Holocaust
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On June 20, 1942, the SS guard at the Auschwitz exit was visibly shaken. In front of him idled the car of Rudolf Höss, commandant of the notorious concentration camp. Inside were four armed SS men. One of them—a second lieutenant, or Untersturmführer—was shouting and cursing furiously. “Wake up, you buggers!” he bellowed in German.…
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Delphine Anja Jennifer Drielsma Delphine was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on 19 June 1939. and murdered in Auschwitz, Poland, on 24 September 1942. She reached the age of three. A 3-year-old enemy of the state. Which state, though? In a world where shadows linger, cold and gray,A tender soul was taken far away,Innocence wrapped…
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So many people think that the Holocaust only lasted as along as WWII. But they could not be further away from the truth. It could be argued that the foundation of the Holocaust goes back to 1879, when Wilhelm Marr becomes the first proponent of racial anti-Semitism, blaming Jews for the failure of the German…
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The meeting between Adolf Hitler and Hajj Amin al-Husayni on November 28, 1941, in Berlin represents a significant, though often overlooked, episode in the broader context of World War II and the Middle Eastern political landscape of the time. Hajj Amin al-Husayni, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, was a key Palestinian nationalist leader, and his…
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I just want to make it crystal clear at the start that this blog is not meant to judge, nor is it meant for anyone else to use as a tool to pass judgment. The honest truth is that if I had been in that situation, I could easily have been a Kapo myself. Kapos…
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Nico Peeters was born on 12 April 1893 in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and lived in The Hague. He grew up with his brothers and sister in a family with deaf parents. He was an entrepreneur and resistance member. Nico owned a cigar factory with his brother Ben. The Peeters family was idealistic and active in the resistance.…
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This is a Substack from my good friend Grant Gochin. On June 11, the Government of Lithuania used Holocaust Museum LA’s reopening to claim “Lithuania’s place” in Holocaust memory. The museum had been warned, in writing, about exactly this. It welcomed Lithuania anyway. The reopening deserves praise. After a major expansion, the survivor-founded institution opened…
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This is Margot Jany, eight-years-old when she was murdered in Auschwitz-Birkenau. This is Ernest Frydman, age nine from Paris, France deported and murdered in Auschwitz on August 1942. This is Mina and Joseph Kiszelewski, murdered in the gas chamber on August 26, 1942, at ages nine and six. This is Bernard Gutman, age eight, from…
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Music soothes the savage beast, that is what Shony Alex Braun must have thought when he played for the SS. Shony’s story may seem like he had it relatively easy life, playing for the SS. However, I believe that could not be further from the truth. It wouldn’t take much for the SS to suddenly…
History of Sorts 