1940 (and some of 1939)
Hitler’s invasion of Poland in September 1939 drove Great Britain and France to declare war on Germany, marking the beginning of World War II.
Over the next six years, the conflict would take more lives and destroy more land and property around the globe than any previous war.
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945.
It involved the vast majority of the world’s countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers.
World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries.
The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources.
Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war.
World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians.
Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, massacres, and disease.
In the wake of the Axis defeat, Germany and Japan were occupied, and war crimes tribunals were conducted against German and Japanese leaders.
1941
Meanwhile, in Tanzania, on the 5th October, baby Mark was born in Arusha to proud parents, Dieter and Iris von Senger.
Dieter was, at that time, still working for Swiss owned Burka Coffee Estates
Soon after, Dieter, being Swiss, was asked to look after 7 German Farms in the Sanya Juu Area area due to the owners being interned. by the British. (Tanganyika being a British mandated territory since 1018)
Dieter, also had TB at the time and was undergoing treatment in a nearby Kibong’oto hospital where they would collapse one lung to rest it and then collapse the other lung. Kibongoto Hospital
The clinic was situated in and it was very close to Sanya Juu so was convenient but TB being highly contagious. he was not allowed near Mark and could only see him through a glass window.
By December 1941, Germany had conquered most of mainland Europe, from France in the west to the outskirts of Moscow in the Soviet Union in the east.
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese military launched a surprise attack on the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Since early 1941 the U.S. had been supplying Great Britain in its fight against the Nazis. It had also been pressuring Japan to halt its military expansion in Asia and the Pacific.
When the United States entered the war after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour that month, World War II became a truly global war
1942
Mark with Mum Iris at Kifaru Farm amongst the mealies
Another significant date:
80 Years Ago—July 18, 1942: `
Germans take Voroshilovgrad, Ukraine, the coal and coke center of the Donets Basin. First flight of turbo-jet powered Messerschmitt Me 262 at Leipheim, Germany
Also happening back in the UK on same date
Jen’s Dad and Mum Walter John Berry married Winifred Elsie Bailey July 18th 1942
They both lived in UK at the time and met at a Bicycle Club.
They often rode Tandem bikes
A tandem bike ⤵️⤵️
Meanwhile …….
March 1947
Mark was 5 years old and travelled with Mum, Iris and brother Richard to Switzerland for an eye op.
Lake Zurich was frozen over and people were walking over it and Mark saw a car drive across it
and they had fun tobogganing down the street!
More recollections from Mark at this time. ⤵️⤵️💚