Honoring Victims of War at Paris’s Anne Frank Garden

Anne Frank Garden-10

Visitors to the City of Light who enjoyed today’s annual Armistice Day parade and the ceremonial placement of a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier under the Arc de Triomphe might also wish to take a moment to solemnize the second World War, in particularl the millions of Jews who were murdered by Nazi Germany (including about 77,000 French Jews). What better place to honor them than with a visit to a serene city park dedicated to perhaps the most well-known of all the victims of the Holocaust—Anne Frank? The charming but difficult-to-locate Jardin Anne Frank memorializes the teenaged girl known worldwide for the diary she kept while she, her family and friends hid from the Nazis in Amsterdam during World War II. But the quiet green space in Paris also more broadly memorializes all those who’ve lost their lives to war. Continue Reading →

V.E. Day: 75 Years Ago, the Nazi Nightmare Ended

Deportation 2

Today, May 5, marks the 69th anniversary of the Victory in Europe during World War II, known as V.E. Day. A national holiday in every major Western European nation, V.E. Day is celebrated particularly boisterously in France as the country suffered a long occupation by the Nazis and even the establishment of a collaborationist government in the southern half of the nation. In Paris, locals and visitors alike can find several historical sights and monuments related to World War II and the Nazi occupation, particularly locations that are directly linked with the mass arrest and deportation of French Jews in the city. Continue Reading →