August 2025

  • War brings out the best and the worst out of people, that is just a fact. It is easy to acknowledge the good but there is often a struggle acknowledging the bad, even to the extent of trying to completely erase it from history. When it comes to the Holocaust there is no question about

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  • On the night of August 7, 1930, the small city of Marion, Indiana became the site of one of the most infamous and haunting episodes of racial violence in American history—the lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith. What makes this event particularly searing in the American consciousness isn’t just the brutality of the act.

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  • Heaven and Hell in Music

    Breaking News: This is not a WW2 history blog. I repeat—not about tanks, battles, or Churchill’s cigars. We’re taking a brief detour from my usual deep dives into World War II history. Why? Because aside from my love for history (and my family, of course—hi, Mom), I have two other great passions: Music and Movies.

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  • The Daffodil Knows

    “The Daffodil Knows” Beneath the frost where silence sleeps,Where time runs thin and memory weeps,A bulb lies still in winter’s grave,Yet dreams of sun and all it gave. I stood alone where you once stood,The air still held your quiet good—No voice, no breath, just earth and stone,And daffodils you might have known. Grief is

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  • People often think that the Nazis came up with the concept of the concentration camps. In fact, it was the British, who invented concentration camps, which were first established in South Africa by the Brits during the Boer Wars in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During World War II, the Nazis weren’t the

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  • ++++++++++++WARNING: CONTAINS A GRAPHIC IMAGE++++++++++++ I am always surprised by why some well-educated people are capable of the most heinous acts. Otto Ohlendorf came from humble beginnings but showed academic aptitude. He attended the Gymnasium in Hildesheim, which meant an excellent opportunity in education, preparing him for university. Otto then studied law at two fine

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  • Distraction?

    The After-School Youth Care (BJZ) was one of the many departments of the Jewish Council. For Jewish children, the BJZ provided a welcome distraction from the worries of everyday life. Despite the limited and barely usable premises, the BJZ aimed to create a relaxed atmosphere. Jewish youth leaders engaged the children in activities such as

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  • On August 6, 1945, the world witnessed the devastating power of nuclear warfare for the first time when the United States dropped an atomic bomb, code-named “Little Boy,” on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. This event marked a significant turning point in World War II and had profound implications for international relations, warfare, and ethics.

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  • For as long as there has been recorded music, there have been attempts to copy, share, and distribute it without paying for it. Music piracy is often painted as a villain in the story of the modern music industry—accused of draining billions in revenue, shuttering record stores, and crippling artist careers. But is that the

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