Holocaust
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In all honesty, the title of this blog may be incorrect, but it is an intriguing title nonetheless. Ben Ali Libi was the stage name of the Dutch Jewish magician Michel Velleman (5 January 1895 – 2 July 1943). I believe it is an important story that needs to be kept alive. The reason the…
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For every soul that walked in fear,Whose footsteps faded year by year,A rose shall bloom where shadows lay,To honor those who slipped away. For every name that was erased,For every tear that never tracedIts path down its cheeks was too cold, too numb,A rose for each heart overcome. For every cry the wind concealed,For silent…
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I’ve written about Eddy Hamel before, but I wanted to revisit his story as we’re in the middle of the FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, with the finals set to take place in the United States — in East Rutherford, New Jersey in 2026. I hope his memory will be honored then. Eddy Hamel was…
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A thousand lenses, thick with dust,lie tangled in a heap of rust,frames twisted like the lives they bore,left broken there upon the floor. Each pair once rested on a nose,brought blurred lives close and clear;each bridge and temple bent and worn,a testament to seeing here. Round, thin, and wire-bound,child-sized frames to old, stout rims—each one…
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It is hard to fathom what this man must have felt doing the sport he loved, whilst he was imprisoned in Auschwitz.Every match he boxed was literally a match to the death for either him or his opponent. Salamo Arouch (January 1, 1923 – April 26, 2009) was a Jewish Greek boxer, the Middleweight Champion…
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Johanna Langefeld (née May, 5 March 1900 – 26 January 1974) remains one of the most intriguing and morally complex figures among the female staff of Nazi concentration camps. Rising from a modest background as a domestic-economy instructor to become an Oberaufseherin (senior female overseer), she served at Lichtenburg, Ravensbrück, and the women’s section of…
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David Friedmann’s story is not just a story of dealing with the horrors of the Holocaust but also a story of a second chance and hopes despite immense grief and hardships. The artist David Friedmann was born in Mährisch Ostrau, Austria (now Ostrava, Czech Republic), but moved to Berlin in 1911. In 1944, Friedman was…
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A question people often ask me is “Why did so many Germans believe Hitler and the NSDAP?” Hitler did not keep his hate for Jews and other groups he deemed unworthy a secret. In fact he wrote about it in Mein Kampf and other political publications.So why did so many Germans endorse him and his…
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Alois Brunner was one of the most feared and ruthless Nazi war criminals during the Holocaust. As a senior SS officer and a close associate of Adolf Eichmann, Brunner played a pivotal role in the deportation of tens of thousands of Jews to concentration and extermination camps. Known for his cold-blooded efficiency and unrelenting cruelty,…
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The question ‘Is it acceptable to use data from Nazi experiments?’ is one of the most difficult ethical questions to answer. At least for me it is, I am a man who bases a lot of his decisions on his gut feeling. In this case my gut feeling says no. However if I keep my…
