France

  • World War II was one if not the darkest era in history, Unprecedented death and destruction, and genocide. However, there were lighter moments during the six years of war. The photograph above is of French children playing with the U.S. mascot in Normandy. An American soldier and his pet fox made friends with two small…

    Read more →

  • Holocaust Diaries

    A diary is the most personal possession someone might have. It is a journal of their wishes, fears and often their secrets. It is therefore extremely important when a diary becomes public it is treated with the utmost dignity and respect, especially those that were written during the darkest era of mankind. Diary of Susi…

    Read more →

  • He is just one of the 6 million. But I believe that remembering all those Jewish fellow citizens, is best done one at a time. They were all human beings like everybody else. The same ambitions, the same emotions. Iwan was born in Iserlohn, Germany, on 31 March 1903. He came from Cologne to The…

    Read more →

  • I can’t say I am a great fan of car races. To be honest I don’t get the fascination of the F1-Formula One. However, I have to admit that despite my lack of enthusiasm for the sport, I am still proud that the current world champion is a Dutchman. It made me think though where…

    Read more →

  • This is one of those amazing stories of resilience and perseverance. Odette Sansom, aka Odette Churchill and Odette Hallowes, code name Lise, was an agent for the United Kingdom’s clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) in France during World War II. She was born on 28 April 1912 in Amiens, France. She met an Englishman, Roy…

    Read more →

  • Although the tide had already turned for the Nazis , June 6-1944 was to become the final push for the allied troops to free Europe from the Nazi regime. Theodore Roosevelt Jr., son of former US President Theodore Roosevelt,was the only general on D-Day to land by sea with the first wave of troops. At…

    Read more →

  • (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…

    Read more →

  • 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…

    Read more →

  • 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…

    Read more →

  • 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…

    Read more →