dirkdeklein
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My last name is a bit of a mystery. A distant cousin started a family tree several years ago and at some stage he got stuck, because our family name seems to have appeared out of nowhere. He could trace it back to somewhere in the late 19th century. There are plenty of Klein’s but
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I don’t think there is a more powerful song then ” Strange Fruit” which deals with racism. Especially the original version sung by Billie Holiday. The lynching of black men in the American South was an all-too-familiar occurrence in the 1930s, even though it rarely made news. So when Billie Holiday had a hit record
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The phrase “our man in New York” most commonly refers to William Stephenson, the Canadian-born MI6 officer who led a covert British intelligence operation in the United States aimed at shaping public opinion and encouraging American entry into the Second World War. His remarkable work is the focus of Henry Hemming’s critically acclaimed 2019 non-fiction
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Before diving into the story, let me first give a brief explanation of who Sinterklaas is for those who may want to become more familiar with him. Sinterklaas is a traditional holiday figure celebrated primarily in the Netherlands, Belgium, and parts of Germany. The festival, which has roots in both Christian and pre-Christian traditions, takes
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Sinterklaas, also known as Saint Nicholas, is a beloved tradition in the Netherlands and parts of Belgium, celebrated annually on December 5th (Sinterklaasavond or Pakjesavond) and leading up to that date. It is also observed in other regions with Dutch heritage. The tradition centers around Sinterklaas, a figure akin to Santa Claus, who is based
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A father does everything for his children. A father provides for their needs, offers them comfort, and protects them. He loves them, hugs them, and tucks them in with bedtime stories. But how can a father, with all his love and care, become a monster to other children? Without hesitation or remorse, he killed thousands—many
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Less than a month after the German occupation of the Netherlands in May 1940, measures were introduced to regulate pigeon keeping. By June, the so-called “Pigeon Brigade” was established as part of the Amsterdam police force. The only surviving records of this regulation date back to 1943, detailing daily reports of free-flying pigeons being spotted.
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The Bermuda Triangle’s reputation as a boat and plane-devouring chasm was first sealed in December 1945, when a group of five U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo bombers known as “Flight 19” vanished in the Atlantic off the coast of Florida. No sign of the Avengers was ever found, and a Navy seaplane sent to rescue them
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Some might think the title, Escape to Suriname—A Holocaust Christmas Story, is a bit contradictory. Dutch Jews were fully integrated into Dutch culture, and many would have participated in the Sinterklaas and Christmas celebrations. This story is about more than that, and one I was not familiar with. On Christmas Eve 1942, more than a hundred,
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Wauwilermoos was an internment camp as well as a prisoner-of-war penal camp during World War II in Switzerland, situated in the municipalities of Wauwil and Egolzwil in the Canton of Luzern. Established in 1940, Wauwilermoos was a penal camp for internees, including Allied soldiers during World War II, among them members of the United States
History of Sorts 
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