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FREE LECTURE WITH HISTORIAN FRANK HAWKINS, WORLD WAR II – THE FORGOTTEN RUSSIAN FRONT

Join us for the free lecture at the WNC Military History Museum on Wednesday, October 24 at 2:00 pm for historian Frank Hawkins’ presentation, “World War II – The Forgotten Russian Front”. In thinking about World War II in Europe, Americans think of D-Day, the Battle of the Bulge, German General Rommel, and American Generals Patton And Eisenhower. But the Allied battles in Western Europe were only part of the war in Europe. The largest battles and the greatest amount of suffering was in the East where the Russians lost a staggering 20 million people and the Germans suffered over 4 million dead after Hitler made the decision to invade Russia in June 1941.  Ultimately,
the Russian sacrifices and the brutal Russian winters overwhelmed the Germans as the Soviets smashed their way into Berlin to end the war in April/May 1945. Historian Frank Hawkins will discuss those historic events that changed the course of history.

Frank Hawkins was a captain in Army Intelligence, serving as a case officer in clandestine collection operations for the Defense Intelligence Agency during the Cold War in Germany. Subsequently he became a foreign and war correspondent for The Associated Press, international businessman, senior corporate executive and president of the Access Asia Group in Hong Kong. He recently retired as founder and CEO of Hawk Associates and Hibiscus Marketing to move full time to Brevard from his long-time home in the Florida Keys. He continues to serve on several corporate boards. He has lived in eight countries and is fluent in German. He is a graduate of Cornell University and the Defense Language Institute. He authored “Ritter’s Gold,” an adventure novel published in several languages by the New American Library. Frank is a lifetime member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers and is listed in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World. He and his wife Inge have a deep passion for photography. Their photos have been widely published and can be seen in a number of private collections. He has a great interest in history, particularly the history of World War II.

The WNC Military History Museum is located at 21 East Main Street (beside the courthouse) and presents free lectures on each month. The museum is open for free tours Wednesday – Saturday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm and Sunday from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. For more information, please call 884-2141 or visit www.wncmilitaryhistory.com.