Theresienstadt concentration camp
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Victory in Europe Day referred to as VE Day, was the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany’s unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945. It marks the official end of World War II in Europe. For many, that day came too late. Some died that day…
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Although the Red Cross does important work, it often got it wrong in the past, and arguably in the present, when it’s about political positions. They appear to take one side—usually the side that controls the data. One infamous example is the visit by the International Red Cross to Theresienstadt Concentration Camp in 1944. The…
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I was reluctant to use the title, From Zero to 102 as the title, I didn’t want it to look like a review for a car. However, I couldn’t think of a more suitable title either. The 0 and the 102 are the ages of two victims of the Holocaust. This is how evil the…
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The story of Emanuel Arnold Maurice Speijer reminds me a lot of that of Nikolai Vavilov, a scientist who sacrificed his life to save the seeds in the Leningrad seed bank. Emmanuel Speijer was more fortunate though. Speijer was an entomologist. Entomology is the study of insects and their relationship to humans, the environment, and…
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Sometimes, you come across stories and are amazed that they are not widely known. We all have heard about Oskar Schindler because of Steven Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List.” Still, Otto Weidt’s story is probably just as amazing. It is a story that is close to me because I am half blind and will likely become utterly…
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A truly remarkable story of love and survival. In the late 1930s, Anka Bergman was a lively law student living in the Czechoslovakian capital, Prague. “I wanted company and boyfriends and to enjoy myself. I didn’t know that Hitler was coming, but I filled my time with only cinemas and theatres and concerts and parties,”…
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A mistake many people would make is that a charity as large as the Red Cross would not fall victim to manipulation. Although they have the best intentions, any charity can only go by the information given to them. They may believe they are eyewitnesses to something, but to suit “certain” narratives—façades can cover the…
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Art can be a powerful medium when expressing emotions or illustrating life as experienced. Artist Bedřich Fritta who was born Fritz Taussig expressed his experiences of the Holocaust via art. Fritta was captured and deported on 4 December 1941 to the Theresienstadt ghetto. His wife and son followed in 1942. Fritta and other illustrators in…
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In early April 1945, as the Second World War approached its harrowing conclusion, the Nazi regime intensified its efforts to relocate concentration camp prisoners in a desperate attempt to obscure the full extent of their crimes. Among these efforts was the transportation of prisoners from Bergen-Belsen to Theresienstadt in three trains—each a grim convoy of…
History of Sorts 