October 15
533. Byzantine General Belisarius enters Carthage after conquering it from the Vandals, essentially ending their time as a distinct ethnic/political unit.
1764. Edward Gibbon observes a group of friars singing hymns in the ruined Temple of Jupiter in Rome, inspiring him to begin writing the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire.
1793. Marie Antoinette is tried, and condemned to death the next day.
1815. Napoleon begins his exile in Saint Helena.
1917. Dutch exotic dancer Mata Hari is executed by the French for (allegedly, at least) spying for the Germans.
1946. Condemned to die by hanging the next day pursuant to the judgment handed down at the Nuremberg trials, Hermann Goring commits suicide by swallowing poison, potassium cyanide, specifically. To avoid making them matyrs, the bodies of Goring and other high Nazi leaders were cremated. Goring's ashes were disposed of in the Isar river, near Munich. Goring, once he had sobered up and shaken off his addiction to the many medications he had previously taken, was reported an extremely intelligent and pleasant individual with a terrific sense of humor. He was unable to avoid, however, the massive documentary evidence that he was thoroughly involved in the Holocaust and various other war crimes.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Hermann Goring
Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship. ...voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country
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