Auschwitz
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I did post about the Ovitz family before but because it is such a remarkable story, I thought it a good idea to do another one. Before I get into the main story, I have to explain that I mean no disrespect with the title— it was how the family gained recognition. The Ovitz family…
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On July 24, 1922, the Council of the League of Nations — the predecessor to the United Nations Security Council — formally approved the British Mandate for Palestine, marking one of the earliest legal steps toward the eventual establishment of the State of Israel. This decision came in the aftermath of World War I and…
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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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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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