World War II

WWII Veteran Shares his Experiences from the Front Line

By admin|2016-06-08T07:48:18-04:00June 8, 2016|

In commemoration of D-Day, Bob Zonneville—the recipient of two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart—shared his experiences from World War II with us.

We wanted to share them with you, as well.

In addition to being injured twice during his 21 months of combat, he also helped liberate the concentration camp in Treblinka—all this before he turned 21.

However, the hardships of combat haven’t hardened Zonneville’s heart. He speaks with compassion, and it was an honor to glean a fraction of the wisdom he has acquired in his life.

We hope you enjoy listening to Zonneville as much as we did.

By the way, if you enjoy military history, you may enjoy our Major Battles of World War II series. Our own Dr. John Foster—who, in addition to being a librarian, also has a doctorate degree in history—has discussed Stalingrad and the origins of the German Final Solution.

Our World War II series continues in August with The Battle of the Bulge.

MPL Talks: The Battle of Stalingrad

By admin|2016-06-06T12:25:30-04:00June 6, 2016|

We host a lot of programs at Mentor Public Library and it’s hard to catch them all.

And sometimes you miss one you really wanted to see.

That’s why we’ve started MPL Talks, where we post full programs online for you to watch at your convenience. It’s not quite the same as being there. (For example, you don’t get to ask questions.) But it’s better than missing out.

Recently, our own Dr. John Foster—who, in addition to being a librarian, also has a doctorate degree in history—discussed the Battle of Stalingrad as part of our Major Battles of World War II series.

Foster examined:

the ideological differences between Hitler and Stalin’s brands of totalitarianism
Hitler’s intention with targeting Russia’s oil fields
Operation Barbarossa, which preceded the battle
readings from a German’s soldier diary during the battle
the battle’s effect on the Eastern European front and war
the startling loss of life that made Stalingrad the bloodiest battle in a bloody, bloody war.

Our World War II series continues in August with The Battle of the Bulge.

If you’re interested in seeing more of Dr. Foster’s programs, you can find them on our YouTube page, including his talks on Napoleonic France and the German Final Solution.

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