World War 2
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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 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…
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Mordechai Santilhano was a Dutch-Jewish performing artist. He was born on 11 January 1905. He was murdered in or near Auschwitz on 12 October 1944. He used the artist name Max Santiel or simply Oom Max-Uncle Max. I could say quite a lot about him, but I have decided to leave his own words to…
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I am always surprised why there is so little known about Danish war crimes in the context of the Holocaust. Is it that perhaps most of the Danish Jews survived? Are we, therefore, given the Danes a pass? Something I said many times before when it comes to the Holocaust is that none of the…
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They say a painting is worth a thousand words, and that is true, but it never tells the complete story. It is just a snapshot of time—especially about the Holocaust. Photographs are powerful, but I believe the testimonies of those who survived and lived through the horrors are much more powerful. Rudolf Joachim Seck was…
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It wasn’t only the Nazis who used the railway for mass deportations. In the pre-dawn hours of June 14, 1941, a synchronized knock echoed across thousands of doors in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Families were awoken by officers of the Soviet secret police (NKVD), read a brief decree, and given mere hours to pack a…
History of Sorts 