Tag: World War II

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The French Anne Frank

As a young boy growing up in Holland during the mid-1960s, I was introduced to Anne Frank and her tragic story. We were required to read her diary as well as attending the all-day field trip to the “Anne Frank House” in Amsterdam where Anne and her family hid from the Nazis until they were betrayed and deported ⏤ only her father survived.

There is a similar story in France, but it did not become known until 2008 when another diary was published, and the world got a first-hand glimpse into Nazi atrocities. The author, Hélène Berr, has since become known as the “French Anne Frank.”

Hélène Berr shortly before her arrest and deportation. Photo by anonymous (c. 1944).
Hélène Berr shortly before her arrest and deportation. Photo by anonymous (c. 1944).

Did You Know?

Do you know how the term “Nazi” came about? Hitler’s political party was officially called the National Socialist German Workers’ Party or, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei:

NAtionalsoZIalistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei.

The German word “Reich” means “empire.” The first German Reich lasted 844 years and was commonly known as the Holy Roman Empire until it was dismantled by Napoléon in 1806. The second Reich lasted approximately 48 years between 1871 and the end of World War I. Hitler’s Third Reich lasted twelve years with horrifying consequences which unfortunately, some aspects have endured to this day.

Hélène Berr (1921-1945) was born into an upper middle-class French family. In addition to Hélène, Raymond and Antoinette Berr’s family consisted of Jacqueline (1915-1921), Yvonne (1917-2001), Denise (1919-2011) and Jacques (1922-1998). The family lived in Paris at 5, avenue Elisée-Reclus until the French police knocked on their door in March 1944.

Hélène began her diary on 7 April 1942. She ceased writing seven months later on 28 November 1942 but resumed once again on 25 August 1943. There are many entries which document the actions and events perpetrated by Vichy and the Nazis in Paris and France. Reading her diary, you will confront Hélène’s emotions towards the policies of Vichy and the Nazis as well as personal issues. Unlike Anne Frank, we won’t hear from Hélène until 2008 when her diary is published. Read More The French Anne Frank

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The Archangel of the Prisons

The subject of our blog post today was given two monikers by the French: L’Aumonier de l’enfer or, the “Minister in hell” and L’Archange des prisons or, the “Archangel of the prisons.” Many people in the Catholic Church would like to give him a third one: “Saint” but I decided to choose “Archangel” to be the title of this blog. However, of the two French names, considering the tactics and ruthlessness of the Nazis and Gestapo in particular, the first title might have been more appropriate.

French postage stamp commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of Abbé Franz Stock. Photo by anonymous (c. 1998). Courtesy of Stamp World.
French postage stamp commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of Abbé Franz Stock. Photo by anonymous (c. 1998). Courtesy of Stamp World.

Did You Know?

Did you know that even government postal services make mistakes? If you didn’t, then you’ve never had your mail delivered to the wrong address or vice versa. Well, the Royal Mail of Britain just made a major blunder.

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings (6 June 1944), the Royal Mail designed a stamp using a photo of American troops knee-deep in water as they left their landing craft to storm the beach. The stamp’s caption reads, “D-Day: Allied soldiers and medics wade ashore” ⏤only one problem.

The image used was a landing sometime in May 1944 in Dutch New Guinea (part of Indonesia). It was not Normandy. Almost immediately, social media was atwitter with comments about the errors (it’s easy to determine the landing craft were different than those used on the Normandy beaches and the men getting off are medics carrying stretchers).

I collect stamps (a dying hobby like model trains and bridge playing I suppose). Since stamps were invented, there have been some real whoppers of mistakes. Take for example, the American “Inverted Jenny” stamp with an upside-down aircraft (no, it wasn’t meant to honor air shows). Today, a mint and never-hinged inverted jenny stamp is worth around $1.6 million. Britain is also known for mistakenly issuing stamps without the head of the monarch (if it was King Charles I, it wouldn’t have been a mistake) or without perforations along the edges. This time however, the Royal Mail caught the problem before any stamps were printed and got out into the public.

US Airmail stamp: Inverted Jenny Air Mail issue of 1918, 24 cents. Photo by Bureau of Engraving and Printing (1918). United States Post Office Department. PD-US Government. Wikimedia Commons.
US Airmail stamp: Inverted Jenny Air Mail issue of 1918, 24 cents. Photo by Bureau of Engraving and Printing (1918). United States Post Office Department. PD-US Government. Wikimedia Commons.
British designed D-Day stamp. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). The New York Times, 29 December 2018.
British designed D-Day stamp. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). The New York Times, 29 December 2018.

Too bad for us collectors (and the auction houses). So, the next time it happens, would all of you on social media please be quiet and don’t say anything ⏤ it ruins the fun (and our bank account).

Let’s Meet Abbe Franz Stock

 Franz Stock (1904-1948) was born in a small village in Germany along with eight other brothers and sisters. Attending a Catholic-run elementary school, Franz made the decision to become a priest by the time he was twelve. In his early twenties, Franz entered the Catholic seminary in Paderborn, Germany. Several years later, Franz moved to Paris where he spent several years studying at the Institut Catholique (reportedly, he became the first German student of theology in France since the Middle Ages). Ordained in March 1932, Father Franz was assigned to the town of Effeln, northeast of Dusseldorf, Germany. Two years later, Franz returned to Paris where he lived at 23, rue Lhomond (5e) while serving as rector to the German parish.

Abbé Franz Stock. Photo by anonymous (unknown date). Courtesy of the Franz-Stock-Komitee. PD-Release by Copyright Holder. Wikimedia Commons.
Abbé Franz Stock. Photo by anonymous (unknown date). Courtesy of the Franz-Stock-Komitee. PD-Release by Copyright Holder. Wikimedia Commons.

Read More The Archangel of the Prisons