Monthly Archives: May 2018

The German march through Belgium, like the march of predator ants who periodically emerge from the South American jungle to carve a swath of death across the land, was cutting its way across field, road village, and town, like the … Continue reading →

The first women to be imprisoned at Ravensbrück were transferred there from Lichtenburg. I thought about Ernst Richter off and on through the afternoon. This was painted on the wall of each cell. A punishment cell. It’s about waist-high.

I remember around 2000 it was not unusual to see trucks on the Autobahn with bumperstickers reading “Free German Trucker” with various emblems of the American redneck south, like a Confederate flag, or the Texas “Don’t tread on me” with … Continue reading →

Liège was cut off from the outside world; when the great black weapons reached the outskirts within range of the forts, only the local inhabitants saw the advent of the monsters that to one observer looked like “overfed slugs.” Their … Continue reading →

For years I’ve posed the question to myself and others of how we as Americans will recover from the dumbing down of the body politic of the last 40 years. It’s occurring to me at this very late date that … Continue reading →

Berliner Zeitung: Seit Anfang Mai ist die Aussichtsplattform gesperrt. Grund sind erhebliche Sicherheitsmängel, die ein Statik-Gutachten offen gelegt hat. Darin werden insbesondere die Standsicherheit und der Brandschutz kritisiert. Wow, I had no idea this was happening. I’m glad I got … Continue reading →

Schlieben-Berga was the third-largest of Buchenwald’s satellite camps. Residences now coexist with the buildings of the concentration camp weapons plants. “Hey, want to have a drink at my place after work? Just turn left at the munitions dump, I’m the … Continue reading →

Stalag IV B was where Kurt Vonnegut was imprisoned. The guide at Ehrenhain Zeithain had said that at Mühlberg the camp had been demolished and the site was returning to the woods, and he wasn’t joking. The foundations of the … Continue reading →

Regionale Besonderheiten? Tablets listing names of the known dead stand silent witness on the neatly trimmed lawn. As one walks more become visible beneath the trees.

When I was a kid my dad and I had read exciting stories about English airmen escaping from Colditz Castle. Though the day was warm and sunny up above, these chambers were cold. Lifesize cardboard cutouts made from black and … Continue reading →