dirkdeklein

  • It’s personal-A poem.

    They say I am their enemy but yet I don’t know them and have never seen them before. Why are they taking my glasses and my shoes, they are not weapons. Why are they making this so personal, what is it that I have done? I really would like to know. They say I no

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  • The Fear

    World War II officially ended in 1945, but for many who lived through it, the war never truly ended. The fear it instilled often turned into paranoia and secrecy, rippling across generations and affecting even those born decades later. This is the story of my connection to World War II. Both my parents were born

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  • In the mid 1800’s Lady Maria Clutterbuck published a cook book called “what shall we have for dinner?” An introduction was written by Sir Charles Coldstream. It was a cook book typical of the Victorian era. The book did not necessarily instructions how to cook a meal it was more a book of menus. like

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  • Die Hard, a Christmas movie? Yippee-Ki-yay or Yippee-Ki-nay? Every year around Christmas time there is the question “Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?” Personally, for me, it is not Christmas until I see Hans Gruber fall off the Nakatomi building. However, I appreciate that that will not get everyone in a festive mood. So, let

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  • There were three groups of people in the Holocaust: The criminals who tortured and murdered; The victims murdered; and those who survived and were scarred for life—mentally and physically. The helpers were the people who helped the Jews and others to escape and survive. These are just examples of each group. The Criminal Hildegard Lachert

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  • On December 4 ,1956 , Carl Perkins, who had had a big hit for the Memphis-based record label Sun that year with “Blue Suede Shoes,” had a recording session booked at Sun’s studio. Jerry Lee Lewis, not yet a star in his own right,had been hired to play piano. Elvis Presley — Sun’s breakthrough artist,

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  • Corpses in Silence

    This may be my most harrowing blog post yet. It’s one I won’t be sharing on social media, as it would almost certainly be removed. While I strive to avoid graphic imagery whenever possible, there are moments when it becomes necessary to confront the stark reality of what a deeply malevolent political ideology can bring

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  • I know this subject may offend some people, but I won’t apologize for that because sex is the most human instinct and aspect of humanity; it is how we have all come to be. The Third Reich, including the most intimate aspects of human existence, sexuality, under Nazi rule, was not just a private matter

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  • Margard (Marga) Kaufmann, born in Gronau, Germany 10 November 1928. Murdered in Auschwitz on 3 September 1943, reached the age of 14 years. Marga’s parents were married in 1923 in Gronau, where her mother, Adele, had taken over her grandmother’s grocery store in 1918. Marga never knew her grandparents, Zilversmit. Her mother had four brothers,

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  • They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and while this may be true, it can never tell the entire story. That’s why I believe it is crucial to listen to or read the testimonies of survivors, liberators, and even perpetrators to understand the Holocaust from multiple perspectives. Let us begin with the words

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