dirkdeklein

  • Mary Weinrib was born on July 16, 1925, in Warsaw, Poland. She was born Mary Mania (Malka) Rubinstein. She grew up in Wierzbnik, a Jewish town that was part of Starachowice, Poland. Her mother was Rose Rubinstein, a dressmaker. Her father, Gershon Rubinstein, was a butcher. The family, which included a younger sister (Ida) and…

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  • Rudolf Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler by suicide bombing on 21 March 1943, and obviously, without success. The plan failed because Hitler left early. That same month, soldiers from his unit discovered the mass graves of the Soviet-perpetrated Katyn massacre. To be honest—I am a bit sceptical about this failed assassination…

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  • To many Koenraad (or Koen), Rozzendaal is a forgotten Hero, but for at least one friend of mine, he isn’t. Koen (Koenraad) Rozendaal was born in Oud-Beijerland, the Netherlands . On April 19, 1911. He was a Dutch resistance fighter during the Second World War and a member of the KP-Waterland.KP stands for Knok Ploeg…

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  • I had the privilege today to be a guest on the grandstand for the “Limerick International Marching Band Competition” as part of the St Patrick’s Day celebrations. These were some of my favourites, and yes you can hear me singing in the 1st video

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  • When it comes to atmospheric Rock ballads, it really doesn’t get much better than this, An underrated classic from an underrated band. Can’t see the wood for all of the treesCan’t hear the wind for the breeze that whispersVoice in your head, you like what it saidSo what can you do but listen to it?…

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  • Dear Mommy…

    The text of the letters below, are the innocent words of an 11-year-old boy, The contents seem harmless enough, not complex at all, but with childish wisdom. However, put in the context of the time the letters were written, it makes the text devastatingly heartbreaking, with no coming back. Dear Mommy, How are you? I…

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  • “Killed by Death” is a song by the English heavy metal band Motörhead. Released in 1984, in 7″ and 12″ vinyl pressings. It peaked at number 51 in the UK Singles Chart. Motörhead anthem, loaded with noise and sleaze. Lemmy oozes attitude (and makes references to his junk being a lizard and snake) and is…

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  • One might be forgiven for thinking the photograph above is of a Nazi train deporting victims to the East. However, that is not the case—it is an image of deported Polish families to Siberia as part of the Soviet Union’s relocation plan in 1941. I believe that the USSR, particularly Russia) received too much credit…

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  • My interview with Jackie Young, a Holocaust survivor: Jackie Young (born Jona Spiegel) was born in December 1941 in Vienna, Austria, but raised by adoptive parents in England. He talks about slowly learning about his own past, which his adoptive parents had kept from him despite his own faint memories and hints mentioned by relatives.…

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  • This is my interview with Andrew Laszlo, Jr. I spoke to Andrew Laszlo about his father, Andrew Laszlo Sr., about his career as a cinematographer of such movies as First Blood, Star Trek V, The Last Frontier, Streets of Fire, Southern Comfort, The Owl and the Pussy Cat and The Warriors and also the original…

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