History
General history issues, although a lot will be about WW2
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I’ve written about Corrie ten Boom before, but today marks the 80th anniversary of her release from Ravensbrück Concentration Camp—a perfect moment to reflect on this remarkable woman’s extraordinary courage and resilience. Corrie ten Boom is a name synonymous with resilience, faith, and forgiveness. As a Dutch Christian who harbored Jews during World War II,…
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Amid the chaos and carnage of World War I, a remarkable event unfolded on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in 1914 that remains a powerful symbol of hope and humanity. The Christmas Truce, an unofficial ceasefire on the Western Front, showed that even in the darkest of times, the human spirit can shine brightly. Setting…
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Who Was Eva Braun? A Villain, a Victim, or a Naive Girl Entranced by Love? Was she a shadowy accomplice to one of history’s greatest villains or a naive girl who fell hopelessly in love with the worst man imaginable? Was she his muse, his hostage, or both? Eva Anna Paula Hitler (née Braun; 6…
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Friedrich “Fritz” Pfeffer was born on April 30, 1889, in Gießen, Germany, into a Jewish family that owned a bustling clothing store in the city’s center. Bright and ambitious, Fritz pursued dentistry in Berlin, eventually establishing a successful practice. After completing his education, Fritz trained as a dentist and jaw surgeon, obtained a license to…
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The Foundation for Individual Insurance Claims Sjoa (Stichting Individuele Verzekeringsaanspraken Sjoa) pays out life insurance policies of individuals who were persecuted as Jews during the Second World War in the Netherlands to their rightful beneficiaries. They have a list of approximately 2,500 individuals with life insurance policies that were likely not paid out to the…
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The concept of concentration camps did not originate with the Nazis. In fact, the British created the first concentration camps during the Boer War (1899–1902). These camps were used to detain Boers and black Africans, preventing them from aiding Boer guerrillas. Tragically, over 27,000 Boers and 14,000 Africans, many of them children died in the…
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I recently finished am reading Animation under the Swastika: A History of Trickfilm in Nazi Germany, 1933–1945. This compelling book delves into the history of how Hitler and Joseph Goebbels sought to rival Hollywood, particularly the works of Walt Disney. It provides a fascinating and often chilling account of how animation was weaponized as a…
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The Battle of the Bulge fought from December 16, 1944, to January 25, 1945, was one of the largest and most consequential battles of World War II. This pivotal conflict between the Allied forces and Nazi Germany occurred in the Ardennes region of Belgium, Luxembourg, and France. Often considered Adolf Hitler’s last major offensive in…
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Anti-Semitic propaganda during the Third Reich was a central tool used by the Nazi regime to spread its ideology and justify the persecution and extermination of Jews. This propaganda aimed to dehumanize Jewish people, portray them as a threat to German society and blame them for Germany’s political, social, and economic problems. Here is a…
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The Reichstag Fire Trial, held in Leipzig from September 21 to December 23, 1933, was one of the most notorious and politically charged trials of the 20th century. The trial followed the fire that engulfed the Reichstag building in Berlin on February 27, 1933. This event and its subsequent judicial proceedings not only reflected the…
History of Sorts 