The Search for Heinrich Himmler's Death Mask

London. A place I have visited countless times. Although I have a keen interest in History, I have successfully managed to evade visiting any of the museums there properly. Four of us decided to make a point out of visiting them over the period of a couple of months.

My Girlfriend was keen to visit the Science Museum first but the rest of us soon put an end to that silly idea as we had found out that the Imperial War Museum (IWM) had Heinrich Himler's  death mask on display. She eventually gave in and the words "Heinrich Himmler's death mask" were thrown around in conversation an awful lot in the weeks leading up to this trip.

We arrived and it was pissing down as always. We had our bags checked at the door for bombs, guns and sharp objects so we could safely enter the museum to see their collection of bombs, guns and sharp objects.

Tube selfie.

The atrium of the building is pretty impressive. The ceiling has airplanes hanging from it with wires. It's like some rich kid wasn't satisfied with Airfix models and wanted the real things instead. I don't think I have ever seen a Spitfire that close before.

Something else that I was keen to see is one of the two original Eagle's that sat atop the Reich Chancellery in Berlin. Taken by the Russians after the Battle of Berlin and ended up in the London museum. There are a couple of chunks missing out of it from when it got caught up in the battle also. Very impressive thing.

If I could have gotten this back on the MegaBus, I would have taken it. 

A used Zyclone B canister sat unassumingly in a display case, the contents of which was probably responsible for the death of a room full of people in Auschwitz's gas chambers.

Used Zyclone B canister.

After seeing all these things, with one eye on them and the other scanning the room for the death mask. Everywhere we thought it may be, we were wrong. I did something I hate doing in any situation. I asked for help.

The enthusiastic museum employee told me that the mask was removed some time ago and they hadn't updated the website yet.

Brilliant.

By no means a wasted trip. The museum is very impressive and always worth a visit.
We have since also been to the Science Museum. I know what you're thinking, we went all the way there and there was no 'Science' as advertised on the website. Well, you thought wrong. There was plenty.

Battle damaged Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero.

Welsh Blitz - Cardiff

Cardiff, UK.

The other day I overheard some old guys talking about upcoming Remembrance Sunday where they briefly mentioned how the city was bombed during the war. I always knew that this was a thing as the Germans bombed the port here which shipped out coal and whatever resources that fed the war.

A couple of stray bombs hit the suburbs surrounding the ports so I decided to look online to dig out some pictures of the aftermath and attempt to find the areas today.

Grangetown.

Every city has that one area which is filled with horror stories and bad people. Grangetown is Cardiff's answer to The Bronx, or so i'm told. Seeing that this area was the worst hit by these stray bombs, I decided to go against everyones advice and walk there to find these sites that were hit.

Believing everyone who said that I was going to be robbed, I didn't bother taking my posh camera but settled with just my posh phone instead. With a haircut that questions my sexuality as well as my nationality and my bright coloured coat, I was a bit nervous. I felt like that odd jigsaw piece that you always find in the 'Monopoly' box.

I knew the name of the two streets I was after and awkwardly went into corners to consult Google Maps.

January 2nd, 1941.

Hollymans Bakery, Stockland Street.

An affluent family run business with a cellar which was used as an air raid shelter which when the sirens used to sound to warn of enemy aircraft above, the family used to invite anyone in off the street who was looking for refuge.

Hollymans Bakery, now a hardware store.

The building took a direct hit and the bomb hit the cellar directly. 32 people were killed.

Memorial plaque on the building.

Not far from the bakery, at the corner of Ferry Road is a street that has hardly changed since 1941, apart from the obvious modernisation and repair to the bombed structure. I understand this to have been a residence at the time. Seven people were killed.

1941

2015

So I appear to be a survivor of the dreaded Grangetown. No bother from anyone but the cops who asked me what I was doing as I was awkwardly trying to take pictures with my phone whilst attempting to hide it at the same time.

Berlin. Above The Doorway.

Berlin.

Reminders of the war are everywhere. Bullet holes and pock marks scratched into walls. Memorials, Soviet and otherwise are commonplace.

Above the doorway of an anonymous building I spotted this. Its history in a timeline of charming pictures. When it was built, bombed and when it was substantially repaired.

If I was to go all deep, I would talk about how its symbolic and represents resilience and all that, but on the surface of it all it's just the documented history of a building that got caught up in a war. A series of pictures that defines the effect of the war on the city as well as the individuals who lived in it.

The dates in-between it's bombing and its repair reaches that of nearly a decade which gives a good indication of the extent of damage and how the war affected the city for all those years after.

I've been looking out for more of these in other German cities but this is the only one I have come across so far.