dirkdeklein
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(Update from the November 2016 blog) One aspect of history I find particularly difficult to grasp is the collaboration of some Jews with the Nazis. On the one hand, I understand that self-preservation is a powerful human instinct—survival at any cost can drive people to make unimaginable choices. Yet, conversely, it’s hard to reconcile how…
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(Originally posted on 1 May 2016) On 1 May 1945, hundreds of people committed mass suicide in the town of Demmin, in the Province of Pomerania (now in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern), Germany. The suicides occurred during a mass panic provoked by atrocities committed by soldiers of the Soviet Red Army, who had sacked the town the day…
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In the final days of World War II, as the Third Reich collapsed and Allied forces closed in on Berlin, one of the most chilling episodes of the Nazi regime’s downfall unfolded in the Führerbunker beneath the ruins of the German capital. It was there that Magda and Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s closest propagandist and loyal…
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In the bunker’s depths, darkness crept,Where shadows danced and silence wept.In April’s final, fateful breath,History marked a momentous death. The tyrant’s reign, a brutal sway,Had led the world astray.But as the war’s end drew near,His downfall echoed clearly. In Berlin’s heart, besieged and torn,The dictator faced fate’s scorn.As allies closed their tightening grip,And desperation began…
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When I was younger, in my late teens, one of my uncles took his own life. I was devastated, not just because I was very fond of my uncle but because I never faced a situation like that. I didn’t know if there was anything I could do. Also, the fact that I had the…
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I always get frustrated when people try to excuse the actions of thugs and criminals by blaming their difficult childhoods or lack of places to play. These photos are from a petrochemical plant in Geleen, the Netherlands. When I was growing up, it was known as DSM (Dutch State Mines), even after the actual mines…
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The marriage of Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun is one of the most infamous and enigmatic unions in modern history, not for the grandeur of the ceremony or the love story behind it, but because of its context: it took place during the final hours of the Third Reich, deep within the Führerbunker in Berlin,…
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The final chapter of Benito Mussolini’s life, marked by betrayal, capture, and execution, symbolizes the brutal end of Fascism in Italy. Alongside him was his mistress, Clara Petacci, whose loyalty led her to a tragic end. Their deaths on April 28, 1945, not only concluded Mussolini’s two-decade rule but also sent a powerful message about…
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As the Second World War drew to a close and the Nazi regime faced inevitable defeat, its acts of brutality did not diminish — in many cases, they escalated into desperate and horrific final acts of violence. One of the most chilling episodes of this period was the last use of gas chambers at Mauthausen…
History of Sorts 