Jan Grabowski’s measured but powerful book, Hunt for the Jews: Betrayal and Murder in German-Occupied Poland (Indiana University Press), caused something of a sensation when it was originally published in Poland in 2011. One can understand why it stirred such intense debate. Grabowski, a professor of history at the University of Ottawa, writes about the […]
They died recently, leaving a legacy of achievement… Gerald Edelman, 84, co-winner of the 1972 Nobel Prize in medicine, explained the process by which antibodies in the immune system defend the body against infection and disease. He launched his research at Rockefeller University. Gary Becker, 83, won the 1992 Nobel Prize in economics, illuminating people’s […]
Canadian support for Israel is on the decline, particularly among Canadians aged 18-34, according to surveys conducted by Forum Research Inc. in December 2012 and May 2014. In this age group, the polling company found, pro-Israel sentiment has dropped from 23 percent in 2012 to 12 percent this year. By contrast, pro-Palestinian opinion jumped from […]
It was one of the most quixotic episodes of World War II, conceived in utter secrecy and ending in abject failure. On May 10, 1941, Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler’s deputy, lowered himself into the cockpit of a twin-engine Messerschmitt aircraft and took off on a flight from Germany to Britain. He hoped his solo “mission […]
We’re all familiar with Hermann Goering, the bulky, self-indulgent Nazi who commanded the Luftwaffe, played a role in implementing the Holocaust and served as Adolf Hitler’s second in command. But Goering’s anti-Nazi brother, Albert, remains a cipher, an unknown quantity. Or at least until now. Thanks to Linda Parkhurst’s documentary, Goering’s Last Secret, available on […]
Having read Thomas Keneally’s novel, Schindler’s List, Hollywood film director Steven Spielberg sought to turn it into one of his signature movies. But where would it be shot? Instead of some back lot studio in Los Angeles, he chose the southern Polish city of Krakow, where German manufacturer Oskar Schindler had saved hundreds of Jews by […]
As predicted by Egypt’s newly-elected president, Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, the United States has begun mending its bilateral relationship with Egypt, one of its most important allies in the Arab world. Less than a year after Washington imposed punitive measures on Egypt after the military-backed Egyptian government ousted the duly elected Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi, and killed […]
Satyajit Ray (1921-1992), one of the masters of the Indian cinema, is coming t0 Toronto through the medium of a retrospective of his prolific body of work. The Sun and the Moon: The Films of Satyajit Ray runs from July 3 to Aug. 17 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. A sampler: Aparajito (Friday, July […]
Poland marked an historic anniversary on June 23. At a “Polish Freedom Gala” banquet, held at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto under the patronage of President Bronislaw Komorowski, Poland hailed its return to the western democratic fold. Twenty five years ago this month, the Solidarity trade union movement staged a peaceful revolution that […]
The current crisis in Iraq is yet another replay of the historic power struggle and thinly-veiled animosities between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in the Middle East. When the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria — an extremist Sunni group known as ISIS — invaded western and northern Iraq earlier this month, it enunciated its intentions […]