History

General history issues, although a lot will be about WW2

  • 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

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  • Originally posted on History of Sorts: Silvain Wolf was just a footnote in history. But his story is an important one to tell. He was born on October 7,1902 in Beek, a small town in the province of Limburg, in the South East of the Netherlands. In 1930 he moved to nearby Sittard, where he…

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  • This house was an orphanage for Jewish girls from 1861 to 1943.In 1889 the orphanage was extended to include the neighbouring house.On 10 February 1943, the girls and their attendants weredeported to the extermination camp Sobibor. They were supposed to have been deported before, but due to a scarlet fever outbreak on 4 July 1942,

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  • Europe used to be a continent with a great number of currencies. Most European countries now have the Euro as the their currency. But where did it all begin? Stockholms Banco (also known as the Palmstruch’s Bank, Swedish: Palmstruchska banken) was the first European bank to print banknotes. It was founded in 1657 by Johan

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  • Originally posted on History of Sorts: It always amazes me how easy it was for some Europeans to give up their Jewish neighbours. I know it is easy for me to say that in retrospect, because I don’t know how I would have reacted if I was put in that situation. But I have a…

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  • If you look for the name Elfried Huth, you probably won’t find anything. Her story is both amazing and appalling. It is also the most bizarre and disturbing love story you will ever read. Elfriede was born on 14 July 1922, in Leipzig. 22 years later, being still quite young, she joined the ranks of

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  • Originally posted on History of Sorts: May 16 is a date which links two events in relation to the Holocaust, even though they are 15 years apart. Hana Bradyová was born on 16 May 1931 in Prague, the daughter of Markéta (née Dubsky) and Karel Bradyová. Her family lived in Nové Město na Moravě in…

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  • The 12th of July is the day when a whole bunch of protestants in Northern Ireland go Dutch. It is an event that truly intrigues me, because it basically goes against everything the Dutch stand for. So what is it all about? On the 12th of July every year. The day commemorates Protestant king William

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  • Instrumental Tunes

    Originally posted on History of Sorts: This is going to be a bit of a deviation from my usual heavy historical blogs. It will all about music in this one. A great tune doesn’t always need to be accompanied by lyrics, sometimes the music itself does all the talking. These are just some of my…

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