History

General history issues, although a lot will be about WW2

  • Since it is ‘Earth Day’ today, I thought it would be appropriate to dedicated this episode of Epic Rock, to the blue planet we live on. What better song to do that then ‘Mother Earth’ by ‘Within Temptation’ “Mother Earth” is the third single of Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation from their second studio…

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  • Ashes in Auschwitz

    Although the title is Ashes in Auschwitz, it is more about the aftermath of the Holocaust, and I use it more as a metaphor. It is not that well-known that Auschwitz had about 40 sub-camps connected. This piece is about those who were left behind and had to, and sometimes still do, deal with the aftermath…

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  • 20 April 1945

    It’s difficult, if not impossible, to categorize any particular day as the eviliest day during World War II, but I think 20 April 1945 would be a good contender. On that day, Allied bombers in Italy began a three-day attack on the bridges over the rivers Adige and Brenta to cut off German lines of…

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  • Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

    Today marks the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. I think that not enough is actually told about the revolt. Those who resisted knew they didn’t really stand a chance. Yet they fought valiantly. The ŻOB(Żydowska Organizacja Bojowa-Jewish Combat Organization) fighters were armed with only pistols, grenades, many of which were homemade, and a…

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  • No News Today

    We have all heard of the expression “a no news day,” one of those days where not much happened news-wise. I usually enjoy those days because some news outlets will often report more quirky stories. But what happens when there really is no news? In 1930, the BBC was only about a decade old and…

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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…

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  • Blue Murder were an English rock band led by guitarist-vocalist John Sykes. The group was formed in 1987 following Sykes’s dismissal from Whitesnake. The initial line-up was rounded out by bassist Tony Franklin and drummer Carmine Appice. In its nascent stage, vocalist Ray Gillen and drummer Cozy Powell were attached to the project. In 1989,…

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  • David Eduard Izaks would have celebrated his 90th birthday today. He was born on 14 April 1933 in Woerden, the Netherlands. He was the youngest son of Eliazar Izaks and Henriëtte Izaks-Glaser. He had two brothers, Gerson and Salomon Albert, and a sister, Saartje Henriëtte. The family lived at 83 Voorstraat in Woerden. In 1941,…

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  • “Worn Down Piano” is a song by the American band The Mark & Clark Band, from their album Double Take. The song was written in 1977 by twin brothers Clark and Mark Seymour. The record was produced by Ron Dante of Archies fame, and was released as a single. The song (duration 8:10) is about…

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  • I had planned to write a post on the victims of Buchenwald that died shortly after liberation, I was sidetracked by stumbling across the story of Albert Leonard Wittenberg. Albert was born on 14 April 1909, in Paramaribo, Surinam. Surinam was a Dutch colony in South America. Like many of his fellow countrymen and women,…

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