Gottlob Berger (1896–1975) was a senior German Nazi official and the chief of the Main Office of the Schutzstaffel (SS) during World War II. He was transferred to the SS in 1936 by its commander, Heinrich Himmler. Berger was responsible for the growth of the armed wing of the SS, the Waffen-SS, evading controls over conscription and overseeing recruitment within and outside Germany, including among those who in no way reflected Himmler's ideas of "racial purity". Often clashing with senior military officers and even with his superiors over his recruiting methods, Berger grew the Waffen-SS to 38 divisions by the war's end. He placed his friend Oskar Dirlewanger in command of a unit of convicted criminals that later committed many war crimes. Indicted for war crimes himself on 6 January 1949, Berger was convicted on 13 April, including for his involvement in slave labour schemes and as a conscious participant in the concentration camp program.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gottlob_Berger

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1536:

The oldest European school of higher learning in the Americas, the Colegio de Santa Cruz, was founded in Tlatelolco, Mexico City. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colegio_de_Santa_Cruz_de_Tlatelolco

1912:

German geophysicist Alfred Wegener first presented his theory of continental drift, the precursor of plate tectonics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_drift

1960:

National Airlines Flight 2511, traveling from New York City to Miami, exploded in mid-air due to a bomb placed by an unknown party, resulting in the deaths of all 34 people on board. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Airlines_Flight_2511

1994:

Two-time American Olympic figure-skating medalist Nancy Kerrigan was hit on the leg with a police baton by an assailant hired by the ex-husband of her rival Tonya Harding. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonya_Harding

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

Slavi: The Russian Orthodox Christmas, which is celebrated from January 6 through 13 in outstate Alaska, USA, wherever there is a sizable Russian Orthodox population. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Slavi

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Anarchism can teach Christian thinkers to see the realities of our societies from a different standpoint than the dominant one of the state. What seems to be one of the disasters of our time is that we all appear to agree that the nation-state is the norm.   --Jacques Ellul https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jacques_Ellul