June 2023
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Originally posted on History of Sorts: The beautiful beast and the hyena of Auschwitz were just some names used for Irma Grese. She was born to Berta Grese and Alfred Grese, both dairy workers, on 7 October 1923. Irma was the third of five children (three girls and two boys). In 1936, her mother died…
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When I titled this commentary Wise Words from Criminal Minds—I did not actually mean criminal minds, but rather, quotes from the TV show Criminal Minds. The fictional series follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU). They use behavioural analysis and profiling to help investigate crimes and
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A small boy named Jacques Maurice Duizend was just a baby—a toddler. His last name is also a number, Thousand. That is the number of years the failed Austrian artist had envisaged his ‘Reich’ to last. To achieve that two-year-old children like Jacques Maurice Duizend had to be murdered. Jacques Maurice Duizend was born in
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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 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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Originally posted on Thrills, Spills, and just a dash of Romance: When I was last in Europe we decided to get the Eurostar, from London, through the Chunnel, to Paris Disneyland. ?Not exactly as fast as the Japanese bullet trains, but faster than anything we have in this country. You are hurtling along at up…
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Denmark is often lauded for their actions during World War II, saving most Danish Jews from the Holocaust. The wartime Jewish population of Denmark was 7,800, of which 102 lost their lives to the Nazis during the Holocaust. However, Denmark was the only Nordic country that saved its majority of Jewish citizens. Finland had a
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Originally posted on History of Sorts: 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…
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Originally posted on History of Sorts: They say that music soothes the savage beast, But it can also bring joy and transport you back to a better time in your life. Benny Behr must have known this because he tried to keep up the spirits, by playing music. Benny was Jewish Jewish and was married…
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Originally posted on History of Sorts: The definition of ‘one in a million’ is : a person or thing that is very unusual, special, or admired. Herman Wertheim was certainly that. However, sadly he was also one in six million. He was one of the six million Jews who were murdered during the Holocaust. Herman…
History of Sorts 