At first the advance looked unstoppable, but on the Eastern Front speed soon gave way to hunger, cold, overextended supply lines, and brutal fighting that turned every gain into a fight to survive.

By 1943, geopolitical pressure from the Allies forced Franco to withdraw the Blue Division and reaffirm Spain’s neutrality.

Ella Mandel and Eva Brettler shared their experiences with students from Misawa Air Base and described life inside Nazi concentration camps in stark terms.