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The cosmos trips once more. This month, shortly after my previous post about the discovery of previously unknown artwork by Hungarian Holocaust survivor Ervin Abadi, I was contacted by the family of another American soldier who was at Hillersleben camp as the survivors of the train were being nursed back to health by the medics […]

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A new friend in the Netherlands recently acquired this unsigned narrative by a Polish survivor who was liberated on the train by the Americans. This woman was eighteen when the war began, it looks like from Cracow, and the narrative was written shortly after liberation (as you can see from the letterhead, on the German […]

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(Christian Wolpers photo.) This account is taken from 1st Lt. Frank Towers’ recollection: “First of importance was getting food, water and medical assistance to these victims.Our 105th Medical Battalion was called upon to survey this group and give immediate attention to those most in need.The 823rd Tank Destroyer Battalion Commander, Lt. Col. Dettmer immediately contacted […]

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Some of our local news outlets have shown interest in this story. One ran today. We hope to have the film ready by Quarter 4 next year. I’ve edited a couple sentences/ photos for clarity on my part, but I think Ms. Hochsprung nailed it. Next up, Toronto in June to visit with Ariela! After […]

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For Walter.

On April 15, we were in Germany and visited the site of one of former medic Walter Gantz’s recurring nightmares. Walter passed about six months after Mike Edwards, the director of the upcoming film A Train Near Magdeburg, took this photo at his final interview with us in his hometown of Scranton, PA. I wrote […]

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DAY 4. Today, Thursday, we interviewed German students in their former school near the liberation site. They discuss the responsibility of keeping history alive, and the worldwide impact of this important story that unfolded in their literal backyard. We arrived at the school and met Johanna, and were let in by a custodian, as the […]

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COUNTDOWN TO LIBERATION-75 YEARS “T-minus” 65 DAYS Countdown to Commemoration at Farsleben, Germany-Millions of people were on the move. On April 13, 2020, the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the first train transport out of Bergen-Belsen, I will board an airplane for Germany. I will return to the site of the concentration camp Bergen-Belsen, […]

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The Old Coach is being buried today. As I write this, he is being eulogized by those who knew him and loved him best. Losing an old soldier is a heavy road I have been down many times, but it’s taken me a week to compose my thoughts on best serving his memory. In a […]

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There was another shooting at a synagogue on American soil. Sometimes I wonder if my efforts to teach about the Holocaust mean anything. Sometimes you just feel helpless. But I realize now that it is probably the most important job I have ever done, maybe now more than ever. Two weeks ago I introduced Pittsburgh […]

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The portal opened a crack this week and I stepped through it once more. We pulled it off, in this time of reflection, Passover and the Easter season. Liberation. Resurrection. New Life. And a reunion of sorts, 74 years in the making, to commemorate it all. There were a lot of moving parts, but we […]

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