Dawid Sierakowiak recorded in his diary that at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, on September 4, 1942, Chaim Rumkowski, the Chairman of the Jewish Council of Elders, and Warszawski, the head of many factories, spoke at 13 Lutomierska Street in the Łódź Ghetto, Poland. They said: ‘Sacrificing the children and the elderly is necessary, since… Continue reading “Chaim Rumkowski – Give Me Your Children Speech”
In the latest of a series looking at eyewitness accounts of the Holocaust, CARR Senior Fellow, Mr Chris Webb presents the troubling account of Stanislaw Kozak, a local Pole who helped build the gas chambers at Belzec, along with other Polish craftsmen. ‘There arrived in Belzec in October 1941, three SS-men who demanded 20 workers… Continue reading “Eye Witness Testimony of Gas Chambers built at Belzec – Stanislaw Kozak – 14 October 1945”
In the latest in Senior Fellow, Chris Webb’s series on Jewish Resistance and Concentration Camps of the Holocaust, Webb looks into the biggest mass execution in one day, in the whole history of German atrocities during WW2, Aktion Erntefest, among others. On 3 November 1943, early in the morning, SS and Police units surrounded the… Continue reading “Aktion Erntefest – Lublin District – November 1943”
Krakow 2016 – The Eagle Pharmacy © Chris Webb On June 4, 1942, it was the Jews of Krakow who faced the perils and uncertainties of a round-up. A Polish Catholic, Tadeusz Pankiewicz, witnessed the round-up from the window of his pharmacy – situated in Harmony Square at the very centre of the Krakow ghetto.… Continue reading “The Eyewitness Account of Tadeusz Pankiewicz and the Krakow Ghetto – June 1942”
“I could not think of a better way to grasp what is behind the nationalist frenzy than to take part in their public events. On November 11, Poland celebrated National Independence Day.” Some weeks ago, an article by Aleksandar Hemon instigated an interesting debate about the merit of ceasing all ties with those who consider themselves nationalists,… Continue reading “Marching with Dabrowski – what the centenary of Polish Independence can tell us about the radical right?”
Content Warning: The following blog contains depictions of violence within the eyewitness account which some readers may find distressing. Reader discretion is advised. In the second of a two-part series, Senior Fellow, Chris Webb, covers one of the most courageous events of the Second World War, where Jewish prisoners, against all the odds, rose… Continue reading “The Sobibor Death Camp Revolt – October 14, 1943 – Part 2”
My CARR Blog for October will cover one of the most courageous events of the Second World War, where Jewish prisoners, against all the odds, rose up against their captors in the Sobibor death camp, in South-Eastern Poland. This blog will be in two parts, part one will cover the initial phase of the revolt.… Continue reading “The Sobibor Death Camp Revolt – October 14, 1943 – Part 1”
The Austrian Habsburg Empire was famous for its motto: ‘not to lead wars but instead, to marry [and to colonize more territories]’; frequently repeated in Latin, bella gerant alii, tu felix Austria, nube! Austrian politicians seem to have recently remembered this strategy for expansion and have decided to stage their weddings in a similar fashion. Of course, everyone… Continue reading “The EU’s Putin Wannabes”
In my last article for the CARR Blog, I wrote a summary of my book on Auschwitz which was published in April by ibidem-verlag. I thought for this month I would tell you a bit more about my next work, which will cover the Chelmno death camp. This book has been co-written with my late friend and… Continue reading “Chelmno: Hitler’s First Death Camp”
©CINEMATOGRAPHER In a world where the radical right is most certainly on the rise, Poland has become a key stomping ground for its adherents. In recent years, Poland has attracted more attention from the international community than any time since its break from communism almost 30 years ago, rivaled only by its joining of the… Continue reading “Is Poland the New Hub for the Radical Right?”