How did the German people experience World War II? What did they think or know about their government’s plan to exterminate the Jews of Europe in the Holocaust? These are among the key issues that Nicholas Stargardt deftly explores in his sweeping new book, The German War: A Nation Under Arms, 1939-1945, published by Basic Books. […]
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Hong Kong’s Majestic Skyscrapers
Hong Kong is defined, in part, by its stylish skyscrapers, which rival those of Manhattan or Chicago. Rising majestically from the congested Central District and affording stunning views of picturesque Victoria Harbor, Hong Kong’s skyscrapers were designed by renowned architects such as I.M. Pei and Norman Foster. Viewed from Victoria Peak, 554 metres above sea […]
Islamic State, the jihadist organization bent on establishing a caliphate in the Middle East, is being pounded relentlessly by the United States and its partners in a concerted military campaign to dislodge it from its bases in Iraq (torn by sectarian strife), Syria (bloodied by a civil war) and Libya (mired in anarchy). The new […]
We should be beware of stereotypes, yet they persist from one generation to the next, twisting and distorting reality and causing misunderstandings and enmity. One of the oldest ones, concerning Poles, was perpetuated by William Styron in his novel Sophie’s Choice. Bieganski, a character in his book, is an antisemite. To some Polish Jews, especially Holocaust […]
Emboldened by Donald Trump’s election as America’s 45th president, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is flaunting his true colours as an arch nationalist bent on expanding Israel’s borders at the expense of peace with the Palestinians through a two-state solution. No longer constrained by Barack Obama’s critique of settlement construction, and heartened by the Trump […]
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Puzzling And Troubling Omission
International Holocaust Remembrance Day was created by the United Nations in 2005 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Red Army’s liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp on January 27, 1945. But on a deeper level, this solemn day is supposed to memorialize the Holocaust and combat Holocaust denial and antisemitism. It’s painfully true that […]
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Trump And The Iran Nuclear Accord
As newly-inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump settles into his job at the White House, a host of thorny foreign policy issues are competing for his attention. How will he manage bilateral relations with China and Russia? How strong a position will he stake out in confronting the Islamic State organization? What will be his attitude […]
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Paterson: Jim Jarmusch’s Newest Film
The American filmmaker Jim Jarmusch seeks his material in the obscure, unheralded corners of America, focusing his gaze on the ordinary and the off-beat. Paterson, his latest movie, emerges from that quirky mould. Due to open in Canadian theaters on February 10, this is a quiet and appealing film which takes pleasure in elevating the […]
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The Comedian
Robert De Niro is in great form in The Comedian, a black comedy due to open in Canada on February 3. Here he plays Jackie Burke, an aging, foul-mouthed Jewish shock comedian whose best days are far behind him. Burke, whose real name is Jacob (Yaacov) Berkowitz, was once the beloved star of a popular […]
About a month before World War II broke out, the eminent scientist Albert Einstein sent U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt a letter imploring him to develop an atomic weapon before Nazi Germany did. Roosevelt formed a committee to study Einstein’s proposal, and within a few years, the Manhattan Project was established and the United States […]