Peter Joins the Scouts

One of the largest youth movements in the world is the Scouting movement. It is truly  international in scope and casting a massive shadow on pop culture, i.e., being mentioned in the theme music to the classic TV show “Car 54” as well as coming up in figures of speech that we use on a daily basis. ( “He’s a good scout!”) Of course, like every human endeavour, it can be subverted by those who seek power. In Germany in 1937, the Scouts were outlawed and every Aryan boy was expected to join “The Hitler Jugend”, a Nazi youth movement which eventually was used to form a Waffen SS Panzer division which fought fiercely in Normandy after D Day.

Peter Takes Us to Normandy

75 years ago, on June 6th, 1944, the western Allies began to kick in the front door of “Festung Europa” a). Almost four years to the day since being expelled from the continent by the victorious Wehrmacht b), they were returning….with a vengeance.

The intervening four years had been hectic. The ground war had been extended not only southward to North Africa, but also eastward, as Hitler had invaded Russia in June, 1941. The two dictators had embarked their respective peoples on an ideological struggle to the death.