World War 2

  • Lynn is a psychotherapist and clinical social worker. She is the daughter of two Holocaust survivors. In the interview, we discuss the mental impact her parents’ ordeal had on her and also how that translated into her work as a psychotherapist. She was voted The Best Therapist of 2008 by the Main Line Times newspaper in Pennsylvania,…

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  • When I say “sporting hell,” I don’t mean the suffering caused by war or violence, but rather the challenges of participating in a sporting event under extreme weather conditions. The Dutch have always been passionate about sports, with ice skating holding a special place in their hearts. Not even a war could diminish their love…

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  • The German word “Wahnsinn,” meaning “insanity” or “madness,” bears a slight phonetic resemblance to “Wannsee.” The image above depicts the villa located at Am Großen Wannsee 56–58 in Berlin. On January 20, 1942, this villa became the site where 15 high-ranking Nazi officials convened to devise the horrifying plans for the Holocaust. Although the Holocaust…

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  • On May 30, 1943, Dr. Joseph Mengele began his “work” at Auschwitz. Unlike other camp physicians, who were assigned to prisoner selections according to a rotating schedule, Mengele actively sought this duty. He was the only doctor to volunteer for selections when new transports arrived by train and would sometimes ask to take over another…

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  • Nazi Railways

    We have all seen the pictures of the cattle wagons used to transport the Jews and other ‘Undesirables’ to the concentration camps and ghettos. Without a shadow of a doubt the Nazi Railways network played a pivotal role in the ‘Final Solution’ .Ironically(for the lack of a better word) though the same network also potentially…

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  • Hitler and Wagner

    I have to be honest, the title and the 2 pictures above are a bit misleading. Yes this blog is about the relationship between Hitler and Wagner but with Winifred Wagner , the daughter in law of Richard, the wife of Siegfried Wagner,  the son of the composer. Winifred Wagner (born Winifred Marjorie Williams; 23…

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  • It is a popular misconception that the concentration camps were a Nazi invention, but in fact the British had already established concentration camps in South Africa during the 2nd Boer war. It could be argued that the Indian reservations in the US were also concentration camps. But of course the sort of camps which were…

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  • Those Who Lived Through It

    Some of the perpetrators of the Holocaust just went about their business as if it was the most natural thing in the world. In the above photograph, you see a picture of the first German commander of Camp Schoorl SS-Untersturmführer Schmidt visiting Amsterdam as if he was a tourist. He is just one of the…

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  • Concentration Camp Erika

    The name Erika might have a nice ring to it but like all other Nazi concentration camps, Erika was a place of distress and torture.Erika was a Nazi concentration camp. The camp was situated at the Besthemerberg near Ommen, the Netherlands. The camp was designated mostly for Dutchmen convicted of black market trade or resistance…

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  • The title of this post, I’m Still Here: Real Diaries of Young People Who Lived During the Holocaust, is from a 2005 documentary produced by MTV (yes, MTV). It starred several famous actors reading excerpts from diaries of young people who lived during the Holocaust—most murdered. I’ve mentioned the full-length movies in this post. I also picked…

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