History

General history issues, although a lot will be about WW2

  • In the last few weeks, Patrick has been on my mind a lot, probably because of the UEFA Euro 2024. Shortly after UEFU Euro 88, we went on an interrail trip through the Benelux and went camping. All the Dutch we met were still celebrating the Dutch win of the Euros; it was a great…

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  • Most people will have heard of the Nuremberg Trials, but few have heard of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE) or the Tokyo War Crimes Trial. The Nuremberg trials are often criticized because of the low number of convictions of Nazi War criminals. The conviction rate of the International Military Tribunal for…

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  • Der Kaiser von Atlantis

    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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  • y When I write about Holocaust victims, I always try to write it from their point of view. I put myself in their shoes, so to speak, But I find it increasingly difficult to do; it physically affects me. In the case of the Polak family, I decided to just stick with the raw data…

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  • They Are Back…

    In 1993, the Dutch band “De Jazz Politie” wrote a song titled “Ze Zijn Terug,” which translates into English as They Are Back. The song was a protest against the rise of right-wing radicalism and neo-Nazism. The song is described from the perspective of a Holocaust survivor who relives her experiences through the right-wing radical…

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  • “Poundcake” is a Van Halen song and the opening track on their 1991 album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. (FUCK) “Poundcake” was the first song to be released as a single from the album, reaching number one on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart and number 74 on the UK Singles Chart. Van Halen performs…

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  • This grave is of 1 Lt Alvin X Zeidenfeld on Plot O Row 22 Grave 17. Netherlands American Cemetery.Margraten, Netherlands. He was one of the 8301 soldiers buried there. A few years ago, we were allowed to scatter our Father’s ashes on this hallowed soil. Lt Alvin X Zeidenfeld was a First Lieutenant with the…

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  • Holocaust and Football

    We are in the middle of the UEFA European Championship, and I thought it would be a good idea to look at some European footballers who were murdered during the Holocaust. György Szeder, born György Silberstein, this left winger used a different name to disguise his Jewish identity. He was just 19 when he joined…

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  • I know that some people may be offended by the title, and to be honest, that is their loss. I am simply using the terminology used in the 1930s and 1940s. The experiences of lesbians in Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, were complex and multifaceted, shaped by broader Nazi ideologies and policies on sexuality,…

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  • Delphine Anja Jennifer Drielsma Delphine was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on 19 June 1939. and murdered in Auschwitz, Poland, on 24 September 1942. She reached the age of three. A 3-year-old enemy of the state. Which state, though? In a world where shadows linger, cold and gray,A tender soul was taken far away,Innocence wrapped…

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