Tip-off from a Nazi that saved my grandparents | Hacker News Reader

Tip-off from a Nazi that saved my grandparents

bbc.com

89 pointsatsaloli14 comments

I'm surprised to see this topic on HN but if you are looking for some more interesting WW2 history, I am (slowly) making and releasing video interviews with survivors of the German Occupation of Jersey and posting them to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CIOSJersey

Jersey is a British island off the French coast and was taken by the Germans and used for propaganda value. As an American living in Europe I find this sort of thing fascinating, there aren't many people who experienced this left but I can still go hang out with someone who lived under Nazi rule and hear what daily life was like. Surprisingly ordinary at first, then pretty bad towards the end. They could see and hear the D-Day activity late in the war, but still had another long year ahead of them, cut off from both Britain and France and left to starve.

If you are in London or Paris and want to visit some amazing bunkers feel free to get in touch, we are about an hours flight away and contact info is in my profile.

Wow, that's a chilling story. I'm glad the author's grandparents (and others) were given this opportunity. I'm also glad we got to read about this.

Was it an accidental comment that saved the Jews of Denmark, or was it an intentional comment? And it seems it was very much intentional.

Saboteurs, inside people, and otherwise double agents are a thing. And I could see that someone in over their heads could gently sabotage where they are able to.

> an intentional comment

You don't just say 'Get out while you can. They're rounding up the jews'

Definitely seemed intentional--see also the bit about all of the patrol boats getting painted at once when they figured out that water was the primary avenue of escape.

The article makes it pretty clear it was intentional in order to avoid further political strife in the occupied country.

What does this have to do with hacking???

HN is for anything that's intellectually interesting. That's been the case for the 10+ years that this site has been called Hacker News. Please read the guidelines:

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Did not see that. Guess I need to spend more time on this site. :-/

There is something about hacking that makes it a sort of anti-authority, counter-culture activity. In the event of a fascist coup, in whatever country, or even the entire western neoliberal order, I feel this deeply, that hackers would be at the forefront of the resistance. There’s something about sitting in a room and taking something apart to understand how it works that feels incompatible with fascism. I’m not exactly sure how to articulate it, but it exists.

Tldr: it has EVERYTHING to do with hacking

There are many, many hackers gainfully employed in the deepest, darkest recesses of every government. I think directly saying that it is incompatible with fascism is a bit of a stretch, although I do agree that it is a nice thought.

I don't think working for e.g the CIA making gizmos to fool the communists is at all against the hacker spirit. In fact finding new and innovative ways to beat collectivists seems to me exactly the hacker way.

You’re right. Gotta have ideals at least.

It's an alternate interpretation of a set of commands, to effect an intentional exploit.

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