Maastricht

  • My dad passed away on June 27 2015, his funeral was on July the 2nd. My siblings and I had decided that the day after his funeral we would go to his birth place, Maastricht, to remember him and to celebrate his life.We’d go by train so no one had to drive in an emotional…

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  • On 2 August 1942, 245 Jewish Catholics in the Netherlands were arrested. To the Nazis it didn’t matter if they had converted to Catholicism, in their eyes and according to their laws these people were still considered Jewish. Else Michaelis was among them. Else Michaelis was born in Berlin on March 30, 1889. Her father…

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  • It is strange how things can come full circle. My first real blog was about an event during WWII in my hometown of which I was blissfully ignorant about, until I stumbled upon it by accident.. I came across the story of Frieda Goldschmidt-Jakob which actually ties into that story. On October 5,1942 the RAF…

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  • Dr. Leonhard Levy.

    I often wonder how many really died during the Holocaust and where they did stop being considered a fatality of the Holocaust? I think the real numbers are much higher because I don’t think the numbers include victims who died after the war as a direct result of the Holocaust. Dr. Leonhard Levy was born…

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  • In several European cities, they are remembering victims of the Holocaust by placing plaques in the streets where they used to live. The plaques are referred to as Stumbling Stones because people may stumble while walking on the sidewalk, and the purpose is to draw attention to the plaques. The plaques indicate the name, date…

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  • On 2 August 1942, 245 Jewish Catholics in the Netherlands were arrested. To the Nazis it didn’t matter if they had converted to Catholicism, in their eyes and according to their laws these people were still considered Jewish. Else, Michaelis was among them. Else Michaelis was born in Berlin on March 30, 1889. Her father…

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  • Desecrating Synagogues

    The Holocaust wasn’t only the mass murder of the European Jews and other groups, it was also desecrating places of worships, especially synagogues,. It was showing total contempt and disrespect for holy places. The above picture was taken on September 16,1944. It shows American and Canadian Jewish soldiers clear the synagogue in Maastricht , which…

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  • They weren’t numbers, they all had names—Children with dreams and lovers with flames,Mothers with lullabies soft on their lips,Fathers with hands roughened by gripsOn shovels, on hammers, on books worn with age,Each is bound to the world, each written on a page. They weren’t numbers; they all had lives,Some barely begun, some hardened by strife,Eyes…

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  • Maastricht Liberated.

    Maastricht is one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands and one of the first settlements. It was also the first city to be liberated in World War 2. On 13 and 14 September 1944 it was the first Dutch city to be liberated by Allied forces of the US Old Hickory Division.. These are…

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  • This is a historical blog however not  so much about a big historical event but more a personal historical tale, which I was reminded of today. In 1991 hardly anyone had heard about Andre Rieu, I know I didn’t. My Mother was getting remarried and I had told her that I would pay for the…

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