dirkdeklein

  • Disco Demolition

    If you destroy art you destroy the soul of a nation. No matter how you dress it up or market it, the destruction of art is always politically motivated and is one of the ingredients of Fascism. We have had plenty of examples in the past, the 1933 book burning in the Third Reich, the…

    Read more →

  • I once painted skies.Vast, open, careless heavens that dripped sunlight and hope.My brush danced with joy, my palette a chorus of life.But then came the grey. It was not the grey of morning mist or soft winter clouds—It was the grey of silence,of smoke that climbed like prayerfrom chimneys built to erase names. I was…

    Read more →

  • Live Aid @ 41

    Live Aid: The Day the World Came Together Through Music “Do they know it’s Christmas?” That haunting question echoed across radios in 1984, but it was on July 13, 1985 that the world truly came together to answer with action — and music. Live Aid, the brainchild of musicians Midge Ure, Bob Geldof and promoter…

    Read more →

  • The Ravensbrück Rabbits

    The Ravensbrück Rabbits was the name given to 74 Polish women, who were subjected to medical experiments in the Ravensbrück concentration camp. Of the 74 women, 5 died as a result of the experiments and 6 other victims whose wounds did not heal were executed. The other survived with permanent damage. Rather then go through…

    Read more →

  • Many people believe that Adolf Hitler committed suicide on 30 April 1945. However, the statement that “Hitler died on 20 May 1956 in a traffic accident at the age of 74 in Nidwalden, Switzerland” is also true—depending on which Hitler you’re talking about. Before I receive a flood of emails and comments telling me I’m…

    Read more →

  • The Nazi concentration camp system evolved into a machine of mass murder, and Auschwitz became its deadliest cog. Located in Poland, Auschwitz initially served as a concentration and forced labor camp for Polish political prisoners. However, in 1941, it became the epicenter of Nazi extermination efforts. Among the most horrifying aspects of Auschwitz’s legacy was…

    Read more →

  • Education is often seen as a human right and it really should be, but so often it is a privilege taken away from many. Moshe Flinker was a teenager born in the Hague, in the Netherlands on October 9, 1926. He had a particular talent for language,he studied eight languages including Hebrew. The language he…

    Read more →

  • The Illusion of Sanctuary (September 1943) On 6 September 1943, a transport carrying 5,007 Jewish prisoners from the Czech lands departed the Theresienstadt ghetto. Among them were able-bodied men deported together with their families. The prisoners were told they were being sent to a labor camp. In reality, their destination was the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and…

    Read more →

  • The 12th of July is the day when a whole bunch of protestants in Northern Ireland go Dutch. It is an event that truly intrigues me, because it basically goes against everything the Dutch stand for. So what is it all about? On the 12th of July every year. The day commemorates Protestant king William…

    Read more →

  • If Elvis is the King of Rock and Roll, and if Michael Jackson is the King of Pop, then surely Ronnie James Dio must be the King of Heavy Metal. Not only was he the front man in bands like Rainbow, Black Sabbath,Dio and Heaven & Hell, he is also the one who popularized the…

    Read more →