History

General history issues, although a lot will be about WW2

  • You might think this is an odd subject in the narrative of World War II, perhaps it is. However, I was reminded of a former colleague who nearly died because he had an abscess in one of his teeth which he ignored. It had been neglected for several months, it eventually resulted in infections all…

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  • “The Flame” is a power ballad written by British songwriters Bob Mitchell and Nick Graham. The song was released in 1988 by the American rock band Cheap Trick and the first single from their tenth album Lap of Luxury. “The Flame” reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1988, becoming the band’s…

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  • Enola Gay

    I will not pass judgment about the event which involved the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, Enola Gay. Nothing would be easier than to judge in hindsight. I try to stick to the facts as much as possible. These facts actually started in 1937. What is often ignored in the whole debate of the dropping of the…

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  • During World War II, many medical advances were made. Surgery techniques such as removing dead tissue resulted in fewer amputations than at any time. The treatment of bacterial infections with penicillin or streptomycin was administered for the first time in large-scale combat. In the beginning, plasma was available as a substitute for blood. By 1945,…

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  • Episode 2 of the Soft side of Rock N Roll, is goin to be a double bill. Love Is All-Roger Glovers and Guests “Love Is All” is a 1974 pop song, credited to Roger Glover & Guests in the credits, but in reality sung by American heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio. It was featured…

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  • Levie Peper was a son of Abraham Peper and Margaretha Rood. He was born in Amsterdam on 24 June 1874, and he earned his money as a hawker. On 30 March 1905, he married Johanna (Naatje) Vos in Amsterdam, who was born there on 22 April 1871 to her parents Joseph Vos and Marianna Aron…

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  • Starting off the Soft Side of Rock N Roll with a classic Rolling Stones track “Fool to Cry” The song was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Mick Taylor had just left the band and the Stones were left without a lead guitarist. The recording of Black and Blue acted as a sort of…

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  • In the Middle Ages, beer was the drink of the people. “Ordinary” rain and canal water was not safe to drink. Because the drink had to be heated during the production process, the barley juice contained fewer harmful bacteria than water and was therefore healthier. It is estimated that the average Frisian drank as much…

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  • Evil Men and Evil Words

    These are testimonies of two men, one a low-ranking SS Infantry soldier, the other a member of the Hlinka Guard. The most disturbing aspect of the testimonies is not the description of the crimes committed, but the casual way of describing them. Hans Friedrich was a member of the 1st Infantry Brigade. He claimed not…

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  • We are running towards a wall. This wall represents the subsequent genocide. I fear that this genocide will be much bigger than the Holocaust. We are running towards a wall, not as individuals but as a group—a global group. The warning signs are there. For people like me, it is clear that we are living…

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