Category Archives: Holocaust

“His death meant my life…”

Posted on April 16, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

From Born in a death camp: A miracle baby and her mother: “Had my mother arrived in the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp holding my brother in her arms, she would have been sent straight to the gas chambers,” Eva says. “But … Continue reading →

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“Nazi war crimes as described by German soldiers”.

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

Spiegel Online magazine has a fascinating long article on the review by historian Sönke Neitzel and social psychologist Harald Welzer of 150,000 pages of transcripts of secretly recorded conversations with German prisoners of war.  The prisoners the Americans had were … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Empathy, Germany, Holocaust, Soldiers, World War II | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Remembering Rwanda.

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

When the World Turned Its Back: James Nachtwey’s Reflections on the Rwandan Genocide. (Caution:  photos are shocking.)

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The story of Jan Karski, a Polish Catholic who tried to tell the world of the Nazi attrocities.

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

If you have never heard of Jan Karski, do read the article by Dalya Alberge: The extraordinary memoir of a Polish resistance fighter who gave the first eyewitness report on the Holocaust to the Allies is to be published for … Continue reading →

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The bumblebee (Brundibar).

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

I have a friend who is trying to raise funds for an international education project to tell the story of the 15,000 children who were imprisoned in Terezin. The main goal of the project is to obtain testimony from the … Continue reading →

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The Butterfly, by Pavel Friedman, 1942

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

THE BUTTERFLY by Pavel Friedman The last, the very last, So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow Perhaps if the sun’s tears would sing against a white stone … Such, such a yellow Is carried lightly ‘way up high. It went away … Continue reading →

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Remembering a massacre: Fosse Ardeatine.

Posted on March 28, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

“I believe in God and in Italy / I believe in the resurrection / of the martyrs and heroes / I believe in rebirth / and in my homeland / in the freedom of the people.” These words were engraved … Continue reading →

Posted in Empathy, Germany, History, Holocaust, Religion, Soldiers | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Góra Kalwaria.

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

It was 70 years ago to the day that the shtetl Góra Kalwaria lost all of its Jews.  According to the Yad Vashem website, the Jews from Góra Kalwaria, or Gur as it was known then, were deported to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Auschwitz, Felix Karpman, Góra Kalwaria, Holocaust, Poland, Religion, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Poland and Israel.

Posted on February 27, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

Interesting interview by Haaretz of the Polish Foreign Minister: What is the meaning of the phenomenal renewal of Jewish culture in Poland today? Should we really accept the thesis, heard more and more, that Poland is a philo-Semitic country nowadays? … Continue reading →

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Wladyslaw Bartoszewski: member of the “decent” race, turned 89!

Posted on February 22, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

UPDATE:  On February 19th was Mr. Bartoszewski’s 89th birthday! Almost 4 years ago, I wrote briefly about him.  I repost: There are few of us who can truly be categorized as heroically unique, an inspiration to others, a person to … Continue reading →

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Rutka Laskier: the “Polish Anne Frank”.

Posted on February 19, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

The diary of 14-year-old Rutka Laskier only lasts 3 months. She describes the horrors she witnessed in a Jewish ghetto before she and her family were sent to Auschwitz. “I simply can’t believe that one day I will be allowed … Continue reading →

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Avraham Carmi’s story.

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

“[T]he Master of the Universe has a sense of humour.”  So says a Holocaust survivor, who spent time in Warsaw, during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, and was caught and sent to Treblinka.  His is a story of horror, audacity, tenacity, … Continue reading →

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France’s Anne Frank.

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

Another Holocaust diary:  meet Helen Berr, France’s Anne Frank.

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Sir Nicholas Winton, a hero for the ages. (Continued)

Posted on January 20, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

I was working away listening to the Classical Music station, when I heard commentary that there was a new movie that had premiered in Prague (my ears perked…  living in Prague was unique experience for me at a special time … Continue reading →

Posted in Czech Republic, Europe, History, Holocaust, Sir Nicholas Winton, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The French orphans of the Holocaust.

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Barbara Dillon Hillas

A baby born in the Rivesaltes internment camp south of France, in 1940, is today a 70 year old man, who still lives in France.  Camp Joffre in Rivesaltes was a destination for “undesirables” during World War II in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Auschwitz, Blogging, Camp Joffre, Europe, France, History, Holocaust, Poland, Rivesaltes, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment