More than 72 years after the disappearance of a young Swedish diplomat who saved tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews from the Nazis, his family is going to court to challenge Russia’s claims of how World War II hero Raoul Wallenberg ended his days. The first hearing in the case is set to take place
Family challenges fate of Swedish WWII hero Raoul Wallenberg in court Read More »
International, Jewish HistoryBayonne’s William Shemin is celebrated at new historical society exhibit Sgt. William Shemin saved some 30 men from his platoon during World War I. Because he was Jewish, William Shemin didn’t receive the Medal of Honor until 2015 when President Barack Obama presented it to Shemin’s daughters. Photos by Robert Wiener A cartoon from 1928
His Judaism delayed Medal of Honor for WWI hero Read More »
Jewish History, USAA German court on Tuesday said it had dropped a case against a 96-year-old former medical orderly at the Auschwitz death camp because he suffers from dementia, ending one of the last high-profile Nazi prosecutions. Wheelchair-bound Hubert Zafke had faced 3,681 counts of being an accessory to murder at the concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland.
German court drops case against ailing Auschwitz medic Read More »
International, Jewish HistoryBy Ira Sharkansky BERNKASTEL, Germany — My wife Varda’s deep German roots brought us once again to the streets that her family knew, and to look for the graves of those who passed on before there were no graves for Jews killed by other Germans. This trip is to the village of Bernkastel alongside the
Confronting the past in a German village Read More »
International, Ira Sharkansky, Jewish History
By Jeanette Friedman PARADISE VALLEY, Pennsylvania — I will never forget the first question I asked my father about the Holocaust. Believing Ben Gurion’s lie, and the Zionist party line about sheep going to the slaughter, I asked him why he didn’t fight back. He laughed and gave me the perfect example of something we
Never Again is now Read More »
Jewish History, USAProfessor offers trends, lessons in condensed Jewish history Jewish history professor David Myers said despite a recent resurgence of anti-Semitism, American history is “bending toward ever greater integration into American society.” Photo by Scarlett Freund It may sound unlikely, if not impossible, but in just over 100 pages of his new book and in the
Story of the Jewish people (abridged) Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish History, Science, Medicine, & Education, USAJapanese Deputy Prime Minister Tarō Asō spoke during a Liberal-Democratic party convention in a way which seemingly praised Adolf Hitler’s policies. “I am not doubting a politician’s motives,” Asō said. “I don”t question your motives (to be a politician). But the results are important. Hitler, who killed millions of people, was no good, even if
Japan: Deputy PM praises Hitler Read More »
International, Jewish HistoryWalking through the bustling center of Thessaloniki, Greece, Hella Kounio Matalon points off to the distance. “Most of the properties that we see on this road are former Jewish properties,” she said as she walked around Thessaloniki on a recent morning, recounting the city’s Jewish history. Matalon knows that history well, partly because of her
In Greece, a city struggles to come to terms with its Jewish past Read More »
International, Jewish HistorySAN DIEGO (SDJW)– Scholars looking to research San Diego’s Jewish history as well as genealogists hoping to learn more about their own ancestors can now refer to a website created by the Jewish Historical Society of San Diego to learn what is in that organization’s collection. The web address is http://jhssandiego.pastperfectonline.com/. Collections are grouped into
Website will aid S.D. Jewish researchers Read More »
Jewish History, San Diego County
By Donald H. Harrison SAN DIEGO — The San Diego History Center on Sunday welcomed three Arizona women whose family lent to its museum the diary of mid-19th century teenager Victoria Jacobs for the current exhibition about the history and heritage of the local Jewish community. The visitors included Alden Hardy Carroll, the great-great
1850s teen diarist Victoria Jacobs Franklin recalled Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, International, Jewish History, Obituaries & memorials, San Diego County, USAVisitors to the Museum of Jewish Montreal can see a glorious — and sometimes troubled — side of the city’s Jewish past like never before By Julie Masis MONTREAL — This September, the Museum of Jewish Montreal will launch its first Sephardic walking tour. The two-hour excursion tells the history of the city’s Moroccan, Iraqi,
Take a walk through Sephardic Montreal’s 70-year history on a new urban tour Read More »
International, Jewish HistoryIn his new book, Bruce Henderson talks about the German-speaking Jewish soldiers who escaped WWII Europe, only to go back in uniform to collect intelligence By Rich Tenorio Guy Stern’s on-the-job training began 10 minutes after he landed at Omaha Beach — one of the Allied entry points into Normandy in 1944. Three days earlier,
They fled the Nazis for the US, then served their new country to take down Hitler Read More »
International, Jewish History, USAA new film chronicling Irish anti-Semitism stars one WWII hero, essayist Hubert Butler, who was ostracized for speaking against the Catholic church By Robert Philpot LONDON — On July 9, 1943, newly-elected member of the Irish parliament Oliver Flanagan rose to make his maiden speech. “There is one thing that Germany did and that was
When Ireland rejected Jewish orphans fleeing Nazis, this man saved dozens Read More »
International, Jewish HistoryThanks to technology and an aggressive screening campaign, the genetic disease is all but gone today — and carrier couples can have healthy children By Ira Stoll JTA — Parents of children born with Tay-Sachs disease talk about “three deaths.” There is the moment when parents first learn that their child has been diagnosed with
How Jewish activism has wiped out Tay-Sachs Read More »
Jewish History, Science, Medicine, & Education