Paris
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A Stolpersteinplural Stolpersteine; literally means “stumbling stone”, metaphorically a “stumbling stone” is a sett-size, ten-centimetre (3.9 in) concrete cube bearing a brass plate inscribed with the name and life dates of victims of Nazi extermination or persecution. Created by the artist Gunter Demnig in 1992, Stolpersteine is brass-topped cobblestones embedded in the pavement outside a…
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Alain Delon would have celebrated his 91st birthday today. Sadly, he passed away in August 2024, leaving behind a legacy that forever shaped European cinema — and, to a certain extent, Hollywood as well. Known for his striking screen presence, enigmatic charm, and unforgettable roles, Delon stood as one of the true icons of 20th-century…
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One of the most famous paintings, if not the most famous painting is the Mona Lisa,painted by Leonardo da Vinci. In 1503 or 1504 Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to paint Lisa del Giocondo (nee Gherardini), the painting became known as the Mona Lisa. Aged 15, real-life Lisa Gherardini married Florentine merchant Francesco del Giocondo. a…
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On July 29, 1942, Transport #12 (designated by French records as Convoi 12) departed from the Le Bourget-Drancy railway hub just outside Paris. Bound for the extermination network of Auschwitz-Birkenau in occupied Poland, the sealed train carried 1,001 Jewish men, women, and children. When World War II came to an end in 1945, only five…
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“Le Dernier Métro” (The Last Metro) is a 1980 French film directed by François Truffaut. It is a poignant drama set in Nazi-occupied Paris during World War II. The film captures the struggles of a Jewish theater owner and his wife as they attempt to keep their theater running amidst the horrors of occupation and…
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It always amazes me how easy it was for some Europeans to give up their Jewish neighbours. I know it’s easy for me to say that in retrospect, because I don’t know how I would have reacted if put in that situation. But I have a feeling I would have spoken out about it the…
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There are very few items of fashion that please both women and men. The Bikini would be one of them, women like to wear them and men like to look at them, although nowadays some men wear them too, why? I do not know. The bikini was born at a Paris poolside photo shoot on…
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Below is a historically grounded overview of major Islamist terrorist attacks in the late 20th and 21st centuries. The list is not exhaustive—there have been hundreds of attacks globally—but it includes many of the most consequential, influential, and widely documented incidents associated with Islamist extremist organizations or ideologies. It is important to distinguish between Islam…
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Josephine Baker is mainly remembered for her erotic and provocative dances, vaudeville routines, and appearances in films. However her efforts to fight the tyranny of Fascism have received very little attention. She was born as Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis, Missouri. Her mother, Carrie, was adopted in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1886 by Richard…
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An Iranian official risking his life to save Jews? This scenario, while unlikely nowadays, actually happened during the Holocaust. Abdol Hossein Sardari, often hailed as the “Iranian Schindler,” disagrees with that title; he was Sardari, and Schindler was Schindler; comparing the two men takes away from what they both did. Sardari was a notable Iranian…
