Book Review: A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende

 

Here was another solid find in the selling section at the library. As soon as I saw that this was an Isabel Allende book, it sparked my interest. 

A Long Petal of the Sea is a 2019 novel by Isabel Allende. It felt timely, given the state of affairs in this world, as it focuses on not one, but two countries falling into chaos and, ultimately, becoming hardline, rightwing dictatorships. Eventually, there is an end to both, but only after many long years and much suffering in each case. 

Throughout the novel, we learn a bit about the life of Chilean poet Pablo Naruda. He writes poetry about love and politics, and he remains politically active to the end. He tries to help the Republicans who fled Spain at the end of the civil war, and brings thousands of refugees to Chile, which feels like a world away. Among them are Victor Dalmau, who hurriedly marries his missing (and likely dead) brother Guillem's wife, Roser. 

This was an audiobook, ready by Edoardo Ballerini. He does a masterful job with this reading. If you have a chance to listen to this reading, I recommend it almost just for that reason, although the book itself was quite good as well.

Before I go any farther, however, let me give the usual warnings to stop reading if you intend to read this book, because there will be spoilers ahead.

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

Okay, so by now if you are still reading this, I have to imagine that you either are familiar with this story already, or perhaps you do not mind the spoilers. Please just don't say that you were not given advanced warning. 

Right off the bat, the title of this book seemed mysterious to me. Yet early on, we learn what it actually means, or rather, what it stands for. It is a description of Chile, the country (Spanish: Largo pétalo de mar), a reference to it's long shape. Chile is also described as a "worm" at one point in the book. 

So reading this book was illuminating. There were historical events which I was really only vaguely aware about, knowing maybe the basic facts. Like the Spanish Civil War, or the overthrow of Allende in Chile, and the brutal Pinochet dictatorship which followed. 

Yet, this moving work by Isabel Allende - yes, she is related to the real-life late former Marxist President Allende of Chile - really brings these events to life. This goes well beyond the stagnant black and white facts of what happened during these events. Through the characters, which Allende brilliants breathes life into, we feel the real impact of these events, the massive suffering inflicted on human beings. We see the despair and ultimate defeat of the Republican cause in Spain in the dying days of the Spanish Civil War. Then the mass exodus into France, the way the world seemed to turn a blind eye to their plight, and then their stay in concentration camps once in France.

Throughout the novel, we learn a bit about the life of Chilean poet Pablo Naruda. He writes poetry about love and politics, and he remains politically active to the end. Naruda tries to help the Republicans who fled Spain at the end of the civil war, and brings thousands of refugees to Chile, which feels like a world away. Among them are Victor Dalmau, who hurriedly marries his missing (and likely dead) brother Guillem's wife, Roser. Roser is pregnant with Guillem's son, and so Victor has to assume responsibilities as a father. They suffer in the final days of war in Spain, then suffer during their stay at a concentration camp in France. Then Victor convinces Naruda to get them on the ship to Chile (in part because he hurriedly marries Roser), and they have a new beginning. The trip across oceans is also an ordeal, but in Chile, they are presented with a new opportunity at life. 

In Chile, we meet the Del Solar family. The head of the household is a conservative businessman, Isidro and his wife Laura Del Solar. They travel from Chile to Liverpool on the MV Reina del Pacifico while the clouds of World War II are gathering, although Isidiro seems convinced that nothing will actually happen. Then they have to hurry back to Chile once war does actually break out. We see them as quite wealthy and privileged. Their daughter Ofelia, who is engaged to Matías Eyzaguirre, starts an affair with Victor. Eventually, this affair ends after Ofelia gets pregnant, although she is told that she gave birth to a boy who died very quickly after birth. Ofelia sinks into depression, and where once she loved Victor, now she loathes him. 

Victor recovers from the affair, although he still thinks of Ofelia. But he is married to Roser, and has his son, Marcel, to take care of. Slowly but surely, they build roots in Chile until they begin to feel more Chilean than Spanish. He is a socialist and befriends a young politicians named Salvador Allende, Eventually, against all odds, Allende wins the presidency and begins to try and implement social reforms to bring about greater equality.

However, Allende remains stubbornly oblivious to the threat of the rightwing in the country plotting a coup. With the backing of the United States and the Chilean military, eventually there is a coup d'etat, with the junta led by General August Pinochet installing a hardline, rightwing dictatorship. Eventually, Victor finds himself back in a concentration camp in a remote, desert region of Chile. 

Eventually, he gets a lucky break when he helps a high-ranking camp official during a medical emergency. Eventually, he gets some measure of freedom and, in time, he and Roser escape to Venezuela. At that point in time, Venezuela is the rare functioning democracy on a continent full of brutal dictatorships. They learn to appreciate Venezuela, although they long to return back home to Chile.

Then a surprise, when Spain's Franco dies. Suddenly, that hardline rightwing dictatorship is at an end. They briefly return to Spain, but find that the country has changed beyond all recognition. They try to make it work, but eventually concede that this new Spain is now a foreign land to them. 

Finally, they return to Chile. The years have passed by very quickly, and the world has changed radically. As has Chile, which seems on the surface prosperous, but which has, in fact, staggering economic inequality. The majority of the wealth of the country is in the hands of just a few families, while the majority of Chileans live in relative poverty. This compromises the Pinochet regime, which eventually is forced to give up power. 

Yet, just as Victor and Roser seem like they will get to enjoy their elder years in quiet retirement, Roser gets terminal cancer. Victor remains in denial, but at some point, even he has to abandon hope.

Now left alone, Victor is living a bit like a hermit when suddenly, he gets a visit from a strange woman. This, he learns, is his daughter, who only recently discovered the truth. Ofelia never gave birth to a boy, but rather a girl. And she did not die, but was taken from Ofelia and given to a German Chilean family, where she was raised with love in a conservative family. She should be happy, yet there is a sadness which pervades, and she and Victor connect on this, among other things.

All in all, a very well-written and powerful book. Allende allows you to feel the passage of time and changes of circumstances. The reader gets good looks into Spain during the Spanish Civil War and Chile from between the war years until after the end of Pinochet. There are also some shorter, less extensive glimpses of southern France and Venezuela.

Truly an epic book. Highly recommended!

Trump’s "America First" New World Order Resembles an All or Nothing Gamble

This is a picture of a magnet that was being sold at Strand's Book Store in New York City a few years ago. No, I did not buy it, but I liked it and took a picture, which I am sharing here now. 

I wrote this, and intended to publish it, probably over one month ago now.

Yet for some reason, I stopped midway, then promptly forgot about it.

Until I ran into it earlier today. So I took another look, tried to clean it up, update it a bit. And now, I am going ahead and publishing this today, even though it is a bit outdated. Indeed, all of the talk of Greenland has been suspended....for now.

Sooner or later, I suspect, it will start up again. But that's for later.

Still, today Trump launched air strikes in coordination with Israel. This feels, once again, like a "wag the Dog" tactic to me. His poll numbers were alarming before his State of the Union, so he predictably gave a very long-winded speech which appealed to his base and few others. Everyone suspects that he is guilty regarding the Epstein Files and the subsequent cover-up. Many feel that he is destined to lose the midterm elections, so there are concerns that he will somehow either delay or outright cancel them, or gain some control over them to the point that he controls their outcome. 

One way or the other, however, Trump is a very unpopular politician right now. So he seems to be turning to that tried-and-true method of distraction, by waging a "Wag the Dog" kind of attack on another country, hyping up the supposed threat that they pose to us.

Remember, just months ago Trump and his team were trying to convince everyone who would listen that Iran's nuclear capabilities had been "totally obliterated." Those were his words, and they doubled down whenever anyone suggested that it was anything less. No, they insisted, Iran's nuclear capabilities had been "totally obliterated."

That was just a few months ago. Now, here we are launching an attack on Iran, based on the premise that their nuclear program apparently poses such an immediate threat that immediate, pre-emptory attacks were absolutely necessary.

WMD's, anyone? 

Last month, Trump attacked Venezuela, then threatened to be on the verge of militarily taking over Greenland. 

Now this month, it is Iran. 

Let's see what March has in store.

Politically speaking, 2025 felt like a very long year. Indeed, it felt more like two or three years, so exhausting was the news cycle.

Seems like we're in for an even longer year now.

Anyway, I wrote this piece (not quite completely) at the height of the tensions regarding what then seemed like America's imminent invasion of Greenland. Now I publish this on the day that Trump launched air strikes on Iran, in a move which could quickly escalate to a much wider war. Iran retaliated with attacks on Israel, Qatar, and Kuwait. And they may launch attacks on a number of other countries, as well.

All so that Trump can distract us from the bad news because of his presidency, because he never got inflation under control as promised, because he is clearly hiding something regarding the Epstein Files, and because he is very unpopular with the American public right now. This is an extension of his "America First" policy, which indeed does feel like an "all or nothing" gamble.

Here is some of what I wrote about this approach a month and change ago:

Despite the Trump White House clearly showing signs of being ever more authoritative, and even seemingly making a point of drawing comparisons with Nazi Germany, I for one remain a bit hesitant to go to that extreme.

That said, the recently borrowed Nazi slogans and secret police force (ICE), as well as Trump's repeated calls now to cancel election (in 2020 and now in 2026, both times when the outlook appeared unfavorable to his political interests) sure make such comparisons feel a lot more legitimate.

But in what I feel is an even graver threat, Trump's seeming "all of nothing" gambling when it comes to taking over other lands feels like it is really right out of the Nazi German playbook. It began before he even took office for the second time, when he began to threaten military action in Mexico and Panama and Greenland, and then relentlessly undermined Canada's sovereignty as an independent nation by referring to it as the "51st state" and Prime Minister Trudeau as "Governor Trudeau."

Some people claim that Trump is entertaining. My guess is that those people thought all of this was hysterical. 

To me, there is absolutely nothing funny about it.

Since taking office, Trump has expanded those threats. He still threatens military action in Mexico, still refers to Canada as the "51st state," and has claimed that the United States will take over Panama as well. But he also said that the United States will take over Gaza and make it a new "Riviera" under American control. Because, you know, we're just so popular in that region, and everyone knows how our wars in that region always go so beautifully for us, right? 

Then came the invasion of Venezuela and the oil there. 

Now, he is ramping up the rhetoric about Greenland. 

Or was. This is where I am taking over on the day that Trump launched an attack on Iran. Greenland was more or less swept under the rug, at least temporarily. Seemingly because Europe threatened to start collecting American debts (to the tune of somewhere between $8 to $12 trillion) if he followed through with this plans. So he backed off.

Yet here we are again. The self-described "peace president" has launched another military attack on a sovereign foreign country. Don't be surprised if he claims that he will take it over, much like he did do with Venezuela. Much like he threatened to do with Greenland, with Panama, and with Gaza. 

I cannot help but think of the region where this war is being fought. Another conflict halfway around the world, in the Persian Gulf. Because the last couple of wars we fought in that region around Iran just went so incredibly well for us. Everybody remembers the rousing success in Iraq and Afghanistan, right? 

Here we go again. 

When things were going well, Trump proudly proclaimed that he was the "peace president." But a year into his second term in office, and things are not going all that well. And surprise, surprise, he launches military attacks, while threatening more military attacks.

By the way, remember how those of us who warned that this man was and is unstable, and that this is why he cannot be trusted with such a high office?

Yeah, this is what we were talking about. An invasion of Venezuela last month. A seemingly inevitable invasion of Greenland which he backed off from only once he got serious pushback. Now, yet another invasion. 

Who will we invade next? I did not support George W. Bush and his invasion of Iraq while we were already fighting in Afghanistan. And while Bush seemed to make overtures towards a conflict with Iran, he never actually went through with it. 

Now this guy, this unstable MAGAlomaniac. He has us in Venezuela - mark my words: I suspect that our military involvement there is not quite done, even though we have (temporarily) forgotten about it - and then almost into Greenland, and now outright in Iran. Where next? Do you really think this guy will hesitate to launch yet another attack somewhere if he feels that he might profit (perhaps literally, and certainly politically) from it?

If you believe that he will hesitate, you have not been paying attention. This is the same guy who launched economic warfare against the entire rest of the world. The same guy who proclaimed himself "President of Venezuela" after last month's military intervention. 

No, he is not a genius playing some intense mind games that we are too dumb to understand. This is a child playing with war toys, and trying to distract us with these actions to reinforce his "strong man" image at a time when he looked weak and vulnerable, domestically. Yes, he is capable of doing it again. Of fighting multiple wars all at the same time.

This feels like how superpowers and empires fall into decline.

Clearly, Trump believes that he can win. However, if we keep launching wars against other countries, I am not sure that we can win. I am not sure that this war, which he launched without the approval of Congress, will not last just as long as Iraq or Afghanistan. 

In fact, I am not sure that we are not already losing our once privileged status as a respected superpower with this nutcase in control. 

One of the things which I have always suspected of Trump, and which feels like one of his most dangerous traits, is this willingness - almost an eagerness - to gamble with everything. An "all or nothing" approach.

And if this guy keeps gambling like this, it might not be his scam businesses which spiral out of control and into chaos. It might be the country which does so. Because victory in yet another country in the Persian Gulf, so soon after the other wars ended pretty much disastrously, is not a recipe for success. It is the actions of a man who is desperately trying not to see his fortunes sink. These feel like the actions of a desperate man willing to take the whole country - possibly the entire world - down with him.

That is why each of these extremist actions by Trump feels so damn alarming. 

Trump’s ‘American Dominance’ May Leave Us With Nothing by Anne Applebaum, January 5, 2026:

The president’s moves in Venezuela foretell a new global system.  

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/01/trumps-american-dominance-may-leave-us-with-nothing/685503/?link_source=ta_first_comment&taid=695e5fdfc0b969000157199c&utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_content=edit-promo&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawPQBA5leHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeuFWLCe54DI_d8VuGbrHCK7oiXg6U5DOhLPxZwiXlRPMXZWRw3WYGhv9dwaA_aem_4P0VIMsp1Gzmz4Ja4y33XA

Trump’s ‘American Dominance’ May Leave Us With Nothing - The Atlantic

AlternativeNation.net Questions Tom Morello Patriotism After He Posted Anti-Trump Sentiments on Social Media

This is a picture of a magnet that was being sold at Strand's Book Store in New York City a few years ago. No, I did not buy it, but I liked it and took a picture, which I am sharing here now. 

Thought I published this particular quote before, or something very much like this.

Apparently not, however, because I could not find it after an admittedly brief search with the words. However, it felt like something worth sharing, because it smacks of the truth. Indeed, this quote is truly the reality in this country. There is a sickness, as well as a collective immaturity and lack of seriousness, which allowed this pathetic, petty, small, astonishingly needy and outrageously narcissistic little man to become the elected face and voice of the country. Twice now.

He did not become such by accident, as I had originally assumed when he first won. So much did he lack legitimacy and any sense of gravitas, that I still had a hard time believing, or accepting, the fact that the country could have elected him president.

But seeing the way the country itself has responded to Trump since his political rise to power, I now recognize another truth. That in fact, far from being some kind of an aberration or incredible deviation from the course we seemed destined to take, Trump's political rise now feels like it was inevitable. 

Part of that includes the left, who clearly despise the man (to their credit, I think). Yet, far too many people who oppose Trump also seem to share in the phenomenon of delusions, much like King Con Don's own mindless MAGA Moron Cult following. Indeed, how many times have we heard that Trump was, or will, be behind bars? I knew that he would never find himself behind bars, but it seemed that a majority of people - many of whom I know personally - were absolutely convinced that he actually would be in jail, and probably for the rest of his life. While I agree that his crimes were of such a severe nature that he deserved to be behind bars (and would be in a more ideal world), the reality was that this smacked of a feel good fairy tale that people allowed themselves to believe in in order not to face the harsher reality of what this would, and particularly this country, have become. 

Here is another one: Trump is very sick and his health is about to give way. I have seen some people on the left, and in one or two cases even know some people personally, who are absolutely convinced that Trump is teetering on the edge and about to die in office. Hell, on some level, I can even understand this. Yes, he has poor health habits, being quite obviously and grotesquely overweight (another very American characteristic which he embodies). Yes, he probably eats very unhealthy. No, he is not likely to change his habits. Indeed, I have seen, as have many others, medical experts who have seen the physical signs that indicate an imminent decline, and even death, and soon.

But he also is the President of the United States. That means a first-rate medical staff at his beck and call, monitoring his every move. An immediate response in the event of an emergency. And who knows? Maybe such an emergency - or emergencies - have already occurred. He has survived to this point, and will continue to survive. Maybe I am wrong, but I believe that not only will he survive these next three remaining years in office, but that he will be alive and relatively well enough to run again in 2028, something which I have been saying now for a long time. This is something which quite a number of people I know refuse to believe. Some have even scoffed.

Let's put it this way: I would be shocked if I turned out wrong about this. Don't get me wrong: I am not happy about his running in 2028. It's just that there is an air of inevitability about it. 

There are others, like he is about to step down. This was more prominent early during his first term, but it is another thing which some people were absolutely certain of, and which somehow never quite panned out. Did it?

Also, the whole Russian collusion thing. Do I think that some Russians were not only involved, but actively worked to try and get Trump elected? 

Sure, absolutely. No doubt.

Is that the reason that he won in 2016, or in 2020?

Nope. Not a chance. There were many reasons for why he won, but Russian collusion or interference would rank near the bottom. In fact, I also believe that this is a self-delusion, one which offers the comfortable illusion of something foreign, something outside of this country, being responsible for the horror of these Trump years.

That I do not believe. Like it or not, we Americans have to take ownership for this man and his rise to the presidency. We as Americans will be judged for this by the rest of the world, and harshly. I suspect that he will define us as a nation long after he is gone. Not just from power, but gone, period. Not just for years, but for generations. 

What's more is that this is both accurate and deserved. 

Why? Because indeed, the quote below is accurate.

While some people seem to think that if you remove Trump the man, everything with this country, and with the world, is right again.

The reality is quite a bit grimmer than that, however. Because indeed, this country the way that it is because Trump is president. Rather, this country is the way that it is, which is why Trump is president.

Until we face that fact, we will continue to undermine both Trump and his supporters. And they are likely to capitalize on our underestimation of what they are capable of. 

Here is a little bit of proof as to what I am suggesting: the source of this particular post (this was a Facebook post) proved the case. Alternative Nation is where I got this from. And up to this point, I had believed that they would be more like many of the musicians they cover and claim to identify with. While in fact, the question being asked in the post is this: Does Tom Morello love America?

That very much sounds like a pro-Trump (masquerading as a pro-American) point of view, where Tom Morello being critical of the United States at this moment automatically is translated to him hating the United States (the obvious and inescapable conclusion of such a pointed question). 

Indeed, that is quite indicative of where we are as a country. 

AlternativeNation.net Yesterday at 00:00  · Does Tom Morello love America?

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1512356943782630&set=a.286042363080767

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February 28th: This Day in History

 

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

On this day in 202 BCE, the coronation ceremony of Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu of Han took place, initiating four centuries of the Han Dynasty's rule over China. In 364 on this day, Valentinian I became the Roman Emperor. The Eighth Ecumenical Council ended in Constantinople on this day in 870. The "Relief of Ladysmith" in Natal (present day South Africa) by General Sir Redvers Buller's troops took place on this day in 1900. On this day in 1933, Germany took several steps towards destroying the Weimar Republic and establishing a dictatorship. President Von Hindenburg abolished the free expression of opinion, and Adolf Hitler, soon to be Dictator of Nazi Germany, abolished the German communist party (KPD). In 1940 on this day, Richard Wright's "Native Son" was published. On this day in 1953, Cambridge University scientists James D. Watson and Frances H.C. Crick announced that they have determined the double-helix chemical structure of DNA, the molecule containing human genes. In 1986 on this day, the European Economic Community signed a"Special Act" for European free trade. On this day in 1987, Soviet Premiere Mikhail Gorbachev called for a nuclear weapons treaty with the United States. On this day in 1988, there was an anti-Armenian pogrom in Azerbaijan, with 30 people ultimately killed. The North Atlantic Treaty Orangization (NATO) launched its first military strike on this day in 1994 when U.S. F-16 fighters shot down four Bosnian Serb warplanes in violation of a no-fly zone over central Bosnia. On this day in 2002 in Ahmadabad, India, Hindus set fire to the homes in a Muslim neighborhood.. At least 55 people were killed in the attack.  

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

• On this day in 202 BCE, the coronation ceremony of Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu of Han took place, initiating four centuries of the Han Dynasty's rule over China

• In 364 on this day, Valentinian I became the Roman Emperor.

• The Eighth Ecumenical Council ended in Constantinople on this day in 870.

• 1570 - Anti-Portugese uprising on Ternate, Moluccas

• 1638 - Scottish Presbyterians sign National Convent, Greyfriars, Edinburgh

• 1646 - Roger Scott was tried in Mass for sleeping in church

• 1653 - -Mar 3] 3 Day Sea battle English beats Dutch

• 1667 - English colony Suriname in Dutch hands

• 1692 - Salem witch hunt begins

• 1700 - Today is followed by March 1 in Sweden, thus creating the Swedish calendar.

• 1704 - Elias Neau, a Frenchman, opens a school for blacks in NYC

• 1704 - Indians attack Deerfield, Mass, kill 40, kidnap 100

• 1708 - Slave revolt, Newton, Long Island NY, 11 die

• 1710 - In the Battle of Helsingborg, 14,000 Danish invaders under Jørgen Rantzau are decisively defeated by an equally sized Swedish force under Magnus Stenbock.

Bust of German-British composer George Friedrich Handel

• 1728 - George F Handel's opera "Siroe, re di Persia," premieres in London

• 1730 - Tsarina Anna Ivanovna leads autocracy

• 1749 - 1st edition of Henry Fieldings' "Tom Jones" published

• 1759 - Pope Clement XIII allows Bible to be translated into various languages

• 1778 - Rhode Island General Assembly authorizes enlistment of slaves

 

• 1784 - John Wesley charters Methodist Church

• 1787 - The charter establishing the institution now known as the University of Pittsburgh is granted.

• 1794 - US Senate voids Pennsylvania's election of Abraham Gallatin

• 1810 - 1st US fire insurance joint-stock company organized, Philadelphia

The Franz Schubert Monument at Stadtpark, Vienna

• 1819 - 1st public performance of a Franz Schubert song, "Schäfers Klageleid"

1826 - M Biela, an Austrian officer, discovers Biela's Comet

1827 - 1st commercial railroad in US, Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) chartered

1828 - Franz Grillparzer's "Ein Treuer Diener," premieres in Vienna

1835 - Dr Elias L"nnrot publishes Finnish poem "Kalevala"

1838 - Robert Nelson, leader of the Patriotes, proclaims the independence of Lower Canada (today Québec)

1844 - 12-inch gun aboard USS Princeton explodes

1847 - US defeats Mexico in battle of Sacramento

1849 - 1st boat load of gold rush prospectors arrives in SF from east coast

1850 - The University of Utah opens in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1854 - Republican Party formally organized at Ripon, Wisc

Composer Franz SchubertComposer Franz Schubert 1859 - Arkansas legislature requires free blacks to choose exile or slavery

1861 - Territories of Nevada & Colorado created

1862 - Opera "La Reine de Saba," premieres in Paris

1863 - Confederate raider "Nashville" sinks near Fort McAllister Georgia

1864 - -Mar 3rd] Skirmish at Albemarle County Virginia (Burton's Ford)

1864 - -Mar 4th) Raid at Kilpatrick's Richmond

1870 - The Bulgarian Exarchate is established by decree of Sultan Abd-ul-Aziz of the Ottoman Empire.

1871 - 2nd Enforcement Act gives federal control of congressional elections

1878 - US congress authorizes large-size silver certificate

1879 - "Exodus of 1879" southern blacks flee political/economic exploitation

1882 - 1st US college cooperative store opens, at Harvard U

1883 - 1st US vaudeville theater opens (Boston)

1888 - Ferry in San Pablo Bay explodes

1888 - Vincent d'Indy's Wallenstein-trilogy, premieres

1891 - Oscar Grundén skates world record 500m (50.8 sec)

• 1893 - Edward Acheson, Penn, patents an abrasive he names "carborundum"

• 1896 - France dismisses Queen Ranavalona of Madagascar

Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria, South Africa

The Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria, South Africa.

• The "Relief of Ladysmith" in Natal (present day South Africa) by General Sir Redvers Buller's troops took place on this day in 1900.

1902 - Jules Massenets opera premieres in Monte Carlo

1903 - Barney Dreyfuss & James Potter buys Philadelphia Phillies for $170,000

1904 - Vincent d'Indy's 2nd Symphony in B, premieres

1906 - Stanley Cup: Ottawa Silver 7 sweep Queen's U (Kingston Ont) in 2 games

1908 - Failed assassination attempt on Shah Mohammed Ali in Teheran

1912 - Victor Trumper's last Test Cricket innings c Woolley b Barnes 50

1913 - 6.8-m, 4000-kg elephant seal killed, South Georgia (S Atlantic)

1914 - Construction begins on Tower of Jewels for the Exposition (SF)

1917 - AP reports Mexico & Japan will allie with Germany if US enters WW I

1917 - Russian Duma sets up Provisional Committee; workers set up Soviets

1920 - Maurice Ravel's "Le tombeau de Couperin," premieres

1922 - Egypt regains independence from Britain, but British troops remain

1922 - KHQ-AM in Spokane WA begins radio transmissions

1923 - Swedish king Gustaaf V begins state visit to Netherlands

1924 - US begins intervention in Honduras

1925 - "Tea For Two" by Marion Harris hit #1

1925 - Congress authorizes a special handling stamp

1925 - Longest win streak in Toronto Maple Leaf history (9 games)

1925 - Theater Museum of Amsterdam forms

1929 - Chic Black Hawks lose record NHL 15th straight game at home

1931 - Canadian Rugby Union adopts the forward pass

1931 - Oswald Mosley founds his New Party

1933 - 1st female in cabinet: Francis Perkins appointed Secretary of Labor

• On this day in 1933, Germany took several steps towards destroying the Weimar Republic and establishing a dictaroship. President Von Hindenburg abolished the free expression of opinion, and Adolf Hitler, soon to be Dictator of Nazi Germany, abolished the German communist party (KPD).

1935 - Amsterdam Hotel of the Red Lion gets sidewalk permit

1935 - Wallace Carothers manufactures 1st nylon polymer

1939 - Great-Britain recognizes Franco-regime in Spain

1939 - The first issue of Serbian weekly magazine Politikin zabavnik is published.

1939 - The erroneous word "Dord" is discovered in the Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition, prompting an investigation.

1940 - 1st televised basketball game (U of Pitts beats Fordham U, 50-37)

• In 1940 on this day, Richard Wright's "Native Son" was published.

1940 - US population at 131,669,275 (12,865,518 blacks (9.8%))

1941 - 39 U Boats (197,000 ton) sunk this month

1941 - British-Italian dogfight above Albania

1942 - 1st weapon drop on Netherlands

1942 - Japanese land in Java, last Allied bastion in Dutch East Indies

1942 - Race riot, Sojourner Truth Homes, Detroit

1943 - "Porgy & Bess" opens on Broadway with Anne Brown & Todd Duncan

1943 - 63 U Boats (359,300 ton) sinks this month

1947 - Anti Kuomintang demonstration on Taiwan

1947 - 228 Incident: In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the loss of 30,000 civilian lives.

1950 - "Alive & Kicking" closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 46 perfs

1951 - French government of Pleven dissolves

1951 - Senate committee reports of at least 2 major US crime syndicates

Soviet Union Premier Joseph StalinSoviet Union Premier Joseph Stalin 1953 - Stalin meets with Beria, Bulganin, Khrushchev & Malenkov

• On this day in 1953, Cambridge University scientists James D. Watson and Frances H.C. Crick announced that they have determined the double-helix chemical structure of DNA, the molecule containing human genes.    Though DNA--short for deoxyribonucleic acid--was discovered in 1869, its crucial role in determining genetic inheritance wasn't demonstrated until 1943. In the early 1950s, Watson and Crick were only two of many scientists working on figuring out the structure of DNA. California chemist Linus Pauling suggested an incorrect model at the beginning of 1953, prompting Watson and Crick to try and beat Pauling at his own game. On the morning of February 28, they determined that the structure of DNA was a double-helix polymer, or a spiral of two DNA strands, each containing a long chain of monomer nucleotides, wound around each other. According to their findings, DNA replicated itself by separating into individual strands, each of which became the template for a new double helix.  In his best-selling book, The Double Helix (1968), Watson later claimed that Crick announced the discovery by walking into the nearby Eagle Pub and blurting out that "we had found the secret of life." The truth wasn’t that far off, as Watson and Crick had solved a fundamental mystery of science--how it was possible for genetic instructions to be held inside organisms and passed from generation to generation.    Watson and Crick's solution was formally announced on April 25, 1953, following its publication in that month’s issue of Nature magazine. The article revolutionized the study of biology and medicine. Among the developments that followed directly from it were pre-natal screening for disease genes; genetically engineered foods; the ability to identify human remains; the rational design of treatments for diseases such as AIDS; and the accurate testing of physical evidence in order to convict or exonerate criminals.   Crick and Watson later had a falling-out over Watson's book, which Crick felt misrepresented their collaboration and betrayed their friendship. A larger controversy arose over the use Watson and Crick made of research done by another DNA researcher, Rosalind Franklin, whose colleague Maurice Wilkins showed her X-ray photographic work to Watson just before he and Crick made their famous discovery. When Crick and Watson won the Nobel Prize in 1962, they shared it with Wilkins. Franklin, who died in 1958 of ovarian cancer and was thus ineligible for the award, never learned of the role her photos played in the historic scientific breakthrough.  

1954 - Patty Berg/Pete Cooper wins LPGA Orlando Mixed Golf Tournament

1954 - US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island

1956 - 13 die in a train crash in Swampscott Mass

1956 - Forrester issued a patent for computer core memory

1957 - Jockey Johnny Longden's 5,000th career victory

1958 - West Indies 1-504 in reply to Pakistan 328, day 3 of 3rd Test Cricket

1959 - "Goldilocks" closes at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC after 161 perfs

1959 - Ice Dance Championship at Colo Springs USA won by Denny & Jones of GRB

1959 - Ice Pairs Championship at Colorado Springs won by Wagner & Paul of CAN

1959 - Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Colo Spr won by Carol Heiss USA

1959 - Launch of Discoverer 1 (WTR)-1st polar orbit

1959 - Men's Figure Skating Championship in Colo Spr won by David Jenkins USA

1959 - NFL trade, Chicago Cards trade Ollie Matson to LA Rams for 9 players

1960 - 8th winter Olympic games close at Squaw Valley, Cal

1960 - Mickey Wright wins LPGA Tampa Golf Open

1960 - US wins Olympic hockey gold medal by defeating Canada

Politician, statesman Henry KissingerPolitician, statesman Henry Kissinger 1961 - JFK names Henry Kissinger special advisor

1962 - WMGM-AM in New York City changes call letters to WHN

    

• 1966 - Cavern Club (Beatles hangout) in Liverpool closes

1966 - Sandy Koufax & Don Drysdale begin a joint holdout against Dodgers

1967 - Wilt Chamberlain sinks NBA record 35th consecutive field goal

1968 - Pirate Radio Hauraki, off NZ, returns to the air

1969 - Ice Dance Championship at Colorado Spr won by Towler & Ford of GBR

1969 - Ice Pairs Championship at Colorado Spr won by Rodnina & Ulanov of URS

1969 - Ladies Figure Skating Champion in Colo Spr won by Gabriele Seyfert GDR

1969 - Men's Figure Skating Championship in Colo Springs won by Tim Wood USA

1970 - "Georgy" closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 4 performances

1970 - Bicycles permitted to cross Golden Gate Bridge

1970 - Caroline Walker runs world female record marathon (3:02:53)

1970 - KIIN (now KUN) TV channel 12 in Iowa City, IA (PBS) 1st broadcast

1970 - WUTR TV channel 20 in Utica-Rome, NY (ABC) begins broadcasting

1971 - WDRB TV channel 41 in Louisville, KY (IND) begins broadcasting

Golfer Jack NicklausGolfer Jack Nicklaus 1971 - 53rd PGA Championship: Jack Nicklaus shoots a 281 at PGA Natl FL Jack Nicklaus wins his 2nd golf grand slam

1972 - George Harrison is involved in a minor car accident

1972 - Pres Richard Nixon ends historic week-long visit to China

1972 - The Asama-Sanso incident ends in Japan.

• 1973 - Suriname government of Sedney arrests 13 union leaders

• 1974 - Ethiopian government of Makonnen forms

1974 - Labour Party wins British parliamentary election

1974 - Taiwan police shoots into crowd

1974 - US & Egypt re-form diplomatic relations after 7 years

1975 - 41 killed in London Underground, as train speeds past final stop

1975 - EG signs accord of Lome with 46 developing countries

1975 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1975 - A major tube train crash at Moorgate station, London kills 43 people.

1976 - 18th Grammy Awards: Love Will Keep Us Together, Natalie Cole wins

1976 - Ceuta & Melilla (Spanish Morocco) are last European African possession

37th US President Richard Nixon37th US President Richard Nixon 1976 - Spain withdraws from Western Sahara

1977 - 1st killer whale born in captivity (Marineland, Los Angeles California)

1977 - Harbor strike in Rotterdam/Amsterdam ends

1979 - Ernest Thompson's "On Golden Pond," premieres in NYC

1980 - "The Well-Tuned Piano" by La Monte Young premieres (takes 4 h 12 m)

1980 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1981 - Calvin Murphy (Hou), sets NBA record with 78 consecutive free throws

• 1981 - China PR throws out Neth ambassador due to submarine sale to Taiwan

1982 - AT & T looses record $7 BILLION for fiscal year ending on this day

1982 - Ayako Okamoto wins LPGA Arizona Copper Golf Classic

1982 - FALN (PR Nationalist Group) bombs Wall Street

1983 - Last broadcast of "M*A*S*H" on CBS-TV

1983 - Final TV episode of "M*A*S*H" airs (CBS); record 125 million watch

1984 - 26th Grammy Awards: Michael Jackson wins 8 Grammys

Flag of the European Union (EU)

• In 1986 on this day, the European Economic Community signed a"Special Act" for European free trade.

The flag of the USSR (Soviet Union)

• On this day in 1987, Soviet Premiere Mikhail Gorbachev called for a nuclear weapons treaty with the United States.  In a surprising announcement, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev indicates that his nation is ready to sign "without delay" a treaty designed to eliminate U.S. and Soviet medium-range nuclear missiles from Europe. Gorbachev's offer led to a breakthrough in negotiations and, eventually, to the signing of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in December 1987.    Gorbachev and President Ronald Reagan had been wrestling with the issue of nuclear arms reduction in Europe since 1985, when they first met face-to-face to discuss the matter. A subsequent meeting in 1986 started with high hopes for an agreement, but the discussions broke down when Gorbachev linked the issue of the elimination of U.S. and Soviet INF in Europe to U.S. termination of its development of the Strategic Defense Initiative (the so-called "Star Wars" anti-missile defense system). However, both Reagan and Gorbachev faced pressures to reach a settlement. Reagan was under assault by "no-nuke" forces both in the United States and in western Europe. By late 1986 and early 1987, he was also faced with the fallout from the Iran-Contra scandal, when his administration had become involved in illegal arms dealings with both Iran and the Contra forces in Central America. Gorbachev wanted to achieve a cut in nuclear armaments, both to bolster his prestige on the world stage and to provide some much-needed relief for a Soviet economy sagging under the burden of massive military expenditures.    In February 1987, Gorbachev announced that the Soviet Union was willing to proceed with negotiations on the INF Treaty. This time, he suggested that "the problem of medium-range missiles in Europe be singled out from the package of issues and that a separate agreement on it be concluded, and without delay." In other words, he was dropping his insistence on including SDI in the negotiations. The timing of Gorbachev's offer was interesting to many observers in the United States. Some suggested that it was not coincidental that his statement was released just days after a high-level presidential review board had issued a stinging report critical of the Reagan administration's involvement in the Iran-Contra scandal. Perhaps, they concluded, Gorbachev felt that Reagan would be anxious for a settlement. The two men met in December 1987 and signed the INF Treaty, by which the Soviets eliminated about 1,500 medium-range missiles from Europe and the United States removed nearly half that number.

• On this day in 1988, there was an anti-Armenian pogrom in Azerbaijan, with 30 people ultimately killed.

1988 - Pat Verbeek becomes 1st NJ Devil to score 4 goals in an NHL game

1988 - Yvonne van Gennip skates world record 5 km ladies (7:14.13)

1989 - Gretchen Polhemus, 23, (Texas), crowned 38th Miss USA

1989 - Memo by Brian Gumbel criticizing Today Show co-workers becomes public

1989 - Red Schoendienst & Al Barlick elected to baseball's Hall of Fame

• 1990 - Dutch police seize 3,000 kg of cocaine

• 1990 - US 65th manned space mission STS 36 (Atlantis 6) launches into orbit

1991 - "Les Miserables" opens at Theatre Carre, Amsterdam

1991 - "Speed of Darkness" opens at Belasco Theater NYC for 36 performances

1991 - Don Mattingly named 10th NY Yankee Captain

1991 - Noureddine Morceli runs world record 1500m indoor (3:34:16)

1991 - US & allied forces grant Iraq a cease fire

1993 - "Anna Christie" closes at Criterion Theater NYC after 54 performances

Comedian Jerry SeinfeldComedian Jerry Seinfeld 1993 - 7th American Comedy Award: Seinfeld wins

1993 - Gun battle erupts at Waco Texas between FBI & Branch Davidians

1993 - Iolanda Chen triple jumps world indoor record hop step (14.46m)

1994 - 100 agents raid Branch Davidian compound at Waco Texas

1994 - Brady Law, imposing a wait-period to buy a hand-gun, went into effect

• The North Atlantic Treaty Orangization (NATO) launched its first military strike on this day in 1994 when U.S. F-16 fighters shot down four Bosnian Serb warplanes in violation of a no-fly zone over central Bosnia. 

1995 - Denver International Airport opens

1996 - 38th Grammy Awards: Jagged Little Pill, Alanis Morisette wins

1997 - Earthquake in Pakistan, kills 45

1997 - FBI agent Earl Pitts pleads guilty to selling secrets to Russia

1997 - Smokers must prove they are over 18 to purchase cigarettes in US

1997 - The North Hollywood shootout takes place.

1998 - "View From the Bridge," closes at Criterion Theater NYC

1998 - Vancouver Canucks Mark Messier is 4th NHLer to get 1,600 points

1998 - First flight of RQ-4 Global Hawk, the first unmanned aerial vehicle certified to file its own flight plans and fly regularly in U.S. civilian airspace.

1998 - Kosovo War: Serbian police begin the offensive against the Kosovo Liberation Army in Kosovo.

2001 - The Nisqually Earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter Scale hits the Nisqually Valley and the Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia area of the U.S. state of Washington.

2001 - Six passengers and four railway staff are killed and a further 82 people suffer serious injuries in the Selby rail crash.

• On this day in 2002 in Ahmadabad, India, Hindus set fire to the homes in a Muslim neighborhood.. At least 55 people were killed in the attack.  

2004 - Over 1 million Taiwanese participating in the 228 Hand-in-Hand Rally form a 500-kilometre (300-mile) long human chain to commemorate the 228 Incident in 1947

2005 - Lebanon's pro-Syrian prime minister, Omar Karami, resigns amid large anti-Syria street demonstrations in Beirut.

2005 - A suicide bombing at a police recruiting centre in Al Hillah, Iraq kills 127.

2007 - Jupiter flyby of the New Horizons Pluto-observer spacecraft.

2008 - Former Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra is arrested on corruption charges upon returning to Thailand after months of exile.

• 2012 - Occupy London protesters evicted from St Paul's Cathedral

• 2012 - Discovery of the largest prehistoric penguin, Kairuku grebneffi, at nearly 5ft tall

• 2013 - 28 people are killed and 60 are injured after a series of bombings across Baghdad, Iraq

• 2013 - 35 people are killed in violent demonstrations across Bangladesh

• 2013 - The brains of two rats have been successfully connected so that they share information

1827 - The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad became the first railroad incorporated for commercial transportation of people and freight.   1844 - Several people were killed aboard the USS Princeton when a 12-inch gun exploded.   1849 - Regular steamboat service to California via Cape Horn arrived in San Francisco for the first time. The SS California had left New York Harbor on October 6, 1848. The trip took 4 months and 21 days.   1854 - The Republican Party was organized in Ripon, WI. About 50 slavery opponents began the new political group.   1861 - The U.S. territory of Colorado was organized.   1881 - Thomas Edison hired Samuel Insull as his private secretary.   1883 - The first vaudeville theater opened.   1885 - AT&T (American Telephone and Telegraph) was incorporated. The company was capitalized on only $100,000 and provided long distance service for American Bell.   1893 - Edward G. Acheson showed his patent for Carborundum.   1900 - In South Africa, British troops relieved Ladysmith, which had been under siege since November 2, 1899.   1911 - Thomas A. Edison, Inc. was organized.   1940 - The first televised basketball game was shown. The game featured Fordham University and the University of Pittsburgh from Madison Square Gardens in New York.   1948 - Bud Gartiser set a world record when he cleared the 50-yard low hurdles in 6.8 seconds.   1951 - A Senate committee issued a report that stated that there were at least two major crime syndicates in the U.S.   1953 - In a Cambridge University laboratory, scientists James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick discovered the double-helix structure of DNA.   1954 - In San Francisco "Birth of a Planet" was aired. It was the first American phase-contrast cinemicrography film to be presented on television.   1956 - A patent was issued to Forrester for a computer memory core.   1962 - The John Glenn for President club was formed by a group of Las Vegas republicans.   1974 - The U.S. and Egypt re-established diplomatic relations after a break of seven years.   1979 - Mr. Ed, the talking horse from the TV show "Mr. Ed", died.   1983 - "M*A*S*H" became the most watched television program in history when the final episode aired.   1986 - Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was assassinated in Stockholm.   1993 - U.S. Federal agents raided the compound of an armed religious cult in Waco, TX. The ATF had planned to arrest the leader of the Branch Davidians, David Koresh, on federal firearms charges. Four agents and six Davidians were killed and a 51-day standoff followed.   

1994 - NATO made its first military strike when U.S. F-16 fighters shot down four Bosnian Serb warplanes in violation of a no-fly zone over central Bosnia.   1995 - The Denver International Airport opened after a 16-month delay.   1998 - Serbian police began a campaign to wipe out "terrorist gangs" in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo.   2001 - The Northwest region of the U.S., including the state of Washington, was hit by an earthquake that measured 6.9 on the Richter Scale. There were no deaths reported.   2002 - In Ahmadabad, India, Hindus set fire to homes in a Muslim neighborhood. At least 55 people were killed in the attack.  2002 - Sotheby's auction house announced that it had identified Peter Paul Reubens as the creator of the painting "The Massacre of the Innocents." The painting was previously thought to be by Jan van den Hoecke.   2002 - It was announced that John Madden would be replacing Dennis Miller on "Monday Night Football." Madden signed a four-year $20 million deal with ABC Sports.

1953 James Watson and Francis Crick described their theory that two DNA strands were coiled in a double helix.

The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/feb28.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

RIP, Eva Schloss, Anne Frank's Stepsister, Reflects on Auschwitz and the Holocaust



Earlier tonight, I heard that Eva Schloss, an Auschwitz survivor and the stepsister of Anne Frank, died last month. She was 96 years old.

Schloss was the stepsister of Anne Frank, who became famous after her diaries were published. Schloss wrote some books of her own and made some public appearances, where she spoke of her experiences during the Holocaust. I actually attended one of these lectures, at Washington Township at the Bergen County YJCC, which felt like a privileges. She was intelligent, thoughtful, and illuminating. 

In fact, I wrote a blog entry on it, which I am republishing here now, under this blog entry. It seemed like a fitting tribute to Schloss.

Personally, I appreciated very much the opportunity to see her, and to learn more about this dark chapter in history with an intimacy with seeing the person in front of you which you often cannot get from a book. 

Rest In Peace, Eva Schloss. You will be missed.

Eva Schloss, Holocaust Survivor and Stepsister of Anne Frank, Dies at 96 Eva Schloss dedicated her life to Holocaust education and sharing her experiences with audiences around the world.  January 5, 2026:

https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/eva-schloss-holocaust-survivor-and-stepsister-anne-frank-dies-96

Eva Schloss, Holocaust Survivor and Stepsister of Anne Frank, Dies at 96 | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans

Eva Schloss, Anne Frank's Stepsister, Reflects on Auschwitz and the Holocaust

This was originally published on November 16, 2014:

On the evening of October 27th, Eva Schloss spoke about surviving the Holocaust and Auschwitz, as well as her famous stepsister to Anne Frank, spoke at

After her talk, I started reading her book Eva's Story, which I admittedly had not read before (nor even heard of before hearing of this speaking engagement, I am sorry to admit). But I reflected on what she said. Some of the new things that I had learned, such as that some Jews had tried to throw their support behind Hitler and get in with him when he first came to power, apparently not taking the anti-Semitic parts of his platform all that seriously.

I thought about my trip last year to Auschwitz (which I reviewed on July 25, 2013), and seeing that place in person. You hear so much about the horrors there, such as the showers and the ovens. There was an execution wall, where people were lined up to be killed. But I also remember seeing some things that hit me like never before about the grim reality of the horror. There were these very tiny makeshift rooms that, if you did not know any better, looked like chimneys, with little openings on the bottom. Some poor Jews, after working all day doing surely exhausting work, would have to crawl in there and share that kind of a space with up to three other guys. That meant that it was so tight in there, it was standing room only. They would have to spend the night, crammed and standing all night long in the pitch black. What provokes people to do such things to others?

The thing is, though, that when you are born and grew up after such a huge event like World War II, it begins to feel almost surreal. The events already happened, and they swell to an almost mythic proportion. The battles, the names of places and events and the prominent people. All of it seems like it could have happened no other way, and that is when it becomes immobile history.

What we need to understand with all of this is that these events really happened. Living people made decisions under often difficult circumstances. Some decisions were good, and showed strength. Some were bad, and showed cruelty. Those who came to the conclusion that a "final solution" to exterminate the Jews was needed at the Wannasee Conference made decisions, and the death camps were constructed as a result.

With Eva Schloss, you have a real life person who actually lived through such horrific events. She and her family, like her famous stepsister Anne Frank and that family, had their lives interrupted because of the huge, larger than life events going on around them. The Nazis have earned their reputation as the ultimate bad guys, and we still see them featured in this role often today in books and movies and even comic books, nearly seven full decades after these events finally came to a close. We know how they took over and occupied much of Europe. But when you see someone in the flesh, who lived through it all as a victim, and managed, against all odds, to survive, it brings it home in a way that other things simply cannot.

Seeing someone in the flesh, as I did a couple of weeks ago with Eva Schloss, and as I did some years ago when I went to see Elie Wiesel, makes you aware that these events, these tragedies, happened in real life, and not just in movies or books. They affected real people, who's everyday lives were disturbed because of the ideologies of hatred from people that managed to get into power, and to wage a war against the people that they hated, taking over more and more territory in Europe, and wiping out the Jewish population as they went.

It is a testament to the human spirit that some people did nonetheless manage to survive to tell their tale, as both Eva Schloss and Elie Wiesel (as well as others that I did not see, such as Primo Levi) did, writing books that will immortalize these events forever, so that we should never forget.

I would recommend, however, going to see any presentations or lectures such as this one by Holocaust survivors. After all, these events were a long time ago, and people who were around back then and old enough to remember many of these events are starting to be sparse, let alone people like Eva Schloss that were very directly affected, and had their lives interrupted by what we now view as history. It was a very interesting night and discussion! At the very least, pick up a book on the subject, so that you can get a better grasp on exactly what happened, and make sure that people do not forget!



Anne Frank's stepsister to speak Oct. 27

http://www.northjersey.com/community-news/anne-frank-s-stepsister-to-speak-oct-27-1.1105590




Eva Schloss Memoir Coming: Anne Frank's Stepsister Highlights Post-Holocaust Traumas

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/08/eva-schloss-memoir_n_3038415.html




'Living in the shadow of Anne Frank was a burden’

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/9995358/Living-in-the-shadow-of-Anne-Frank-was-a-burden.html