occupation gustav lombard
Hungarians , also known as Magyars , are a nation and ethnic group who speak Hungarian and are primarily associated with Hungary . There are around 13 . 1  14 . 7 million Hungarians , of whom 8 . 5  9 . 8 million live in today ' s Hungary ( as of 2011 ). About 2 . 2 million Hungarians live in areas that were part of the Kingdom of Hungary before the 1918  1920 dissolution of the Austro - Hungarian Monarchy and the Treaty of Trianon , and are now parts of Hungary ' s seven neighbouring countries , especially Romania , Austria , Slovakia , Serbia and ___MASK98___ . Significant groups of people with Hungarian ancestry live in various other parts of the world , most of them in the United States , ___MASK32___ , Germany , France , the United Kingdom , Brazil , Australia , and Argentina . Hungarians can be classified into several subgroups according to local linguistic and cultural characteristics ; subgroups with distinct identities include the Székelys , the Csángós , the Palóc , and the Jász people . The ___MASK39___ ' s Cross of the Iron Cross ( German language : " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes "), or simply the ___MASK39___ ' s Cross (" Ritterkreuz "), and its variants were the highest awards in the ___MASK41___ and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II . Cavalry ( from French " cavalerie ", cf . " cheval " ' horse ') or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback . Cavalry were historically the most mobile of the combat arms . An individual ___MASK57___ in the cavalry is known by a number of designations such as cavalryman , horseman , dragoon or trooper . The designation of cavalry was not usually given to any military forces that used other animals , such as camels , mules or elephants . Infantry who moved on horseback , but dismounted to fight on foot , were known in the 17th and early 18th centuries as dragoons , a class of mounted infantry which later evolved into cavalry proper while retaining their historic title . The Iron Cross ( abbreviated EK ) was a ___MASK41___ decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia , and later in the German Empire ( 1871  1918 ) and Nazi Germany ( 1933  1945 ). It was established by ___MASK36___ Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia in March 1813 backdated to the birthday of his late wife Queen Louise on 10 March 1813 during the Napoleonic Wars ( EK 1813 ). Louise was the first person to receive this decoration ( posthumous ). The recommissioned Iron Cross was also awarded during the Franco - Prussian War ( EK 1870 ), World War I ( EK 1914 ), and World War II ( EK 1939 , re - introduced with a swastika added in the center ). The Iron Cross was normally a ___MASK41___ decoration only , though there were instances of it being awarded to civilians for performing ___MASK41___ functions . Two examples of this were civilian test pilots Hanna Reitsch who was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class and 1st Class and Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg , who was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class , for their actions as pilots during World War II . Strategic bombing is a ___MASK41___ strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating the enemy by destroying its morale or its economic ability to produce and transport materiel to the theatres of ___MASK41___ operations , or both . It is a systematically organized and executed attack from the air which can utilize strategic bombers , long - or medium - range missiles , or nuclear - armed fighter - bomber aircraft to attack targets deemed vital to the enemy ' s war - making capability . The SS Cavalry Brigade (" SS - Kavallerie - Brigade ") was a unit of the " Waffen SS " formed from cavalry regiments created for occupation duties in German - occupied Poland . Later , while serving in German - occupied areas of the ___MASK16___ , the brigade was involved in the genocide of the Jewish population and anti - ___MASK6___ operations . It also filled gaps in the front line when called upon in emergencies . In 1942 , the brigade was disbanded and became the cadre of the 8th SS Cavalry (" Florian Geyer ") Division . Hanna Reitsch ( 29 March 1912  24 August 1979 ) was Germany ' s most famous female ___MASK59___ and ___MASK9___ , starting in the early 1930s . During the Nazi era she served as an international representative for the regime . In the 1960s she was sponsored by the West German foreign office as a technical adviser in Ghana and elsewhere . A great power is a ___MASK91___ state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale . Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength , as well as diplomatic and soft power influence , which may cause middle or small powers to consider the great powers ' opinions before taking actions of their own . International relations theorists have posited that great power status can be characterized into power capabilities , spatial aspects , and status dimensions . The swastika ( also known outside the Indian subcontinent as the Hakenkreuz , gammadion cross , cross cramponnée , croix gammée , fylfot , or tetraskelion ) ( as a character  or  ) is an ancient ___MASK26___ symbol originating from the Indian subcontinent , that generally takes the form of an equilateral cross with four legs each bent at 90 degrees . It is considered to be a sacred and auspicious symbol in Hinduism , Buddhism , and Jainism and dates back at least 11 , 000 years . It continues to be commonly used as a ___MASK26___ symbol in religions native to the Indian subcontinent , such as Hinduism , Buddhism , and Jainism . Florian Geyer von Giebelstadt (" c ". 1490  10 June 1525 ) was a German nobleman , ___MASK20___ , and knight . He became widely known for leading peasants during the German Peasants ' War . German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe . It is the most widely spoken and ( co -) ___MASK43___ language in Germany , Austria , Switzerland , South Tyrol ( Italy ), the German - speaking Community of Belgium , and Liechtenstein ; it is also an ___MASK43___ , but not majority language of Luxembourg . Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch , such as Afrikaans , Dutch , and English . It is the second most widely spoken Germanic language , after English . The Franco - Prussian War or Franco - German War , often referred to in France as the War of 1870 ( 19 July 1871 ), was a conflict between the Second French Empire of Napoleon III and the German states of the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia . The conflict was caused by Prussian ambitions to extend German unification and French fears of the shift in the European balance of power that would result if the Prussians succeeded . Some historians argue that the Prussian ___MASK79___ Otto von Bismarck deliberately provoked a French attack in order to draw the southern German states  Baden , Württemberg , Bavaria and Hesse - Darmstadt  into an alliance with the North German Confederation dominated by Prussia , while others contend that Bismarck did not plan anything and merely exploited the circumstances as they unfolded . Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg , born Melitta Schiller ( 9 January 1903  8 April 1945 ), was a German ___MASK59___ who served as a ___MASK9___ in the Luftwaffe before and during World War II . A ___MASK41___ alliance is an international agreement concerning national security , when the contracting parties promise to support each other in case of a crisis that has not been identified in advance . ___MASK41___ alliances differ from coalitions , as coalitions are formed for a crisis that are already known . World War I ( WWI or WW1 ), also known as the First World War , or the Great War , was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918 . More than 70 million ___MASK76___ , including 60 million Europeans , were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history . Over nine million combatants and seven million civilians died as a result of the war ( including the victims of a number of genocides ), a casualty rate exacerbated by the belligerents ' technological and industrial sophistication , and the tactical stalemate caused by gruelling trench warfare . It was one of the deadliest conflicts in history , and paved the way for major political changes , including revolutions in many of the nations involved . The 31st SS Volunteer Grenadier Division was a unit of the German armed forces during World War II . It was formed from Germans , Hungarians and " Volksdeutsche ", mostly from the Baka in September 1944 . The division is sometimes given the title " Batschka ". By November 1944 it was in action on the Hungarian Front . In terminology of Nazi Germany , Volksdeutsche were " Germans in terms of people or race ", regardless of citizenship . The term is the nominalised plural of " volksdeutsch ", with " Volksdeutsche " denoting a singular female , and " Volksdeutsche ( ___MASK92___ )", a singular male . The words " Volk " and " völkisch " conveyed the meanings of " folk " and " race " while adding the sense of superior civilisation and blood . These terms were used by Nazis to define Germans on the basis of their ' race ' ( although in modern terminology , this is their ethnicity ) rather than citizenship and thus included Germans living beyond the borders of the Reich , as long as they were not of Jewish origin . This is in contrast to Imperial Germans (" Reichsdeutsche "), German citizens living within Germany . The term also contrasts with the usage of the term " Auslandsdeutsche " (" Germans abroad / German expatriate ") since 1936 , which generally denotes German citizens residing in other countries . The difference between ' Imperial German ' and ' Ethnic German ' was that those designated as being ethnic Germans did not have paperwork to prove their legal citizenship to work or vote within the country though some were from either Germany or lost territories of Germany taken during and after the First World War . World War II ( often abbreviated to WWII or WW2 ), also known as the Second World War , was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945 , although related conflicts began earlier . It involved the vast majority of the world ' s nations  including all of the great powers  eventually forming two opposing ___MASK41___ alliances : the Allies and the Axis . It was the most widespread war in history , and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries . In a state of " total war ", the major participants threw their entire economic , industrial , and scientific capabilities behind the war effort , erasing the distinction between civilian and ___MASK41___ resources . Marked by mass deaths of civilians , including the Holocaust ( in which approximately 11 million people were killed ) and the strategic bombing of industrial and population centres ( in which approximately one million were killed , and which included the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ), it resulted in an estimated 50 million to 85 million fatalities . These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history . In politics and ___MASK41___ planning , a war effort refers to a coordinated mobilization of society ' s resources  both industrial and human  towards the support of a ___MASK41___ force . Depending on the militarization of the culture , the relative size of the armed forces and the society supporting them , the style of government , and the popular support for the ___MASK41___ objectives , such war effort can range from a small industry to complete command of society . Total war is warfare that includes any and all civilian - associated resources and infrastructure as legitimate ___MASK41___ targets , mobilizes all of the resources of society to fight the war , and gives priority to warfare over non - combatant needs . The American - English Dictionary defines total war as " war that is unrestricted in terms of the weapons used , the territory or combatants involved , or the objectives pursued , especially one in which the laws of war are disregarded ." Nazi Germany is the common English name for the period in German history from 1933 to 1945 , when Germany was governed by a dictatorship under the control of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party ( NSDAP ). Under Hitler ' s rule , Germany was transformed into a fascist state in which the Nazi Party took totalitarian control over nearly all aspects of life . The ___MASK43___ name of the state was " Deutsches Reich " from 1933 to 1943 and " Großdeutsches Reich " (" Greater German Reich ") from 1943 to 1945 . The period is also known under the names the Third Reich and the National Socialist Period ( abbreviated as " NS - Zeit "). The Nazi regime came to an end after the Allied Powers defeated Germany in May 1945 , ending World War II in Europe . Hiroshima is perhaps best known as the first city in history to be targeted by a nuclear weapon when the ___MASK23___ Air Forces ( USAAF ) dropped an atomic bomb on the city ( and later on Nagasaki ) at 8 : 15 a . m . on August 6 , 1945 , near the end of World War II . Gustav Lombard ( 10 April 1895 -- 18 September 1992 ) was an SS - Brigadeführer ( general ) who served in World War II . During the war , Lombard commanded 8th SS Cavalry Division Florian Geyer and the 31st SS Volunteer Grenadier Division . He was a recipient of the ___MASK39___ ' s Cross of the Iron Cross . Lombard perpetrated mass murder in the Holocaust , serving as commanding officer of the 1st Regiment of the SS Cavalry Brigade during the German invasion of the ___MASK16___ . Lombard was convicted of war crimes by a Soviet ___MASK41___ tribunal in 1947 and was released in 1955 . He was subsequently tried by a West German court in the 1960s and found not guilty . The Napoleonic Wars ( 1803 - 1815 ) were a series of ___MASK99___ conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies , led by Napoleon I , against a fluctuating array of European powers formed into various coalitions , primarily led and financed by the ___MASK72___ . The wars resulted from the unresolved disputes associated with the ___MASK8___ and the Revolutionary Wars , which had raged on for years before concluding with the Treaty of Amiens in 1802 . The resumption of hostilities the following year paved the way for more than a decade of constant warfare often categorized into five conflicts : the War of the Third Coalition ( 1805 ), the War of the Fourth Coalition ( 1806 - 7 ), the War of the Fifth Coalition ( 1809 ), the War of the Sixth Coalition ( 1813 ), and the War of the Seventh Coalition ( 1815 ). The Napoleonic Wars had profound consequences for global and European history , leading to the spread of nationalism and liberalism , the rise of the British Empire as the world ' s premier power , the independence movements in Latin America and the collapse of the Spanish Empire , the fundamental reorganization of German and Italian territories into larger states , and the establishment of radically new methods in warfare . The United States dropped nuclear weapons on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9 , 1945 , respectively , during the final stage of World War II . The United States had dropped the bombs with the consent of the ___MASK72___ as outlined in the Quebec Agreement . The two bombings , which killed at least 129 , 000 people , remain the only use of nuclear weapons for warfare in history . The 8th SS Cavalry Division " Florian Geyer " was a Waffen - SS cavalry Division during World War II . It was formed in 1942 from a cadre of the SS Cavalry Brigade which was involved in anti ___MASK6___ operations behind the front line and was responsible for the extermination of tens of thousands of the civilian population . It continued with the so - called pacification operations in the occupied Soviet Union , leading to further atrocities .