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Hohenzollern Castle, Germany (by freyavev)

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Brandon,

You photographed my wife Megan and me on New Years Eve in 2013, on fifth avenue. We were on our way from the opera to ring in 2014 at the 21 club. When you shared our photo on your site, your caption was that we met in Austria, on a train, in the snow.

On Monday Megan gave birth to our daughter Lotte (our first child), who had been diagnosed with a serious congenital heart defect (HLHS). On Thursday she underwent open heart surgery for nine hours. Although the procedure was technically a success, an unexpected complication prevented them from taking off the heart lung bypass in the OR. The surgeon made an unprecedented decision to keep her on ECMO (life support) for a few days to allow her heart to rest, so that they could try again to restart it.

She has basically been in stable condition, but over night developed some complications that necessitate trying to start weaning her off the machine today. I have no words to describe the torture we feel as parents, when all we can do is sit by our daughter’s beside, trying not to look at the tubes and wires coming out of her open chest, and holding her cold little hand. I had two magical days with Lotte, who before the surgery was basically a “normal” baby. We got to touch her, feed her, change her, and we’re so lucky to even see her open her eyes. I’m not a religious person so I’ve not prayed, but I constantly close my eyes and picture Lotte with her beautiful eyes open. I’m not sure I’ll ever see those eyes again, but I’m so thankful that I have them in my mind.

I wanted to ask whether you could somehow help us increase awareness of pediatric congenital heart disease, which is sadly not widely known and publicized. It’s especially hard for Megan that today is Mother’s Day, and perhaps you could share a photo of Lotte on your site. Doing so would not only inform your readers of this important and terrible condition, but help us hear the support of others.

Thank you so much.

Adam

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Things that only can happen during a New Year’s Concert in Vienna.

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Detachment.

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Engelbert Endrass leave the Reichs Chancellery preceded by LAH guide. (yes that’s Max Wünsche)

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"This picture was sent to me by a girl. She wrote on the backside: I want to be your periscope!”

- Erich Topp

this is the cutest thing ever!!!

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【I love this pope and I’m not even catholic】+1

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Schlachtschiff Bismarck-Klasse (1939) by Panzer DB on Flickr.

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"I lost my virginity when I was 14 to an older woman and it was great. It’s a question of the age of consent, something the law has decided. Some might be absolutely able to sexually take the initiative at 12 or 13."

Ralph Fiennes on why he didn’t see the character of Michael Berg (The Reader) as a victim of sexual abuse. (via this-fiennes-is-mines)

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~’Society, Morality and Murder’~ Professor Rohl, The Reader (2008)

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Adolf Hitler inspecting battleship Bismarck with Captain Lindemann and Admiral Lütjens.

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Two German sailors of the Kriegsmarine (War Navy) clown for a photographer aboard the German destroyer Z15 Erich Steinbrinck a few months prior to the outbreak of war in Europe. Kaiser-Wilhelm-Kanal (Kiel Canal), Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. July 1939. 

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Silent running and depth charge attack, U-96 - Lothar-Günther Buchheim (x)

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The sinking of HMS Courageous - 17 September, 1939

Sunday, 17th of September 1939. At about 1600 hrs southwest of Ireland and during bright sunshine with calm seas only, “U-29” under the command of Kapitänleutnant Otto Schuhart sighted a passenger liner, which was heading to the Western Approaches of the English Channel. Otto Schuhart identified the vessel as a passenger vessel of about 10.000 tons with high speed and proceeding with zig-zag courses. He prepared his boat for attack and tried to reach a favorable attack position. There, he spotted two aircraft circling overhead the liner. Sudden-ly, the vessel turned away and departed with high speed. Schuhart abandoned the chase and continued his patrol submerged at about 40 meters. 

At about 18.00 hrs, Otto Schuhart took the mandatory control view through the periscope in preparation for surfacing. After a few seconds he discovered a black square fume cloud in the reticule of his lense. Although he raised the periscope further he was not able to really identify what type of vessel he was sighting. However, his blood froze when he eventually realized what was in sight. Now, he had an aircraft carrier before his eyes, who was zig-zagging through the now rougher sea, escorted by destroyers and aircraft in the air for air cover. Immediately, preparations for an underwater torpedo attack started on board “U-29”.

Yet, the distance was too great. Submerged, the U-Boat followed the zig-zagging carrier, who departed from favorable distance more and more. Then suddenly, the carrier turned by at least 70 degrees to south, speed about 15 knots, towards “U-29” again, in order to launch some of his 48 “Swordfish” aircraft, as we learned later. Within seconds the situation had changed again in favor of “U-29”. The muzzle covers of the torpedo tubes were re-opened, however, “U-29”´s Commanding Officer was able to determine the firing data through estimating only as opposed to exact calculation.

At 1950hrs three torpedoes left the tubes, being fired at periscope depth at a distance of about 2,700 meters. Soon after, “U-29” had to dive down to about 60 meters since a destroyer of the British “I-Class” came at it fast. One of the three torpedoes hit the engine department right behind the boiler room, immediately followed by a second, severe detonation caused by the hit of torpedo no. 2, with some lighter detonations afterwards. The aircraft carrier had been hit at its portside by two of the three torpedoes fired. The strength of the explosions was so great, that the flight deck did burst at one area like a piece of metal sheet. The carrier re-appeared from the large smoke and water columns, listing extremely. All light broke down on board the “Courageous”, as the carrier was identified later. Many of the crew rushed to the flight deck, many others did not make it up from the lower decks. At the bridge, the carrier´s Commanding Officer, Captain William Makaig-Jones, eventually ordered to abandon ship. The men jumped into the sea or were sliding down the slippery flight deck, when the large ship turned slowly sideways more and more. Only two life boats could be lowered to water, one of them was damaged later by the sinking carrier. The sea around the ship was littered with shipwrecked men and debris, there was one raft with 50 men clinging to it. About 20 minutes after being hit by two torpedoes, the 22,500 tons aircraft carrier “Courageous” finally sank over its stern, engines still running, at position 50°10’ North and 014°15’ West in Kriegsmarine Naval Quadrant BE 3198, about 150 nm WSW of Mizen Head, Irelands most southwesterly point. The “Courageous” took down to the deep some 518 men, 741 could be rescued, among those 72 officers. Captain Makeig-Jones went down with his ship. According to eye witnesses, the “Courageous” sank slowly and majestic.

While the carrier already started to sink, the escorting destroyers had detected “U-29”. Almost 4 hours the U-Boat had to endure severe depth charging by more than 100 depth charges ditched, before the destroyers lost contact to the U-Boat. Eventually, “U-29” returned safely to its base at Wilhelmshaven.

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U-Boat Commander Joachim Schepke (with legs) and his crew enjoying the snow and speaking at the Sportspalast in Berlin.

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Joachim Schepke’s 1940 book “The U-Boat Captain of Today”.  Aside from being a skilled U-boat commander, he also illustrated the book with his own paintings.