Auschwitz
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Behind every yellow star was a human being with hopes, fears, and a life—just like you and me. This blog will contain images of human beings. These are all photographs of Dutch Jews, or of other European Jews who had managed to escape the Nazi regime—though only briefly. I don’t know the fate of each…
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As I’ve said before: a picture tells a thousand words, but never the full story. That’s one of the reasons I choose to limit the use of graphic images. Words can leave a deeper impact—they require time, attention, and reflection. A picture allows you to quickly decide whether or not to engage, but a story…
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(First published May 29, 2024) I had a draft for this piece ready in 2018 but deleted it at the time because I thought it would be too controversial and uncomfortable to read. Forward to 2025, I still think it will be deemed as controversial, and I still think it is uncomfortable to read, but…
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The photograph above is of a selection in Auschwitz-Birkenau. It looks horrendous enough when you look at it, but if you analyze it, the horrors become so real. Firstly, it is clear that the line on the left will not show the end of that day. They are doomed to go into the gas chambers.…
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Flóra Klein was just a teenager when the world around her began to fall apart. She was born to a modest Jewish family in Jánd, a small Hungarian village. Life was hard but filled with love—her parents kept traditions alive, the Sabbath was a sacred time, and music often floated from the kitchen as her…
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Witold Pilecki stands as one of the most courageous and selfless figures of the 20th century. A Polish cavalry officer, intelligence agent, and resistance leader, Pilecki did what few could even imagine: he voluntarily infiltrated the Auschwitz concentration camp to gather intelligence and organize resistance from within. His mission was unparalleled in both bravery and…
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I saw a Holocaust picture in the shape of jigsaw earlier today, which inspired me to write this poem. I don’t know of there were any jigsaws in Auschwitz, but the thought intrigued me. In a corner of barrack, cold and bare,Lay pieces of cardboard, torn with care—A jigsaw, faded, frayed with time,A scattered prayer…
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Adolf Hitler’s 56th birthday was on April 20, 1945, during the final days of World War II. By this time, Nazi Germany was collapsing under the Allied advance. Hitler spent the day in his bunker beneath the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, surrounded by close aides. Despite the bleak situation, some staff attempted a subdued celebration…
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When the gates of Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, Dachau, Mauthausen and other Nazi concentration camps were finally unshackled in 1945, the world watched as skeletal survivors stumbled out of hell. The war was ending, and freedom had come. But for thousands of victims, it came too late. These are the stories we don’t always hear—the stories of…
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“As long as a name is mentioned, someone is not forgotten,” meaning if you mention the name of one person, that person is remembered. I know it sounds quite obvious, but when you think about it for a minute, it is the essential first step to ensure that the Holocaust will not happen again. I…
History of Sorts 
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