February 2025
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Johnny & Jones refers to the Amsterdam-based jazz duo consisting of Nol (Arnold Siméon) van Wesel (Johnny) (August 3, 1918 – April 15, 1945) and Max (Salomon Meyer) Kannewasser (Jones) (September 24, 1916 – March 20, 1945). Van Wesel and Kannewasser first met while working at the De Bijenkorf department store. In 1934, they were
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A bit of humor and satire Once upon a time, where wigs were just as powerful as policies, Donald J. Trump found himself in a rather unexpected role: a drag queen named “Ivana Tuck.” It all started when he was invited to perform at a prestigious drag competition called “The Battle of the Bouffants.” He
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It is a sensitive and often overlooked subject. I’m not certain whether suicides were completely included in the Holocaust statistics. In this blog, I focus specifically on the situation in the Netherlands, but I believe this was likely the case in all occupied territories—and possibly beyond. Suicide emerged as a tragic yet significant response to
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When we think of stealth bombers, our minds often jump to more recent aircraft, such as the F-117 Nighthawk (introduced in 1981) or the B-2 Spirit (introduced in 1989). However, the concept of stealth bombers dates back much earlier, to 1942, when the Horten brothers designed the first stealth aircraft The Horten Ho 229: The
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On February 11, 1941, the NSB member Hendrik Koot was injured fatally during a brawl at Waterlooplein. The official reports on the incident remained lost for decades. KootHendrik Koot was a member of the Weerafdeling (WA), the paramilitary wing of the NSB. Since late 1940, WA members had been intimidating and assaulting Jewish residents of
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The name Hermine Santrouschitz may not be widely recognized, but the name Miep Gies is known around the world—forever linked to a teenage diarist named Anne Frank. Miep Gies, born Hermine Santrouschitz, would have celebrated her 116th birthday yesterday. Though she didn’t reach that milestone, she lived to be 100—a remarkable life devoted to courage
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One thing I could never understand is the death marches. Most of them took place near the end of the war, when they served little strategic purpose. Even from a military standpoint, they made no sense. Then again, many of the Nazis’ actions defied logic. So many of their policies and strategies were driven purely
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The Holocaust remains one of the darkest periods in human history, and while the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime are well-documented, the role of major corporations in facilitating these crimes is often less discussed. One such corporation is International Business Machines (IBM), an American multinational known for its computing technology. The company’s involvement with
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WARNING: CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES In general, I try to avoid posting graphic images for two reasons. First, I know from personal experience that if something is too disturbing, people tend to look away. Second, we live in a time when many people take offense at almost anything—especially the truth—and often respond by demanding its removal.
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I have a grandnephew with Down syndrome, and what aches me most is that I haven’t met him yet. When he was born, complications kept him in and out of the hospital. Thankfully, he is doing well now, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and other obligations afterwards, I haven’t been able to fly to
History of Sorts 