December 2025

  • The Congo Free State was a corporate state in Central Africa privately owned by King Leopold II of Belgium founded and recognized by the Berlin Conference of 1885. In the 23 years (1885-1908) Leopold II ruled the Congo he massacred 10 million Africans by cutting off their hands and genitals, flogging them to death, starving

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  •   Will this be the last Sun light I see? I did see the sunbeams through the cracks on the train. They shone on the people in the wagon, Some did not move, They were asleep my mother said, but I don’t believe her Will this be the last fresh air I breathe? On the

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  • No longer will I walk my dog

    No longer will I walk my dog or ride my bike No longer will I read a book or write a card No longer will I do what everyone else my age does. No longer will I be loved or no longer will I love. Not because I am a bad person or because I

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  • Merry Christmas to all

    Maybe we should be thinking about the gifts we’ve already received this year, rather than the presents we will be giving or getting this Christmas.A gift isn’t always something that makes you feel good or happy. Sometimes it’s the opposite that is true, but what makes it a gift is the value it adds to

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  • Croonenberg Family of Grevenbicht (a small village near Sittard) Before I go into the main story I have to explain the geographical history of the Westelijke Mijnstreek (Western Mining area). It is situated in the province of Limburg, the most southern province of the Netherlands, in the southeast of the country. It is also the

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  • Sjelomo Hamburger

    This is the aspect of the Holocaust I struggle most with. How can anyone look at this child and perceive him to be a threat to the nation. How can they look at his face and decide that he needs to be killed immediately. Sjelomo Hamburger would have celebrated his 80th birthday today. But he

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  • Christmas in Westerbork

    At first glance when you look at the picture it doesn’t appear to be extraordinary. There is an officer clearly giving a speech. There are a few Christmas trees at the back so it appears to be some sort of Christmas do. The officer is Albert Konrad Gemmeker he was a German SS-Obersturmführer and camp

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  • “Silent Night” (German: Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht) is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria.   The song was first performed on Christmas Eve 1818 at St Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf, a village in the Austrian

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  • This is something I do not usually do, but because it concerns the son of one of my cousins—who was murdered 20 years ago—I am sharing this cold case. ———————————————————————— On Monday, January 3, 2005, a local resident of the Lindenheuvel neighborhood made a shocking discovery when he came across the dead body of Henri

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  • Tell me there’s a Heaven!

    Quite a few musicians have travelled the Stairway to Heaven in 2025, these are just a few of them. Marianne Faithfull (29 Dec 1946 – 30 Jan 2025)English singer, songwriter, and actress whose career began in the 1960s. She gained international fame with her hit “As Tears Go By” and later reinvented her career with

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