Politics
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Eva Braun is a bit of enigma. I do think that she was fully aware of what Hitler and his cronies were up to. She did first meet Hitler when she was still a teenager and would have been in awe of the man, but she did become his partner and later his wife, albeit…
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Every once in a while I come across a story which makes me immensely proud to be a native from Geleen. Those of you who read my blogs on a regular base, know that I was born in the town of Geleen in the south East of the Netherlands. Most of the Jews who lived…
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On September 15, 1935, the Nazi regime announced the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor (‘Gesetz zum Schutze des deutschen Blutes und der deutschen Ehre’). The law forbade sexual relations and marriages between Germans classified as so-called ‘Aryans’ and Germans classified as Jews. “–Section 1 Marriages between Jews and citizens of…
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When the Nazis rose to power in Germany, many businesspeople recognized opportunities in the new political climate. Some capitalized on the environment fostered by the NSDAP, particularly regarding the “Jewish Question.” They actively supported the Nazi regime, driven by self-interest and personal gain. Others, however, used their positions and influence to do good, helping those…
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Nowadays, it is easy to blame social media for the widespread distribution of fake news through memes and other formats. However, this phenomenon is far from new. About 100 years ago, propaganda postcards and cartoons served the same purpose (after all, a meme is essentially a digital version of a propaganda or satirical postcard or…
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This blog has nothing to do with the Holocaust—yet, paradoxically, it has everything to do with it. It has nothing to do with the Holocaust because the event I am discussing took place decades later. And yet, it has everything to do with the Holocaust because it illustrates just how easy it was for a…
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The Holocaust remains one of the darkest periods in human history, and while the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime are well-documented, the role of major corporations in facilitating these crimes is often less discussed. One such corporation is International Business Machines (IBM), an American multinational known for its computing technology. The company’s involvement with…
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Afghanistan is in the news again for all the wrong reasons. But I am not going to address that here, there are plenty of news outlets where you can read all about that. I want to go more into the history, or at least the recent history, of Afghanistan. The name Afghanistan (Afghānistān, land of…
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On 21 January 1968, an aircraft accident (sometimes known as the Thule affair or Thule accident involving a United States Air Force (USAF) B-52 bomber occurred near Thule Air Base in the Danish territory of Greenland. The aircraft was carrying four hydrogen bombs on a Cold War “Chrome Dome” alert mission over Baffin Bay when a cabin fire forced the crew to abandon the aircraft before they could carry out an emergency landing at Thule…
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In the corner, worn and scuffed, it lay,A silent witness to a world gone gray.Its leather cracked, its latches weak,It held the echoes no voice could speak. Ingrid de Vries, a child so small,Born in Amsterdam, one crisp fall.Her laughter danced in the autumn air,A fleeting joy—beyond despair. Her suitcase—packed with careful hands,By those who…
