Roddie was captured early on in the Battle of the Bulge, on December 19th, when Panzer forces plowed through his unit.
He, along with almost his entire regiment, was forced to surrender.
1 of 16: WE ARE ALL JEWS HERE: THE STORY OF RODDIE EDMONDS
One of the most moving and relevant stories of the Battle of the Bulge, or any American Soldier in any war, is that of Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds, a Knoxville, Tennessee native, who served with the 106th Infantry.
Roddie was captured early on in the Battle of the Bulge, on December 19th, when Panzer forces plowed through his unit.
He, along with almost his entire regiment, was forced to surrender.
The men were transported to the Stalag IX-A POW camp in Ziegenhain, Germany.
Roddie was the senior enlisted American Soldier at the site. As such, he was the conduit between all American Soldiers and their German captors.
In late January, the camp’s commandant, Major Siegmann [pictured here], ordered Roddie, a Christian, to identify all Jewish Soldiers and order them to stand in formation by themselves the next day.
[Jewish Soldiers were a minority within American units]
Throughout WWII, captured Jewish Soldiers were often tortured and then killed by their German captors.
In fact, Jewish Soldiers had been told to bury their dog tags before capture. The dog tag identified Jews with the letter “H” for Hebrew.
The next morning, Roddie ordered every single American prisoner of war in the camp to assemble outside the barracks for Siegmann.
Siegmann walked out to the courtyard to find all 1,275 men assembled.
There was Roddie, standing in front of his men.
Siegmann was furious. He walked up to Edmonds, snarling in English, “You are to identify the Jews immediately.”
Roddie replied, “We are all Jews here.”
Enraged, Siegmann took out his pistol and threatened to shoot Roddie, who refused to back down.
“You are going to have to kill all of us,” Edmonds told his Nazi captor. “We are all Jews,” he repeated.
Roddie told the Nazi that the war was almost over. The Germans would soon be defeated.
If any of his men were harmed, Siegmann would be hunted, tried, and convicted for war crimes after the war.
Siegmann walked away.
Roddie’s courage saved the lives of more than 200 Jewish Soldiers in that POW camp.
Three months later, Roddie and all Americans imprisoned in Stalag IX-A were freed by Allied forces.
After the war, Roddie Edmonds returned to his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee. He started a family and a career as a salesman.
He never once mentioned this story about Stalag IX-A.
No one knew. He received no commendation for his courage while alive.
Roddie Edmonds died of heart failure at age 65 in 1985.
After his death, his children began to slowly uncover their father’s remarkable wartime deeds through his diary.
Roddie’s son, Chris, a pastor in Maryville, Tennessee, brought this act of love to light.
With Chris' help, the State of Israel was made aware of Roddie's uncommon courage.
In 2015, Israel recognized Roddie Edmonds as a Righteous Among the Nations, Israel’s highest honor for non-Jews who saved Jews during the Holocaust.
To tell this story, we spoke with Roddie’s son Chris last week.
Chris had this message: “My father’s selfless actions in the face of unimaginable evil is vital in these days. Especially when our world is full of hatred and we still see anti-Semitism.”
More from XVIII Airborne Corps🐉
More from Society
1/OK, data mystery time.
This New York Times feature shows China with a Gini Index of less than 30, which would make it more equal than Canada, France, or the Netherlands. https://t.co/g3Sv6DZTDE
That's weird. Income inequality in China is legendary.
Let's check this number.
2/The New York Times cites the World Bank's recent report, "Fair Progress? Economic Mobility across Generations Around the World".
The report is available here:
3/The World Bank report has a graph in which it appears to show the same value for China's Gini - under 0.3.
The graph cites the World Development Indicators as its source for the income inequality data.
4/The World Development Indicators are available at the World Bank's website.
Here's the Gini index: https://t.co/MvylQzpX6A
It looks as if the latest estimate for China's Gini is 42.2.
That estimate is from 2012.
5/A Gini of 42.2 would put China in the same neighborhood as the U.S., whose Gini was estimated at 41 in 2013.
I can't find the <30 number anywhere. The only other estimate in the tables for China is from 2008, when it was estimated at 42.8.
This New York Times feature shows China with a Gini Index of less than 30, which would make it more equal than Canada, France, or the Netherlands. https://t.co/g3Sv6DZTDE
That's weird. Income inequality in China is legendary.
Let's check this number.
2/The New York Times cites the World Bank's recent report, "Fair Progress? Economic Mobility across Generations Around the World".
The report is available here:
3/The World Bank report has a graph in which it appears to show the same value for China's Gini - under 0.3.
The graph cites the World Development Indicators as its source for the income inequality data.
4/The World Development Indicators are available at the World Bank's website.
Here's the Gini index: https://t.co/MvylQzpX6A
It looks as if the latest estimate for China's Gini is 42.2.
That estimate is from 2012.
5/A Gini of 42.2 would put China in the same neighborhood as the U.S., whose Gini was estimated at 41 in 2013.
I can't find the <30 number anywhere. The only other estimate in the tables for China is from 2008, when it was estimated at 42.8.
Okay, let's do this summary again since there seems to be a collective amnesia relating to Christian Abolitionism in America.
Here again is a summary of the Christian Abolitionists’ arguments against enslavers’ appeals to the Scripture: Thread
Here again is a summary of the Christian Abolitionists’ arguments against enslavers’ appeals to the Scripture: Thread
Slavery is not a sin. It is never outlawed by the Bible. Manstealing is but not slavery.
— micah (@laborersarefew) February 20, 2021
Murdering babies and sodomy are sins according the the Bible. YOU don't get to make up things as you go Dolly, neither do I or Malachi.
You May Also Like
👨💻 Last resume I sent to a startup one year ago, sharing with you to get ideas:
- Forget what you don't have, make your strength bold
- Pick one work experience and explain what you did in detail w/ bullet points
- Write it towards the role you apply
- Give social proof
/thread
"But I got no work experience..."
Make a open source lib, make a small side project for yourself, do freelance work, ask friends to work with them, no friends? Find friends on Github, and Twitter.
Bonus points:
- Show you care about the company: I used the company's brand font and gradient for in the resume for my name and "Thank You" note.
- Don't list 15 things and libraries you worked with, pick the most related ones to the role you're applying.
-🙅♂️"copy cover letter"
"I got no firends, no work"
One practical way is to reach out to conferences and offer to make their website for free. But make sure to do it good. You'll get:
- a project for portfolio
- new friends
- work experience
- learnt new stuff
- new thing for Twitter bio
If you don't even have the skills yet, why not try your chance for @LambdaSchool? No? @freeCodeCamp. Still not? Pick something from here and learn https://t.co/7NPS1zbLTi
You'll feel very overwhelmed, no escape, just acknowledge it and keep pushing.
- Forget what you don't have, make your strength bold
- Pick one work experience and explain what you did in detail w/ bullet points
- Write it towards the role you apply
- Give social proof
/thread
"But I got no work experience..."
Make a open source lib, make a small side project for yourself, do freelance work, ask friends to work with them, no friends? Find friends on Github, and Twitter.
Bonus points:
- Show you care about the company: I used the company's brand font and gradient for in the resume for my name and "Thank You" note.
- Don't list 15 things and libraries you worked with, pick the most related ones to the role you're applying.
-🙅♂️"copy cover letter"
"I got no firends, no work"
One practical way is to reach out to conferences and offer to make their website for free. But make sure to do it good. You'll get:
- a project for portfolio
- new friends
- work experience
- learnt new stuff
- new thing for Twitter bio
If you don't even have the skills yet, why not try your chance for @LambdaSchool? No? @freeCodeCamp. Still not? Pick something from here and learn https://t.co/7NPS1zbLTi
You'll feel very overwhelmed, no escape, just acknowledge it and keep pushing.
