dirkdeklein
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Starting off the Soft Side of Rock N Roll with a classic Rolling Stones track “Fool to Cry” The song was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Mick Taylor had just left the band and the Stones were left without a lead guitarist. The recording of Black and Blue acted as a sort of…
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(Originally posted on July 25, 2023 on Dr Helmy’s 122 birthday) When you opened your Google page today, you would have seen a doodle celebrating the 122nd birthday of the birthday of Dr Mohamed Helmy. Before I go into the important story of this great man, I want to highlight a disturbing trend that is…
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In the Middle Ages, beer was the drink of the people. “Ordinary” rain and canal water was not safe to drink. Because the drink had to be heated during the production process, the barley juice contained fewer harmful bacteria than water and was therefore healthier. It is estimated that the average Frisian drank as much…
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The title of this post is the words of a then 9-year-old girl, Jiska Pinkhof. In 1940, she wrote in the album of her friend Elly, “Always be a ray of sunshine to everyone you meet. Then you give joy to others, and you yourself are well off.” Wise words for a 9-year-old. Jiska was…
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These are testimonies of two men, one a low-ranking SS Infantry soldier, the other a member of the Hlinka Guard. The most disturbing aspect of the testimonies is not the description of the crimes committed, but the casual way of describing them. Hans Friedrich was a member of the 1st Infantry Brigade. He claimed not…
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I have always been fascinated by aerial shots taken during World War II. These are just some of them. The photograph above:A reconnaissance photo taken after bomb smoke lifted over the three ball-bearing plants at Schweinfurt shows the damage inflicted by the The Mighty Eighth US Air Force during a concentrated attack on 21 July…
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To gauge the feeling of the population on a particular subject, conducting an opinion poll is a powerful tool. Below are some polls taken in the United States just before and during World War II. Gallup poll conducted September 1-6, 1939. How far should we go in helping England, France and Poland … Yes No…
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Originally posted on History of Sorts: The right to education is one of the most fundamental human rights. In August 1941 the Nazis passed a law to set up schools for Jewish students and teachers only in the Netherlands. The picture above is of Jewish students of the school on Cliffordstraat, Amsterdam West. A class…
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Originally posted on History of Sorts: A U.S. military policeman prepares Corporal Wilhelm Schmidt, 24, for the firing squad. With two other German spies, Officer-Cadet Guenther Billing, 21, and Sergeant Manfred Pernass, 23, Schmidt was shot after a court-martial by American authorities in Belgium during the Ardennes offensives. Three Germans were captured wearing American uniforms,…
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Originally posted on History of Sorts: A diary is the most personal possession someone might have. It is a journal of their wishes, fears and often their secrets. It is therefore extremely important when a diary becomes public it is treated with the utmost dignity and respect, especially those that were written during the darkest…
History of Sorts 