintilescu, Nicu Vladescu, or Joan Florescu for Grammophon. Also the bands he conducted had many etiquette-names: Dajos Béla Künstler-Kapelle, Dajos Béla Tanzorchester, Dajos Béla Geigen-Primas, Dajos Béla Salon-Orchester, etc. In later 1920s his orchestra -- due to the hundreds of recordings and numerous public performances, to the cosmopolitan and thirsty for international noveltes Berliner audiences, where he presented American or British hot dance jazz nubers - Dajos Béla's band becomes ex aequo with Marek Weber, Paul Godwin, Julian Fuhs, Mitja Nikisch - one of leading Berlin bands of the late 1920s/beginning 1930s. In 1927 his band becomes an international ensamble, when he employs Rex Allen as a pianist and singer, together with a phenomenal banjoist - Mike Danzi. To emphasise their cosmopolitan style, they record many international schlagers for the Odeon label as: The Odeon Five, Mac's Jazz Orchestra or Clive Williams Jazzband. In March 1933 his career is Germany is ended. Being well aware what means the Hitler's Nazi party victory in the national election, Dajos Béla never returns to Germany from his Holland tournee. Instead of Berlin, he goes to Paris, to perform in the casino „Monseigneur" and afterwards to London, to give concerts in „Palladium". After the stop in Wien, where he records music for the 1935 Tonfilm „Tanzmusik", he emigrates to Argentina. In Buenos Aires he works for Radio Splendid and Radio El Mundo, running various music programs. He also continues performing in the cafes and promenade concerts. In the 1970s he was invited to Germany by the Berlin Senate, and as a honourable guest, he visits „his" Berlin once more, and for the last time. He died in age of 80, and is buried in the Jewish cemetery La Tablada, in Buenos Aires. Recording: Dajos Béla Tanzorchester mit refraingesang - Sie seh'n heut wieder reizend aus, Gnadige Frau (Willi Engel-Berger), Odeon 1929 |
 | Menuhin plays Bach Sonata No. 6 in G, BWV 1019 - Part 3/5 Sonata No. 6 in G major, BWV 1019 (I) Allegro (II) Largo (III) Allegro (piano solo: Kentner) (IV) Adagio (V) Allegro Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Performers: Yehudi Menuhin (1916-1999) & Louis Kentner (1905-1987) Recorded: London, 1951 Louis Kentner was a Hungarian, later British, pianist who excelled in the works of Chopin and Liszt, as well as the Hungarian repertoire. He was born Lajos Kentner in Karwin in Austrian Silesia (present-day Karviná, Czech Republic), to Hungarian parents. He received his education as a musician at the Royal Academy of Music in Budapest from 1911 to 1922, studying with Arnold Székely (piano), Hans Koessler and Zoltán Kodály (composition), and Leo Weiner (chamber music). Kentner commenced his concert career at the age of 15. He was awarded 5th Prize at the 1932 International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw; and he won a Liszt prize in Budapest. He moved to England permanently in 1935. He gave radio broadcasts of the complete sonatas of Beethoven and Schubert, the complete Well-Tempered Clavier (Bach), and the complete Années de Pèlerinage (Liszt). He was President of the British Liszt Society for many years, until his death. At the composer's request, he was the soloist at the Hungarian premiere of Bartók's Piano Concerto No. 2, in Budapest in 1933, under Otto Klemperer; and the first European performance of the Concerto No. 3 (in London, under Sir Adrian Boult, 27 November 1946). He and Yehudi Menuhin gave the first performance of William Walton's Violin Sonata, at Zürich on 30 September 1949. His playing was heard in Richard Addinsell's Warsaw Concerto from the soundtrack of the 1941 film Dangerous Moonlight. However, his hands were not shown, and he preferred to be uncredited as he did not think that being associated with film music would help his career. When the piece achieved world-wide popularity, however, he was happy to acknowledge his involvement. He was a member of many music competition juries. He also composed, his output including orchestral works, chamber music, piano pieces and songs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Kentner |
 | Czech National Anthem Following the First World War, the closely related Czechs and Slovaks of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire merged to form Czechoslovakia. During the interwar years, the new country's leaders were frequently preoccupied with meeting the demands of other ethnic minorities within the republic, most notably the Sudeten Germans and the Ruthenians (Ukrainians). After World War II, a truncated Czechoslovakia fell within the Soviet sphere of influence. In 1968, an invasion by Warsaw Pact troops ended the efforts of the country's leaders to liberalize Communist party rule and create "socialism with a human face." Anti-Soviet demonstrations the following year ushered in a period of harsh repression. With the collapse of Soviet authority in 1989, Czechoslovakia regained its freedom through a peaceful "Velvet Revolution." On 1 January 1993, the country underwent a "velvet divorce" into its two national components, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. Administrative divisions: 13 regions (kraje, singular - kraj) and 1 capital city* (hlavni mesto); Jihocesky Kraj, Jihomoravsky Kraj, Karlovarsky Kraj, Kralovehradecky Kraj, Liberecky Kraj, Moravskoslezsky Kraj, Olomoucky Kraj, Pardubicky Kraj, Plzensky Kraj, Praha (Prague)*, Stredocesky Kraj, Ustecky Kraj, Vysocina, Zlinsky Kraj. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ez.html |
 | Presentation of JAS-39 Gripen Video presentation of JAS-39 Gripen one of the main candidates for the 4th generation fighter of Hellenic Air Force (HAF)... The Saab JAS 39 "Gripen" (Griffin or "Gryphon") is a fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace company Saab. Gripen International acts as a prime contracting organisation and is responsible for marketing, selling and supporting the Gripen fighter around the world. The aircraft is in service with the Swedish Air Force, the Czech Republic Air Force and the Hungarian Air Force, and has been ordered by the South African Air Force. In October 2007 the Thai government decided to purchase the Gripen to replace the country's aging F-5 fleet. Development The Gripen is designed for performance, flexibility, effectiveness and survivability in air combat. The designation JAS stands for Jakt (Air-to-Air), Attack (Air-to-Surface), and Spaning (Reconnaissance), indicating that the Gripen is a multirole or swingrole aircraft that can fulfill each mission type. Gripen got its name in a public competition in 1982. The griffin is the heraldry on Saab's logo and suited the multirole characteristics of the aircraft. Furthermore, the griffin is the symbolic animal on the coat of arms of Östergötland, the province in which Saab AB is headquartered (Linköping). Sweden chose to develop the Gripen rather than purchase a variant of the F-16, F/A-18A/B, or the "F-5S" version of the Northrop F-20 Tigershark. In April 2007, Norway signed an agreement on a joint development programme of the aircraft regarding co-operation in advanced development work on future versions of the aircraft. The value of the deal, which will allow Norwegian companies to take part, is about NOK 150 million over two years. Design In designing the aircraft, several layouts were studied. Saab ultimately selected an unstable canard design. The canard configuration gives a high onset of pitch rate and low drag, enabling the aircraft to be faster, have longer range and carry a larger payload. The combination of delta wing and canards gives the Gripen significantly better takeoff and landing performance and flying characteristics. The totally integrated avionics make it a "programmable" aircraft. It also has a built-in electronic warfare unit, making it possible to load more ordnance onto the aircraft without losing self defence capabilities. The Gripen affords more flexibility than earlier generations of combat aircraft used by Sweden, and its operating costs are about two thirds of those for JA 37 Viggen. The specifications for the Gripen required the ability to operate from 800 m runways. Early on in the programme, all flights from Saab's facility in Linköping were flown from within a 9 m × 800 m outline painted on the runway. Stopping distance was reduced by extending the relatively large air brakes; using the control surfaces to push the aircraft down, enabling the wheel brakes to apply more force and tilting the canards forwards, making them into large air brakes and further pushing the aircraft down. One interesting feature is the Gripen's ability to land on public roads, which is a part of Sweden's war defence strategy. Once on the ground, it can be refueled and re-armed in ten minutes by a five man mobile ground crew operating out of a truck, then take off again and resume flying sorties. For the long-term future, Saab is reported to be looking at a new engine − such as the General Electric F414 or a thrust-vectoring version of the Eurofighter Typhoon EJ200 engine − and conformal fuel tanks or a fuselage stretch for greater range. Operational history The Gripen is in operational service with the Swedish Air Force, which has ordered 204 aircraft (including 28 two-seaters). The Czech Air Force and the Hungarian Air Force also operate the Gripen, and currently lease 14 Swedish Air Force aircraft each, with the option of eventually acquiring them. In both cases two of the aircraft are two-seaters. The Czech and the Hungarian Air Force are the first Gripen operators within NATO. Gripen has also been ordered by the South African Air Force (26 aircraft, including nine two-seaters). The British based Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS) is operating Gripen as its advanced fast jet platform for test pilots worldwide. For more informations about HAF and generally aviation visit http://aviationlive.org/forum/ |
 | Porsche Please leave comment. Porsche SE, or just Porsche, is a German manufacturer of automobiles majority owned by the Porsche and Piëch families. Porsche SE holds two chief assets, the first of which is Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, often shortened to Porsche AG, manufacturer of the Porsche automobile line. The second asset is a large stake in Volkswagen AG. It was founded in 1931 by Ferdinand Porsche, an Austro-Hungarian engineer, born in Maffersdorf, Austria-Hungary (today Vratislavice, Czech Republic) who also designed the first Volkswagen. The company is headquartered in Zuffenhausen, a city district of Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. They currently produce 911 (997), Boxster, and Cayman sports cars and Cayenne sport utility vehicles. |
 | Hot-Dance Jazz from Berlin - Teddy Kline's Orchestra, 1929 TEDDY KLINE was an American clarinet player and a bandleader, well known in Berlin. In 1929 his orchestra recorded "I'm Doing What I'm Doing For Love" with a refrain sung by „Two Jazzers". The recording is a good example of a Hot-dance Jazz, as it was played in the Weimar Republic. The members of the band at the time included the finest musicians, including Billy Barton (tenor & bass sax) , Mike Danzi (banjo) or George Haentzschel (piano). Kline's band was quite popular in Berlin, he was as well received as the other orchestras of that time, such as Marek Weber, Paul Godwin, Julian Fuhs or Stefan Weintraub's Syncopators. THE TWO JAZZERS were Lászlo Mocsányi and Tibor Lakos, both of whom were born in 1903 in Budapest, Hungary, and attended the same school in their youth. At the age of 25, they made their first broadcast in Budapest. In Autumn of 1928, they made their first records with Columbia. They became quite well known in Vienna, Austria, and in February 1929 were engaged at the famous "Charell-Revue" in Berlin, followed by an engagement at the legendary "Kabarett der Komiker", also in Berlin. In Germany, the fellows recorded for Ultraphon, began appearing on the radio on March 19th, 1929, and were popular enough to attract the attention of Terra-Film. At the end of 1930, they went back to Budapest. Prior to this time, their performances had been accompanied by well known orchestras, but they now developed their own style, performing mostly in Hungarian. In 1932, they organized the „Harlem Melody Band" and began recording on their own label "Radius and Weekend." The sources do not mention about their activity after 1934. Tibor Lakos died in Budapest, in 1945, barely in his forties. Lászlo Mocsányi passed away in 1982, at the age of 79. ----------------------- Recording: Teddy Kline and His Orchestra, voc. by The Two Jazzers - I'm Doing What I'm Doing For Love (Ager/ Yellen), Homocord 1929 |
 | Imperial War Museum ~ World War 1 The First World War, was a global military conflict which took place primarily in Europe from 1914 to 1918. Over 40 million casualties resulted, including approximately 20 million military and civilian deaths. The immediate cause of the war was the June 28, 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb citizen of Austria-Hungary. The retaliation by Austria-Hungary against Serbia activated a series of alliances that set off a chain reaction of war declarations. Within a month, much of Europe was in a state of open warfare. The war was propagated by two major alliances. The Entente Powers initially consisted of France, the United Kingdom, Russia and their associated empires and dependencies. Numerous other states joined these allies, most notably Italy in April, 1915, and the United States in April, 1917. The Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers in October, 1914, followed a year later by Bulgaria. By the conclusion of the war, only The Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain and the Scandinavian nations remained officially neutral among the European countries, though many of those provided financial and material support to one side or the other. The fighting of the war mostly took place along several fronts, that broadly encircled the European continent. The Western Front was marked by a system of trenches and fortifications separated by an area known as no man's land. These fortifications stretched 475 miles (more than 600 kilometres) and precipitated a style of fighting known as trench warfare. On the Eastern Front, the vast eastern plains and limited rail network prevented a trench warfare stalemate, though the scale of the conflict was just as large as on the Western Front. The Middle Eastern Front and the Italian Front also saw heavy fighting, while hostilities also occurred at sea, and for the first time, in the air. The war was ended by several treaties, most notably the Treaty of Versailles, signed on June 28, 1919, though the Allied powers had an armistice with Germany in place since November 11, 1918. One of the most striking results of the war was a large redrawing of the map of Europe. All of the Central Powers lost territory, and many new nations were created. The German Empire lost its colonial possessions and was saddled with accepting blame for the war, as well as paying punitive reparations for it. The Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires were completely dissolved. Austria-Hungary was carved up into several successor states including Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. The Ottoman Empire disintegrated, and much of its non-Anatolian territory was awarded as protectorates of various Allied powers, while the remaining Turkish core was reorganized as the Republic of Turkey. The Russian Empire, which had withdrawn from the war in 1917, lost much of its western frontier as the newly independent nations of Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland were carved from it. World War I marked the end of the world order which had existed after the Napoleonic Wars, and was an important factor in the outbreak of World War II. |
 | World War II Heroes: A Tribute ATTENTION: All Neo-Nazi and Holocaust denial comments will be immediately deleted. Thanks for your cooperation. ----- Hannah Senesh was a Hungarian Jew, one of 37 Jews living in Palestine, now Israel, who were trained by the British army to parachute into Yugoslavia during the Second World War in order to help save the Jews of Hungary. Szenes was arrested at the Hungarian border, imprisoned and tortured, but she refused to reveal details of her mission, and was eventually tried and executed by firing squad. Vassili Zaitsev was a Soviet sniper during World War II, notable particularly for his activities between November 10 and December 17, 1942 during the Battle of Stalingrad. He killed 225 soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht and other Axis armies, including 11 enemy snipers. Roza Shanina was a Soviet sniper during World War II. She was responsible for 54 confirmed kills, including 12 enemy snipers, during the Battle of Vilnius. Shanina died in a battle near the khutor of Rikhau. Lidiya Gudovantseva was a soviet sniper during World War II with 76 confirmed kills Werner Vetter was a Nazi Party member who fell in love with a young Jewish girl named Edith Hahn and protected her during the war. Oskar Schindler was a Sudeten German industrialist credited with saving almost 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust, by having them work in his enamelware and ammunitions factories located in what is now Poland and the Czech Republic. Wilm Hosenfeld was a German army officer who rose to the rank of captain by the end of the war. He helped, hid, or rescued several Poles, including Jews, in Nazi-occupied Poland. He is most remembered for saving Polish pianist and composer Władysław Szpilman from death in the ruins of Warsaw. Hosenfeld was captured by the Soviets and sentenced to 25 years at hard labor. He died in Soviet captivity on August 13, 1952. Karl Plagge was a German officer and Nazi Party member who during World War II employed some 1,200 Jews—500 men, and the rest women and children—giving them a better chance to survive the nearly total annihilation of Lithuania's Jews that took place in 1941--1943. In 2005 he was bestowed the "Righteous Among the Nations" title by the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial. Irena Sendler was an activist of Polish Underground and Polish anti-Holocaust resistance in Warsaw, where she helped to save about 2500 Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto by providing them false documents and hiding places in individual and group children houses out of the Ghetto. Arrested in 1943 by the Gestapo, she was severely tortured and sentenced to death. The Żegota saved her by bribing the German guards on the way to her execution. Officially, she was listed on public bulletin boards as among those executed. Even in hiding, she continued her work for the Jewish children. Jan Karski was a Polish World War II resistance fighter and scholar. In 1942 and 1943 Karski reported to the Polish government in exile and the Western Allies on the situation in Poland, especially the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto and the extermination camps. After the war Karski was unable to return to communist-ruled Poland and made his home in the United States. Witold Pilecki was a soldier of the Second Polish Republic, the founder of the Secret Polish Army (Tajna Armia Polska) Polish resistance group and a member of the Home Army (Armia Krajowa). During World War II, he became the only known person to volunteer to be imprisoned at Auschwitz concentration camp. While there, he organized the resistance movement in the camp, and as early as 1940, informed the Western Allies of Nazi Germany's Auschwitz atrocities. He escaped in 1943 and took part in the Warsaw Uprising (August--October 1944). Pilecki was executed in 1948 by the communists. Henryk Sławik was a Polish politician, diplomat, and social worker who during World War II helped save 5,000 Hungarian and Polish Jews from Budapest by giving them false Polish passports. He was sent to the Mauthausen concentration camp where he was shot to death, probably in August 1944. Rudolf Weigl was a famous Polish biologist and inventor of the first effective vaccine for epidemic typhus. He founded the Weigl Institute in Lwów (now L'viv, Ukraine), where he did his vaccine-producing research. At the same time, he employed and protected Polish intellectuals, Jews and members of the Polish underground during the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany occupations in World War II, until the Institute was shut down when the Soviet Union returned in 1944. |
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