Acknowledgments wish to express my gratitude to Jessica Talarico for her research assistance on the darkest of topics: the Shoah, testimony and events detailed at the International Military Tribunals, and war crimes issues more generally I am confident that Jessica is about to embark on a stellar career in military history and museum studies Also helpful was Dr Carl Hodge of the University of British Columbia His counsel on certain German sources and issues of language is much appreciated Lieutenant Colonel Erik Rundquist, a National Defense Fellow at Boston University in 2008–2009, was especially helpful concerning entries dealing with airborne warfare I am grateful also to my friend and colleague William Keylor As his students know, he is the deepest of all fonts of knowledge on the international history of the 20th century Any mistakes that survived consultation of sources and colleagues to find their way into this very large text are mine alone l