October 2022
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We are less than a month away from the Fifa Worldcup. The selection of Qatar as the host nation is, to use an understatement, controversial. But I hope it will do some good. I was wondering though about the history of Dutch football and especially the World War II years, the national competition didn’t halt.…
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Commonplace Fun Facts Bob Dole was accustomed to being the big name in his family. As long-time U.S. Senator from Kansas, Senate Republican Leader, 1976 Vice Presidential nominee, and 1996 Presidential nominee, he was recognized wherever he went. His wife, Elizabeth, was no shrinking violet, however. An accomplished politician in her own right, she served…
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The birth of a baby is a joyous occasion, even in war time. I don’t know if it is a specific Jewish tradition, but I know it is a Dutch one, that the birth of a child is announced in the newspapers. As did Harry’s parents, Willy and Rose, when he was born on October…
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In my opinion 1993 was the worst year in Pop music-I have no scientific data to back this up, it is just based on the re-runs of Top of the Pops on BBC4. Most of the songs are awful and hardly memorable. Luckily the rock track on this episode of Rocktober is not from 1993…
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I am often very critical of the Dutch during World War II, but it would be unfair if I wouldn’t highlight the Dutch heroes from time to time. Louis Romuald Hubert Dobbelmann was born on July 1, 1911 in Rijswijk. He had three older sisters and a younger brother and sister. His father was the…
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To be honest, I was never a great fan of Charlie Chaplin. I was always more of a fan of the Laurel and Hardy-type of humour. I find that Charlie Chaplin’s movies are quite dated when compared to the aforementioned, Laurel and Hardy films. However, there is one notable exception. There has been one Chaplin…
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The number of victims of the Holocaust is just so difficult to fathom. When you talk about millions it just becomes a number it is just something that our human mind can’t comprehend. It is often better to remember those who were murdered, one by one. Today I am remembering Jesaia Swart. He was murdered…
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I once wrote a piece about Klara Borstel-Engelsman. Today is the 78th anniversary of her murder, and I felt compelled to do another one, just to show how utterly cruel, insane and absurd the Nazi regime was. Klara was murdered at age 102. She was the oldest Dutch person to be murdered by the Nazis.…
History of Sorts 