dirkdeklein

  • Yesterday- 60 Years ago!

    “Yesterday” is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. First released on the 1965 album Help!, it was issued as a U.S. single the following September, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100. In the UK, it appeared on the EP Yesterday in March…

    Read more →

  • The defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 left the world not only devastated by years of total war but also confronted with the unparalleled crimes of the Holocaust. Among the many perpetrators brought before courts in the immediate aftermath was Amon Leopold Göth, the Austrian SS officer who had served as commandant of the Płaszów…

    Read more →

  • The German operation to liberate Benito Mussolini from captivity in September 1943, commonly known as the Gran Sasso raid or Operation Eiche (“Oak”), remains one of the most studied commando actions of the Second World War. Beyond its tactical novelty, the raid highlights the interplay between military planning, political symbolism, and propaganda in a period…

    Read more →

  • The Pacific War (1941–1945) reshaped Southeast Asia and subjected millions to brutal occupation under Imperial Japan. Among the most harrowing stories is that of Batu Lintang camp, located on the outskirts of Kuching in Sarawak, Borneo. Originally a British military barracks, the Japanese converted it into an internment and prisoner-of-war (POW) camp after their conquest…

    Read more →

  • Victims of 9/11

    I could fill this blog with the horrendous pictures of that day, or of the “Where were you on 9/11 stories?”, But we have all seen the pictures numerous times. And to where you were that day? I leave that up to yourselves to reminisce on that. I rather focus on the victims today. This…

    Read more →

  • When the rain falls, my face gets wet. When the sun shines, it blinds my eyes. When the snow falls, I want to go out and feel the crunch of the fresh new snow beneath my feet. When it is muddy, I get dirty. When I am hungry, I eat. When I am thirsty, I…

    Read more →

  • A Failure as a Father

    If you did not know the man in the photograph, you would think he was a loving family man, doting on his daughter. However, since we know the man is Joseph Goebbels, the dynamic of this photo changes. Goebbels did portray himself as a good family man and a loving father. Clearly, he had no…

    Read more →

  • Ankie Stork was a Dutch resistance fighter during the German occupation of the Netherlands. She saved thirty-five Jewish children from the Nazis by hiding them in several locations in the town of Nijverdal during World War II. She acted as part of Utrecht’s Kindercomité (Utrecht Children Committee), a Dutch resistance group based in Utrecht. Louis…

    Read more →

  • The Day Before 9/11

    On September 10th, the sky was clear,A Monday like so many others here.The sun shone bright, the air was still,And time moved on with its steady will. The city hummed, the world unaware,Of the storm of sorrow that soon would tearThrough streets of steel and hearts of stone,Leaving scars where hope had once grown. People…

    Read more →

  • This is a historical blog however not  so much about a big historical event but more a personal historical tale, which I was reminded of today. In 1991 hardly anyone had heard about Andre Rieu, I know I didn’t. My Mother was getting remarried and I had told her that I would pay for the…

    Read more →