Category Archives: Czech Republic

Terezin: the “Paradise” ghetto.

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

What a lovely way to perpetuate the legacy of a young musician and composer, Gideon Klein, whose life was destroyed in the German concentration camps of World War II. Here’s a short video from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Birkenau, or … Continue reading →

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Roma sterilization.

Posted on November 30, 2009 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

Human rights campaigners won an important moral victory on Monday when the government of Jan Fischer expressed regret over the forced sterilization of women, almost all of them members of the country’s Roma minority.

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Judge Vojtěch Cepl was a gentle giant with a wry sense of humor and great incisive perspicacity.

Posted on November 25, 2009 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

He was the principal drafter of the Czech Constitution and a great admirer of the United States. 1938 – 2009 The rules of human conduct are the most difficult to transform because there is the tremendous force of inertia to … Continue reading →

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Spiders and sex.

Posted on May 1, 2009 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

A Czech entomologist on sadistic spider sex: Typically, spider males deliver their genetic package via sperm that is deposited into a small web and manually inserted using a pair of appendages on their undersides known as pedipalps. The sperm are … Continue reading →

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Sir Nicholas Winton, a hero for the ages.

Posted on February 22, 2009 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

A couple of years ago I was lucky to be invited by a friend to go to Paris.  My visit there coincided with the visit of one of those rare individuals who –in his unassuming way- was a giant of … Continue reading →

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Entropa: “We wanted to prove that 20 years after the fall of the Iron Curtain, there is no censorship,” said Alexander Vondra, former Czech dissident.

Posted on January 20, 2009 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

Meet Entropa, sculpted by David Cerny. This is  the commemorative sculpture that marks the Czech Republic’s assumption of the presidency of the European Union. The sculpture represents EU countries. These representations are whimsical, childish, funny, offensive, sophomoric, depending whose viewpoint … Continue reading →

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Have you ever heard of Oswiecim?

Posted on June 12, 2007 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

Auschwitz From Krakow (Poland), driving through beautiful fields, along country roads with fruit trees lining the sides of the roads, one eventually arrives at the most infamous place in the world: a pleasant little town called Oswiecim about an hour … Continue reading →

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