• Jules Frank was born on April 11, 1886, in Fijnaart. He was married to Flora van Beek. He worked as a butcher and was highly involved in the Jewish community. Together with his wife, he was forced to move to Amsterdam. They arrived there on April 15, 1943, and were taken to Asterdorp, a ghetto…

    Read more →

  • Like most of my blogs I try to steer away from politics and religion this blog will be no exception to that. Although it may appear to be a religious blog, i is really about the historical event of the crucifixion. Good Friday is one of the key days in the Christian calendar, it is…

    Read more →

  • One of the difficulties I have in telling or writing stories about the Holocaust is the sheer volume of victims. I believe the best way of keeping the memories alive is to personalize the stories. Rather then talk about millions ,talk about individuals and show that they were human beings like every one else. To…

    Read more →

  • On April 1, 1933, Nazi Germany carried out a nationwide economic boycott targeting Jewish businesses, professionals, and institutions. This event was one of the first major public steps in Adolf Hitler’s campaign of anti-Semitic persecution and laid the groundwork for subsequent discriminatory legislation and, ultimately, the Holocaust. The boycott emerged in the immediate aftermath of…

    Read more →

  • Dear Anne, You don’t know me, but I know you. In fact, nearly everyone knows you, and yet no one really knows you. We know you through the personal stories you wrote in your diary. We see each word, each letter and each paragraph, but we don’t see your hopes, your fears or your anxiety.…

    Read more →

  • Phil Bloom in Hoepla

    This is a bit of a deviation of my usual blogs but Phil Bloom has a significant cultural meaning to the Netherlands .The name Phil Bloom will mean very little to people outside of the Netherlands. She is an artist and actress On July 28,1967 she caused quite some controversy and a scandal. She was…

    Read more →

  • On April 1, 1944  the United States air force accidentally bombed the Swiss city of Schaffhausen, mistaking it for a German target. Some 400 incendiary and demolition bombs were dropped, killing 40 people and destroying large parts of the city. About 15 B24 planes unleashed their bombs, mistaking the city for the target of Ludwigshafen…

    Read more →

  • While the Nazis are rightly remembered for the horrific crimes they committed before and during World War II, the Soviet Union also carried out its own brutal acts. From 23 August 1939 to 22 June 1941, the two regimes were bound by the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, effectively making them partners. After signing the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact in…

    Read more →

  •   Although the world was going through one of the darkest era’s in its existence , there was still a sense of humour prevailing. For many it was this sense of humour which was all that remained of their humanity. Black Bombers    (April Fool’s Day – 1941) The Elkhart Daily Truth detailed a plan…

    Read more →

  • If Elvis is the King of Rock N Roll, and Robert Johnson is the King of the Blues, then Marvin Gaye must be the King of Soul. The title “If I should die Tonight” is from a track of Marvin Gaye’s 13th studio album “Let’s Get It On” which was released on August 28, 1973.…

    Read more →