Category Archives: Holocaust
“East West Street” by Philippe Sands
As a lawyer and budding historian, I found Philippe Sands‘ idea of telling the story of international criminal law through the biographies of Hersch Lauterpacht and Raphael Lemkin interesting. But the book East West Street is overloaded with the irrelevant … Continue reading
Kyiv – Day 18/21 – Snow
Recently, many readers were jealous because of the mild Ukrainian winter. You needn’t be jealous any longer, for it finally snowed and became slightly colder. But before you say “oh, how pretty”, I should point out that the photos were … Continue reading
Kyiv – Day 10/21 – Babi Yar
There is so much to say about this place, but before I do so, I need to spend more time there, read more about it and think more. As you see from the photos, it got dark too early for … Continue reading
Next trip: Krakow
Apparently, studying at a distance-education university does not only mean that I can study from anywhere, but also that they are taking me on trips. As part of my studies in history, I’ll be going on a field trip to Poland, starting … Continue reading
Germany 1945-1949
These two films illustrate – with quite drastic footage, you are warned – what the Allied powers thought of Germany immediately after the end of World War II. They did see, correctly in my view, a continuity of German militarism … Continue reading
Sean Spicer explains Gas Chambers
Pro tip: if you want to make historical comparisons, read a bit about history before you do so. Saying about Hitler that “he was not using the gas on his own people the same way that Assad is doing” displays … Continue reading
Kaunas: European Capital of Culture 2022
As with the choice for 2021, I agree with the election of the European Capital of Culture for 2022. It will be Kaunas in Lithuania. Sadly and inexplicably, during my whole year in Lithuania, I only found one day to visit … Continue reading
Book Review: “Alone in Berlin” by Hans Fallada
When a novel becomes an international bestseller 62 years after its original publication, there has to be something to it. Jeder stirbt für sich allein by Hans Fallada was published in Germany in 1947 and finally got translated into English … Continue reading
A Walk around Iași
I only spent one day in Iași in the far east of Romania, which is the far east of Europe for most of my readers anyway, when I was on the way back from Moldova, even further east. But fear not, … Continue reading
Easily Confused (60) Dehumanization
Dehumanization of Jews in Nazi propaganda: (Source: Der Giftpilz by Ernst Hiemer, published in Germany in 1938.) Dehumanization of Syrian refugees by Donald Trump: All that reading of Nazi literature really left its mark.
