Two In The Think Tank - 247 - The Battle For Castle Itter
Episode Date: July 15, 2020Often referred to as the strangest battle of World War II, The Battle For Castle Itter was a daring mission to protect and rescue two former French Prime Ministers, two former military commanders, a N...oble Peace Prize winner and a champion tennis player... all of whom were trapped in an Austrian castle.Buy tickets to our live streamed shows on July 18 + 25, August 1st + 8:https://sospresents.com/catalogSupport the show and get rewards like bonus episodes: patreon.com/DoGoOnPodCheck out our web series: https://www.youtube.com/user/stupidoldchannel Submit a topic idea directly to the hat: dogoonpod.com/Submit-a-TopicTwitter: @DoGoOnPodInstagram: @DoGoOnPodFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/DoGoOnPod/Email us: dogoonpod@gmail.comCheck out our other podcasts:Book Cheat: https://play.acast.com/s/book-cheatPrime Mates: https://play.acast.com/s/prime-mates/Listen Now: https://play.acast.com/s/listen-now/Our awesome theme song by Evan Munro-Smith and logo by Peader ThomasREFERENCES AND FURTHER READING:The Battle For Castle Itter, Stephen Harding:https://www.historynet.com/the-battle-for-castle-itter.htmStephen Harding on ABC’s Nightlife (2019)https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/nightlife/this-week-in-history-battle-for-itter-castle/11083380https://militarywiz.tumblr.com/post/116582883769/castle-itter-the-strangest-battle-of-ww-iihttps://warfarehistorynetwork.com/2019/01/02/when-the-wehrmacht-and-american-gis-joined-forces-to-fight-the-waffen-ss/https://allthatsinteresting.com/battle-for-castle-itter
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This podcast is part of the Planet Broadcasting Network.
Visit planetbroadcasting.com for more podcasts from our great mites. Hello and welcome to another episode of Do Go On. My name is Dave Wannakie and as always
I'm here with Jess Perkins and Matt Stewart.
Hello Dave, hello Jess.
Hello Matt, hello Dave.
We should figure out something something more consistent
to do because Dave is the same at the start of every episode and every time he says I'm
sitting here with Jess and Matt I'm always like what am I going to say. Okay. We should think
of something. We don't have to do it right now. I'm just saying. I mean you've had 247 weeks.
Okay. Yeah. Well, you know, you can always grow, always learn.
Folks, you're on the negative there, Dave't have classic day, negative, Nelly.
I'm sorry, I'm kidding.
I'm kidding.
I'm sorry, I'm kidding.
I'm kidding. I'm kidding.
I'm sorry, I'm kidding.
I'm sorry, I'm kidding.
I'm sorry, I'm kidding.
I'm sorry, I'm kidding.
I'm sorry, I'm kidding.
I'm sorry, I'm kidding.
I'm sorry, I'm kidding.
I'm sorry, I'm kidding.
I'm sorry, I'm kidding.
I'm sorry, I'm kidding.
I'm sorry, I'm kidding.
I'm sorry, I'm kidding.
I'm sorry, I'm kidding.
I'm sorry, I'm kidding.
I'm sorry, I'm kidding.
I'm sorry, I'm kidding.
I'm sorry, I'm kidding.
I'm sorry, I'm kidding.
I'm sorry, I'm kidding.
I'm sorry, I'm kidding. I'm sorry, I'm kidding. I'm sorry, I'm kidding. I'm sorry, I'm kidding. I'm sorry, I'm kidding. I'm sorry, I'm kidding. I'm sorry, I'm kidding. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm kidding. I'm sorry, I'm kidding. I'm sorry, I'm kidding. I'm sorry, I'm kidding. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm kidding. I'm sorry, I'm kidding. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm kidding. I'm sorry, I'm kidding. I'm sorry, I'm kidding. I'm sorry That's exciting. Hey, speaking of being live.
Yes, that's good stuff. That's great.
What are you going? Keep going, keep going.
Live, I was just really just open that up for you because you speak good.
Well, this weekend, we are kicking off our first of four live shows.
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A birthday party.
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A guess.
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Dispatch for guests all that sort of what I don't know was live will be crossing the special guests and
Having a lot of fun and you can get tickets like I said at sos presents calm
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I think oh hang on
Yes, oh, hang on.
Yes.
Oh, well, thank you.
That has checked out.
So please, I'll buy tickets because it is a lot of fun.
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Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it.
It's going to be great.
So you should get tickets and come along.
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But you can also, the episodes are now
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And hello in the future. If planet Earth exists. Yeah, have you got a hover car?
Well, shall we crack on with the show map? What is this show all about?
Well, basically three obvious friends meet each week to learn a little bit about something.
One of the three of us will go away after having a topic suggested
normally by a listener and we'll just read up on it, we'll watch documentaries, we'll
bathe in the knowledge of the topic, bring that knowledge back to the other two and tell
them all about it while they rudely interrupt and, and or new listeners. And this week Dave
is doing the topic I believe and it always starts with the question
What is this week's question Dave? My question to you too is the well basically the question includes the title of the episode
Because you wouldn't get it's one of those ones, but here we go
Well, you still have a shot at getting the question though
And this one is very gettable so okay hands on buzzers. Here we go the battle of castle itter has been dubbed one of the strangest battles of which war?
Bzzz Matt?
Boar war.
Boaaaah!
One of my favorite named wars, but no, Jess.
Um, Star Wars.
Oh, Crimey in war.
Second favorite named war.
It's a great name, isn't it?
Uh, one of the world wars?
It is narrowing down.
Two.
No.
No, it is two, but I was going to give it to Jess.
Because you had so many guesses, but Matt is right.
I was like, it's my father.
No.
Let Jess have a go.
That's funny that we, I mean, I'm like,
it won't be the obvious answer for two.
I was like, it'd be one of those little wars.
No, it is four.
Star. But if I'd asked you, the battle of which castle I was like, I mean, what are those little wars? No, it is not.
But if I'd asked you, the battle of which castle
was dubbed the strangest battle of World War II?
I would have said castle ita.
Yeah, I would have said it.
I know this story incredibly well.
I could do the report without even looking,
but I guess I'll let you have a go then.
Thank you. How do you spell ita?
I-T-T-E-R.
Ita.
Love it. Love that. Tell us more. Well-E-R. Itter. Love it.
Love that.
Tell us more.
Well, this one has been suggested by a few people.
Also voted for by the Patreon.
And if you are a Patreon supporter,
you get to vote for two out of three topics.
And not everyone exercises their right to vote.
And this one was again,
even though there were hundreds of votes,
you only won by a handful.
Wow.
Tight race.
So get in there if you are a Patreon supporter.
I suggested by this topic, thanks so much to Zach
from Buffalo, New York, Stuart from Edinburgh,
Claire from Sacramento, all people that do not trust us
with their last name.
I was expecting that.
Well, I could just say, go...
Bills, go, hearts, and go...
Kings. Wow.
Sacramento Kings, I think.
I thought, yeah. That's right.
Yeah.
I don't know.
How about this one?
We've got two more people that did give us their full names.
And what a name.
Antonio Escuchia, Jr.
Oh my goodness.
From Hanover Park, Illinois.
Illinois.
Well, I know Chicago, Illinois, right?
Is that wrong?
Go Bulls.
Yeah.
Bills and Bulls. all at once. Hello boys
And also this one no challenging one George Chandler
McGinney could he be anymore McGinney?
Royal Lemmington spa. Oh my god
Oh my god, it sounds delicious. I love it. Oh Oh my god, I love it. I want to be there.
I'm picturing it some sort of idyllic paradigm.
I'm picturing like high tea, but in a hot spring.
Oh wow, that sounds so good.
That sounds so good.
If they had a sports team, it would definitely be a polo team.
Yes.
Better play anything else there.
Yes.
The horses do meshed of our sport heavy here. Lost control, that a little bit.
So thanks for the suggestions, team.
Here we go.
Castle Eater, known in German by the much cooler name of Schloss Eater.
Yes, Schloss.
Schloss Eater.
It's a small castle located in the Austrian Alps, a top-a-6666 meter or 2100 foot hill.
So you got to imagine rolling hills,
the beautiful Austrian countryside.
The sound of me.
Basically, it's the sound of music all over again.
With a big castle in it, a little castle, little,
I mean, you say little castle.
Comparatively.
Sure.
A little castle.
Just a small castle, so they've only got 18 bedrooms.
It was a two bedroom, one bar.. Just a small castle. So they got 18 bedrooms. No, it's a two bedroom, I'm not.
It's like my house. Is my house a castle?
Yeah, I'm living a castle. Every man's house is a castle. Whatever that saying is.
A man's house is his castle? Yeah. Not a woman's. No, God no.
There's a palaces. My husband's house is a castle. I'm a landst in. So it's a beautiful location for the strangest battle of the Second World War.
A castle itter itself dates back as a fortress to at least the 13th century small fortress.
Small fortress?
It was rebuilt in 1532, renovated in 1878, and on what I can only imagine was an episode
of escape to the country.
Do you think fortress is a lady fort?
Like princess, princess. Duchess, fortress.
Anything with ass on the end,
makes it a lady v.
EWS, like Gess.
Huh, oh, you're a lady J.
I'm a lady J.
Unic, no, I'm lady J.
You're a lady J.
Oh.
No, EWS, so lady J.
I'm like,
fortress, sorry,
that's all I can think when you said fortress, so I didn't hear the rest of that sentence.
I was renovated in 1878 and escaped to the country, yes.
It actually did become an escape to the country because there was one Airbnb facility
as we talk about here off-mic, but that dream came true because it became a hotel in the early 20th century.
Oh, wow.
But then came the war for the second time.
Austria was annexed,
okay, occupied, for the Nazis in 1938. And in 1940, Castle Itter was rented out to the
German government. It was originally used by the Germans for Adolf Hitler's anti-smoking
campaign. What? Okay. Why did you need a castle for that? Well, they need a headquarters
somewhere. Jesus. They use put their use of castle.
Isn't that a matter?
It feels like they really lost the Nazis weren't great budgeters.
No.
We have a scale hall or something.
Yeah.
And he's smoking, you know, obviously they have, yeah, the budgets have ballooned out.
It's one of the worst things about the whole Nazi thing was they just didn't use funds well.
Yeah. The overheads are awful yeah the
briefing for I could find about this was that they used the castle to print flyers and things for
the anti-smoking cover which of course you need a castle for just the butler to do it they just
got a bunch of printers yeah went out down to office works said how many printers you got
bought half the shop all day that buddy Steve Jobs started Apple out of a shed.
Yeah.
What, your Andy smoking campaign?
Is it a fucking castle?
Come on, mate.
This guy's ridiculous.
You've absolutely lost it.
I think we've set it before and I'm willing to say it again.
Hitler's a bitch.
Yeah, he's a bitch.
You know what?
If I had a time machine, I'd go back and I would get baby Hitler and I'd teach him about budgeting. Yeah
Me too.
Teach him to smoke.
That would have changed everything.
Well, you know if I smoke this entire packet.
Come on, the one.
In 1943 the castle came under the control of the infamous Dashow concentration camp. Dashow was located at 90 miles or
145 kilometers away
and was intended to hold political prisoners,
but over 40,000 people were murdered there,
a truly, truly horrifying,
how many?
40,000 fucking hell, truly horrifying place to be.
But to Castle Etto, which was under the administrative
control of Dashow, was a long way away,
but under the same people.
It was made into a special detention facility run by the SS,
the foremost agency of security, surveillance,
and terror within Germany, and it's occupied countries.
They're really bad, but also, it's two ladies SS, isn't it? Ha. And they were bad.
Too bad ladies.
Too bad ladies.
It's like a fucked up bingo.
88, too bad ladies.
Too bad ladies.
No, that's SS.
Okay.
Right over.
The castle had high medieval walls, surrounded by steep ravines, as well as a dry moat that was crossed on the by a small bridge,
and had a virtually impenetrable gate house.
This meant it was a perfect place
to make an escape proof fortress.
Ooh.
An even better place to have an Andy Smoking campaign
had quartered.
I mean, we gotta keep the smoke out.
They're still working on the Andy Smoking campaign
while they've got people prisoner there.
It's a castle, they're spice.
Yeah, that's right.
I use the West Wing.
It's a small castle.
There's a small advantage.
The second bedroom was the prison,
the first bedroom anti-smoking campaign.
Yeah, that makes sense.
With its escape status, it was designated as a place
for prisoners who had potential value
as hostages.
High profile people that you wanted to keep an eye on and who were worth more to you
alive than dead.
Right.
People you could use to negotiate with the enemy.
Yeah.
Which is the war seemed to be coming to an end for the Germans, seems like it was increasing
in likelihood.
Yeah, okay.
And because of the high profile statuses, high profile prisoners, the inmates' experience
for the most part of prison that was better than most run by the Nazis, especially the
neighboring Dashow.
The POWs, it housed slept in 20 converted guest rooms.
They had food cooked for them, were given cigarettes, in the ex anti-smarty place.
Oh my God.
The irony.
Can you believe that?
They were given wine, could listen to local radio radio or allowed free access to the castle library and could
Exercise in the courtyard. It sounds quite nice. The women could even get their hair done. Get out of town. There was a salon. And all prisons were allowed to go to the local church service
Outside the castle. Oh wow. Okay, impenetrable
Except on Sundays
Most of these high profile prisoners were from France.
These are a few of the inmates.
An or attempt some French names here.
Wish me luck.
Who?
First of all, we have former French Prime Minister,
Edward D'Aleleier, who was the Prime Minister
at the start of World War II.
He'd even signed treaties with Neville Chamberlain Adolf Hitler
and Benito Mussolini
in the late 1930s, but resigned a year into the war. When France was also annexed by
the Germans, he was arrested. So you've got your former country's leader. His replacement
prime minister was Paul Reyno, who was also arrested and present in Castle Litter. He
had tried to flee France with his mistress Helene de Port, quoting from Wikipedia here because I like the writing, they couldn't believe the writing
they used. This is describing his lover, Helene. Okay. A fascist sympathizer, she was very
unpopular. She was described as a middle-aged woman with a shrill voice and a
clamorous demanding manner who chatted like a magpie and lost her temple with ease.
Charles de Gaulle called her a turkey whilst Winston Churchill nicknamed her the and a clamorous demanding manner who chatted like a magpie and lost her temper with ease.
Charles De Gaulle, called her a turkey, was Winston Churchill nicknamed her the parrot.
It's not a bird.
No, it's a...
How bird-like she was.
Because the magpies have a beautiful voice.
I love listening to the magpies.
A wobble.
In the morning.
Love it.
Do you think it sounds like, you know that Tom Homes was in the jury and he had the fake glasses to make it look like it wasn't sleeping like his eyes were open
So Homer this is a meme. I've just created my mind Homer is France. Okay, Homer's France. Yes, the first set of glasses are the first prime minister and the Nazis take them off
And so take them off in the second pair of glasses the second
Prime Minister and then the Nazis, we'll take them as well
Yeah, that could go viral
I can't believe I've never been
Near someone as they've created a meme that was a viral
Viral meme that's gonna go big. I'm gonna be interviewed in the doc all about this bit this viral meme
Yeah, you were there I was there and
interviewed in the dock all about this bit this viral meme yeah you were there I was there and uh or orderably credit the meme to not like hey check this out I just made it you know orderly
Created a viral I'm assuming someone out there will do the the easy bit
I've done the hard work you get the credit thinking of the yeah if they then think about taking a shred of your credit
Now I'm happy to co co, they can put by Matt Stewart and
Dominique Switzen Swats or whatever their name will be, I suppose it'll be
something like that. Oh, it assumes a, yeah. Dominique Switzen Swats. Do you have
some incredible names of people that listen to the show? Like Dominique Switzen Swats.
So with German army approaching, former Prime Minister Reino, who eventually
would get captured and Helene,ane the parents tried to flee by car
But they crashed which are almost to capitated her. Oh my god. Oh my god. She died instantly
Ren and oh fuck when you say almost a capitated. I'm like, whoo. That was a close call
Then you like so she's dead
Makes it a bit harder for me to do any sort of jokes about that. Yeah, I bet I mean like what part of almost a
Capitating and then you go well you just you just don't you duck under something. Oh, right to do any sort of jokes about that. Yeah. I bet I mean, like, what part of almost a capitating?
And then you go, well, you just dig under something.
Oh, right.
I was imagining, like, it didn't quite cut through the whole way.
Oh, my God, that's good.
Yeah, that's awful.
She's gone.
Ray know himself was hospitalized and arrested
on discharge and eventually found himself in Castle,
it does.
And they have two successive prime ministers
locked in a small castle together. Also held at the castle was former supreme commanders of the French Armed Forces,
Maxime Weigand and Maurice Gamalon. So they're both men that were in charge of the army.
Yeah, wow. The two highest ranking military people of France had at the time, both in there as well.
There's trade union leader and future Nobel Peace Prize winner Leon Zhu was there.
This is quite a group of people. Yeah, big names. Marie Agnès de Gaulle, a
resistance fighter and sister of Charles de Gaulle, who was at the time the leader of France
in exile during World War II. Part of it was just that was like, de Gaulle, that rings a bell.
Yes, okay. He was the biggest dog in France. No wonder they were happy to capture his sister. Oh, he was a dog. Oh yeah. Yeah, right.
So we got a parrot.
Now there's a dog.
A big dog.
A big dog.
Oh, sorry.
That's why they named him an airport or a train station after him.
Yeah, a big dog airport.
It's just a big, yeah.
Big dog-intentional airport.
Yeah.
We're the big dogs for.
So she's in there and she was the only reason that her brother was a dog.
Oh, sorry.
That's why they named him an airport or a train station after him.
Yeah, a big dog airport.
She's so big.
Big dog-intentional airport.
Yeah.
We're the big dogs for.
So she's in there and she was the only reason that her brother was still around at all during World War One because Marie herself was responsible for the evacuation of her brother.
Then Lieutenant DeGol, who was badly injured in the war, she saved him by assaulting the opposing trenches.
So she got right in there. Wow. She was a bad ass.
Is DeGol maybe the DeGol airport or train station named after the family or after? the opposing trenches. So she got right in there. Wow. She was a bad ass. Is the goal maybe
is the the DeGol airport or Transation aimed after the family or after? No, I think it's
course Charles Charles DeGol, the National Airport. Yeah, so he's a very, very famous
Frenchman. Charles DeGol, big dog airport. Yeah. So now you've got two extra
ministers, two former French Army heads and also the leader of the actual so the two former French army heads they were decapitated yeah yeah
yeah right went right through went I hurt my eyes then when I rolled them back
I'm rolling back so far that they hurt my eyes I mean that's the camera.
It did look painful. So these are mostly military and
political people so far, but also an inmate was John
Barotra. It was legendary French tennis player, part of the so-called four musketeers,
four French players who dominated tennis in the 20s and 30s.
Bit like the big four today, Federer and Adal,
Djokvich Murray.
They dominated the game for years,
and won 20 Grand Slam titles,
23 Grand Slam doubles between them.
John was the oldest of the four,
and was known as the Bounding Busk.
Oh! I love it all of this.
No, two nicknames already.
He won four Grand Slam singles titles
in the French Australian and all England championships
and a chief of high rank of number two in the world.
He was a big tenor star.
Couldn't hack it in America though,
one three of the four.
I think you made the final in America so close
to doing the slam. To a career,
a career in a slam, a Clanslam.
That's what they called it back then. Yeah, well I'd tell you what I know, So close to doing the career. To a career. To a career. Clanslam. Clanslam.
That's what they called it back then.
Yeah.
Well, I'd tell you what I know.
They used to win the vanquished glands.
They would cut them out of them and wear them as a scarf.
Yeah.
I don't know what a gland looks like.
How much work it would take to make a gland in a scarf.
But it's a different task.
You get enough, you get enough glands.
Yeah.
You can make anything.
Yeah, all right. Oh, I said that. That's a different time. You get enough, you get enough glians, you can make anything. Yeah, all right. Oh, I said that.
That's the right attitude.
So this is the tennis player.
In 1942, at the age of 44, Barotra was arrested by the Gestapo,
and he was first deported to a concentration camp.
But then he was transported to Castle Itta,
not because of his fame as a tennis player,
but because he'd served briefly in the French government
in these sports, such recreation portfolio.
Oh, OK. So he was OK. So the French government in these sports, such recreation portfolio. Oh, OK.
So he was, yeah, OK.
So the Lakers, a government guy,
valuable enough to keep alive in the castle.
There are a few of the main players in the castle,
where there are others.
Some of the wives, girlfriends, and secretaries
of the POWs were imprisoned in the castle
along with their partners and bosses,
including our tennis-playing friend, John's wife.
She was also imprisoned with him.
And because the POWs came from all sides of French politics, many were rivals who hated each
other. Even when you're in prison, can you just drop it? They could not. Wow.
Especially the two former prime ministers who were on opposite sides of
politics. Okay. It was like locking up Obama and Trump together. Right. Two men
opposite sides of politics,
and they very much dislike each other personally
and politically.
OK.
The Prime Minister's had it each other.
They also hated another prisoner, General Weigand,
because he'd been in charge of the French army
when they surrendered to the Germans in 1940
and allowed Hitler to take over the country.
So they hate each other, but then they also, together
as a team, hate this team.
Oh, they thought he should have stuck it out.
Stuck it out a bit longer.
Yeah, I think you tried to enter a bit of a treaty type thing,
and then they were, and then I think once Germany had the power,
they were like, well, I'm gonna arrest you now.
Right, yeah, he didn't realize the Nazis were all that bad,
not to be trusted.
But to them, the Nazis were already known as being like the Nazis even then, right?
Yeah, well they're already invited.
There was that weird early time where the world didn't know and there's photos of,
like didn't Churchill dealt with him and the English, the current queen was doing Nazi salutes for fun and stuff because
of what didn't represent evil yet.
Yeah, but what a wild...
Definitely as a child, you're saying that right?
Yes.
Yeah, isn't there a photo of her as a child?
Maybe, like...
Or maybe it's a sibling for something.
Maybe a hero.
And it's just a wild, it's a wild, because you know, you think Nazi means evil, but as they were coming
up, it obviously wasn't super clear straight away, even though it feels like there were a few
signs.
Yeah, as they were marching into Paris to take it over, I think it was pretty sick.
They were like, let's see what they go with this.
They might have some nice ideas.
They might just want to pay their respects to the Mona Lisa,
and they might keep going.
Maybe they've brought cake.
You don't have a brought cake.
All right, well, maybe this wasn't a good idea.
No.
We thought they might have had some black forest cake.
A lot of them in black forests.
You've got a red velvet in there, that's my fave.
Oh.
Cheesecake for me.
Now, the prisoners formed groups based on their political views
and stuck to them, often being more at odds with each other than with their German
captors. They ate at separate tables, so it was all very mean girls in there.
There's different clicks. That's what you have to understand.
Apparently, yeah, there was there was three clicks. I believe three main
clicks. There was the two political prime ministers in there, the people that were
on either their sides,
and then there was a third group that weren't
locked by all either of them.
Which, the Goths, forget it.
So that sounds like our podcast.
When we go to a cafeteria, each of our three clicks
sit at a different table.
I'm the Goths.
You look great in eye makeup.
So there was also one Yucca could love political prisoner named Zunami
Kukovic
Thankfully for me known among the prisoners as Andre great well
From here out you're referring to him as Andre. I want to call him the cook
Yeah, big time cook of it. Kukovic. Kukovic. Love that. I'd call him the cook. Yeah, the cook
That's a great.
Captain Cook.
Maybe.
Very good.
Like, cook, I suppose.
Or hook.
Yes.
Or cook.
There's a lot of captains in that world.
A lot of them.
The four letter ending with
the world.
Yeah.
Do you say, Kirk yet?
Yeah.
That's how it began.
Oh, sorry.
I'd just been out.
Did you think you thought of that?
Does your in a monues sound like Jess?
No, I was trying to, I was looking at an upcoming word
that I'm like, oh, I think I've worked out a way
to not say it.
I love that, love that quick on the fly editor.
Oh, too hard.
Too hard.
And then the depacking of it before we ever get into it.
Yeah, the big run up to it. Here we go.
So Andre had been transferred. This is the political prisoner from
Yugoslavia. The cook. As was known.
He's been transferred from a dachshal, the much worse concentration camp to work as an
electrician for the castle. Oh, that's it. Yeah, so massive upgrades. It's also getting an income now.
Right. So that's good. Thank you, Ivan.
I doubt they were paying him. Do you have a van?
Yeah, I got him a van. So you have an ABN?
Yeah, I'll put it for that.
Who's doing his bass?
Oh, yeah, I mean that's the thing now. He's got, maybe he's got a better gig,
but he's got to work out his tax.
I like the bass. Yeah, we've got a computer in the corner with MIOB.
Counting software, there you go. I like it. Yeah, we got a computer in the corner with MIOB.
Counting software, there you go.
One of the big two, but there's new players in town.
Zero's there now.
Yeah.
Used to be all about MIOB and what's the other one?
I forget.
MIOC?
MIOC?
Am I okay?
I'm having in high school.
It's been a while.
Excel.
Spread your...
No!
Was it it? No.
Not funny.
I don't think it was a jagger.
Right, so we'll talk a bit more about Andre later.
I just wanted to introduce you to our good friend Andre.
A lot of him, the electrician.
He's got a part in this story.
Don't you worry about Andre.
And as for the German side of things, Sebastian Vimmer,
or Vimmer of the SS, was given command of the
prison, and he was also given 25 people to guard the castle. Okay. These were all
men who had previously guarded concentration camps, and even they were
glad to be away from the horrors of the death camps. Yeah, bet. Even if they were
the ones inflicting the death. Yeah, yeah, okay. Never really thought about it
from that point of view either. Yeah, yeah I was watching an interview with historian talking about how even for them because at this castle
It's quite nice, but even when they're at the concentration camp
There's surrounded by there's no way to get away from it. Yeah, you are on the oppressive side. Yeah, I'd be which I also had never thought of but still
Fuck those guys. Oh big time, but you know, I'd never really thought about that,
that wouldn't be a very nice job, would it?
Arguably.
What's that?
Being a guard of the concentration camp?
No, that would fucking suck.
Yeah.
And these were all, I'd say,
him, yeah, there would be even worse to be inside
the concentration camp.
I, yep, I reckon you're right there.
Quick books was the other one moving on.
Did you look it up? Yes. That was the one I learnt in Year 12 as well.
Oh wow. Well, so I've just, that's all the players in this story. Okay. It's a
real rabble of the who's who who french political life and military life and they're squabbling about and this is one of a couple
of years that that's the way of life and they've been with the wives in their
secretaries is confusing
well if i'm going she's got a com with me because i don't i can't keep track of
anything
it and so you know this is normally the set up in the film where it's a rag tag
band but this is like whatever the opposite of rag tag is
It's a soup tag
So tag rag
Tag rag
What did you say?
Soup soup tag
Soup tag
sort of a rag tag
It's a beautiful fabric
Thank you tag
But it's yeah, it's like it feels but not necessarily all that many, if they're making
a big escape, it's not like, oh, they've got all the skills covered like in a class
film.
Yeah, that's right.
We need a guy that can do back flips.
How about someone who knows how to talk to ambassadors from other countries?
Yeah.
Are they going to be important here?
Well, I've got a secretary.
Yeah, that Christian got a secretary.
Yeah, like Kisham might be handy.
Yeah, well, let me just say that the two most important people in the story are not the political people.
Yeah, okay.
Not only that.
Somehow.
Obviously they've got practical skills too.
And Ben, President, is not their value.
But it sounds like they maybe don't have any values in terms of getting out of a castle. Yeah, that's right.
So life went on like this for a couple of years.
The prisoners were squabbled with each other daily
and got used to them and not in this routine.
But they noticed that life began to change in 1944
and even more so in 1945.
Food became more scarce for both the guards and the prisoners
as did fuel for the generators.
OK.
So I'm using doing a lot more stuff by candlelight.
The French captives took the lack of supplies as a sign
that the Germans were losing the war outside the walls.
But began to worry what would happen to them.
Maybe they would no longer be worth more alive than dead.
Yeah.
You can't afford to feed your own people
why are you gonna keep sending stuff to these fat cats?
The truth was, outside the castle by early 1945, Nazi Germany was on the
verge of total military collapse. The Soviet army had retaken Poland and were closing in on Berlin.
Hitler retreated to his bunker in Berlin in January 1945 and on April 30th with the Soviets
less than 500 meters away and knowing always lost, he shot and killed himself
April 30th, 1945.
Now during the weeks leading up to this time,
Castle Itter had become a stopover for SS guards
who were fleeing often with stolen loot.
Edward Vita, who was then in charge of the Dashr Death Camp,
it was a horrific person, arrived one night,
bragged about, oh, I've just executed a lot of people and then killed himself too.
And that's when everyone's looking around going, what the hell's happening out there?
Right.
Panicking.
A few days later the guy in charge of Castle Itter, Sebastian Vimmer saw this and was like,
oh fuck this, I'm out of here.
So he and his wife ran away on May 4th and his 25 guards saw this and were like, well, fuck it.
We're out of here too. So they all left leaving the French prisoners alone in the castle. And you're like, great.
The war's ending. They're free to go. Just go home. But it's not that simple.
There were still SS units in the area surrounding the castle. It's as forest and stuff all around the castle. Few towns and the SS could be anywhere.
They were the Nazi die-hards, people that were going to fight until the bitter end.
And it had been ordered to kill thousands of prisoners to cover up the atrocities that the regime had inflicted.
There are stories of the local Austrians and villages who were not a fan of the Nazis when they came in.
And now they're seeing them collapse. They're like, this is good. They're hosting white flags, hoping to be liberated by American soldiers when they come through.
Only for small groups of SS to get there and hang these civilians on light poles to
fuck any early surrenders.
Oh, that is, I don't know why that everything's been brutal, but that is fucking fuck.
Because there were, I think these Austrian locals
are worried that the Americans will come through
and also treat them hearts like they're seen as collaborators.
But really, they're like, oh, we never liked them.
Yeah, yeah, please save us.
I'm just a baker.
Oh, bloody hell.
Inside the castle, they knew it was too risky
to make a break for it, and also that they probably
didn't have enough time to wait to be liberated.
They'd have to at least defend themselves. So they broke into the weapons room
of the now deserted castle and armed themselves with pistols rifles and even a
few submachine guns. Has the chef gone as well? Now they've got to feed themselves.
That is absolute horseshoes. Oh my god. I've grown accustomed to a certain
lifestyle in prison and now you just happen to go.
Where's your obligation?
Where's your four weeks notice?
Yeah, where's the librarian?
I've been in line for a few hours trying to check out this book here.
Where's the hairdresser?
I've got regrowth.
I look terrible.
Well, I'm going to be captured again.
I want to look terrible. Well, I'm going to be captured again. I want to look good.
The four men that especially had each other have formed
with prime ministers and two army commanders had to put aside their differences
and come up with a plan to survive.
So finally, they've shut the fuck up.
After way together.
This is when they turn to everyone's favorite electrician
turned political prisoner, Andre.
The cake. The cake. The cake. one's favorite electrician turned political prisoner, Andre. Andre.
The cake.
The cake.
The cake.
He volunteered to go and get help.
So he took a letter in French and English that outlined the plot of the castle.
I managed to slip away on the pretense of running an errand
because he was able to travel more easily as he was an electrician.
Yeah, I did van.
He had a van. 1-800-Doller Sparky.
And everyone's sorry when it went, ah, good.
We needed an electrician.
Sparky's here.
Very good.
On your way, sir.
So he had an excuse if he got stopped by the Germans.
I'm just going for an errand.
But having said that, if they found the letters on him,
they would have shot him then and there.
So he's also received his life.
With that in mind, he stole the bicycle and rode into town.
Okay, so he doesn't have a van.
No, no, he does.
He just wanted to, you know, pedal it out a bit.
He's an end-to-end-to-lexicizer as well, I get that.
He was very lucky to come across a major SEP gangl.
Stop it.
SEP gangl.
Fantastic.
SEP is good.
Gangl is incredible.
Gangle.
Gangle.
That sounds like some kind of like a little gadget, you know?
A gangle.
I was thinking it sounds like something you don't want to catch.
No, it sounds like it's got a positive ring to make.
Yeah, gangle.
I'm going to just see a gangle, like a gadget, a positive ring.
Like a dongle, you know?
Sounds like a gangle.
Well, maybe something you'd call your balls, gangles.
Yeah, dangling, dangling, gangles.
Yeah, one something's gone wrong.
Tilt me in the gangles.
Oh, my goulies.
Yeah.
My gangoulies.
My gangoulies.
There we go.
I knew we'd get there eventually.
So, our, our, our, our,
bike riding electrician comes across,
made us have gangle of the Varemacht,
which was the unified forces of the German army,
which on paper doesn't sound like someone you want to run into.
But unlike the diehard SS soldiers,
lots of the Varemacht by the end of the war were conscripts,
and they didn't necessarily want to keep fighting a war
that they were certain that any day now, they're about to lose.
I also had an historian say that these people were scared that they did not want you don't want to be the last person killed in a battle because it's like you were so close to everyone.
Bang, shot that guy. Alright, we surrender, you'd be like, fuck off.
Come on! What was that close?
You're saying that what as a ghost hovering above your body?
Fantastic. Just like you just being knee capped or something. You're like, oh god save. Come on
Set Gangel he wasn't a conscript however. He was a career member of the Fairmark having been a soldier since 1935
But when the orders came through to shoot every male member of a household that waved a white flag
He and his men stayed in the town to protect the people from these reprisals
and at the same time ignored an order to withdraw.
He was like, we are not doing that.
So he'd already defied his command with Andre when Andre wrote up to him
and told him of the French former political prisoners trapped in the castle.
Whether Sep saw this as an opportunity to help some high-ranking
French people and make himself in his unit look good, or if you just wanted to help people,
it's unclear.
But he did.
Bit of Colourmay, bit of Colourmay.
Exactly.
Nothing wrong with, you know, doing the right thing and also there being a bit of a gain
to it.
And I already do like this guy because he had...
SEP gangled, yes.
Name SEP gangled.
I need to protect these Austrian people from the needless death.
So he agreed to help.
The only problem was he only had about 20 soldiers left who were loyal to him.
And he didn't feel like this was enough to liberate and then protect an entire castle.
So Gangel, a German guy wanting to help, grabbed a giant white flag and approached the closest
battalion of American soldiers. Who are the 23rd Tank Battalion of the US 12th Armored Division
led by Captain Jack Lee.
Wow, thought it was gonna be sparrow.
So honestly Lee is a little disappointing.
Oh, I don't wanna let you down, cause this guy's cool.
Jack Lee.
Jack Lee.
It's pretty underwhelming name.
Jack Lee, that's solid.
Jack Lee.
Jack Lee.
I'm proud New Yorker. I I mean I'm sure Jack's great. I'm sure I'll grow to love his name. Yeah, but right now I'm
Jack I'm Jack solid
The Jack Knoth
Okay, now I'm listening Jack Hammer Jack Hammer the hammer the hammer of peace
Jackhammer Jackhammer the hammer the hammer of peace
Tell me more about Jack Lee well
Set Gangle explained his plot to Jack Lee
And you know minutes before this they were bitter enemies. Yeah, American people
They're being a pretty gung-ho guy Jack the story, and he agreed to help lead a rescue mission.
But I mean, this is a guy approaching you from the enemy.
Would you not sort of have the thought that maybe it's a setup?
Oh.
Apparently, Wade Whiteflake spoke to a subordinate,
like a low ranking person, and the guy's like,
we've got to tell the boss this story.
Yeah.
It's two form primers over there. Goes up to Jack's like all right I'll hear this
guy out and then they brought him in. Yeah okay. I'm like I like you. I'm gonna help you.
So he organized four in four German sherman tanks, sorry, and some soldiers
to man them and combined with gangles soldiers they now had about 36 men. Okay.
Okay. And some tanks. And some tanks. In terms of it being a setup,
you think like as the,
like their war if it's falling apart,
they probably don't have time to do pranks.
Yeah.
And yeah.
It's probably a bit pointless.
It's not enough to win.
It's a bit pumped.
Yeah, yeah.
We go there and like put a banana peel down
and watch the take leave all over.
Now watch a tank fall over.
So I got that tank.
They can go through any of the except bananas.
It's all slip and slide all over the shop.
It's the kryptonite.
It's crazy.
The whole tank flips.
Tank's on its lid now.
It's crazy.
No.
Good luck getting out of there.
Is there an emergency door underneath?
Yeah, if it's well built.
Because I know the numbers are about. Is that not as well built?
Oh yeah. Okay, so there's probably a little safety door. That's good. So they're ready
to lead a rescue mission. Dave, can I do mind if I interrupt you right there?
Well, I mean, we're about to do a sweet kick-ass rescue mission, but yeah, it feels like
the perfect time. It's going to be a rescue mission. Jess, what are you trying to make
a cliffhanger scenario?
Well, I just, I wanted to talk to you guys about something.
Okay.
Let's hear it out.
I'm not sure.
Mikes up?
Mikes down.
How personal is this?
Oh, mikes up.
Okay.
So the other day, right, I was having to,
I was googling some stuff on Google,
on my computer, on my laptop that I own.
And I was sort of thinking, this isn't exactly stuff that I want other people to see on my
screen.
You know what I mean?
I could read into that what you will.
All right.
And now I know what you're thinking, just pop it in an incognito mode.
Yes, surely you did that.
Well let me tell you something incognito mode.
Doesn't hide your activity.
What's the point of it then?
Very little.
It doesn't matter what you, what modes you use
or how many times you clear your browsing history,
your internet service provider, iiNet,
can see everything that you're looking at.
I'm just using iiNet's mind, for example.
How did you know I use iiNet?
Are you, are you from iiNet?
Yeah, and I know what you've been looking up, mate.
Oh, no, how can I stop that?
Well, that's why even when I'm at home,
I never go online without using ExpressVPN.
Well, that makes sense.
I was gonna say, David, I don't know why you're surprised.
We've been sponsored by ExpressVPN a few times.
When are you gonna get the message?
Well, I didn't realize that that's what they did,
but I am very lucky.
But I've been using, I researched this report using ExpressVPN.
Thank you.
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So the reinforcements are on the way to liberate this castle.
And they've got the head four tanks.
They dropped off a couple along the way to help protect the entrance to an Austrian city.
They're sharing the tanks around.
And then they headed to the castle.
They had to cross a bridge wired with explosives
and encountered some
SS men on the way who were setting up a roadblock who were like what the fuck
when a tank came around the corner. And the men on top open fire and the
soldiers just ran into the forest. So they decided there's just a few SS men
they sussed out and went there's like 30 of them and a few tanks we probably
can't take them.
Oh no, they did take them, yeah.
Oh no, the SS men were like, oh.
Yeah, SS men were like, let's run, I reckon.
They were just caught by surprise
because I think it was round a bend.
I was literally reading and then the tank comes round
and they're like, you know, you'd hear it a little bit
but they come round and they've got men on top
with machine guns plus the tank's gun.
And they're like, nah.
Nah.
I mean, the war's not worth it anymore.
But by the time they got to the castle, they only like nah, nah. I mean the wall's not worth it anymore. By the time they
got to the castle they only had one functioning tank. So you've down from four to one tank and
they had to carefully back it reverse it. Yeah. Over the rickety bridge in front of the castle.
Which you've got four guys on each side. Just got a little bit, little bit, little bit, it's right. Yeah, unless you're driving a Jess then just,
no need.
Straight in.
I take it out of the way boys.
I got this.
Oh, I mean, it's the only time you'd be scared to park a tank.
Any other time you like, well, I'm coming off.
I'm coming off better than anything else here,
but they had to do it over a rickety bridge.
They weren't sure if it would hold
and it had a steep ravine underneath.
Oh my God.
That's scary though. No, that'd be awful. Just leave the tank there. Lock it. Like take the keys with you.
I don't know why the roadrun is there but remember where you parked it and then just wander in.
Put a park in front of Castle Leader. Okay, yeah, I just built a little ramp and just jump the ravine.
Yeah. How fast can tanks go? Pretty quick, yeah. Especially the East days, my god. build a little ramp and just jump the ravine. Yeah! That would have been so fast.
How fast can tanks go?
Pretty quick, Eric.
Yeah.
Especially these days, my god.
Cool.
Yeah.
But they do slip easily.
Yeah, banana peels.
Everyone's got a kryptonite.
So they made it to the castle and inside it first the French VIPs
who had stoked to have some help arrive.
They're like, finally, our lunch.
Here we are, God.
Where is the caviar?
Is that tank full of caviar?
They were quickly disappointed with what they saw though.
Being VIPs, that expected the entire US Army
to come and rescue them.
And what they discovered, they had really turned up
was one tank, seven American soldiers,
and about 14 Germans, who were still the enemy.
They were like, what the hell is this guy doing?
Got ungrateful.
So ungrateful.
They backed a tank over a rickety bridge for you.
We little shits.
You'll say thank you and you'll get in the tank.
I mean, that's how I assume they get them out in the tank.
No.
How many people can get in a tank?
The tank I've seen a photo of, the
Sherman is not very big. I'm guessing four military historians are getting contact, I'm
sure now. I'm actually a Sherman tank has seats for five. So you idiot unless you
meant four, not including the driver, in which case you are correct. That's what I meant.
It was straight on the tree, so it had a bench seat.
You can actually squeeze in a small child in the front middle.
It's the tarargo of the tank world.
How many of your social distancing are there?
How to do in a tank?
So Gangle, the German, he was very nice to the French VIPs.
And he's the one that they don't like, because they're like,
this is a German guy, you're an enemy.
But Lee was an American badass and didn't have time for this shit
and quickly jumped into action, organizing food and beds for his soldiers
and better yet a survival strategy for them all.
Now one of the former promenes is remembered Lee in his autobiography.
He wrote, quote, he was as crude in both looks and manners.
But at least he gets results, dammit.
Has this been a movie?
That's a character from an old movie.
He gets results.
He may be a little unorthodox,
but he gets results.
He gets results, dammit.
Lee took the tank.
Nick named Bessotten Jenny.
Bessotten, okay.
I don't want to get in that tank.
I am Bessotten by Jenny.
Jenny, you know Jenny is a female donkey.
Ah, is that what they call it?
Because this tank is badass.
Is that a pun?
I loved that.
What's through my head back?
You've got Whiplash.
Ow!
That quip hurt.
That's quip hurt.
That's quip.
Give me a quip.
Quip lash.
That's good fun.
So Lee took the tank, nicknamed Besottenten Jenny and manned by members of the all African-American
company, company D, the 17th Armored Infantry Battalion, and they parked it in front of
the gate of the castle.
Good.
Basically, you got to get through the tank to get into the castle.
He didn't have enough transport, this is Lee, to move everyone out.
So his plan was to stay inside the castle until reinforcements arrived.
Which is kind of the, that's the whole purpose of a castle, isn't it? You're safe inside. He hoped that between the tank and the
three feet thick stone walls of the castle, that they'd be able to hold out just long enough.
Okay. They didn't have to wait long to find out though, just after 11 o'clock that evening,
Waffen SS troops in the hills opened fire on the castle with rifles and machine guns,
so the baddies are here. Yeah, right
Fucking give up our souls. I know you've got nothing Hitler's topped himself. Yeah, it's done. It's over. It's over
What is what is what are you fighting for now?
If it was world domination before now is it just because you're an absolute
Probably okay to say. He waits for permission, like a polite dog waiting for permission to eat food.
It's a case by case basis. Sometimes we say, don't do it.
I'll allow it.
And sometimes you'll hear people say, I was just following orders.
It's like, well, what are you doing now?
The guy giving the orders is dead.
Do you reckon it's just that they'll just go out fighting
because if they're captured or if they sort of surrender now,
they're gonna be killed, right?
Well, that's what they're for, yeah.
Yeah, because they're quite bad.
Yeah, I'll be picking your
God making your best case to him. Yeah. And crossing your fingers that there's an
after-life at that point probably. I think God would probably see through it. Oh
now now you're very nice. Oh that was a very nice prayer. Gotta say one of the best
I've heard today. It would have to be one of the besties ever. Yeah and even
there need be like you're still a piece of religion
That's all you have to you just have to apologize and ask for forgiveness
But I think you're a I think you're a main it and I might be a bit too transparent if you just like I'll wear battle lose
Sorry, sorry, sorry
No, take back these
Inside the castle the Americans and Germansned their guns and returned fire all night.
By the following morning, around 150 to 200 SS troops had massed to besiege castle itter.
So there's about, you know, including the people inside, 30 to 40.
And now there's 200 people outside trying to kill them.
How do they know?
There's something, I was just like, okay, they're going to wait for reinforcements.
What do you do?
Text them? No. So how do reinforcements know to come?
So how did all these SS people know
to go to the castle?
Do you know what I mean?
Does that make sense?
Right, why did they even know
if someone was going on there?
I think they have poked a big tank out the front,
maybe, and they maybe were noticed on their way through.
Yeah, they shot up a bunch of people on the way in.
Oh yeah, that might have done it.
Oh yes, that is true.
They run, yep. They know those people that they shot at ran into the forest. Probably to get, to in. Oh yeah, that might have done it. Oh yes, that is true. They're running.
There are those people that they shot at
ran into the forest.
Probably to get to tell people, yeah, okay,
yep, that does make me feel more sense.
And then yeah, I guess they just hope the word gets around
to someone from their side to come get them.
Yeah, or I guess eventually the Americans are whoever
would be sweeping through.
Yeah, so Americans are sweeping through and they're hoping
inside that they can hold on long enough,
but they don't know how to do it.
And then they put the American at the front to say,
hey, I'm New York in here.
They're cool.
They're cool.
They're with me.
It's good New York accent.
Yeah, I'm New York in here.
They're with me.
They're with me.
So the SS had set up 150 to 200 troops, setting up
a deadly 88 millimeter
anti tank gun and a 20 millimeter anti aircraft flat gun on a hill 700 meters away. So they
also brought in serious firepower.
Whoa.
At dawn's things got very serious because that's when the shelling of the castle started.
One of the rooms that was previously a room of one of the French people was completely
destroyed.
Thankfully, he was not in at the time and just as the tank
parked in front of the gates was preparing to fire at the SS it too was
shelled and it exploded just seconds after the men on board were able to
escape whoa so they lost their tank right and that's when the SS began to charge
on the castle no running towards the main gate and also trying to find a rear entrance
so some people went round.
See the back door.
That would rear admiral.
So it's funny, a funny image of these idiots running at a castle.
And it's bouncing off the front.
Yeah.
Oh, I can't.
That didn't work.
This castle is wily.
Thought I could sneak up on it.
The US and Germans soldiers inside fired back,
inflicting many casualties from the higher ground.
So that's one of the other things.
They've got the protection of the castle.
Shot, shot, shot, you know, hiding behind the ramparts.
The two former PMs and two former French generals
refused to stay in the basement as they'd ordered to be,
and they came up to fight
They had all thought in world were one and weren't gonna back down now
So at first jack Lee was like wait you're the other people we're here to protect you hide down there And they're like well fuck that yeah, we'll fight
I'd be like I'll sit I'll sit up here. You know, so I'll be in the salon if you need me reading old woman's days
I'll be in the salon if you need me. Reading old woman's days.
Do you have a time for manicure?
Many pitty?
Many pitty.
Can you self-serve?
Do you have self-servancy?
I'm going to do it myself.
I'll take one of the old presidents with me.
You can do it.
Jacques Chirac.
Who was?
Jacques Chirac.
Is now a manicurist.
Several of the Varemarked Insight,
who were the Germans that have changed sides,
they were killed inside the castle.
Oh man.
By the SS people shooting out the castle and shelling them.
Oh, so just unlike, or they, how did that happen?
Basically unlucky.
Right, that it just happened to knock off all the Germans.
Yeah, including Major SEP gangles.
No, not SEP gangles.
It was shot in the head by a sniper.
Whoa.
Oh, it almost feels like they're the ones there after the most.
And we follow because they're basically traitors.
And really they're like, I reckon traitors get a bad rap.
Yeah.
But in this case, it feels like.
Oh, I'm on team traitors.
Yeah, big time. I would have traded earlier.
I'm trying to save lives.
You don't.
You do.
You do.
I want to be on the right side of history, I'll you piece of shit.
So SEP gangles dead, I'm afraid.
So he's the very much guy that I remember initially agreed to help the castle in the first
place, so without him and without Andre, they wouldn't be rescued at all.
Speaking of Andre, major John Kramerz,
who's an American man who'd also been approached by Andre
and early on but had agreed to help
but he'd been sideline with wrapping up some other fighting.
He was now preparing reinforcements for the castle.
He said, yep, yep, I'll help out.
And then he got distracted by something.
But he looks up ahead a few miles away and says, see, the, I'll help out. And then he got distracted by something. But he looks up ahead a few miles away and says,
see, is the castle is being shot at.
And he's like, what's going on?
We've got to get there.
He had no idea what was going on inside.
So he desperately tried to radio Jack Lee, his colleague.
But he couldn't get onto him.
He wasn't answering the radio.
So he couldn't get onto him.
That wasn't till one of the Austrian locals
took him to a local town hall, which had a telephone.
And he simply rang the castle.
No way.
That's how he's-
For the phone, that's ringing out of nowhere.
What's that?
Hello?
A castle litter?
And that's how he's-
Castle litter, Jack Lee speaking.
John Crames, like, Jack, it's major cramers.
I'm coming.
He got on to lead, but he didn't have great news for him.
The SS hadn't yet breached the castle, but they were closing in and inside they were running
out of ammunition, so they needed help fast.
But getting into the castle wasn't that straight, well getting to the castle for Kramer wasn't
that straight forward.
The extra US soldiers had to wind through local war-torn streets and through the forest.
So it's not like, oh, there's the castle, I'll be there in half an hour.
You had to find a way to get to it.
So inside the castle with things very desperate,
Jack Lee, our general accepted a proposal
from tennis star, John Barotra.
Okay.
Oh, I hope it brings in tennis skills.
I hope it's like a tennis racket and some grenades.
Yeah, I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll log a grenade.
Top spin lob. I'm very to record in some grenades. Yeah, I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll love a grenade. Topspin lob.
I'm very accurate.
Yeah, I'll inside out forehand this grenade.
He's like a hawk eye, like standing on top of a building, just like shooting behind him,
like he just knows where everything is.
That's him with a, that he's like, I have my tennis racket.
I've got a couple of aces still up my sleeve. His proposal, it's pretty
amazing. His proposal was to leap the castle walls and then run to the extra soldiers outside
and then guide them back to the castle. Sure. Okay, the leaping part. Tell me more about
that. And then, and the SS people are still outside the castle. Oh yeah. Okay. So the
form it's going to just run through the enemy to get some help.
After jumping a wall that is a castle impenetrable wall,
leaping it.
Yep.
Okay.
He's very athletic.
So he's like,
I hang on, when you said before about the castle walls,
you said three foot, they're three foot thick.
Yes.
I was thinking three foot wide.
I was like, I could do it.
I could leap up.
I could do it.
Yeah, SS are like, we just can't find a way.
They can see you over and up to their chest.
They're like, so it's really, three foot thick.
We put quite a thick.
Yes.
Nearly a meter thick, but more than a meter tall.
That's good.
That is, okay.
Now I'm happy because the SS can't get in as much,
but I'm a little worried
about this tennis target over that fence.
Now he's in a leap.
He's got a big run up, he just jump it.
So it's supposed to be flopped.
Rorotra, the former tennis star, now in his late 40s, but still extremely fit.
Quietly, slipped out of the castle during a lull in the intense firing.
No way.
So he jumped off a smaller part of the wall.
He did jump off it.
Ran across 40 meters of open ground.
No.
Oh, shit.
People with like anti-aircraft machine guns pointed at the cusp.
Speaking of bad ass.
There they go for it.
He ran through 40 meters of open ground,
alluded several groups of SS soldiers
and then disappeared into the woods.
No way.
Oh, that's wild.
So he was off to try and find the incoming US soldiers.
Basically, he's the castle's last hope.
Imagine the adrenaline.
That feels like one of those ones that is too risky to even attempt.
Yeah.
And you'd be able to see him too.
You'd, that'll be watching him.
He was wearing his tennis warts. Yeah. Back then you weren't allowed to wear Kal. Yeah. And you'd be able to see him too. You'd, that all be watching him. He was wearing his tennis warts.
Yeah.
Back then you weren't allowed to wear colors camouflage.
I should've wimbleed in, I don't think so.
No, I don't think so.
Front and front, the queen, please.
So, yeah, and, I mean, the castle's there, so it must be so hard to get to if they didn't
think they'll just, they'll find it eventually.
Yeah.
And is this during the day, or is it night time?
I'm not sure if he jumped off during the day or the night.
That on-picturing the day.
Oh, I was picturing night and I was like,
that's amazing, but daytime is like next level balls.
But daytime, that's when they'd least expected.
Yeah.
They just running across.
Oh my god.
Imagine watching from the castle you last hope,
and if you had been machine gunned, you'd be like,
oh.
Yeah.
Oh.
But he was off. Stephen Harding who
was a US military journalist who would go on to write a book on this fight called
The Last Battle wrote this in an article for historynet.com that I will link to
it's a very great article on Barotra being off and inside the castle this is
what Harding writes about Lee quote Lee began planning what he and his shrinking command would do
if the relief force didn't show up in time.
The solution was literally medieval.
The defenders and the French notables
would withdraw into the castle's massive keep.
They would use their few remaining rounds of ammunition,
their bayonets, and even necessary, their fists
to make the SS man fight for
every stairwell, every hallway, every floor.
Wow.
Bad ass.
But back to my words, the SS attackers continued to advance, sensing that they were close
to victory.
By the afternoon, a German anti-tank team was coming into position to blow up the fortresses
main gate with rockets.
It was not looking good for the people in the castle. But then suddenly,
they came fire from behind the Germans. It's behind you. War is a pantobime.
Tennis? Was it tennis grenades? Yes. Is it our man? man he runs he goes and finds the Americans he's like
I want to picture him so the Americans are up there and he's
Strattling the gun on the tank and he's leading him out. Oh mate, you're going to love this.
So fire fight starts coming from behind the Germans.
So behind the SS is confusing because it's two groups of Germans.
But behind the baddies outside, Jenny's sister tank,
remember we had Jenny before, this one called Bosch Buster.
Love it.
A company by a company of American infantry
was riding into the rescue.
They were later joined by troops from the 142nd Battalion
led by our tenor star Jean Barotre,
now sporting an American uniform.
Yes!
Bad ass, he was literally leading them to the castle.
That's it.
He's not a soldier, he's not American,
but they were like, fuck it, let's give this guy a uniform.
He was not the two in the world, okay?
Yeah, it's like when Roger Federer would like
meet the troops or something.
He's an honorary uniform for you.
The SS realized it was all over and many fled,
but over 100 were captured.
Calids.
Very much so.
Nazi Germany surrendered three days later on May 8.
Inside the castle, the relieved French VIPs
were quickly sent back to Paris.
And this is what happened after the war.
The two former PMs would return to politics.
The German Vermacht, the people that had helped the Americans,
despite the fact that fought with US soldiers,
were still taken in as prisoners of war.
They were put inside a POW cage, which I didn't know that was, POW cage, which is essentially an open field
surrounded by barbed wire. So you can't escape, whilst their histories were investigated.
And if they weren't war criminals or Nazi members, they were then released.
Okay. So they had to do it. Still had to do a bit of background check on them.
Surely that these guys had helped would, you know,
it would look good on your resume.
Yeah, on your prison resume.
Yeah.
Your prison may?
Hahaha.
They, they, they, but they could have been,
there's, they could have been real pragmatic bad guys who were like,
if I just do one last good thing.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
So I guess as they had to check, but.
Had to check.
It's a good song, I'd say. Yeah. Jean Barotra, our heroic tennis star. Crazy. Returned to professional
tennis after the war. No. Despite his age and did not retire until 1956 at the age of 58.
He played until he was 58. I will say he didn't win any more grand slam after the war but
still he kept playing. Yeah just to playing It's something like to qualify for events and stuff. Yeah, that would that well and truly be seniors
Yeah, absolutely
Mary Agnes Charles the gold sister was awarded the with the Legion of honor in 1975 in recognition of her work with a French resistance
Again, she was a freakingin' badass. Andrei, a heroic handyman, such electrician, returned to Yugoslavia where he set up an
electrical business in Belgrade.
Did he finally get a van?
I reckon he would have got a van.
And he kept in contact with several former French POWs from the castle.
That's nice.
Little still friends.
Cep Gangel, who sadly was the one who was shot by the sniper, after the Battle of Castel
Ita, Major Gangel's body was buried at a cemetery nearby in Austria. Today he is regarded
as a national hero in Austria for his efforts to aid the resistance and protect Austrian
citizens during the last days of the war. So as much as he's remembered for this battle
in the castle, also when he was ordered to shoot people in the town that were defecting and he said, I'm not letting
that in. I want to do that, yep. The locals there still reverium is a hero for that.
Jack Lee, for his extraordinary heroism, Captain Lee was awarded the Silver Star and the distinguished
service cross and was finally given his promotion to the rank of Captain. Sadly, he struggled
with PTSD after the war,
as many of these brave soldiers did,
but to finish on Jack Lee with one more line
from Stephen Harding's article,
quote, a few months before his death in January 1973,
he was asked by a reporter in Norwich
how he felt about the long ago incident.
Lee thought for a minute and then replied,
well, it was just the damnedest thing.
I love an understatement.
Yeah.
I would say that when like I accidentally bought two things of eggs, you know,
I'm like, that's a deadest thing. What am I like?
What am I like? He's like, I saved a bunch of people.
What was the deadest thing?
Amazing. What a story.
Now, yes, the Battle of Castlider is one of the last of the entire World War II.
Yeah.
Is considered one of the strangest battles of the entire war because it's probably the only engagement in which US and German trips fought on the same side.
And also the fact you've got the Prime Ministers, the tennis player running for it, is just considered a very, very strange battle.
Did you say what the tennis player got?
Did he, he must have got some handy awards for that run?
I don't remember, reading about him being given any awards for that.
Oh, because he wasn't a, he wasn't, maybe you have to be a,
because he wasn't a soldier. He was a friend to sit there.
There are civilian medals and stuff, but yeah, maybe not anything relevant.
But far out, what an amazing event.
Because that's like purple heart sort of stuff, whatever.
Yeah, when he just run through enemy territory with machine guns tracing, yeah.
Hope him for the best.
I hope I'm thinking of the right one.
It might be one of the other ones.
One of the famous ones. Victoria Cross.
Yeah, but it does have a bit of a Victoria Cross.
Anyway, I bet one of these war historians will get in contact.
Dave made it sound like they're sitting waiting.
For any kind of inaccuracy.
So that is the battle for Castle Itter.
Thanks for everyone that suggested that topic
and everyone that voted on it.
That is an amazing story, Dave.
It's a crazy one, isn't it?
I'm so happy it had, you know, relatively happy ending.
It's a lot of grim stuff in there.
Yeah, sorry about that.
World War II was none of nice time.
No.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry to think that.
Yeah, so what were the other kind of topics
you put up for the vote?
Were they all war stories?
No, they were all, they were interesting their own ways.
And I tried to put that in the description of the three options.
And, but I did say the Battle for Castle Litter,
it's in brackets, one of the strangest battles of World War II.
And a lot of people commented,
yeah, I voted for that one, because it sounded,
I was like, why is it strange?
So yeah.
But to be honest, that's one of the reasons
that I stood out to me in Jack the Hat
some people can click the in Jack the hats of people
Can click the link in the description of this episode and tell us why we should do a topic and then we give you a shout out
And you can tell us why we should do it like I said and if they write a cool blurb it stands out
Yeah, grab your attention the strangest battle of World War two and I was like, okay, I'm listening. Yeah
Oh Google
I put that on the short list. So yeah Well, that brings us to everyone's favorite section of the show the fact quote a question section has a little jingle fact quote or question.
Anyways, remember the ding and the way to get involved in this is sign up at our patron at patron.com slash such do go on pod, link in the show notes, and if you
sign up to this level in particular, the Sydney Shamburg Deluxe Memorial, rest in peace,
addition level, you get to give us a factor, quote, or a question.
You got heaps of other things as well, you get to vote on two of the three topics, two
out of every three topics, basically.
We're also given out, uh, given out, uploading three bonus episodes every single month now,
so we've got an episode of phrasing the bar coming out each month
with our brand and phraser podcast, a bonus report,
and also a random other thing.
So yeah, check it out for that.
And yeah, there's heaps of other things that you can get involved
at depending on your level, including the exclusive Facebook group,
which is a nice fun corner of the internet where everyone's very lovely
and other such things. That's right. But talking of this one firstly, the fact
quote-or-quote in section of the show is where one of the people on the Sydney
Shah Mughal's Memorial level get to give us a factor quote or a question. We're
reading out four a week these days to make sure everyone gets their bloody
turn in the sun.
And this is what I think of this for people.
It's like, oh, they're finally their time to shine
with the fact a quote or a question.
And I assume that's how they see the title.
I hope so too.
And you also get to give yourself a title.
So firstly, I'd love to thank Tom Goodall
who has given himself the title of chief auditor
of fun facts as defined by
Jess. I'd love to see that spreadsheet. That's it. I wish people could see Jess's expression.
I'm trying to understand it. I think he's, does it mean that he's going, well Jess is
called these fun facts. I'll keep them all in order or is he going, I'll
put a second filtration system on top.
Yeah.
No, I took it as he's just noting which facts are fun.
Okay.
Which ones are fail.
Yeah.
So I'm just thinking he's not overstepping.
Yeah, well that.
I think it's more about you and administrative role.
Love that.
Great work.
Tom, you're doing, doing brilliant work out there.
But no, you place.
OK?
And your place is to ask a question.
And that question is, you have to bring your co-host out
for a fun day of things you love doing.
What is the plan?
What's your plan?
I'm going to take you to Chadston, the fashion capital.
I'm going into every shop.
And I'm trying on everything
and you're sitting there.
Are you saying is a chance to punish?
I was just thinking because we had a question
was it last week about like planning a day for each other?
You know, like a nice day, you know,
isolation or something.
And so I feel like I've exhausted the nice ideas.
So now it's like.
Well, I think this is more,
last time it was fun things you could do that you knew were
the other people's interests. This one's fun things that are your interests that the
others might enjoy. Yeah right. Yeah so...
But I'm up for a shopping spree. I'll buy you both a little treat. Oh I'm down.
You can have a kind of surprise if you want. Yeah I'll come. I don't know that is a good question.
I'm sorry about this map
But I'm taking you for a beautiful walk with my dog and then we're going to the dog park
Okay, I don't I mean I don't hate dogs. I just don't fully get what like earlier today
There's a dog at the studio and you got down on your hands and knees to talk dog at it
It was to me a bit odd but to everyone, it seems like everyone else
that is normal behavior.
That is just, back me, that's normal.
I was also on the ground.
But I've already met that dog.
It is me who is wrong.
I know that.
It is I.
I can tell you.
I'm in the minority, but.
Going for a walk and then to the dog park.
That's like, we're done by 10.
What next?
They're not going out. We're finding a good pie.
Oh, I'm in.
We're going to take a pie histogram together.
Well, this dog walks me and worth it.
We're going to eat the pie and then we're going to go to Luna Park.
Oh, cool.
In St. Kilda.
And then the home of, or the old home of the St. Kilda Saints, won the Premch at the
966.
And then we're going to go on the scenic railway, the roller coaster of the St. Kudas Saints, one of the Premiers of the 1960s. And then we're gonna go on the scenic railway,
the roller coaster around the...
Yep.
...the edge of the park, and then we're gonna go get an ice cream.
Oh, this sounds great. I mean, on that day.
Lovely day.
It's not dogs I don't like.
I think it's the way humans react around dogs into each other.
I've had, I've, I've, uh,
have sat in Monde de Dog before, Monde de Dog.
And when I was...
I don't think you're mound a dog.
I never mound a dog.
It's walking, it's just like,
other weirdo dog people talk to you and I'm like,
oh, you're a bit much.
I'm just here to walk the dog.
That's why we go to the dog park.
You're gonna hate it.
I ask you about your dog.
How old is it?
Oh great, what breed?
Is he gonna get any bigger?
Okay.
All these questions.
Yeah a lot of them.
What were the dogs first for albums?
Yeah, they're real testing you out.
Oh, puppy love, I don't know.
I think what I'm gonna do with you two is,
it's one of two things and it probably depends on weather
and the time of year.
But I've just played a couple of games
of golf with my dad over the last few weeks,
and it's been lovely.
So would you be up for a common play golf with me?
I legit was gonna ask you before,
can I come play golf?
Yeah, I'm keen.
Can I just drive the buggy?
Yeah, of course.
It doesn't matter.
It's a nice walk as well.
No, no.
Oh, yeah, sorry.
That contradicts food.
Golf spoils a good walk, that's what I say.
But I'm worried I'd be so bad. And ever bad. And I mean, that's just how it is.
I don't plan on good, you're playing public courses
where there's a real range of abilities.
Thank you.
Is it like the slow lane?
It's been cool.
I think it is.
It's been busy.
The two times I've played, I normally play once a year, so I've doubled that this month.
But you're waiting on every hole, it's so packed.
It's not the most fun thing about...
Oh, that means other people watching you swing?
No, well, no, they're probably not because they're worried about their own hacky games.
Anyway, so we do that, we play golf, beautiful day.
And then, if not, we go see the Saints play and then after that
I'll let one of my favorite things about golf is what they call the 19th hole and the 19th hole is the pub after golf
Oh, thank God. I was worried about that. So I would go to a beer garden and
Have a few celebratory drinks about a great round of golf. Love that. If you ask me, there's any other week,
I would not have said golf,
but I'm in this brief period where I'm riding a golf.
I've very thought-minded.
I think it would have to start with brunch,
because I fucking love brunch.
And then maybe we could have a look around NGV,
go look at the art gallery,
could show you that Picasso we've talked about.
You see it? I'm like, do we do these days? Maybe Moonlight Cinema. and GV, go and look at the art gallery, could show you that Picasso we've talked about.
I want to do these days. Maybe Moonlight Cinema.
Oh nice and outdoor cinema, love it.
With snacks, nice night, those.
We have picked a lot of things that will probably mean
we need lockdown to not be happening.
It's all post-COVID world stuff.
And that's why we're thinking about it.
People are like, oh, those things I don't do,
but I wish I could.
I remember last time I went to Luna Park.
Yeah.
I went to Moonlight Cinema once about eight years ago.
I'm like, oh, to be back again.
What'd you see?
I go.
I saw Amalee.
OK.
I had to play A-moves there.
I saw Mega Mind.
Yeah.
The end of the video.
Mega Mind was funny.
And honestly, I was going, this is the only thing on farm.
I went with friends and afterwards I was like,
that was pretty bloody good.
Yeah, loved it.
Something I've had, anything at the movies feel,
it elevates a movie.
We want to have that answer that question.
Yeah, I think we answer that pretty thoroughly.
But yeah, this is good.
I want to do all these days when we're allowed to again
in a year or two.
Thank you so much Tom for that question.
The next one comes from Jennifer Welliver, who is the senior vice president of pushing the button to see what
happens. Oh an important role. And she offers us this fact. Oh I love it early.
One of my favorite words. A smattering of my favorite collective nouns. Yes I love
collective nouns. A prickle of hedgehogs. Oh. A lounge of lizards. Oh.
A business of ferrets.
Oh.
So there's ferrets over there?
That's the business.
And a loveliness of ladybugs.
No, it's not loveliness, is it?
That's too cute.
I love ladybugs.
I love them.
They're nice.
They're so cute.
They've got little polka dots on them.
That's cute.
I love polka dots. Yeah, do you call them?
What do you call them? Ladybugs or ladybirds? Yeah, they get different. I don't know now
I don't know which one I call them either ladybugs ladybirds think ladybug mostly. I think my one of my favorites some more
It's a pretty big one murder of crows. Yeah, it is good. That's good
David know a few of you know you got any come to mind
No, I can't think of any job. Yeah, it's always hard put you on the spot. That's why a pack of wolves
Oh pack of wolves fantastic. That's right
There's a pack of dogs like a parliament of something that's pretty
Palmy of elves
Come on guys
Sorry, I was busy getting it right. Hey, what do you call, what's the collective noun for a group of white guys?
A podcast.
That's a tweet that everyone did for a little while.
Thank you so much, Jennifer.
That's great.
Love that.
A very good use.
Everyone knows how this fact quote-a-question section works.
That's an ailing of a good fact
Yeah, yeah, enjoy it
This next one comes from Kelly Clark who is the practical
Monologist I last time she gave me the phonetics spelling and I said I didn't need it
And I think
Yeah, all right here we go. Practical
phenomenologist of the pod. See? Get out of your head, you fucking nail it. Get out of
your own way. And Kelly's asked us a question. Question is, there's a bit of a
bit of writing here, let me get, let's see what this is. What's something which
isn't a conspiracy theory that other people believe which you find baffling?
For example, I recently discovered that someone I know
Values her things over the life well-being of a person. I discovered this one
She said she would genuinely prefer to hit a stranger with her car then risk damage to the car
By me pulling on the handbrake, had she failed to notice the person.
What? That's a world story? Holy shit.
That's not a good friend. That's not a conspiracy theory?
No, I think that's what she's saying. Not a conspiracy theory.
Fuck, that is a very hard question.
That is a wild example. I think we're going to battle to top that.
Yeah. So it might be like, I don't get how people like custard.
I don't really like veggie mind.
So what's the question?
What's something that other people believe, which you find baffling?
I guess I'd, or, it's topic, I reacted like it was very scandalous.
It's not at all. It's just quite topical at the moment
because everybody's losing their minds over Hamilton
because it's come out in Disney+.
Oh yes.
We went and saw it in London and I thought it was very good.
It's so good, yeah.
But everyone's like, it's incredible
and I think I've missed something.
Oh right, and I thought the London version was awesome. I've had very little desire to watch it again.
But with everybody talking about it,
I'm like, I'm going to give it a go.
But I've missed something.
It feels like a thing you see live as well.
But yeah, people I do have friends who,
people here at the studio,
like back, and Evan love it.
Life changing.
But I think after saying, I went in going, I don't think I'm going to get this. who people here at the studio, like Beck and Evan love it. Yeah.
Life-changing.
But I think after saying, I went in going,
I don't think I'm going to get this.
And I thought it was going to be,
my name's Abraham Lincoln and I'm here.
So, you know, it just seems like that's what it was going to be.
And it sort of was, but it was a lot better than that.
I thought it was great.
Plus, we got the full VIP deluxe version of it,
meeting a cast member for dinner before going to say,
holy shit, I forgot about that.
That was a great, like I remember sitting there like,
what has happened to our lives?
Will it always be like this from now on?
No, no, no.
Still, it was great to leave that lifestyle for one night
and thanks to Stevenson, what a guy.
What a guy.
What a guy.
Oh man.
I got to hook this up with the tickets.
That was really cool.
It feels like I should have one of these in my head ready to go.
Dogs.
Oh, what do I think?
OK, come on, mate, it's dogs.
You don't get it.
Well, I think cream goes first on scones.
Oh, you're fucking mad, man.
And that does seem controversial. I think uh the AFL grand final should not be played at the MCG
every year and there's no one in Victoria seems to be on board with this. It's a
national competition now. I feel like it it's unfair for the grand final no
matter who's playing to be played at the MCG, which is some teams home
ground.
So in 2017, the top team in the league, the Adelaide Cros, played Richmond, the suburb where
the MCG is.
Cros were on top.
Richmond were a few places below him.
The grand finals held in Richmond's home suburb and they end up winning, you know, comfortably.
Who knows what would
have been like if it was perhaps at the fairer ground, either a neutral ground or, or even if it's
anyway, so this is, that's a bit of a niche one maybe. But I just, I don't get it. I've got all my
friends who we talk footy there like, the MCG is the biggest stadium in Australia that you got to
have it at the place where the most people can watch the game. Like, surely MCG is the biggest stadium in Australia, that you gotta have it at the place where the most people can watch the game.
I like, surely the fairness of the game
has to come before a few more people getting into see it live.
Everyone can watch it on TV.
I would care more about it, I mean,
to be hard to care more about it,
but I would care, feels like the number one thing
for a competition has to be fairness,
and then worry about money and these sort of things. but I don't know and this year at Maywell
Baby because the MCG is possibly not going to be able to have anyone there. Whereas Perth might be able to have 60,000.
Yeah. So hopefully they go, they try it and they'd like what they see.
All right, I think to be very controversial here, my is, I cannot understand how people can go to the shops
and choose a timeout chocolate bar.
You've got all the options.
Wait, we've talked about this before.
Doesn't make sense.
Your favorite chocolate bar is the twirl.
And the timeout is a twirl with a layer of flake.
Oh, no, it's got biscuit in there.
Oh.
No, it's just, I don't hate it, but I just don't understand the decision you're standing in
the chocolate.
There's 50 options.
So many options.
Why are you going for a time out?
Yeah.
Anyway, it's on special.
So is this a, no.
Even then, it's no bargain.
Good enough that I'm choosing a time out.
That's interesting.
Yeah, I've not had one since I was a kid.
Yeah, that's right.
Probably when they were released.
There was a lot of buzz around it.
I thought the whole slogan was something like
a twirl with a layer of flake or something.
I think that the slogan's something like,
yeah, we're a bit shit, but.
Dr.
Twirls of flakes and then covered in
chocolate yeah flake is water twirl yeah oh that's what I'm thinking of yeah okay
love a flake but they're just so messy but twirl you really yeah wraps up the
whole oh love a twirl you want to hit just quickly a little bit info on the
twirl the twirl sorry the time. It was a chocolate bar manufactured by Cadbury Island.
It was introduced in the United Kingdom and Ireland in 1992,
followed by Australian New Zealand in 1995.
Mainly sold in pairs.
It consists of a ripple of milk chocolate, the twel,
between two wafers, smothered in dairy milk chocolate.
The bar was originally sold under the slogan, the wafer break with a layer of flake
Okay, I don't remember that but yeah, you went around in 95 thinking
Chocolate bar time for you wasn't thinking about advertising in 95 the bar is still available in Australia
Manufactured, okay, that makes it sound like it's not available anywhere else. That's probably. Anyway, a bit of many report there at the end.
We were going to eventually do a full-time out report, but no need anymore.
So, thank you for that question, Kelly.
Next one comes from Claire Norris.
Claire asks us the final one we'll do today.
Ask a question, but she's given us the title of Science Consultant for the pod.
Wow, I love that.
That's big.
Yeah.
I like how people often say, vice president
or junior vice president, I like just going,
I'm gonna be the one.
And the general science too, which I do appreciate.
Yeah, very much.
So Claire asks us a question.
I wonder how science he is going to be.
If you had to pick a fictional universe,
okay, I, Marvel, Harry Potter, et cetera,
to live in, which one would you pick and why?
Poirot.
Okay.
It's a lot of death in that one.
So much death.
You were taking your life in your own hands.
Yeah, that's true.
Unless you're being hastened, since that man will never die.
There's a lot of death in all of them.
A lot of death in Harry Potter. So much in Marvel.
But if you're a muggle, you just sheltered from it.
But I guess why even bother?
Is the muggle the ones who don't know about that?
Yeah, why bother being a muggle?
Yeah.
That's what we are now.
It wouldn't be any different.
We're in the Harry Potter universe.
Yes.
I know you're going Marvel, but I had some powers.
But then is there always bad guys trying to fuck up the world?
Yeah, it's like there'd be so many people die every year.
Every year they decide to make a movie.
Aliens seem to come there and things get blown up.
Yeah, it's like stop making the movies the aliens will stop coming
Where would I love?
I'm trying to think of things I've been watching X-Files bit of fun
Yeah, then there's all the way to the top though. Yeah, I hate things that go all the way to the top
Like to believe in the government
Hard of to do these things
As Clans up there or a capital hill. You know, hey, making some mistakes.
But, you know, that's democracy.
You can just answer the question if you want.
Okay, what was it?
Best food you've had.
Is it clear that I'm padding?
A fictional universe you'd like to be in.
Can you name some?
I got trapped, I think, like to be in can you name some I got trapped
I think like Jess in the two examples. Yeah, well it could be okay
somewhat someone real nice
Oh
Maybe okay, I want to
Good place. Oh the good place. That's cool. Yeah, cuz I like that. I like the idea of an afterlife
Yeah, and it being like perfectly suited to you
Yeah, whatever you like doing. I guess we have no spoilers
But yeah, I just want a perfect afterlife place with Ted dancing hanging out. Oh my god
It's so funny in that show. Yeah, I also I watched upload which is a similar vaguely similar idea
Yeah, and that's yeah, if they got rid of what once, once that technology catches up, and it's not like a, it's all, I mean, the
whole show is sort of a satire about the world and how money buys you the better after
life or whatever.
I've pretty much summed up that pretty well.
Claire, how good were those answers?
What have we got? Poirot, Marvel, and the good place.
Fantastic.
Hopefully we can create a shared universe
so we can visit each other.
No, I'm busy.
I just want to see Puyro as a superhero.
So that's all the facts, the quotes,
and the questions for this week.
Thank you so much to Tom Jennifer Kelly and Claire for getting those into us.
I'd like to say if you want to be involved, go to Patreon slash do go on pod.
The other thing we like to do at this part of the show is think a few of our other patrons
have signed up any level at the sign up level or above.
It's all self-explanatory once you go to the website there.
And yeah, we normally think a couple of Patrons each, which gives us a little game.
Yeah, I'm struggling a little bit because it was a pretty bleak, unless we name their
castle, or what kind of, like, what kind of dwelling they live in.
Okay.
Does that make sense?
Can you give me a hand? Yeah, that's pretty good. We're kind of dwelling. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, I'm into it. Let's do that. Let's do dwelling. Dave's filling me with confidence with his
answers. Yeah. Sure. I'm gonna let you lead it. Yeah. I don't understand what you mean. Okay, great.
We'll like a castle, but other types of places you can live.
Oh, yeah.
Okay, so I'll kick things off then.
So I want to thank from Saint Joseph in Illinois.
I'm assuming I'll.
Yeah, the only I state Illinois.
Cool.
No, that's not right. There's three.
Why are you in Indiana? I was thinking of L, the I-L, Louis, the I-L state.
There's Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa.
But apart from that, there's only four.
Sorry, everybody.
Well, I would love to thank Nate Price.
Candy Castle.
Oh, great one.
Or can I broaden it out to food castle?
I want to have a few pie things.
Food castle, him and out.
Food court.
Oh, food court.
Lives in a food court.
They could be the jester in your food court.
That'd be pretty cool.
That'd be awesome.
Yeah.
Wow, congratulations, Nate.
Puts all.
Oh, Nate Price.
Yeah, you could have a pie bar.
We just bathed in an apple pie.
Yeah, better than bathing in like a meat pie.
It's a burson pie.
Oh, yeah, very hot. No, no, do that.
Yeah, actually, I don't know.
Yeah, mate, but it's all, somehow it's magic and it's all great.
Yeah. Yeah. It's all okay.
And you can eat everything.
So, I think. Enjoy that, Nate. Yeah, thank's all okay. And you can eat everything. So you think enjoy that night.
Yeah, thank you so much, Nate. I also have to thank from Greensboro here in Victoria,
which is my suburb of birth on my passport. Get out of town. There you go. Mine is Matt Waveli.
I would love to thank him. Mine is Conton. Matt Bradley. Matt Bratt. Matt Bratt.
Matt with two first names. Matt lives in a cave behind a waterfall like the phantom
So sick like Caesar in
Plenty of the secondary booted pun on the lips
Which I haven't seen no the third sorry third
Congratulations to you Matt and your fully sick dwelling that's so much better than my suggestion
Which was gonna be the Greensboro Plaza food
Everyone stop thinking food court. I'm hungry. I'm gone around in circles. He lives in a bear and burrito bed wrapped in a sweet tortilla. Thank you, Matt, a Nate.
Thank you, Matt and Nate. I'd love to thank you for May from Sheffield in England.
I've placed I'd love to do a live show one day.
So that we could say Mr Sheffield.
Boy, because we've been nearby and leads a few times and a bunch of Sheffield people come
to those shows. Am I thinking of the right place?
Yeah, I think so.
Sheffield Wednesday is the soccer team.
It's a great name.
And they're naming it because I think they were formedffield Wednesday is the soccer team. It's a great name.
And they're named like, because I think they were formed on a Wednesday.
They used to play on Wednesdays or something like that.
Big, fun fact energy for that.
I'd love to thank from Sheffield in England, Christopher Gray.
Christopher Gray.
What if he lives in one of those houses that's also a windmill?
Oh, yes.
So he lives in a windmill, you could say.
Yeah, but there's ones that are a house. Yeah, but it's also on wheels.
Oh, whoa, whoa.
And it's pow, so it's a, it's a, it can travel around
and the car part of it is powered by the windmill.
Wow.
Wind powered.
Windmill.
I think I went that because it's set of gray,
so I was thinking, great, no in great no mad in a caravan
That's pretty cool. I win me a car. Oh my god Christopher. You're welcome. You're living a great life, and it's also a mini golf hole
You've really burnt a few really fucking be honest
We've limited our future choice obviously mini golf hole was gonna be one of mine
We've limited our future choice obviously minigoth home is gonna be one of mine
And secondly, thank you so much Christopher Gray. I'd also love from Misa and I think Arizona
Joel Montez, Jr. Oh, we love it junior
Joel, Jr. What about Joel lives in a giant speed? Oh, okay a giant speed or a giant's beard a giant speared. Oh, okay. A giant speared or a giant speared. A giant speared.
Okay, yep.
Okay, we'll save giant speared for someone else, I guess.
Yeah, don't burn it.
Look how big that speared is.
It's giant, you could say.
The giant is so big and he's beard is so bushy.
He doesn't even know that I can't see him there.
I mean, is that a pleasant place to live?
Yeah, it's full of crumbs.
Oh, yummy!
You eat giant chin crumbs.
But like crumbs from a giant would be like
a full sausage roll for us.
Oh, wow.
I imagine the crumbs fall off a sausage roll
but in the form of small sausage rolls.
That would be perfect.
That would be so nice.
The universe I want to live in.
Yeah.
Yeah. Where crumbs are just tiny versions of the food you're eating.
Everything else is the same.
But what about something like, like Apple Crumble where it's literally crumbs already,
and then it's just making smaller Apple Crumbles.
Well, I like it.
That's great.
That's great.
All in perfect ratio.
Yeah. So every drop of Apple Crumble has a little bit of cream on top.
A little bit of crumble, a little bit of apple.
Oh my god.
Can I just have a couple of guys just in case I didn't get the pronunciation right?
Joel Monta, Jr.
Joel Montez, Jr.
Joel Mont, Jr.
Joel.
Oh no.
That would be start again. Really? Jr. Joel. Oh no. That would be start again.
It could be Joel.
No.
It could be the Philadelphia player.
Joel M.B.
Genuinely his name.
Joel.
Well we've covered all bases now.
First Joel.
Hopefully.
Alright, I would like to bring us home now by thanking someone from York in England
another place that when we're in Leeds they come Yes, and then we're told York is very posh
Fucking country. That's right. They've got the the Viking exhibit slash museum
We've got to go there in one time. We never seemed to have enough time leaving leads to stop by York
But I would love to yes, we've got to go there and visit Peter atkin
Peter atkin lives in a
Life-sized dollhouse
Which you might think is a house, but no, no half of it has no roof
That's like a nightmare
And it's all plastic if you like the bed is plastic
Everything's uncomfortable. No, it's fun. Oh, it's quite cozy. Oh great. Is that right? And he gets them Mary?
Barbie or polypocket.
The dream.
Peter.
Living the dream in York there.
Thank you so much.
I would also like to thank from Great Britain now.
From Stockport or Stockputt.
Ellie Dirkin.
Ellie Dirkin.
Oh my god.
I love that name.
That's an incredible name.
Ellie Dirkin.
Dirkins look like Perkins.
I think that's probably one of them.
I'm Girkin, which I don't know.
I never ate Girkens, but I'm hungry for one right now.
I think I'm just hungry.
I think I'm hungry.
I'll take anything.
Let me eat it.
Ellie Dirkens.
Where's Ellie Lou?
What about a giant shoe?
Okay.
What about a giant things?
Giant shoe.
Okay.
So is it old mother Hubbard and a shoe?
Yeah. Since she live in a cupboard? Someone lived in a shoe? Okay. So is it old mother Hubbard in the shoe that come on? Yeah. Since she live in a cupboard. Someone lived in a shoe.
Yeah. Someone. There wasn't old lady lived in a shoe.
It was just not like I assumed to name it mother Hubbard.
Right. No mother Durkin.
Mother Ali Durkin. Thank you so much from Stockport. Thanks for listening.
Thanks for supporting the show.
Ali also a great name, but Durirk and bringing it home so strong.
Dirk and the big shoe. What kind of shoe? Bunstone boot?
I like it. I like it. I like it. I like it. I like it.
Yeah, sure.
All right, well done, all. Thank you, Ellie. Peter, Joel, Christopher, Matt and Nate.
And that pretty much brings us to the end of the show.
Is that how we finished? We've got a trip ditch club.
Oh my goodness.
We've got to check these out for people.
It felt wrong.
We've got to check to see if anyone's in the trip ditch club,
which means they've been supporting the show for three years.
That's right.
At the shout out level, or about for three straight years,
and we've created a little club where you become a life member
and you get to hang out with the other people.
Inside our club, behind the Velvet Rope,
it's part of Live Music,
venue, it's part bar, it's part smokers room.
It's anything you want it to be.
Yeah, really?
Oh my goodness.
We've got sleeping pods now.
There are a lot of inductees this week.
Right.
Well, we always talk as well about food and drinks.
So this week, Natchos for everyone.
Oh, yes, I'm so excited for that, because I love Natchos.
I know, I know you do.
And off, Mark, here, I'm about to eat some of my food.
Yes, me too.
That's why we're all talking about food.
The food is the right way, very, very hungry.
And we'd like to share our Natchos with you
on the Trip News Club.
And playing live this week, Matt, you want to know who it is?
Yes, I'd love to know who it is.
None other than puff daddy
Oh my god, we got puff daddy. We had the boss last week and now we got puff daddy
Sean puffy is he's known as the CEO or something. He's like the boss of hip hop is one of his things
Yeah, he's like an incredible businessman. Yeah, he ran bad boy
Records or something you got down right it did bad boy bad boy for life. So yeah, we'll be enjoying the hits of
Puffy awesome. That's great. Diddy. P diddy. What did you call him? I'm not sure what daddy?
Not sure what to call him when I'm meeting backstage, but I'm gonna call it a white or someone else
Yeah, I'm gonna wait till he introduces himself. Yeah. And he would because
he's just a homelike. Yeah. He doesn't assume I know who he is or what to call him.
Alright, so we've got we've got a few. Let's go through them. Welcome into the club.
Jess, lift up that velvet rope and it's heavy. I'll help you. Thank you. Please welcome
from Denver, Colorado in America. Alex MacRitchie. Alex welcome.
I feel it MacRitchie for your presence. Please also welcome from Crofton in maybe Maryland,
Maryland. There's 8M so that's always gets me. But from Crofton, MD, it's Torah Housemen.
Oh, welcome to the Housemen.
From Tokyo and Japan, or what I learned is actually called Nippon.
Nippon.
Nippon.
Why do we call countries?
Names aren't their names.
Sorry about that.
From Tokyo, it is Dan Ford.
Dan Ford.
Dan Ford. To hang it out with you tonight.
From Asparto in California, you know what it states.
It's our maid, Nesta Gwaraja.
Oh no.
A good friend.
I believe.
It's Giharu.
Giharu.
Thank you.
And Nesta, mine heart, it's just got Besta.
Yeah.
Nesta, Nesta. This is what I always my nickname for. Nesta, N I know how to just got best. Yeah Nesta nesta this is what I always my nickname for him nesta nesta the child prodigy and
From mother well
Scotland
Terrible he's so sweet. He's so he's so sweet. He's gonna. He's making films great
He's so sweet and he's gonna, he's making films. Great.
Uh, he's making it happen.
Love it. Look at him here.
From Motherwell in Scotland, Scott McFarland.
Oh, you're gonna go McFarland this place mate, because you're...
Oh, I didn't.
From Boraville.
How many are there?
In New South Wales, it's Owen Lednor.
Oh, I thought it was a view.
Lednor, well, let me lead you to the bar.
My would drinks.
Did you sell us what drinks they've got this week?
Ginger beer, alcoholic ginger beer.
I'll chose ginger beer.
Love that.
I'm quite into it.
I love alcoholic, ordinary alcohol, ginger beer.
I mean, that's just like ginger beer.
Yeah, I think you do.
I think I do too.
From Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the United States, Jason R. Ramzeran from Brooklyn, New
York.
Hang on, let me tell you.
When he went into this bar, I will not Ramzeran away.
Honestly, today you officially take the title of punking off of my shoulders
I never felt worthy of it and today you've proven why you are the true king great
Never-rubs ready who else we got sorry. Oh this one I think is easier for you from Brooklyn in New York in the United States Adam King
Adam it's great to be
Damn it's good to be you
Well you some sort of prince? The champ is here!
Yeah, Adam, what a cool guy!
And finally, from Charlotte in Haldi, North Carolina,
something I know about North Carolinaolina the might not be aware of
uh... i'm i could you would have played his high school college basketball
and
as a uh...
you were his college shorts even when he played in the mba fisher cargo so
is always wearing his
blue north carolina
university shorts underneath this cargo bulls red shorts
so we have to wear bigger red bull shorts
Fuck up
Yeah, sorry and it started a trending basketball wherever I'm would wear bigger bag your shorts
If you don't you if you don't think that's a fun fact you don't know fun facts somehow this week you
Crowbar that into our web series episodes and keep an eye for that that
From Charlotte North Carolina. I'd love to welcome him if it's Michael Jordan that'd be so good Kendra mickles
If I had a mickle for every time
That's what Kendra was great. Oh, I'd be rich
Welcome in so welcome that huge crew. There's a bit of a line out the front tonight.
Fantastic. Kendra, Adam, Jason, Owen, Scott, Nester, Dan, Tora, and Alex.
Thanks so much. Honestly, I cannot believe you guys would support the show for three straight
years. It's blown out humble automates. So genuinely, thank you so much.
Thank you so much. Legends won and all. And that does really bring us to the end of this episode.
Dave briefly mentioned we do have a web series going.
It'll be linked in the show notes. Check it out on the Stupid Old Channel, which is
a YouTube channel. So we've got two episodes left.
Yeah. And we're doing for if you want to watch those two,
or we have one where we're only one left. So you want to watch the last premiere.
We'll check our social media for the exact time,
but it'll probably be midnight Friday night,
end of Friday, Melbourne time.
Yeah.
Yeah, but either way, watch them all, please watch share
and whatnot, we put a bit of effort in.
So, we suffered for our art, now you have to,
as Tiz and one sang.
We'll said, now, anything else before you wrap up?
I think so.
So, see you at the website, dogoonpod.com, go to the links of the Patreon.
Our social media is all that sort of stuff, we'd love to, uh, yeah, what do you hear from
you?
Awesome, well, until next week, I will say, later!
Bye!
Goodbye!
Bye!
Nacho Nacho man, we're gonna be a Nacho man.
Matt's a rip at the bag open. Bye everyone.
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