Auschwitz

  • The Vision and the Context In 1936, as Berlin prepared to host the official Summer Olympics under Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime, a radical alternative was being organized in Barcelona—the People’s Olympiad (Catalan: Olimpíada Popular, Spanish: Olimpiada Popular) Selected as the official host, Berlin’s decision had rebuffed Barcelona’s bid during the 1931 IOC Session—Berlin won 43…

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  • A Starling in Auschwitz

    Amid the wire and winter’s breath,Where silence echoes the song of death,A lone starling perched, dark and small,Sang to the void that answered its call. It fluttered near walls stained by grief,Among the ruins, beyond belief,Its wings beat fast against the grey,A fleeting dance in a world of decay. Above the barracks, cold and bare,It…

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  • Luise Löwenfels (was a German nun of Jewish descent who is remembered for her courage and faith during the Nazi era. Her story is one of personal sacrifice, spiritual conviction, and tragic martyrdom. She was born on July 5, 1915, in Eschweiler, Germany, into a Jewish family. Her parents, both of Jewish heritage, raised her…

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  • On 3 September 1944, Anne Frank and the seven others living in hiding at the Secret Annex were put on the last transport to Auschwitz, along with over a thousand other Jewish prisoners. One of the cruellest jokes (for lack of a better word) the Nazis played was to pretend these journeys were return trips…

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  • It is seldom that 3 random words can send shivers down your spine but the words ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ do. Just three ordinary words used many times in daily life and yet they also mean total horror. The literal translation is Work makes free, I know they are often translated as works set you free,…

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  • On 15 November 1943, Himmler ordered that Romani and “part-Romanies” were to be put “on the same level as Jews and placed in concentration camps.” Between 1933 and 1945, Roma and Sinti in Europe were targets of Nazi persecution. The Nazi regime, building on long-held prejudices, viewed Roma as “a-socials” (outside “normal” society) and as…

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  • You stole my childhood

    You stole my childhood and took my life for one reason and one reason only. hate! Because of your hate you denied me to grow up to become a Doctor, who could have save your mother,your father or your child. Your hate stopped me from being an artist, whose paintings could have brought some much…

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  • 2731 was the inmate number given to this girl. Nothing else is known about her, except that it is very unlikely that she  survived. My heart broke when I saw this picture. A life wiped out only a picture that remains. Not a picture of a young girl dressed in a gown. Or a picture…

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  • I know this blog may not sit comfortably with everyone, but I believe it’s important to look at the Holocaust from every possible angle if we are to understand its full story. What follows is a glimpse into that story, seen through the words of a man who once stood guard at Auschwitz. The letter,…

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  • Before I go into the main story, I just want to point out the most disturbing aspect of the picture above. At the very front is a lady carrying a baby. We know now what her fate would have been. It is a disturbing sight on an old photograph, so just imagine how disturbing this…

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