Berlin
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(Originally posted on July 25, 2023 on Dr Helmy’s 122 birthday) When you opened your Google page today, you would have seen a doodle celebrating the 122nd birthday of the birthday of Dr Mohamed Helmy. Before I go into the important story of this great man, I want to highlight a disturbing trend that is…
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Viktor Ullmann’s “Der Kaiser von Atlantis” (The Emperor of Atlantis) is a unique and poignant opera composed during World War II. During this time, Ullmann was imprisoned in the Theresienstadt Concentration Camp. Viktor Ullmann was born on January 1, 1898, in Teschen, Austrian Silesia (now Český Těšín in the Czech Republic). Both his parents were…
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I interviewed Limerick based author Seosamh Ó Cuinneagáin. Though long settled in Limerick, Ó Cuinneagáin’s journey began in Co. Kilkenny, rooted in childhood stories told by Paddy Stapleton, a veteran of the Somme. Stapleton’s tales of German precision planted the seed of a lifelong obsession. Decades later, that curiosity manifested in twenty consecutive summers spent…
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Even after death, the Nazi victims were still subjected to evil science. Hermann Stieve and His Connection to Liane Berkowitz and Mildred Harnack: An Intersection of Science and Ethical Transgression Hermann Stieve, a German anatomist who held a prominent position at what is now Humboldt University of Berlin, is remembered not only for his contributions…
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Some of you may know that I’m a rock fan, and one of my favourite bands is Queensrÿche(with Geoff Tate). One song in particular has always stayed with me: “Home Again.” The song explores the emotional toll of war from two perspectives — a father on the battlefield and his daughter waiting for him at…
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(Re-post from May 1,2025) In the final days of World War II, as the Third Reich collapsed and Allied forces closed in on Berlin, one of the most chilling episodes of the Nazi regime’s downfall unfolded in the Führerbunker beneath the ruins of the German capital. It was there that Magda and Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s…
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In November 1942, Fritz Pfeffer joined the Frank and Van Pels families in hiding, bringing the total number of people to eight. He was a solitary figure among two families and shared a room with the adolescent Anne Frank. Fritz was also a father—he had a son, Werner, with his first wife, Vera Henriette Bythiner.…
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The Rosenstrasse protest was a remarkable act of nonviolent resistance that took place in Nazi Germany during World War II. Unlike many other forms of opposition to the Nazi regime, this protest was initiated by ordinary German women, making it a unique and significant event in the history of civil resistance. Taking place in Berlin…
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I recall an experience from a few years ago when I was taking a web development course. One evening, I gave some of my fellow students a ride home, and in that moment, my car became a microcosm of diverse faiths—there was a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, and an atheist, all connected through a…
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The closing months of the Second World War witnessed a dramatic culmination of the Nazi regime’s repression against internal dissent. Among the many Germans who opposed Adolf Hitler’s tyranny from within were Alfred Delp, Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, and Johannes Popitz — three men of distinct backgrounds whose resistance activities ultimately led to their execution on…
History of Sorts 