Tag: KZ Auschwitz II-Birkenau

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Something Must Be Done

Sandy and I have decided to take off the month of August regarding the creation of two new blogs. We will switch our focus this month to finishing the second volume of the German occupation of Paris (Where Did They Put the Gestapo Headquarters?). We’re so close to wrapping up the new book that I am going to put blinders on and focus one hundred percent on completing it.

 In the meantime, we are “repurposing” two of our prior blogs for August. Two weeks ago, we expanded and reprinted the 2017 blog, The Sussex Plan and a Very Brave Woman (click here to read the blog). Today, we are presenting a blog that was published in 2019. Over the years, we have received many e-mails from people who knew Suzanne’s children, Bazou and Pilette. It was very interesting (and amazing) to hear their stories.

Do you ever wonder how rather obscure stories are resurrected from history’s dust bins? In the case of today’s blog, we have Anne Nelson to thank for uncovering the story of Suzanne Spaak’s resistance activities. Anne is the author of Suzanne’s Children (refer to the recommended reading section at the end of this blog for a link to her book). Anne came across Suzanne while researching her excellent book, Red Orchestra (again, refer to the recommended reading section). A haunting photo of Suzanne found in Leopold Trepper’s memoirs piqued Anne’s interest and initiated her nine-year journey. She was able to locate Suzanne’s daughter, Pilette, in Maryland and a series of three dozen interviews spread out over seven years formed the backbone of Anne’s research. There isn’t much out there regarding Suzanne’s story, so we owe many thanks to Anne for finding and “bird-dogging” the facts surrounding Suzanne’s activities. I’m quite sure she went down many rabbit holes while researching and writing the book. I have read both books and I look forward to Anne’s next book.

 I briefly introduced you to Suzanne Spaak in March (The French Anne Frank; click here to read). She and Hélène Berr worked together to save the lives of hundreds of Jewish children. Like most of the résistants during the Occupation, Suzanne and Hélène did what they thought was the right thing to do. As Suzanne told people, “Something must be done.”

Suzanne Spaak. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Read her story at "Something Must Be Done" - Stew Ross Discovers
Suzanne Spaak. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).

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Powerful Images

I ran across an article several months ago that immediately captured my attention. It was a photograph that sent chills down my spine. I said to myself, “Now that’s a very powerful image.”

I thought about the story behind the photograph and decided to write a blog about powerful and iconic images from World War II. Unfortunately, we can only include twenty-five photographs in this blog. However, there are hundreds if not thousands of other photographs that would fit into the theme of this blog. If interested, you can check out various web sites listed below to view some of the other photographs we did not include.

Please be warned that some of the images included in this blog are very disturbing.

We begin our photographic journey with the Hanukkah menorah in the window. It is the image that inspired me to write this blog.

Did You Know?

Did you know that nearly all forty of the original Washington D.C. boundary stones are hidden in plain sight? The capital city of the United States was originally a ten-mile by ten-mile diamond shape. These stones marked the boundaries of the city, and they are the oldest federally placed monuments in the United States.

Chart showing the original boundary milestones of the District of Columbia. Map by Fred Woodward (c. 1906). PD-Expired copyright. Wikimedia Commons.
Chart showing the original boundary milestones of the District of Columbia. Map by Fred Woodward (c. 1906). PD-Expired copyright. Wikimedia Commons.

Andrew Ellicott was hired to chart out the new city, but the surveyor needed an assistant to read the stars to ensure the markers were placed accurately. Benjamin Banneker, an African American, was recommended to Ellicott. He questioned the competence of a Black man who had no formal schooling or scientific training. Faced with no alternatives, Ellicott hired the amateur astronomer to work alongside him. For six nights, Banneker lay on his back to record the stars and with those calculations, the first marker stone was placed at Jones Point. (You can see the stone through a window in the seawall of the 19th-century Jones Point Lighthouse.)

Benjamin Banneker, astronomer and city planner. Illustration by Charles Henry Alston (c. 1943). U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. PD-U.S. Government. Wikimedia Commons.
Benjamin Banneker, astronomer and city planner. Illustration by Charles Henry Alston (c. 1943). U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. PD-U.S. Government. Wikimedia Commons.

The stones are one foot square and three feet high. They were placed one mile apart and each is numbered according to its quadrant and location. Each side bears the inscription of either “Virginia” or “Maryland” depending on its border state. Other information inscribed on the sandstone markers were the words “Jurisdiction of the United States,” a mile number, the date the stone was erected (either 1791 or 1792), and a magnetic compass variance for the stone’s location. Thirty-six stones remain in their original place (some in severe deterioration as sandstone is not the best material for posterity) while three are replicas and one is represented by a simple plaque.

Boundary stone Northeast No. 2. Photo by anonymous (c. 1907). PD-Expired copyright. Wikimedia Commons.
Boundary stone Northeast No. 2. Photo by anonymous (c. 1907). PD-Expired copyright. Wikimedia Commons.

Thomas Jefferson was secretary of state at the time, and he went on record as saying he did not believe Black and enslaved people were of the same standards as White people in terms of brains and physical abilities. Clearly, Jefferson had never met Mr. Banneker.

Boundary stone NE 2 between the District of Columbia and Takoma Park, Maryland. Photo by Bruce Anderson (August 2010). PD-CCA-Share Alike 2.0 Generic. Wikimedia Commons.
Boundary stone NE 2 between the District of Columbia and Takoma Park, Maryland. Photo by Bruce Anderson (August 2010). PD-CCA-Share Alike 2.0 Generic. Wikimedia Commons.

The Hanukkah Menorah

Hanukkah menorah on the windowsill of the Posner’s home in Kiel, Germany.
Hanukkah menorah on the windowsill of the Posner’s home in Kiel, Germany.

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