June 2025
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This post is a bit of a detour from my usual World War II history blog, but I felt I needed a break from the harrowing stories of the war—especially those surrounding the Holocaust. I spent the longest part of my career working for Philips, between 1987 and 1997. I was part of the FSM
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Pope Pius XII is often referred to as “Hitler’s Pope,” but the Catholic Church’s connections with fascist regimes began before his papacy. It was his predecessor, Pope Pius XI, who actively sought ties with fascist leaders. On June 16, 1936, he met with Anton Mussert, the leader of the Dutch Nazi party. The 20th century
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Today, Father’s Day, I felt compelled to write something about all the Fathers who lived and were murdered during the Holocaust, but there were too many to mention, So I decided to honor them all via a poem. So many were murdered, only a few survived, but they all had something in common, none of
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Father’s day 2015 was the last time I saw my dad. It wasn’t a usual meeting but a quick hello via Skype. With the help of one of my nephews, he had tried to reach me earlier that day, but I had been out to the shop.We did finally connect later that evening, June 21,2015.
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People sometimes think that Mengele was the only doctor at Auschwitz, but in fact, there were more than 30 physicians working there. Mengele, however, was the most notorious one. He also seemed to be the most enthusiastic scientist. He had a particularly evil mind. I will not write about his experiments because I have written about
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The video below is an interview I conducted with Ferne Pearlstein, director, writer and producer of The Last Laugh. It is a documentary with world-famous comedians, including Mel Brooks, Sarah Silverman, and Gilbert Gottfried, pitch in with their own views on the boundaries of comedy. source https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2102508/
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I don’t want to be a burden to anyone, just put me in a sandpit and I’ll be happy. I am not a danger to anyone, how could I be, I am only three. All I want to do is to play with my toys, just like any other boy my age. I don’t think
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In 1993, the Dutch band “De Jazz Politie” wrote a song titled “Ze Zijn Terug,” which translates into English as They Are Back. The song was a protest against the rise of right-wing radicalism and neo-Nazism. The song is described from the perspective of a Holocaust survivor who relives her experiences through the right-wing radical
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In a secret annex, hidden from sight,A girl named Anne penned dreams in the night.Amidst the shadows, where fears took flight,Her words found wings, a beacon of light. A diary’s pages, inked with her pain,Chronicles of hope amidst the rain.Whispers of laughter, echoes of tears,A testament to youth’s fleeting years. Behind the curtains, the world
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The lesson we haven’t learned from the Holocaust is that we are still putting people in groups. One of the reasons why the Nazis were so efficient in killing millions was they assigned people into groups. It made it easier for the “normal” citizens to accept the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust.
History of Sorts 
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