He was a German Jew whose family emigrated from their home on the Western edge of the Black Forest in 1938 to make a new life in the United States. RecPak is a meal replacement for the outdoors that saves you weight, space and time in the most challenging environments, just add water. As the troops approached the city, they saw a car with a large white bed sheet attached to a pole racing toward them. They traveled by ship to North Africa. A former German commando and officer, Weber had fought on the Eastern Front but now was convinced that it was his duty to defeat the Third Reich for the sake of his country, Austria. Do you want to create your own battlefield tour to sights of wars from the past? Georg Weber (1506-) FamilySearch It wasn;t until they brought in the informant that Mayer finally admitted he was an American agent, but insisted that he worked alone. He found and recruited deserter-volunteer, Franz Weber. We invite you to share some of Franz Webers career. In 2005, he and five others were honored by Austrian Chancellor Dr. Wolfgang Schssel for their athletic achievements and economic contributions to Austria. "Quentin said to close our scripts and asked us who we were. He asked if they were willing to kill. Webers sister, a fervent anti-Nazi, managed to steal a German uniform that Weber himself wore on several occasions to attend informal events with some of the Nazi officers appointed in the region. He dominated the sport of speed skiing from 1980 to 1985, winning over eighty percent of the races he entered. However, that doesn't mean the provocative auteur was taking a break from work; he was keeping busy writing scripts. Weber stayed with his family, his fiances mother took Mayer in, and Wijnberg stayed at a neighbors house. Modifying the papers so that Mayers picture appeared on it, he moved into her hospital to recover.. Do you have more information about this person? In a scene that could have been ripped from the movie Where Eagles Dare, the team, clad in white ski parkas, parachuted onto the side of a 9,000-foot glacier. "Inglourious Basterds" made its world premiere at the 2009 Cannes FilmFestival, but the version of the film that screened there wasn't quite the same as the version which ultimately make it to theaters later that summer. Zrich Airport. On May 7, an invitation-only screening of the film will open the GI Film Festival with a Congressional Reception at the U.S. Capitol Building to honor the veterans of the mission, including Mayer. Rahn offered to send a message to OSS HQs in Bern, Switzerland headed up by Allen Dulles who later became the head of the CIA. The third soldier was the Austrian Franz Weber, a Nazi officer who had deserted the army. Speaking German, he admitted to being an American but said he was working alone. Mayer was put in command of Operation Greenup, with Wijnberg as his radio operator. German Order of Battle: 1st-290th Infantry divisions in World War II Hotels near Franz Carl Weber Geneva: (0.04 mi) Htel de la Cigogne (0.10 mi) CitizenM Geneva Centre (0.09 mi) Bel'Esperance (0.12 mi) Htel Les Armures (0.05 mi) Hotel Longemalle; View all hotels near Franz Carl Weber Geneva on Tripadvisor. That didnt stop the intrepid OGs. It was April 1945, and Germany was finished. His parents and younger brotherwere all murdered in the Holocaust. According the filmmakers website, it has been shown inother countries atvarious film festivals and on the Discovery and History channels under the title The Real Inglorious Bastards. He can see the reality of Hitlers plans, which, as Weber puts it, aims to transform the continent into Concentration Camp Europe. Weber deserts to the Allies, makes contact with the OSS, and agrees to join the team. Over 40.000 pages on the officers, the boats, technology and the Allied efforts to counter the U-boat threat. Mayer convinced Hofer the war was over. However, he was never caught and lived a relatively peaceful life until his death in 1964. He infiltrated it by obtaining work as an electrician, using a French translation of his own name,discovering that supply problems with parts meant that no aircraft were being completed. Starring Brad Pitt, Mlanie Laurent, and Christoph Waltz, in this uchronic story, a group of soldiers manages to kill the most important characters of the Nazi party, including its leader, Adolf Hitler. Hometown Heroes: Franz Weber is Paying it Forward So Matull hadnt entirely lied. Privacy statement, cookies, disclaimer and copyright, On a journey of discovery to historical sites? ORCID provides an identifier for individuals to use with their name as they engage in research, scholarship, and innovation activities. Birth of Franz Weber. This enabled him to pick upinformation from other German officers, which Wijnberg relayed back to the OSS. Mr. Mayer was recommended for a medal of honor in 1945 by a superior officer. Franz Weber - Address & Phone Number | Whitepages I made the argument for the medal in my book They Dared Return, and now Sen. John Rockefeller is championing the cause. "We all sat around and everybody had their scripts and lines," Roth said. Millard E. Moon, Journal of Strategic Security, Vol. As much as he packs into these movies, however, their scripts often run even longer. Wijnberg and Weber had to flee, whilst Mayer was tortured by the Gestapo. During World War II, he led one of the greatest missions of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Under torture, he told them about Mayer, so they broke down the latters door on 20 April 1945. Tarantino knew there was something special about Waltz's acting early on, and went to great lengths to keep many aspects of the actor's performance a surprise to his co-stars. Data gleaned from these reports helped US intelligence officers explode the myth that the Germans were concentrating men and weapons in the south for the Alpine redoubt. Despite being captured by the Gestapo and nearly tortured to death, Mayer was able to make contact with a number of local officials, including Franz Hofer, the Nazi Gauleiter(district leader) of Tyrol. Mollis,Glarus,,Switzerland . Franz Weber (0000-0003-1670-2296) - ORCID After tramping through chest-deep snow, the men literally sledded down the side of the glacier in a Santa Claus-like sleigh. By Tom Linder West Hawaii Today tlinder@westhawaiitoday.com | Wednesday, May 6, 2020, 12:05 a.m. Franz Weber, a longtime Kona resident, started Paying it Forward, which serves as a bridge between . Uncoiling a rawhide whip, the tall one put his full weight behind each swing, mercilessly thrashing the agents body like a side of beef. An Olympian, six-time consecutive World Speed Skiing Champion - Franz Weber is also a former world record-holder and still holds the North American record, at 129.303 mph/208.092 kph which he set in 1983 in Silverton, Colorado. Bis current project is . Talking on the podcast "The Moment with Brian Koppelman,"the director said, "I told [Waltz], 'I'm not doing this to be perverse game playing everybody is so curious about who is playing Hans Landa. 1501 1501. Mayer was born in Freiburg, Germany, on Oct. 28, 1921. You really would have to quit your job and become a monk to get through them all. Ulmer asked them if they knew what would befall them if they were caught by the Nazis. The Swiss environmentalist Franz Weber has died at the age of 91. By using our Services, you agree to our use of cookies. Allies suspected the Germans were plotting to make their final stand in the war there. That mans a bigshot in the US Military. 84-88 By wars end, OSS had 13,000 personnel in their ranks, nearly a third were women and included were some Hollywood types like John Ford, Sterling Hayden, Marlene Dietrich, Julia Child and others. The Extraordinary and Tragic Journey of First Lieutenant Levitt C. Beck Bingeing spy movies, let us say from Orson Welless The Third Man(1949) through Quentin Tarantinos Inglourious Basterds(2009), would be a lifetime occupation. United States. Design, construction and validation of a computer controlled system for functional loading of soft tissue. Works at Arbeitete bei der Stadt Luzern. The trio had supplies packages dropped with them, but unfortunately were unable to locate the packet containing their skis. Then they boarded a Gestapo-infested train bound for Innsbruck (a major rail hub) where they were asked for their papers. The mission that began with vengeance ended with forgiveness. *Lighting a path to truth* Former Navy JAG Worldwide U.S. Military Defense. During World War II, the OSS twice nominated Fred Mayer for the Medal of Honor. Here is the short version: two Jewish refugees to the United States, living in Brooklyn (Frederick Mayer, 23, and Hans Wijnberg, 22) enlist in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner of the postwar CIA, and parachute deep behind German lines into the Austrian province of Tyrol in February 1945. He called in air strikes, destroying dozens of them. Undeterred by the units previous record, Mayer and his friends approached the units commander, Lt. Alfred Ulmer, and begged to sign up. Then he posed as a French electrician to infiltrate a Messerschmitt factory. His books that capture Mayers story are They Dared Return and The Brenner Assignment. I do not want them to think that they are getting a glimpse of who you are really going to be.'" He continued to work with producer Harvey Weinstein even though, he admitted to The New York Times, "I knew enough to do more than I did" about Weinstein's serious sexual misconduct. Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting. And what a cast of characters: emigr Jews like Mayer and Wijnberg, bent on destroying the regime that had persecuted them and their families and, in Wijnbergs case, had even killed his parents; Lieutenant Weber, a German soldier currently on the run from a death sentence for desertion, then being handed out in the thousands by Nazi officials; not to mention Anna Niederkircher, the mother of Webers fiance. Franz Carl Weber Geneva - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go - Tripadvisor When he realised for certain that his prisoner was an American officer, he had Mayer cleaned up, dressed, and fed. Like many other Germans by the end of the war, Hofer was looking for a safeguard with the Allies to secure his own freedom. He retired as World Champion in 1985 but returned to the sport of speed skiing seven years later to compete in the 1992 Winter Olympics at Albertville, France where he clocked his fastest personal time of 138.112 mph/222.222 kph (average speed). The team needed somebody with local knowledge, and Franz Weber, an anti-Nazi local who had deserted from the German Army to the Allies, volunteered to join it. Go to the front lines of World War II in this war documentary, chronicling a group of Jewish agents for the American OSS who infiltrated Nazi territories, many of them German Jews returning to avenge Hitler's sinister acts. A blooper reel included on the "Inglourious Basterds" DVD and Blu-ray releases showcases one of the ways Tarantino and his actors made sure to keep their hard-working editor in high spirits: whenever they knew a shot had to be cut, someone would interrupt it to say "Hello, Sally!" Journal of Biological Chemistry, 286 (27):24458-24466. Waffen-SS Armband. However, this historical episode is not the only one. The Basel activist was responsible for over 150 campaigns but is best known for his defence of the alpine landscape, in particular . Inside one of World War II's most daring spy missions: The men who made Kruger went on to earn aSAG Awards nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for the performance. For his bravery, Mayer received the Legion of Merit and a Purple Heart. With a good categorising system, you will easily find whatever you are looking for, as well as much you were not. Privacy statement, cookies, disclaimer and copyright, On a journey of discovery to historical sites? The 'Good War' Myth of World War Two - Institute for Historical Review In an amazing turnabout, Mayer received an opportunity for revenge. Tarantino is also dyslexic, and Scott Meyers of the screenwriting website The Black List speculated that the unique spelling of the title is a tribute to Tarantino's general way of writing. So, though the story is completely fictional, the Basterds are pretty much based on some real-life groups that gave their lives to defeat the Nazis, like Nakam, the Jewish group devoted to killing or, as it's literally translated from Hebrew, "to avenge their people." In the summer of 1944 after extensive training, the OGs received the call to duty. Hans Wynberg, a Dutch-born Jew whose family was sent to Auschwitz, and Franz Weber, an Austrian officer who had defected from the German army, worked with Mayer. Rising to power in an unstable Germany, Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist (Nazi Party) rearmed the nation and signed treaties . He married Anna Maria Kohl in 1525, in Netstal, Glarus, Switzerland. They Dared Return: The True Story of Jewish Spies Behind the Lines in Nazi Germany, Dog Company: The Boys of Pointe du Hoc: Rangers Who Accomplished D-Days Toughest Mission and Led the Way Across Europe. It was "The Fifth Element" director Luc Besson who encouraged Tarantino to finish "Inglourious Basterds" as a movie rather than a miniseries. In an article about the film in The Guardian, Tarantino is quoted as refusing to explain the "u" in "Inglourious" but does explain the "e" in "Basterds": "That's just the way you say it: basterds.". According to The Washington Post, Tarantino thought Christoph Waltz couldn't perform the scene convincingly enough and choked actress Diane Kruger himself. He responded, Who do you think we are, Nazis?. They jumped in on February 26, 1945. 504-528-1944. The Life Summary of Georg. As the Germans surrendered, the Gestapo officer who had savagely beaten Mayer was taken to the very cell where he tortured him. 1526-24 January 1624 (Age 98) Beglingen, Glarus, Switzerland. Mayer was then ordered to investigate a nearby underground factory that was building Me 262 jet fighters. Former Director of CIA William Casey called Operation Greenup the most successful operation of World War II. Ulmer asked several pointed questions about their background, and the men revealed that they were Jewish. Thinking he wanted revenge, the Americans later brought Mayer to a cell. Franz did Research in the Field of Nephrology and Hypertension. TracesOfWar.com tells you more! During WWII, some Jews really did volunteer to go into Nazi-occupied Europe to engage in espionage and sabotage. Anna was a Tyrolean hotelier who gave the team shelter, support, and protection from the Nazis at the risk of her own life, and who once cried out, both in despair and defiance, If Hitler wins the war, then I dont believe in God anymore. A film on Greenup would have it all: a righteous cause, victims fighting back, nail-biting chase scenesit couldnt help but score big at the box office. He made the deadline, but the film ultimately got re-edited with minor adjustments between the premiere and the wide release. While promoting her 2022 action movie "The 355," Diane Kruger appeared on the podcast "Reign with Josh Smith" and answered questions about how she got the role of German actress and spy Bridget Von Hammersmark in "Inglourious Basterds." Jason Dawsey, PhD, is a Research Historian at the Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 8 daughters. "KillBill" offered a fun break from the not-quite-ready project and a chance to reunite with "PulpFiction" scene-stealer Uma Thurman. Both programmetitles are somewhat misleading, since the members of Operation Greenup were tasked withgathering intelligence rather than directly killing Nazis, and the only connection with the filmInglorious Basterds is that they were American Jews operating behind enemy lines. The trio had supplies packages dropped with them, but unfortunately were unable to locate the packet containing their skis. The Gestapo agent that had mercilessly beaten him was taken to the very cell where he had tortured Mayer. Theyd be sent into Nazi-occupied Europe and they knew what awaited them there as most were Jewish. With robust designs and vintage classic style, discover the heritage of military timepieces today! In 1945, after capture and torture by the Gestapo, he was responsible for accepting the surrender of a large German force. Finally, an intrepid American Air Corps pilot, Lt. John Billings, and his crew stepped forward and volunteered. It could be a way around the MPAA's sensitivity about profanity in movie titles. TracesOfWar.com tells you more! Mollis, Glarus, Canton of Glarus, Switzerland. Matull gave fake information on Mayer, claiming he was an important general of the American Army. Franz Weber, Inc. There were some contributions from historians, mainly to set things in context, and some re-enactments in the absence of archival footage, but the story was told largely in Mayer and Wijnbergs own words. His work was to get as much information as possible from the Germans, from plans for troop displacement, to attacks, and where they stored supplies, so him and his partners could sabotage them. But he wasnt so honored. At the Arcadia Conference, held in Washington, DC, from December 24, 1941 to January 14, 1942, the Western Allies agreed to a Germany First policy to govern global strategy, but the question where to engage Germany, and when, remained unsettled. Wijnberg was sent by his parents, along with his twin brother, from the Netherlands in 1939to live with his fathers business partner in the USA in 1939. Wijnberg died shortly afterwards. OSS ran many fantastic operations and had an eclectic group of operatives. High winds buffeted the plane making them lose 6000 feet of altitude in just 18 seconds. Franz Weber (actor) (1888-1962), German actor Franz Weber (footballer) (1888-? He says Waltz was also instructed to not show up to rehearsals with any of his co-stars, with the one exception ofDenis Mnochet (who played the dairy farmer Perrier LaPadite and shares the film's suspenseful opening scene with Waltz). Fridolin Weber. Last week we posted a story on the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) and how after 73 years they were finally recognized as a group and were honored with a Congressional Gold Medal. The U-boat War in World War Two (Kriegsmarine, 1939-1945) and World War One (Kaiserliche Marine, 1914-1918) and the Allied efforts to counter the threat. A real world spy story fit for the silver screen. Air Force, The only area to infiltrate was a small lake frozen over in the winter between the mountains. Frederick Mayer obituary: War-hero, spy and real 'Inglorious Bastard They had to walk down the glacier, sometimes waist deep in snow. He has written eight books, including his most recent (insrt embedded link to Amazon) Dog Company: The Boys of Pointe du Hoc: Rangers Who Accomplished D-Days Toughest Mission and Led the Way Across Europe. Compared to dozens of other cities and towns, defended till the last shell and cartridge by German forces, then pulverized by US air power and artillery, Innsbruck survived the war nearly unscathed. Edit your search or learn more. And in one of the craziest turn of events, the German Army in Austria surrendered to a Jewish sergeant without firing a shot. I couldn't stop writing. Sadly, "Inglourious Basterds" was to be Menke's last film with Tarantino (the last film she edited was"Peacock" in 2010, directed by Michael Lander) because she died while hiking in the heat on September 27, 2010 (via The Los Angeles Times). Franz Weber currently works honorary as a teacher at the Clinic for Nephrology , University Hospital Essen. In an interview, Mr. Mayer stated that he had a good combination of hatred and love: a hatred of the Nazis and a love for America. His father fought valiantly in World War I, and Mayer had seen his family forced from their homeland by an evil regime that later murdered 6 million European Jews in the Holocaust. See Photos. The war pitted the Central Powersmainly Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkeyagainst the Alliesmainly France, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan, and, from 1917, the United . The OSS went to the only available source of that nearly impossible combination: an Allied prisoner of war camp. He, therefore, transformed himself into a French electrician. Sent to Italy, he was teamed up with Hans Wijnberg another Jewish-American whose family was thrown intoAuschwitz. It was the nightmare he dreaded. Franz Weber (1501 - 1538) - Genealogy Hofer was looking for a way to surrender to the Americans and not the Russians and saw this as his chance. Quentin Tarantino's 2009 war film was partly based on a real story. The Gestapo burst in and arrested Mayer and took him to their HQs. An irreverent alternate history following two intersecting plots of Jews taking violent revenge against the Nazis (one by an orphaned French theater owner named Shosanna, the other by an American GI squad known as the Basterds), Tarantino's sixth film became the director's biggest hit up to that point in the summer of 2009. The German Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe (Swallow) was the first operational jet fighter and appeared in air combat towards the end of World War Two.The Me 262 has always been one of my favourite World War Two era aircraft.It wasn't the best jet to ever grace the skies but I have always liked its shark like, leading edge design! Mayer was allowed to send a message to the OSS. Their mission was given the name of "Operation Greenup," and though their deeds aren't that well known, they manage to destabilize the Nazi regime. Will King Charles IIIs Reign See the End of the Commonwealth. He volunteered for the US Army but was denied service because he was considered an enemy alien. OSS immediately saw his potential and recruited him into their ranks. Hes already seen the movie. In this operation, OSS used former German nationals who were forced to flee for their lives just because they were Jewish. Mayer recalls, It was the ride of my life. Fred Raskin, Menke's assistant editor on "KillBill," would become Tarantino's go-to editor following her death, starting with "Django Unchained" in 2012. However, using his own guile, wit, and a fortunate set of circumstances, Mayer turned the tables on his captors. (The original radio transcripts are preserved at The National Archives in College Park, Maryland.). They showed him a picture of Mayers ruined face, but Matull was a world-class hustler before the war. Waltz had only acted in German films before, and "Inglourious Basterds" was a huge breakout for his international career. The Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) in the European Theater was one of Americas bloodiest campaigns. He and Mayer negotiated the peaceful surrender of Innsbruck, the Tyrolean provincial capital, to the US 7th Army on May 3, 1945. But after several weeks behind enemy lines that provided reams of actionable intelligence, a knock on the door of Mayers safe house changed his life. During WWII, some Jews really did volunteer to go into Nazi-occupied Europe to engage in espionage and sabotage. Two of them, Mayer and Wynberg, were exiled Jewish men in America who had fled their countries when hostilities began in Germany. The top and bottom have been folded over and stitched together. Fondation Franz Weber - Home - Facebook Busting the Myth Behind Moctezumas Headdress; Did It Really Belong Him? A native Austrian, Weber fought on the Eastern Front but was convinced that Austria needed to be free of Hitler and the Nazis. A long-time resident of Lake Tahoe, Weber and his wife, Janet, founded Franz Weber Inc., a Reno-based sports management and consulting company, in 1984.Today, the company represents world-class . There they were helped by his family. Meyer is on record of saying he just "wanted to kill Nazis," an attitude paralleling that of the Basterds. Besides, its too late, he says of the event. John Billings, his command pilot on the mission, described Mayer as fearless about returning to Nazi Germany. STIWOT, 1999-2023. Franz Josef Huber ran the Gestapo secret police in Vienna. The "Inglourious Basterds" screenplay was a particular challenge both to write and to edit down into a workable feature. Both men joined the US Army, and were then approached to join the OSS, the US intelligence service,because of their language skills. In fact, Mayer was taken to Hofers home, met Hofers wife, and ate with them. Hans Wynberg, a Dutch-born Jew whose family was sent to Auschwitz, and Franz Weber, an Austrian officer who had defected from the German army, worked with Mayer. Tarantino will never tell us the full logic behind misspelling the title, though in various interviews he's offered partial explanations. Operation Greenup: Frederick Mayer and Hans Wynberg were Jewish refugees of Nazi Germany and Holland respectively. Tarantino's movies, "Inglourious Basterds" included, generally have such excellent casting that it's often weird to read about who almost played their iconic characters instead. Later, Mayer changed his disguise and donned the clothing of a French electrician. FinancePhoenix.ch on LinkedIn: Neues Angebot im ehemaligen Franz-Carl Edit Search New Search Jump to Filters. For three days and nights, Mayer was savagely beaten, but he kept up his cover speaking only in French. This is a horrible place where the Nazis tortured and killed members of the Belgium resistance. . A rare piece! Franz WEBER | Lecturer | Prof. Dr. med. | University Hospital Essen Fortunately, Hofer realized that Germany would lose and wanted to save his skin, so he ordered Mayer brought to him. and a disaffected Austrian officer named Franz Weber. He found and recruited deserter-volunteer, Franz Weber. Mr. Mayer died at his home in Charles Town, West Virginia, on April 15 this year. Hofer could see the end coming and had little desire to be tried as a war criminal. Shahan Russell is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE. The mission involved two Jewish members of the Office of Strategic Services,Frederick Mayer andHans Wijnberg, who parachuted into Austria in February 1945 to figure out Germany's battle plans. He died in Switzerland. Channel 5s website describes the programme as follows: Documentary exploring one of the hundreds of undercover missions launched by the US governments Office of Strategic Services during World War II. He enjoys giving his stories several layers of meanings through historical and popular references, and Operation Greenup is just one of the real-life cases where he found inspiration. Franz Weber (1826-1887) - Find a Grave Memorial Operation Greenup consisted of two young Jewish refugees and one Wehrmacht officer, who parachuted one winter night into the Austrian Alps and risked their lives to strike back at Nazi Germany.