Written by zachor_foundation on May 7, 2014
The arrest and deportation of several hundred Jews to Buchenwald in February 1941 horrified the inhabitants of Amsterdam. Communist Party activists declared a strike and, in their manifesto, demanded an enhancement of social benefits and the release of the Jewish prisoners. The strike spread rapidly as all segments of the population, irrespective of their adherence to the Communist platform, shut down all means of transport, large enterprises, and public services. By the next day, the strike spread to the towns
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Written by zachor_foundation on May 7, 2014
In March 1941, Himmler issued orders for the construction of a second wing at the Auschwitz camp, a much larger facility three kilometers away from the original camp known as Auschwitz I. The new division would be called Auschwitz II-Birkenau. To make room for the new camp, 2,000 residents of several Polish villages, including Brzezinka, known in German as Birkenau, were evicted from their homes. The villagers’ homes were razed and a vast area of 40 square kilometers was declared
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Written by zachor_foundation on May 7, 2014
After two months of protracted discussions and in defiance of isolationists’ opposition, Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act. Churchill’s entreaty from London�”Give us the tools and we will finish the job”�also had an influence. The Lend-Lease agreement authorized the president to lend and lease military equipment to the anti-Axis powers for direct or indirect payment. The transfer of mammoth sums of money ($50 billion by the end of the war) and important war material effectively terminated the American neutrality policy. Roosevelt
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