World War 2
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Last week, I had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Mehak Burza. Although I was suffering from a bad cold at the time, I went ahead with the interview because the message was too important, and I wanted to honor Dr. Burza’s generosity in making time for me. We spoke about her studies and how the…
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In the summer of 1943, Suze Arts, a young unmarried mother, got a job as an SS Aufseherin (female guard) at Camp Vught. She followed a six-week ‘training course’ at the notorious Ravensbrück women’s camp and became one of the most notorious female guards of Camp Vught. Susanne (Suze) Arts was born as the middle…
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Most people will have heard of the Nuremberg Trials, but few have heard of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE) or the Tokyo War Crimes Trial. The Nuremberg trials are often criticized because of the low number of convictions of Nazi War criminals. The conviction rate of the International Military Tribunal for…
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Viktor Ullmann’s “Der Kaiser von Atlantis” (The Emperor of Atlantis) is a unique and poignant opera composed during World War II. During this time, Ullmann was imprisoned in the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp. Viktor Ullmann was born on January 1, 1898, in Teschen, Austrian Silesia (now Český Těšín in the Czech Republic). Both his parents were…
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y When I write about Holocaust victims, I always try to write it from their point of view. I put myself in their shoes, so to speak, But I find it increasingly difficult to do; it physically affects me. In the case of the Polak family, I decided to just stick with the raw data…
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This grave is of 1 Lt Alvin X Zeidenfeld on Plot O Row 22 Grave 17. Netherlands American Cemetery.Margraten, Netherlands. He was one of the 8301 soldiers buried there. A few years ago, we were allowed to scatter our Father’s ashes on this hallowed soil. Lt Alvin X Zeidenfeld was a First Lieutenant with the…
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We are in the middle of the UEFA European Championship, and I thought it would be a good idea to look at some European footballers who were murdered during the Holocaust. György Szeder, born György Silberstein, this left winger used a different name to disguise his Jewish identity. He was just 19 when he joined…
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I know that some people may be offended by the title, and to be honest, that is their loss. I am simply using the terminology used in the 1930s and 1940s. The experiences of lesbians in Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, were complex and multifaceted, shaped by broader Nazi ideologies and policies on sexuality,…
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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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Rywka Lipszyc was a young Jewish girl who wrote a poignant diary during her time in the Lodz Ghetto in Poland during World War II. Her diary provides a personal and intimate glimpse into the life and thoughts of a teenager living under the extreme conditions of Nazi persecution. In I945, Rywka’s diary was found…