Not much surprises me any more based on the research I’ve done for my books and blogs. But every so often, I run across a story that makes me shake my head in disbelief.

It’s bad enough reading about Nazi collaborators and traitors who were responsible for thousands of deaths either directly or through deportations to the concentration camps. But imagine my surprise running across the story of Stella Goldschlag-Kübler who was responsible for intentionally betraying up to three thousand Jews to the Nazis. Why the surprise? Stella was Jewish. Berlin Jews knew her as the “Blonde Lorelei” while the Nazis referred to her as “Blonde Poison.”

She earned those wartime nicknames at the expense of thousands of lives.

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Did You Know?  

Did you know that most of us have forgotten about Art Buchwald (1925−2007) or don’t recognize his name? Buchwald was a legendary writer who wrote satirical newspaper columns. Beginning in 1950, he published three columns per week (“Paris After Dark”) for the European edition of the New York Herald Tribune (later, the International Herald Tribune). The columns quickly became popular, and Buchwald established his reputation on both sides of the Atlantic.

He moved back to the States in 1962 and began writing for the The Washington Post. His biting political satires touched both sides of the Beltway aisle. Buchwald once spoofed a press conference held by President Eisenhower’s press secretary, James Hagerty. In response, Hagerty presided over his own press conference and called Buchwald’s article as “unadulterated rot.” The famous retort by Buchwald was, “Hagerty is wrong. I write adulterated rot.”

Although Art Buchwald did poorly in science (“I still don’t know how to make a hydrogen bomb”), he was very astute and clairvoyant in history. He once said, “You can’t learn from history, unless you rewrite it.” Fifteen years after his passing, Buchwald’s words certainly ring true today, don’t they?

I don’t know a contemporary satire columnist in the same league as Buchwald. If you do, please let me know. I can be reached at stew.ross@yooperpublications.com.

As an aside, I mentioned in our last blog that the last living World War II Medal of Honor recipient, Woody Williams, passed away recently. Congress honored Woody by allowing his remains to lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol. It is a tribute reserved for the nation’s most distinguished private citizens. Mr. Williams certainly meets and exceeds that requirement.

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Stella Goldschlag 

Stella Goldschlag (1922−1994) was born in Berlin, Germany and raised in a middle-class Jewish family. Her father, Gerhard Goldschlag (1889−1944) was a composer and conductor working for the film company Gaumont. Stella’s mother, Toni Goldschlag (1890−1944) was a well-known concert singer in Berlin. Their daughter was very intelligent, attractive (blonde with blue eyes), and vivacious. After the Nazis took power in 1933, Stella and other Jewish children were no longer allowed to attend public schools. She and the others joined a private school founded and operated by the Jewish community. At the same time, Jews were being purged from their jobs and her father lost his position at Gaumont. Read More Blonde Poison