Poland
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David Olère was a Polish-French artist known primarily for his powerful and haunting artworks depicting the Holocaust. Born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1902, Olère survived internment in several concentration camps during World War II, including Auschwitz and Buchenwald. After the war, Olère settled in France and began creating art that bore witness to the atrocities…
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At the beginning of April 1945, the Allies rapidly approached the province of Groningen in the Netherlands. The province’s liberation was in three regions: the border region between Musselkanaal and the Dollard, the city of Groningen, and the “bridgehead Delfzijl.” Local resistance members succeeded in preserving “The Iron Blow.” This was the only bridge over…
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This blog is not meant to pass judgment, I am not in a position to do so, simply because I was never put in that situation. All I know is I would do anything for survival, and especially for the survival of my family. I leave the judgment to those who survived the Holocaust, it…
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The title is an excerpt from the diary of Etty Hillesum. Following are a few excerpts of several Holocaust diaries. What I find striking—is that despite the horrors, they still had a glimmer of hope. Anne Frank June 12, 1942: “I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never…
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Fritz Beer, was born in Berlin, on 28 May 1927. He was murdered at Auschwitz on 31 March 1944, He was 16 years old. Emanuel Louis Kats was born in Apeldoorn, on 5 April 1915. He was murdered at Auschwitz on 31 March 1944, His occupation was a tailor. He was 28 at the time…
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The text of the letters below, are the innocent words of an 11-year-old boy, The contents seem harmless enough, not complex at all, but with childish wisdom. However, put in the context of the time the letters were written, it makes the text devastatingly heartbreaking, with no coming back. Dear Mommy, How are you? I…
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I had the privilege today to interview Hans Knoop. Hans Knoop is a Dutch journalist who was best known for the role he played in the unmasking and arrest of the war criminal Pieter Menten.Knoop was born during the Second World War to Jewish parents in hiding. Knoop grew up in Amsterdam. In 1963, Knoop…
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They say that the eyes are the window to your soul. If you looked into the eyes of Herta Ehlert(pictured above) you would see a very dark soul. Herta worked in several concentration camps, including Auschwitz and Bergen Belsen. She was known for her brutality and involvement in the selection and execution of prisoners. Holocaust…
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I believe that the most effective way to keep the Holocaust in our memory is by remembering individuals—rather than talking about numbers, which are just so hard to comprehend. Ralph Blankenstein was born in Hamburg on September 29, 1922. His father, Isidor, lived in Hamburg, where he met his future wife Helene Blankenstein née Bluman,…
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One aspect of the Holocaust, which often is overlooked, is the life in the ghettos. The Nazis created at least 1,143 ghettos in the occupied eastern territories. There were three kinds of ghettos. Closed ghettos were set apart by walls or fences with barbed wire. The Nazis compelled Jews living in the surrounding areas to…
History of Sorts 