Germany
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Below, you will find part of the testimony of Hans Friedrich, a 1st SS Infantry Brigade member. His words are shocking. “Try to imagine there is a ditch, with people on one side, and behind them soldiers. That was us, and we were shooting. And those who were hit fell down into the ditch. They…
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To say that the Germans were the only ones responsible for the Holocaust would be a mistake. They had plenty of willing helpers in the occupied countries and outside the occupied territory. Regardless of what some governments say nowadays, that their nations had no part to play in the biggest genocide ever committed, they are…
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I wear a yellow star so that people know who I am. Why? Didn’t they know me before? The kids in my neighborhood don’t have to wear a Yellow star. Am I different? And if so, how am I different? I breathe the same air, I read the same books, I play with the same…
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Paragraph 175 was a provision of the German Criminal Code that criminalized male homosexual acts. Introduced in 1871 and remaining in some form until 1994, this law had a profound impact on the lives of LGBT individuals in Germany. It led to widespread persecution, particularly under the Nazi regime, and its effects persisted through much…
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Anyone who grew up in Germany or the Netherlands would likely have seen at least one episode of Derrick, the German police drama set in Munich. The show ran from 1974 to 1998 and was so popular that even Pope John Paul II was rumored to be a fan. A while ago, I watched Faking…
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The Frankfurt Auschwitz trial (1963–1965) was one of the most significant post-war trials of Nazi war criminals in West Germany. It prosecuted former SS officers and personnel involved in the operation of the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp during the Holocaust. The trial, held in Frankfurt am Main, was led by Fritz Bauer, a German-Jewish…
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The Schutzstaffel (SS): The Engine of the Nazi State The Schutzstaffel, commonly referred to as the SS, played a pivotal role in the rise and implementation of the Nazi regime in Germany between 1925 and 1945. Originally formed as a paramilitary bodyguard unit for Adolf Hitler, the SS evolved into a multifaceted organization responsible for…
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My mother was born on December 10, 1935, and passed away on January 26, 1996, at the age of 60. It felt far too young, but I took solace in the fact that she lived a full life, witnessing all her children grow up and settle into their lives. Sigmund Cohen, born on the same…
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On November 12, 1938, the Nazi regime issued the Decree on the Elimination of Jews from Economic Life, marking another chilling step in its systematic campaign of persecution against Jewish people. This Decree sought to segregate Jews entirely from the German economy, forbidding them from owning businesses, selling goods and services, or engaging in trade.…
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When you see a photograph of a Wehrmacht officer in the context of the Holocaust, it’s natural to assume he was complicit in the atrocities of that time. Yet, in the case of Lieutenant Albert Battel, that assumption couldn’t be more wrong. Battel defied expectations and risked his life to oppose Nazi crimes—revealing an extraordinary…
History of Sorts 
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