#gillian walnes

[totallyhussein-blog]

Hidden histories. Meet the Jews of Thessaloniki

"As you walk the streets of Thessaloniki today, it’s hard to imagine the time back in the 17th century when Greece’s second city was known as “The Mother of Israel” and Jews made up 68 per cent of the population. But there’s still plenty to tempt visitors, both those trying to retrace its Jewish heritage as well as those enticed by this attractive seafront spot.

Visiting on a cruise through the Aegean, aboard the Viking Sea, I’d introduced the mainly non-Jewish audience to Thessaloniki’s past as part of an onboard talk — resuming my career as a cruise ship lecturer, a return to the path I’d followed since my retirement as Director of the Anne Frank Trust, following a two-year pause during the pandemic.

And the chance to explore the city once known as Salonika was a highlight. Thessaloniki’s well-known 15th century landmark, the waterfront White Tower at the southern edge of the old city, once marked the historic boundary of the Jewish quarter and it’s an ideal starting point to explore."

Two Greek Jewish boxers from Thessaloniki, who survived Nazi concentration camps after being forced to beat other prisoners in the ring, are featured in the podcast “Holocaust Histories.”

The five episodes highlight different boxers from across Europe who were in the prime of their lives and careers in the 1930s and 1940s, but whose dreams were shattered by Hitler’s army.

Episode Four focuses on Salamo Arouch and Jacko Razon, who were born and raised in Thessaloniki, which had the largest Jewish community in Greece. The two men, both Jewish, trained together at a boxing gym; Arouch eventually became a successful fighter while Razon turned his attention to soccer.

Salamo Arouch was the Middleweight Champion of Greece, the All-Balkans Middleweight Champion and survivor of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp.

A Greek-Jewish boxer, Arouch came from a family of fishermen. Salamo, his brother Avram, and his father, also worked as stevedores.

By 1939, Salamo had a 24-0 (24 knockouts) record with a traditional style of boxing: jabbing and crossing. He became known in Greece as “The Ballet Dancer” due to his “fancy footwork.”

[penandswordbooks]

🗓 On this day in history: The diarist and Holocaust victim Anne Frank was born on 12 June 1929. Had she been allowed to have lived out her life in peace, or had miraculously survived the horrors of Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, Anne Frank could be marking her 92nd birthday this month. The Legacy of Anne Frank author Gillian Walnes Perry has written an exclusive blog post to mark the date, which is now live on the P&S blog (🔗 link in bio). Praise for The Legacy of Anne Frank: ‘Unusual and illuminating . . . will appeal to all who are moved by and curious about Frank’s story and legacy, and everyone interested in humanitarian activism.’ ~The Booklist • #OnThisDay #OTD #OTDIH #OnThisDayInHistory #History #20thCentury #WW2 #AnneFrank #BookReview #Blog #RecommendedReading #TheDiaryOfAnneFrank #TheLegacyOfAnneFrank #WW2History #Holocaust #WW2HistoryBooks #Bookstagram #Paperback #HistoryBooks #NonFiction #PenAndSword #PenAndSwordBooks #OnTheBlog https://www.instagram.com/p/CQA9U_8r_ZX/?utm_medium=tumblr

[tgbreviews]

Catching up on #bookmail pics I forgot to share.⠀ ⠀ Thank you @penswordbooks for sending me a copy of The Legacy of Anne Frank by Gillian Walnes Perry!⠀ ⠀ Blurb:⠀ ⠀ From her secret hiding place in wartime Amsterdam, the Jewish teenager Anne Frank wrote heart-wrenchingly about the terrors of a captivity that would ultimately end with her death at the hands of the Nazis. In her world-famous diaries, she described with remarkable honesty her transition from childhood to a deep thinking, opinionated and passionate teenager. The life she longed to live, during which she would help to create a more caring world, was tragically not to be. In August 1944, she and her family were captured and deported to Auschwitz.⠀ ⠀ Two years after her death from starvation and disease in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, her diary was published. It quickly became an international sensation, going on to influence hearts and minds for over seventy years.⠀ ⠀ Although many books and literary analyses have been written about Anne Frank's life and diary, none have explored the surprising influence she has had on young people in countries all over the world, helping to shape their moral framework and giving them critical life skills. This is due in part to the merits of a travelling exhibition created by the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam in 1985 which has so far been seen by over 9 million people. The Anne Frank exhibition, along with its innovative educational and cultural activities, has circumnavigated the globe many times.⠀ ⠀ In this fascinating study, Gillian Walnes Perry explores the various legacies of Anne Frank's influence. She looks at the complex life of Anne Frank's father and the motivations that powered his educational philosophy. She shares new insights into the real Anne Frank, personally gifted by those who actually knew her. Global icons such as Nelson Mandela and Audrey Hepburn relate the influence that Anne Frank had on shaping their own lives.⠀ ⠀ #bookstagram #bibliophile #booklover #bookworm #bookporn #bookish #bookblogger #bookhaul #readingissexy #instabook #bookaddict #bookstagrammer https://www.instagram.com/p/ByNQmCeg2bG/?igshid=16rxxugauf6yx

[totallyhussein-blog]

Anne Franks diary proves the pen is mightier than the sword

It has been 75 years since one of the most beloved books of the 20th century first appeared. Its author was a teenage girl who initially began writing only for herself, in order to confide her private thoughts to her diary.  A victim of the NAZI Holocaust, Anne Frank was just a teenager when she died at the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp.

Anne Franks diary was first published in 1947. She had come up with the title of the book herself: The Secret Annex. The Dutch edition received positive reviews, such as 'a war document of striking density' and ‘Parents and educators are strongly advised to read this diary.’ Anne Frank's diary is now available in over 70 languages.  

As Gillian Walnes Perry recently wrote; "The young Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai cites Anne Frank’s diary as her favourite book. Nelson Mandela described how a copy of Anne Frank's diary was smuggled into Robben Island prison, where prisoners were encouraged to read it as a testament to the power of the human spirit."

In 2021, Library of Exile was created as a 'space to sit and read and be'. An installation at the British Museum by artist and writer, Edmund de Waal, Library of Exile housed more than 2,000 books by exiled authors. The books within the library have since travelled to their final home in Iraq, to support survivors of the 2014 ISIS genocide at the University of Mosul.