France

  • Charles Aznavour born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, on 22 May 1924, he was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his distinctive tenor voice:, clear and ringing in its upper reaches, with gravelly and profound low notes. In a career as a composer, singer and songwriter, spanning over 70 years, he recorded…

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  • (originally posted March 22, 2020) I did a blog on Marcel Marceau about two years ago. Today, he would have been 100 years old. Therefore, I thought it appropriate to do another tribute to this Silent Hero. He survived the Nazi occupation and saved many children during World War II. He was regarded for his…

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  • I wish I could explain why this 15-month-old girl was an enemy of the state, but I can’t. I wish I could explain why this 15-month-old girl was an enemy of the French state, but I can’t. I wish I could explain why this 15-month-old girl was an enemy of the French state controlled by…

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  • Only 11

    Helene Wegbrejt it is just a random name She lived in Paris. She was French and Jewish.  Her birthday was September 16,1930. She would have been 89 today,but she didn’t even get to age 12. She was murdered in August 1942 in Auschwitz. She was one of many on Transport 20 from Pithiviers to Auschwitz…

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  • The dressmakers of Auschwitz

    Haute Couture fashion is not something you would associate with Auschwitz, yet there were about 23 women who worked as dressmakers, producing dresses and haute couture fashion. These female  prisoners served as the staff of the “Upper Tailoring Studio,” a private dressmaking shop for the wives of SS officers stationed at the facility. They were…

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  • Overlord 76

      76 years ago you embarked on something that had never been done before. 156,000 of you were dropped on the beaches in Normandy. 156,000 just imagine that. It is the equivalent of a medium sized city, like Alexandria in  Virginia USA. Not all 156,000 made it, thousands died even before they reached the beaches.…

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  • Of all stories relating to spies and collaborators during WWII this most be one of the most intriguing ones. When I first read about Violette Morris and saw the date she died,26 April 1944, I assumed she was killed for being a member of the French resistance. Why I thought that I don’t know. Born…

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  • This story is both heartbreaking and uplifting. Heartbreaking because it is a story about a mother who knew she was going to die. Uplifting because her last words were so positive and courageous, despite the fate that awaited her. Olga Bancic was born on May 10, 1912 to a large Jewish family living in the…

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  • I think mostly everyone has heard of the name Dior. The fashion house Dior is one of the most successful fashion houses in the world. However there is a darker history behind the name and on the other hand also a tale of heroism is connected to the name. Especially the family’s history during WWII…

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  • Regicide is the deliberate killing of a monarch, or the person responsible for the killing of a person of royalty. Through the ages there have been a great number of regicides, the last one happened this century. In June 1,2001 the Nepalese Royal Family was allegedly massacred by Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal. However this blog…

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