Mauthausen
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As the Second World War drew to a close and the Nazi regime faced inevitable defeat, its acts of brutality did not diminish — in many cases, they escalated into desperate and horrific final acts of violence. One of the most chilling episodes of this period was the last use of gas chambers at Mauthausen…
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Himmler, Seyss-Inquart and Rauter decided to set an example: the first round-up against Jews became a fact. On Saturday afternoon, 22 February 1941, a column of German trucks appeared near Waterlooplein,Amsterdam. The area was completely cordoned off. Young Jewish men were ruthlessly herded together on Jonas Daniël Meijerplein, in Amsterdam. On the following day, many…
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Primum non nocere is the Latin phrase for “First do no harm” It is part of the Hippocratic Oath including the promise “to abstain from doing harm” . The Hippocratic Oath is an oath historically taken by physicians. It is one of the most widely known of Greek medical texts. In its original form, it requires a new physician to…
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On 19 February 1941, the German Grüne Polizei stormed into the Koco ice cream salon in the Van Woustraat. In the fight that ensued, several police officers were wounded. The Nazi authorities did not put up with the attack on their police officers. To end the unrest, they decided to hold a raid the weekend…
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Before delving into the story of Adriana Valkenburg, it’s important to understand the context of prostitution in the Netherlands. While prostitution has historically been tolerated in the country, it was not officially recognized as a legal profession until 1988. In the Netherlands, prostitution is legal and regulated, with sex work recognized as a legitimate profession.…
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The saying goes, “Music can soothe the savage beast,” but what if it is the savage beast that is using the music as a cynical form of evil and torture? In July 1942, Hans Bonarewitz attempted to escape from the Mauthausen concentration camp by trying to hide himself inside a box and was captured on…
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Simon Wiesenthal was born on December 31, 1908, in Buczacz, a town then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (today in western Ukraine). He was the eldest of four children in a Jewish family. His father was a teacher, and Wiesenthal grew up in an environment that valued education and community involvement. He pursued studies in…
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One aspect of the Holocaust which is often forgotten is the other damage caused. What I am referring to is the fatalities caused by a lack of qualified medical staff. I am not sure if there is any data on that, but it stands to reason that aside of the 6 million or more Jews…
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When the gates of Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, Dachau, Mauthausen and other Nazi concentration camps were finally unshackled in 1945, the world watched as skeletal survivors stumbled out of hell. The war was ending, and freedom had come. But for thousands of victims, it came too late. These are the stories we don’t always hear—the stories of…
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Max Hirsch was one of the 937 passengers aboard the St. Louis, the cruise ship that left the port of Hamburg on May 13, 1939, with Cuba as its final destination. The vast majority of the passengers were Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany. Across the Atlantic Ocean, they hoped to find a safe haven. However,…
