It would interest me how much people know about their family history and how much it is entangled in world history. Many people don't really care about their acestors lives, but from logicigal reasons - everyone must have ancestors, who experienced the important events of world history. Most people know that some of their fathers or grandfathers fought in the ward of the 20th century. My proven pedigree goes back to the 30 Years War - cause my family didn't wanted to forget their fates. What about you?

Edited 6/25/2015 21:36:13

I recall my fathers' involvement in Vietnam and WW2. Because my family has polish ancestry and Saxon ancestry, it's not unlikely that my fathers were involved in the napoleonic wars or the hundred years war even.

My great uncle fought at Manila (Philippines) in WWII. He got the Silver Star award, even though he died there.

Great grandad fought in 1917 as a medical dude.

Great great grandfather was a photographer in world war I. We have some pictures of the war. Grandfather was on the bus to fly to Vietnam when somebody got on the bus and asked if anyone knew how to work a typewriter. He was the only one who did so he got pulled and was sent to West Germany to work. The rest of the people of the bus died in Vietnam.

Had a great uncle who fought for the Nazis. Was taken prisoner by the Russians. He was able to escape the gulag with two of his buddies but the two were killed by a grenade.

After the battle of Stalingrad 108,000 Germans, Romanians, Italians, Hungarians and Croatians fell into Soviet captivity. Until 1956 6,000 returned. Your great-uncle must have had insane luck!

Edited 6/26/2015 12:39:47

not every german who has been inprisoned by the sovjets fought in stalingrad.^^

I don't know very much about the past 200 years (although I'm pretty sure my uncles were involved in at least two of the Indo-Pakistani Wars, including 1971- the big one to liberate Bangladesh) but I do know that 1000 years ago my ancestors ruled a significant city state in modern Sindh and therefore likely encountered Muslim invaders right when Islam started spreading into India. In fact, I get part of my name from a battle where some of my (Hindu) ancestors miraculously reclaimed the city after losing it to invaders. (The city did ultimately collapse later, though, but due to the Indus River's flow being diverted by a series of natural changes).

I don't think my ancestors did much on the military front during British occupation or early independence. I doubt they were involved in any major rebellions, either, since they were pretty well-off right until Partition when they had to flee Pakistan to preserve their religious freedom.

So I guess the big story overall is one of migration. When Islam started spreading into India, my ancestors were among the first to encounter that migration. Then they became refugees a few centuries later during the first Indo-Pakistani War (1947).

Edited 6/26/2015 14:06:56

My great great uncle fought and died in the Battle of the Somme, one grandfather built Lancaster or Halifax bombers during ww2, the other drove supply trucks I think. There are others but I cant remember the detail correctly.

Edited 6/26/2015 15:00:44

One grandfather was in the Korean War. The other fought in WW2. My father was not in the armed forces. My nephew is in Afghanistan now.

Edited 6/26/2015 14:37:03

My father fought in Angola.

My father fought in the Second Lebanon War, grandfather fought in the First Lebanon War Aveley One in six days I'm not sure, I have a grandfather and a distant cousin who fought and died in the War of Independence.
And I have a great-great-grandfather who fought in World War I in the German army.
Besides do not know too old, maybe have been in pogroms in Europe but I do not really know

My great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents fought in the two World Wars and I guess they probably even fought in the Boer War before that and right back to the original Anglo-Briton Civil War.

I think everyone should be proud of what their ancestors did for us to shape this world. (Unless you're German, of course).

Lol.... Germans are not bad.....

Btw, on the topic of fathers who fought in Wars... Did you know that Obama's father fought in WW1?

Here is a link to the story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XesDygYTmWo

http://imgur.com/gallery/g65mKh2

Regardless of how vile you may think the Germans may be, they were still people who, in the end, only wanted a better future for their children.

EDIT:I changed the link. The new one is the one I ment to post.

Edited 6/27/2015 06:23:08

"What we in the German resistance never wanted to understand, we have learned afterwards: That the war finally wasn't led against Hitler, but against Germany"
- Eugen Gerstenmaier, German politician and co-conspirator of 20 July plot

Approximately 77,000 German citizens were killed for one or another form of resistance against the Nazi-regime.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_resistance_to_Nazism

Nobody wants to forget the nazi holocaust, but there is much more German history than the 12 years of Hitler's reign. And I guess I don't have to say that Germans are and even were not automatically Nazis. Indeed, nazism was always present among Germans in this time, but same with fascism in Italy, Hungary or Romania.

Edited 6/27/2015 05:40:44

My great great grand father was the son of a duke of luxemburg.
I think i'm royalty
He proboaly fought in the belgian revolution

Great story Kur.

My Grandfather was in WW2 stationed in Hawaii and Japan. I remember asking him about the war when I was seven and he didn't want to talk about it as young as I was. I can't remember the exact conversation but I thought he should be more proud because he was on the "good guys" team and they won. He seemed pretty pissed and he told me that nobody should be proud of killing. You have to do something good to be proud! He also explained to me that both sides are just people controlled by crooked governments and that we are the bad guys from the enemies perspective. He died before I turned 8 but I'm lucky to have spent a lot of time with him up until then. He taught me a lot.

I also had a great uncle who was stationed a few places but I know he was in Germany. He was hit with mustard gas twice and shot once. He had a bunch of loot. Mostly guns. He had a super fancy nazi dagger. I can't find anything like it on google.

It was kind of like this but with gold and rubys.


I always thought he was cool as a kid because he had sweet and sour tattooed above his nipples and a dancing lady on his arm.