{"id":141579,"date":"2021-07-17T14:06:55","date_gmt":"2021-07-17T18:06:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=141579"},"modified":"2021-07-17T14:06:55","modified_gmt":"2023-09-07T08:18:21","slug":"operation-canned-goods-the-spark-that-lit-the-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/operation-canned-goods-the-spark-that-lit-the-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"Operation Canned Goods: The Spark That Lit the Fire"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Operation
Arthur Naujocks was an old school Nazi.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Alfred Helmut Naujocks was a brawler. Born in 1911 in Kiel, Germany, Naujocks earned a degree in engineering and began an apprenticeship as a precision mechanic. Before completing this course, Alfred Naujocks sold his soul to the Devil and joined the SS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Operation
This dashing lad was happy to send millions to the death camps but deigned to seek out much combat himself. He used thugs like Alfred Naujocks to do most of his dirty work.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A gifted amateur boxer, Naujocks established himself as the go-to guy when somebody needed to get their hands dirty. When the likes of Heinrich Himmler or Reinhard Heydrich needed somebody liquidated quietly, Naujocks frequently did the deed. By 1939 he was an accomplished covert special operator. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Operation
WW2 saw carnage on an unprecedented scale. It all started with a small false flag operation intended to pin the blame for alleged German territorial intrusions on the Poles.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Whatever moral compass Naujocks might once have possessed had by then been thoroughly disengaged. On the evening of August 31, 1939, Naujocks commanded a small group of SS operatives dressed in Polish Army uniforms as they crept noiselessly in the dark toward the Gleiwitz radio station. They carried Polish weapons and equipment and brought along several fresh corpses. With these basic tools, Naujocks and his men indirectly killed 75 million people. Alfred Naujocks was the guy who started World War 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Operation Canned Goods<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Operation
This pathetic little man ultimately came to command both the SS and the Gestapo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The formal appellation was Operation Himmler. This rather grandiose reference to the near-sighted failed chicken farmer-turned-alpha psychopath Heinrich Himmler was the overarching effort designed to turn international public opinion against the Poles and justify the German invasion of Poland. The informal title was Operation Konserve. \u201cKonserve\u201d supposedly translates literally to \u201cCanned Goods.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Operation
Oskar Schindler ended the war a hero. At its outset, however, he was a willing instrument of Nazi tyranny.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Naujocks\u2019 mission was to make a convincing attack against the German radio station at Gleiwitz and then plant evidence tying the attack to Poland. Oskar Schindler, the German industrialist who personally saved some 1,200 Jews from the death camps, covertly obtained the Polish uniforms and weapons for the enterprise. Erwin von Lahousen of the Abwehr sourced fake Polish identification cards. The Gestapo took care of the meat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Operation
The Gestapo killed Franz Honiok and then used his corpse to help justify the invasion of Poland that precipitated World War 2. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

German Gestapo agents arrested and murdered a 43-year-old unmarried Silesian Catholic farmer named Franciszek Honiok via lethal injection. Honiok had been outspoken in his sympathy for the put-upon Poles, and these political views got him killed. These fun-loving Gestapo guys then squeezed Honiok\u2019s cooling corpse into a set of pilfered Polish dungarees and shot him full of holes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Operation
The Gestapo turned to the Dachau concentration camp when they needed a few handy corpses to help pull off their deception operation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Gestapo also harvested several concentration camp prisoners from Dachau and gave them the same treatment. All of these prisoners had their faces disfigured to prevent positive identification. The Germans referred to these freshly killed humans as \u201cCanned Goods.\u201d Hence the informal name of the operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Operation
The Gleiwitz tower remains standing today.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The 387-foot wooden tower that houses the Gleiwitz radio transmitter was and is the tallest wooden structure in Europe. Locals refer to the thing as the Silesian Eiffel Tower based upon its similarity to the larger iconic French counterpart. It remains standing today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Operation
The attack on the Gleiwitz radio station was all part of a carefully choreographed plan to precipitate WW2.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Naujocks and Company attacked the radio station with their pre-prepared dead guys in tow. They shot up the place, intentionally shooting wide so as to minimize the possibility of injuring ethnic Germans nearby. They briefly seized the facility, broadcast an anti-German message the content of which has subsequently been lost, and then arrayed their sundry corpses around to make things look realistic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Operation
There’s a reason this black-hearted turd is viewed as one of history’s alpha villains. He was a deranged amoral psychopath.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hitler responded with the following statement: \u201cI can no longer find any willingness on the part of the Polish Government to conduct serious negotiations with us. These proposals for mediation have failed because in the meanwhile there, first of all, came as an answer the sudden Polish general mobilization, followed by more Polish atrocities\u2026I have, therefore, resolved to speak to Poland in the same language that Poland for months past has used toward us…This night for the first time Polish regular soldiers fired on our own territory. Since 5:45 a. m. we have been returning the fire…I will continue this struggle, no matter against whom, until the safety of the Reich and its rights are secured.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Operation
Adolf Hitler was the master of the Big Lie.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In classic Hitler fashion, the Big Lie was exercised to justify his dark efforts at conquest and enslavement. Nobody much fell for it, but the fuse was irrevocably lit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Order of Battle<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Operation
The Poles maintained an extensive military in 1939, but it was anchored in the past.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Poles are cursed with some of the world’s most unfortunate geography. In the early thirties, they viewed the Soviets to the East as the primary threat to their national sovereignty. Only later did they come to see Hitler as the more serious adversary. By September of 1939, the Poles had amassed an impressive army of some thirty-nine divisions and sixteen separate brigades along with six hundred tactical aircraft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Operation
The Poles’ obsolete combat aircraft were no match for state-of-the-art German planes like this Bf109E Messerschmitt.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On paper, these combat formations were indeed formidable. However, their aircraft were obsolete compared to the Messerschmitts, Junkers, and Heinkels of the Luftwaffe. Additionally, the Polish army was grounded in the tactics of the last war. Guderian\u2019s blitzkrieg was to be a rude awakening indeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wz.29 Rifle<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Operation
After WW1 the Poles had plenty of weapons, but they were poorly standardized.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Following WW1 the Poles were armed with derelict and surplus arms left over by the various nations that had occupied the country during the Partition Era. This included thousands of Austrian Steyr-Mannlichers, Russian M91 Mosin-Nagants, and German G98s. There were also significant numbers of French surplus Lebels and Berthiers, Japanese Arisakas, and British-issue Short Magazine Lee-Enfields. In fact, as of 1922, the Polish Army issued 24 different rifle designs firing 22 different types of ammunition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Operation
The wz.98 was a copy of the WW1-era German Gewehr 98 Infantry rifle.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In that same year, the Poles moved the machinery from the Danzig Arsenal to Radom and christened the Polish National Rifle Factory. For two years they produced the wz.98, a homegrown clone of the WW1-era German Mauser 98. In 1924 production was shifted to the improved 7.92x57mm wz.29.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Operation
The wz.29 represented the state of the art when it was introduced. A rugged and dependable design, the wz.29 compared favorably with the German rifles of the day.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Polish wz.29 was a bolt-action design with a 90-degree bolt throw. The rifle locked via two main lugs at the bolt head along with a third safety lug at the rear. It had a 5-round internal box magazine that loaded via stripper clips from the top. The three-position rotating lever safety on the back of the bolt would be familiar to anyone who had ever run a German Mauser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Operation
Note the curious stacking lug on the front of the stock.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sights consisted of a protected front post along with a V-shaped rear notch mounted on an adjustable tangent. The rear sight was graduated in 100-meter increments out to 2,000 meters. Early versions also featured a stacking lug up front. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Operation
The Polish wz.29 was still a Mauser at its heart.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Infantry versions had a straight bolt handle. The Cavalry variant was turned-down with a corresponding cutout in the stock. Just over a quarter million copies were produced before the invasion in 1939. The wz.29 was absorbed into German stocks as the Gewehr 29\/40.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wz.35 Vis Pistol<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Operation
The Polish wz.35 Vis was a thoroughly modern combat handgun.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Adopted in 1935, the 9mm Para wz.35 Vis was a single-action, recoil-operated, locked-breech design based loosely upon the M1911 and P35 Browning Hi-Power. On our side of the pond, most collectors refer to the Vis as the \u201cRadom\u201d after the plant where it was produced. \u201cVis\u201d means \u201cForce\u201d in Latin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Operation
What appears to be a superfluous thumb safety on the Vis is actually a takedown catch.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Vis featured a 1911-style grip safety as well as an extra switch on the left aspect of the gun when compared to a 1911 or Hi-Power. The slide-mounted lever is a hammer-drop safety that lowers the hammer securely over a loaded chamber. The slide release and magazine catch have the expected function. The switch in the location of the 1911 thumb safety is actually a takedown lever. This catch is used to secure the slide in position for disassembly. Later versions omitted this device. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Operation
German Fallschirmj\u00e4gers wielded an eclectic array of small arms.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Vis feeds from an eight-round box magazine and is an exceptionally sweet pistol to run. The Germans continued production under occupation and ultimately produced around 360,000 copies. The gun was prized among German Fallschirmjagers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Operation
The vast majority of Vis pistols available to American collectors were made under German occupation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Polish workers at the Radom plant smuggled so many parts out of the factory to produce handguns for the Polish Underground that barrel production and final assembly were moved to Steyr in Austria. Regardless, the Polish Underground just began scratch-building their own barrels to fit the pilfered guns. The German designation was 9mm Pistole 645(p).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rest of the Story<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Operation
Oskar Schindler was ultimately venerated by the Jewish state as a hero. This is Mount Zion in Jerusalem where he is buried. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Oskar Schindler had a profound change of heart and eventually expended his entire fortune paying bribes to save the lives of Jews working in his factories. Previously a wealthy man, he ended the war penniless. He died in 1974 in Hildesheim, Germany, at age 66. He was buried in Jerusalem on Mount Zion, the only former member of the Nazi Party to be so honored. In 1993 the Israeli government named Schindler and his wife Emilie Righteous Among Nations<\/em>, an honorific used by the Jewish state to acclaim Gentiles who risked their lives protecting Jews during the Holocaust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Operation
Reinhard Heydrich met his untimely demise at the hands of Czech partisans. He died miserably.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Reinhard Heydrich was grievously wounded during a grenade attack by Czech partisans in 1942 as part of Operation Anthropoid. This monster died badly of sepsis a week later. We have explored the details of that operation before. See below if you’re interested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
The Story Of An Ambush & The British Sten Gun – A Spectacularly Successful Failure<\/a><\/blockquote>