Author: Collin R.

From the American perspective, when one mentions atrocities committed during the Second World War, the mind jumps to Nazi Germany and their attempted extermination of Jews and all other groups that threatened to disturb their ethnic purity and destiny of domination.  Next, the mind may land on the Soviets under Stalin, who killed around 40…

It is easy, or perhaps far more comforting, to look back at the histories of the First and Second World Wars and see that good triumphed over evil, that the righteous were able to overcome and smite the wicked, but the reality is rarely so black and white.  Obviously, the Second World War was one…

In 1948, following the conclusion of the Second World War and the ensuing years of displacement suffered by the Jewish peoples of Europe,  the remaining Ashkenazim people finally united and pushed forward to make the dream of Zion a reality.  With the help of such Allies as Great Britain, who currently held Palestine as a…

Prior to the Second World War and the events of the Holocaust, there had been few major attempts made by members of the European Jewish community to leave Europe and create a true Jewish state of Israel in what was then Palestine.  Of course, there was the Yishuv, but it was only a relatively minor…

In 1955, the graphic exhibit titled The Family Man, grew to become one of the most successful exhibits in the history of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.  Though the images themselves were extraordinary, this success was due in no small part to the design of the exhibit itself, as it sought to break…

As it became clear that the Allies would soon achieve victory over Nazi Germany, the next major issue was of course how to rebuild a continent that had been ravaged by the most brutal war in human history, but also how to ensure that a war like this could never happen again.  It was largely…

As we all know, the Second World War ended for us with much celebration and the homecoming of many of our fighting men.  Most soldiers on the side of the Allies were welcomed home as heroes and liberators and men of true courage and honor, who had defended freedom and served out justice to an…

Obviously, the most common theme among the readings is that of displaced persons, most notably the women and children who were largely left alone to essentially sort through the rubble of their lives that were obliterated during the war.  But something that I found particular interesting were the words of a social worker with the…