Jeff Rutherford
@jeffcrutherford.bsky.social
Historian of Modern Germany, the Second World War, and the German Army. Research focus on the German army's ideological, operational, and economic war against the Soviet Union. Teaches at Xavier University.
Hook'em.
Hook'em.
Reposted by Jeff Rutherford
Chicken Soup for the Soulless
some good news buried among the horrible behavior listed:
“The third woman said federal agents at her hotel are subsisting on microwavable bowls of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup, because it’s become so difficult for them to find restaurants willing to serve them.”
“The third woman said federal agents at her hotel are subsisting on microwavable bowls of Campbell’s chicken noodle soup, because it’s become so difficult for them to find restaurants willing to serve them.”
I visited hotels all over Minneapolis, went into back rooms & talked to the staff.
They're afraid.
One told me she resents how her undocumented coworkers spend their days cleaning the rooms of agents who are “hunting down their family members.”
@notus.com:
www.notus.org/immigration/...
They're afraid.
One told me she resents how her undocumented coworkers spend their days cleaning the rooms of agents who are “hunting down their family members.”
@notus.com:
www.notus.org/immigration/...
February 1, 2026 at 5:09 PM
Chicken Soup for the Soulless
Reposted by Jeff Rutherford
January 30, 2026 at 8:39 PM
Reposted by Jeff Rutherford
In response to the plea of @reallyseansmith.bsky.social for more riffs on Bluesky, here is my driveway shoveling playlist.
January 26, 2026 at 7:02 PM
In response to the plea of @reallyseansmith.bsky.social for more riffs on Bluesky, here is my driveway shoveling playlist.
Reposted by Jeff Rutherford
On 21 Jan 1942 Rommel struck east in a complete surprise to the British. They had underestimated the ability of the German forces in the desert to recover from the thrashing they had received in CRUSADER, although the signs were there that they could bounce back, fast. @jeffcrutherford.bsky.social
70 Years Ago Today – 21 Jan 42
Background 21 Jan 42 was the start of the Axis counter offensive, which took advantage of the temporary superiority that Axis forces had attained in the forward area, following the arrival of two s…
rommelsriposte.com
January 21, 2026 at 3:29 PM
On 21 Jan 1942 Rommel struck east in a complete surprise to the British. They had underestimated the ability of the German forces in the desert to recover from the thrashing they had received in CRUSADER, although the signs were there that they could bounce back, fast. @jeffcrutherford.bsky.social
@joelanderson.bsky.social Very much appreciate the Ringer Tailgate pod. It’s the only one that I really look forward to the next episode. Hope you guys keep it going during the offseason.
January 20, 2026 at 8:27 PM
@joelanderson.bsky.social Very much appreciate the Ringer Tailgate pod. It’s the only one that I really look forward to the next episode. Hope you guys keep it going during the offseason.
Yes & I wish players and especially teams in American professional sports would simply not play games as a response to the federal government's war on Minneapolis and threats to Greenland. The NBA did this several years ago, but cancelling some NFL playoff games would get people's attention.
It might sound silly, but I mean it: The easiest and most potent way for Europe to hurt Trump this year is to once again use its cultural soft power and to threaten a boycott of the World Cup. It would become a completely meaningless event and would hurt him where he is most vulnerable - his vanity.
January 19, 2026 at 9:15 PM
Yes & I wish players and especially teams in American professional sports would simply not play games as a response to the federal government's war on Minneapolis and threats to Greenland. The NBA did this several years ago, but cancelling some NFL playoff games would get people's attention.
Reposted by Jeff Rutherford
the rest of the world deferred to us not because they needed to but because it was easy, all to great benefit of us, and we destroyed that to get out of having to watch one hour diversity training videos once a year
January 19, 2026 at 1:51 PM
the rest of the world deferred to us not because they needed to but because it was easy, all to great benefit of us, and we destroyed that to get out of having to watch one hour diversity training videos once a year
Reposted by Jeff Rutherford
Good morning. What a deeply embarrassing day to be a US citizen, on so many levels.
January 19, 2026 at 1:34 PM
Good morning. What a deeply embarrassing day to be a US citizen, on so many levels.
Reposted by Jeff Rutherford
Empire comes home
Nick Miroff: After 9/11, George W. Bush created the Department of Homeland Security to prevent future terror strikes. Now DHS shifted from defending the country against foreign terrorists to deploying agents on American streets for the purpose of terrorizing American citizens.
‘Maybe DHS Was a Bad Idea’
Two decades after its founding, the department has become what its critics feared.
www.theatlantic.com
January 17, 2026 at 3:38 PM
Empire comes home
Yet another thread by @crusaderproject.bsky.social worth your time.
The end of the garrison also saw the end of one of the more curious units in the German army, the Special Purpose Oasis Battalion 300. While some of its men escaped in December, the unit was dissolved AFAICT. @jeffcrutherford.bsky.social
Oasen Bataillon z.b.V. 300
Background That would be Oasis Special Purpose Battalion 300, in English. This peculiarly named unit proves that the Wehrmacht was not averse to a practical joke being played on its soldiers, since…
rommelsriposte.com
January 17, 2026 at 6:50 PM
Yet another thread by @crusaderproject.bsky.social worth your time.
Reposted by Jeff Rutherford
I feel like the federal government shouldn't be spending hundreds of millions of dollars on an entirely unnecessary, totally unprecedented, and excessively violent occupation of an American city.
January 17, 2026 at 4:56 AM
I feel like the federal government shouldn't be spending hundreds of millions of dollars on an entirely unnecessary, totally unprecedented, and excessively violent occupation of an American city.
Reposted by Jeff Rutherford
every single successful general strike in US history has had union backing through the local AFL-CIO
this is the first time it’s been called for since the 1940s
this is the first time it’s been called for since the 1940s
January 16, 2026 at 9:24 PM
every single successful general strike in US history has had union backing through the local AFL-CIO
this is the first time it’s been called for since the 1940s
this is the first time it’s been called for since the 1940s
Seems like a good time for a general strike in this country. Just shut it all down.
January 11, 2026 at 3:32 AM
Seems like a good time for a general strike in this country. Just shut it all down.
Reposted by Jeff Rutherford
kind of darkly funny that "gender studies" is the stereotypical "useless degree" because gender studies will help you understand a large and important chunk of the current psychosis in american life
January 6, 2026 at 2:00 AM
kind of darkly funny that "gender studies" is the stereotypical "useless degree" because gender studies will help you understand a large and important chunk of the current psychosis in american life
Reposted by Jeff Rutherford
Eighth Army started Op CRUSADER with ca. 800 tanks.
By 9 Jan, 7-8 weeks in, ALL of these had been lost. Remaining tank strength were rebuilds and new arrivals.
It was a catastrophic performance of British armour.
@alanallport.bsky.social @cedricmas.bsky.social @jeffcrutherford.bsky.social
By 9 Jan, 7-8 weeks in, ALL of these had been lost. Remaining tank strength were rebuilds and new arrivals.
It was a catastrophic performance of British armour.
@alanallport.bsky.social @cedricmas.bsky.social @jeffcrutherford.bsky.social
A note on tank losses in CRUSADER
Background On a blog I follow (at this link), the question about tank losses in CRUSADER was raised. It’s one of those that seems easy, until you dig into it. a bit more. Since I have done a bit of…
rommelsriposte.com
January 9, 2026 at 11:25 AM
Eighth Army started Op CRUSADER with ca. 800 tanks.
By 9 Jan, 7-8 weeks in, ALL of these had been lost. Remaining tank strength were rebuilds and new arrivals.
It was a catastrophic performance of British armour.
@alanallport.bsky.social @cedricmas.bsky.social @jeffcrutherford.bsky.social
By 9 Jan, 7-8 weeks in, ALL of these had been lost. Remaining tank strength were rebuilds and new arrivals.
It was a catastrophic performance of British armour.
@alanallport.bsky.social @cedricmas.bsky.social @jeffcrutherford.bsky.social
Reposted by Jeff Rutherford
The German army's scorched earth retreats starting in 1943 are an utterly neglected piece of Germany's criminal war in the east and Christian Stein knows his stuff. Worth a listen.
🎧 NEUE FOLGE 🎧
Rückzüge der Wehrmacht an der Ostfront: ein bislang wenig beachteter Aspekt des Krieges. Gewalt, „verbrannte Erde“ und die Fortsetzung des Vernichtungskriegs im Rückzug. Einordnung, Forschungsperspektiven und Befunde hört ihr hier: geschichteeuropas.podigee.io/566-566
Rückzüge der Wehrmacht an der Ostfront: ein bislang wenig beachteter Aspekt des Krieges. Gewalt, „verbrannte Erde“ und die Fortsetzung des Vernichtungskriegs im Rückzug. Einordnung, Forschungsperspektiven und Befunde hört ihr hier: geschichteeuropas.podigee.io/566-566
January 8, 2026 at 8:45 PM
The German army's scorched earth retreats starting in 1943 are an utterly neglected piece of Germany's criminal war in the east and Christian Stein knows his stuff. Worth a listen.
As always, Phil Klay is worth reading.
A note on the Venezuela attack.
When I began thinking about joining the military, in the lead up to Iraq in 2003, I thought that even in the worse case scenario, Iraq would be better off without a dictator.
When I began thinking about joining the military, in the lead up to Iraq in 2003, I thought that even in the worse case scenario, Iraq would be better off without a dictator.
January 6, 2026 at 4:54 PM
As always, Phil Klay is worth reading.
Reposted by Jeff Rutherford
"The Monroe Doctrine was a policy born of US weakness and discarded as soon as the US became a world power" should be something that all journalists know
January 5, 2026 at 9:06 PM
"The Monroe Doctrine was a policy born of US weakness and discarded as soon as the US became a world power" should be something that all journalists know
Reposted by Jeff Rutherford
We're the country that made Trump president twice, can't hide from that
yeah like this sucks but we, Yankees, are going to eat a lot of shit as and when the world justifiably hardens against us, and it will not be pleasant and it will not feel entirely fair
finding out that I am apparently responsible for all US imperialism, ever
January 4, 2026 at 10:20 PM
We're the country that made Trump president twice, can't hide from that
Reposted by Jeff Rutherford
So much of American history is just impulsive and extremely stupid elites, who don't believe in consequences because they have never personally experienced them, doing highly consequential stuff because they're bored or believe it might make them richer. I guess a lot of our culture, too.
January 3, 2026 at 7:22 PM
So much of American history is just impulsive and extremely stupid elites, who don't believe in consequences because they have never personally experienced them, doing highly consequential stuff because they're bored or believe it might make them richer. I guess a lot of our culture, too.
Reposted by Jeff Rutherford
As a historian one of the few comforts I have right now—and in the face of right wing legislature designed to destroy history departments—is colleagues I trust and students we train will ultimately get to record and document the legacy of these tyrants and thieves and shape how they are remembered.
January 3, 2026 at 6:10 PM
As a historian one of the few comforts I have right now—and in the face of right wing legislature designed to destroy history departments—is colleagues I trust and students we train will ultimately get to record and document the legacy of these tyrants and thieves and shape how they are remembered.
Reposted by Jeff Rutherford
“Like prime, but with human beings”
December 24, 2025 at 6:17 PM
“Like prime, but with human beings”