dirkdeklein

  • This day 225 years ago the last Queen of France was executed. Born in Vienna, Austria, in 1755, Marie Antoinette married the future French king Louis XVI when she was just 15 years old. The young couple soon came to symbolize all of the excesses of the reviled French monarchy, and Marie Antoinette herself became

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  • There is no denying that the Dutch should have done more to protect their Jewish neighbours during World War II. But I am looking at this from a retrospective point of view; hindsight always comes with 20/20 vision. That’s why I can’t judge; I really don’t know what I would or wouldn’t have done. However,

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  • Why Them???

    Philip Wallage was born in Groningen on 12 July 1927. He was murdered at Sobibor on 26 March 1943. He was 15 years old upon his death. Rosalien Wallage was born in Groningen on 15 May 1932. She was murdered at Sobibor on 26 March 1943. She reached 10 years of age. Elisabeth Wallage was

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  • It’s October, which means it’s time once again for the annual Rocktober festivities! This year, I’m kicking things off with a touch of the risqué—something to please both the eyes and the ears. For the first episode, we’ll be celebrating two of Ireland’s greatest rock legends: Gary Moore and Phil Lynott. Sadly, both were taken

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  • On February 10, 1993, the University of Limerick Concert Hall hosted an unforgettable night of music history. Four of country music’s greatest legends—Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson—took the stage together as The Highwaymen. This concert was a special event for Irish audiences, allowing them to witness the magic of these iconic artists in

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  • The photograph above is a portrait of five-year-old Mania Halef, a Jewish child murdered during the mass murder at Babi Yar. On September 29 and 30, the Germans stationed at Kyiv slaughtered 33,000 men, women, and children at Babi Yar—a two-day mass murder spree. If you take the total 48 hours, it is 172,800 seconds;

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  • There are some in Germany and other countries—who portray all of those involved in the 20 July plot as heroes. I believe this is a misinterpretation. Firstly, they are not heroes because they did not succeed, and secondly, there were quite a few of them who had no issues with the Nazi policies but had

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  • Trying to Please the Monsters

    I was watching a documentary last night called Lost Home Movies of Nazi Germany. The documentary contained footage taken by German civilians and soldiers. Some of the footage was truly horrendous, but some of the footage appeared at first glance quite pleasing. For example, it showed a young, attractive woman dancing topless for some German soldiers.

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  • The Experiments of Unit 731

    ++++++CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES++++++++++ We have all heard about the experiments conducted by the Nazis during World War II, but relatively little is known about the experiments by the Japanese Imperial Army. More specifically Unit 731. The unit, also is known as, “Detachment 731” and the “Kamo Detachment.” was a covert biological and chemical warfare research

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  • A Butterfly in Hell

    A caterpillar sneaks into a gate. It looks around and sees empty barracks. It is there for the next phase in its life. It really is something magical, a miracle of nature—from hairy caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly. The butterfly emerges, it has been more than two years since it was a caterpillar. It flies

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