History
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Four Poles, Kazimierz Piechowski, Stanislaw Gustaw Jaster, Józef Lempart, and Eugeniusz Bendera, escaped on June 20, 1942 after breaking into an SS storeroom and stealing uniforms and weapons. In disguise, they drove away in a vehicle that they stole from the SS motor pool, and reached the General Government. Jaster carried a report that Witold…
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When standing at attention for a long time, once the musical director gives the sign, the horn may be placed under the right arm’ These and other strict instructions applied to playing the Nationale Jeugdstorm (NJS, National Youth Storm) trumpet. With the Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth Movement) in Germany as their example, the Dutch Nazi Party…
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There are very few positive stories of the Holocaust,however every once in a while a positive tale of survival during the world’s darkest era pops up. On 8 October 1941, the Jewish cattle dealer Salli Schwarz narrowly escaped a roundup on Molenstraat in the town of Winterswijk,the Nerherlands.. Sneaking through backyard after backyard, he embarked…
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Before the close of World War II, when the Red Army failed to leave Eastern European countries, Stalin’s sphere of influence was expanding. Eventually that group of Soviet-occupied nations became known as the “Warsaw Pact.” At Yalta, Stalin apparently never meant for his troops to leave. He just forgot to mention it to Churchill and…
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We all know the story of Anne Frank but we don’t really know that much of the others who hid in the secret annex. On Father’s day lets have a look at the other 2 Fathers who stayed with Anne Frank and her family. Hermann van Pels, (31 March 1898 – October 1944), known as…
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To most of us,including me Joseph H. Hercker is just a random name. But to Joan Hercker it is the name of her Father. A man who sacrificed his future Father’s days so that others could celebrate theirs. He was born 2 July 1918,Philadelphia,Pennsylvania. In February 1945 Joseph Hercker was stationed in France As a member of the Crusader Group, andflew 16 combat sorties between February 6 andApril 3, 1945, in the European Theater of Operations. On April 3, after completing a”medium” bombing mission of marshalling yards at Hameln and Holzmeinden in central Germany,his plane was separated from the rest of the formation in overcast weather. It is not clear what happened, but when the formation broke cover there was no sign of his…
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A child is born with no state of mind,blind to the ways of mankind. During WWII,as in any other war, all the children were victims,without exception.Of course the degree and severity on how they were victims had a significant difference. Some lost their lives,while others lost their innocence. Many of those who lost their innocence…
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Sometimes you hear a song on the radio and you may have actually heard this song for many years,always thinking it was an original. However it often happens that these “originals” are actually copies or covers. In this blog I will be looking at the songs in the original language, sometimes performed by the same…
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Before Germany invaded Poland, more than a million people lived in Warsaw. When the city was liberated in January of 1945 – just four months after the Nazis crushed the city during the Warsaw Uprising – only 153,000 starving citizens had survived. Wladyslaw Szpilman was one of them. The pianist, whose hands would once more…
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On this day of his passing it is good to look back at his biggest legacy, although he was not solely responsible for it, he did play a major and decisive part in it. There were two, very moving developments that led to the reunification of Germany: the democratization of the east, especially made possible…
History of Sorts 
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