August 2024
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The Paralympic Games, a major international multi-sport event involving athletes with a range of disabilities, have a rich and inspiring history rooted in the aftermath of World War II. The origin of the Paralympics can be traced back to the efforts of Dr. Ludwig Guttmann, a neurologist at the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England. Early…
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Last year, when I visited Dachau, we had an Irish guide. He was knowledgeable about Dachau, but I disagreed with him on one thing he said. To my own surprise, I didn’t give him a history lesson. I decided to let it go because my primary purpose there was to gain some understanding of Dachau.…
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“Venus” is a song by Dutch rock band Shocking Blue. It was released as a single in the summer of 1969 and topped the charts in nine countries. Written by Robbie van Leeuwen, it was a hit in the Netherlands. The song has been covered dozens of times by many artists. In 1986, English girl…
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The photo above is the gate at Buchenwald Concentration Camp. The phrase on the gate says “Jedem Das Seine” which is the literal German translation of the Latin phrase suum cuique, meaning “to each his own” or “to each what he deserves.” Buchenwald was a concentration camp established on Ettersberg Hill near Weimar, Germany, in…
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The 1934 German head-of-state referendum, held on August 19, stands as a crucial moment in the Nazi regime’s consolidation of power. Following the death of President Paul von Hindenburg on August 2, 1934, Adolf Hitler sought to solidify his grip on Germany by merging the offices of President and Chancellor, thus assuming the title of…
History of Sorts 