""Charles Binaggio and his underboss, Charles Gargotta, rose through poverty in Missouri to eventually lead the Kansas City mob. In the 1930s and 40s, their control extended from local police and businessmen all the way to the White House. The two men died together in an unsolved 1950 double murder in downtown Kansas City. This work offers a unique take on the stories of the two Charlies, with first-hand accounts from those who worked for the gangsters as well as those who felt their wrath. In addition to their violence and corruption, it also reveals the two mobsters' private lives with their wives and children, and describes their inner political connections both within Kansas City and inside Harry S. Truman's administration."-Provided by publisher"--
Anfang 1945 kehrte der deutsche Angriffskrieg gegen die Sowjetunion an seinen Ausgangspunkt zurück. Mit den gen Westen vorrückenden sowjetischen Truppen kamen auch Angehörige der Sicherheitsorgane und der Militärjustiz nach Deutschland. Als Organe der Besatzungsmacht gewährleisteten sie die Sicherheit der Besatzungstruppen, ermittelten sie wegen nationalsozialistischer Verbrechen und bekämpften sie die Opposition gegen die Transformation der sowjetischen Besatzungszone Deutschlands (SBZ) in eine kommunistische Diktatur sowjetischen Typs. Trotz langjähriger Forschung sind wichtige Fragen hinsichtlich der Praxis des sowjetischen Sicherheitsapparates in der SBZ/DDR und ihrer historischen Einordnung bis heute – vor allem aufgrund des beschränkten Zugangs zu sowjetischen Quellen – unbeantwortet geblieben. Welche konkreten Tatvorwürfe verbargen sich hinter den einzelnen Verurteilungen wegen "Kriegsverbrechen", "Spionage", "Sabotage" oder "antisowjetischer Propaganda"? In welchem zahlenmäßigen Verhältnis standen die Ermittlungen bei diesen Deliktgruppen zueinander? Wie arbeiteten die sowjetische Staatssicherheit und der entstehende ostdeutsche Sicherheitsapparat zusammen? Welche Bedeutung kam den sowjetischen Ermittlungen gegen Beteiligte an nationalsozialistischem Unrecht für dessen spätere Aufarbeitung in beiden deutschen Staaten zu? Der Sammelband, der Aufsätze von Heimatforschern, Gedenkstättenmitarbeitern und Archivaren vereint, leistet auf breiter Quellenbasis einen Beitrag zur Beantwortung dieser und anderer Fragen und möchte weitere vertiefende lokalgeschichtliche Studien anregen.
"Peatlands are wetlands whose soil comprises the undecomposed remains of plants that accumulate in such a way that both responds to, and controls, the flux and storage of surface water and groundwater within peatlands, and runoff to downstream ecosystems. Water tables are generally at or near the surface, at least for much of the year. As the largest global terrestrial store of carbon, peatlands strongly influence global climate. Depending on the setting, peatlands develop into distinct forms that peatland scientists generally categorize as bogs, fens and swamps with peat soils. Bogs have accumulated sufficient peat depth, mostly due to the abundance of Sphagnum mosses, that they become topographically isolated and receive water only via precipitation, thus shed surface water and groundwater. Bogs can have a typically sparse cover of stunted trees. Fens and peat swamps generally receive water and constituent dissolved ions from adjacent mineral terrains, although flow directions may reverse. As with bogs, the quantity and quality of water received controls their plant community function and structure and therefore their soil properties and ability to store and transmit groundwater. Fens generally have a steadier supply of water than swamps, and thus a more stable water table that favors sedges and brown mosses, and sometimes trees; swamps typically have a more episodic water exchange, thus variable water table, which is more favorable for woody vegetation. In peatlands, more recently formed thus less decomposed soils occur in the upper layers--these newer soils can have extremely high porosity (≤95%) and are typically more permeable (saturated hydraulic conductivity up to 10-1000 m/d), whereas soils deeper than 0.3-0.5 m generally have low hydraulic conductivity (≤0.5 m/d). Consequently, there is a transmissivity feedback that exacerbates surface- and groundwater flows when the water table is particularly high. Understanding their hydrology and water quality is key to effective land management where peatlands are common on the landscape."--
