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Just to make it clear this post is not meant as an accusation or finger-pointing. I am forever grateful for what the US, and especially the US Army, did for my country. The outcome of World War II would have been more than likely—completely different—without the intervention of the US. However, this doesn’t mean I…
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Now that the preparations for the FIFA 2026 World cup are well on their way, it might be a good time to have a look at the history of Football. I will be referring to the sport as Football (and not soccer), because the name is Associated Football. It is one of the most if…
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I believe that one of the most evil crimes committed by the Nazi regime was the crime of false hope. In Westerbork, the illusion was created that all wasn’t that bad. Everything was arranged to give prisoners the impression that they would be sent to working camps in Eastern Europe. Life there would be heavy,…
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On March 27/28 in 1940, the Dutch Fokker G.I recorded its first aerial victory when it shot down a British Armstrong Whitworth Whitley over Pernis. As a neutral nation at the time, the Netherlands was obliged to intercept any aircraft violating its airspace. Of the five crew members aboard the Whitley, one was killed. On…
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This is probably my most personal blog. I will not mention the names of the people involved, but I don’t think knowing the names is actually relevant. On June 13, 1991 the partially covered body of 18 year old Jessica R was found near a dump in Bergen op Zoom, in the province of Noord…
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The Drancy concentration camp, located in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, stands as one of the most significant sites in the history of the Holocaust in Western Europe. Functioning primarily as a transit camp between 1941 and 1944, Drancy became the central hub for the deportation of Jews from France to extermination camps, most notably…
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The title of this post is The Iasi Pogrom, but I am starting with a different event, putting the Iasi Pogrom into a more comprehensive context. It is a long read, but it is such an important subject that I feel compelled to be as detailed as possible. Approximately seven months after the Iasi pogrom on…
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One thing about World War II I often wondered about was the transporting of injured troops back to the United States. The photo above shows the first American casualties from the Battle of Normandy arriving in the Eastern U.S. on 29 June 1944, after a 19-hour plane trip from the British Isles. The wounded—a U.S.…
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The title of this post is the words of a then 9-year-old girl, Jiska Pinkhof. In 1940, she wrote in the album of her friend Elly, “Always be a ray of sunshine to everyone you meet. Then you give joy to others, and you yourself are well off.” Wise words for a 9-year-old. Jiska was…