world-war-ii
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Bernard Henri Piller was born in Maastricht on 8 February 1932 and murdered by the Nazis in Auschwitz on 23 September 1943. He reached the age of 11 years. Henri Samuel Piller was also born in Maastricht on 15 April 1935. The nazis murdered him at Auschwitz on 23 September 1943 at the tender age…
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(Re-post from 16 July 2025) In the West, when we think about World War II, we predominantly think about the war against the Nazis. However, there were quite a large number of Europeans who were fighting the Japanese in the Pacific. We also often forget that the Japanese Imperial Army, Navy, and Air Force were…
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The Nazi concentration camp system evolved into a machine of mass murder, and Auschwitz became its deadliest cog. Located in Poland, Auschwitz initially served as a concentration and forced labor camp for Polish political prisoners. However, in 1941, it became the epicenter of Nazi extermination efforts. Among the most horrifying aspects of Auschwitz’s legacy was…
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The graph above shows the estimated breakdown of the people murdered during the Holocaust. It is an estimated number because no one knows the exact number. The estimates are compiled by “Statista” a leading and very reputable statistics provider. The estimated number they have come up with is 17,458,900. Personally, I think that number is…
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I know that most people will know what the Holocaust is, but for some groups, it had a different name. In this blog, I try to explain some of the complexities. The Holocaust stands as one of the most horrific and systematic genocides in human history. Occurring during World War II, from 1933 to 1945,…
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At the De Zorg farm, on the Oude Sloterweg in Nieuw-Vennep,the Netherlands, the Boogaard family, led by the 75-year-old Johannes Boogaard, showed remarkable compassion. They helped hundreds of—mainly Jewish—people in hiding, providing refuge in every corner of the yard: an air raid shelter, on the haystack, and in a car. Their compassionate actions during the…
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Before I go into the main story, I want to start with an extract of the testimony of Marcel Nadjari, who was a member of a Sonderkommando in Auschwitz. The Sonderkommandos were groups of Jewish prisoners forced to perform a variety of duties in the gas chambers and crematoria of the Nazi camp system. “The…
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Mauthausen was one of the most prominent and most notorious Nazi concentration camps during World War II. Located near the town of Mauthausen in Upper Austria, it was established shortly after Germany annexed Austria in 1938. The camp, originally intended for political prisoners and those considered enemies of the Nazi regime, eventually held a wide…
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Delphine Anja Jennifer Drielsma Delphine was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on 19 June 1939. and murdered in Auschwitz, Poland, on 24 September 1942. She reached the age of three. A 3-year-old enemy of the state. Which state, though? In a world where shadows linger, cold and gray,A tender soul was taken far away,Innocence wrapped…
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I just want to make it crystal clear at the start that this blog is not meant to judge, nor is it meant for anyone else to use as a tool to pass judgment. The honest truth is that if I had been in that situation, I could easily have been a Kapo myself. Kapos…
