How did Anne Frank die?

The following quote is from a news article which you can read in full at http://www.wearethemighty.com/news/the-11-eeriest-unsolved-mysteries-of-world-war-ii

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Through her famous diary, Anne Frank has become one of the most well known voices of the atrocities of the Holocaust. The diary was written while Frank was hiding in Amsterdam, but she ultimately died in the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp. While her diary shed light upon much of her life, the reason for her death remains a mystery.

Someone must have reported her, but who ultimately made the anonymous phone call that led to the capture and execution of Anne Frank and her family?

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Anne Frank was not executed, as this news article claims. Anne and her older sister, Margot, both died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen camp shortly before the liberation of the camp.

A tombstone for Anne and Margo has been placed at the site of the former camp, but Anne and her sister are actually buried in one of the mass graves. No one knows the exact location of their remains. In the background of the photo below is one of the mass graves.

My photo of the stone in honor of Anne Frank at Bergen-Belsen

Trump’s report card: 10 of the worst things that he has done

You can read Trump’s report card online here: https://www.care2.com/causes/10-of-the-worst-things-trump-has-done-in-2017.html

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This list could be much, much longer, but here are 10 of the worst things that Trump has done this year.

1.  Promoted Bigotry And Racism

This is the very worst: Trump’s bigoted and racist views have encouraged other like-minded people to emerge and be proud of their hateful attitudes. Consider his response to the participants in the August Charlottesville protest, organized by white supremacists and neo-Nazis carrying Confederate and Nazi flags: Trump called them “very fine people.” 

2. Destroyed The Environment

It’s hard to know where to start with this one, since Trump has made it a priority to get rid of every regulation President Obama put in place to protect the environment. One of Trump’s first actions was to announce the repeal of the Clean Power Plan, one of the toughest actions against global warming ever put in place by the U.S. It’s never taken effect and hasn’t been repealed yet, but that hasn’t stopped the Trump administration from reducing regulations around vehicle emissions, toxic waste, methane leaks and the pollution of drinking water. And let’s not forget the denial of climate change and the withdrawal from the Paris Peace Accords.

7. Lined His Own Pockets

Trump has used the presidency to enrich himself from day one, whether it’s Trump hotels welcoming foreign dignitaries or the $91,655,424 that American taxpayers have spent on his golf trips. And now Trump will likely be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the tax bill that he signed into law last week. No wonder he wanted to celebrate. Since he hasn’t released his tax returns, it’s impossible to say how much he will gain, but it will undoubtedly be in the millions. Oh and other members of his already-wealthy family like his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner also stand to save millions.

8. Made America Less Great

In a survey conducted annually by the Nation Brands Index, the U.S. has lost its top place ranking as the country with the best international image. The top spot is now held by Germany while the U.S. has dropped to sixth place. The poll questioned public opinion on 50 countries, asking questions about governance, culture, heritage, exports, tourism, investment and immigration. Countries ahead of the U.S. were France, the U.K., Canada and Japan. Those were the overall rankings, but in the area of governance, the U.S. has dropped from 19 to 23 under Trump.

3. Encouraged Police Brutality

Yes, really. Trump received applause when he addressed a group of police officers on Long Island in July and instructed them to “Please don’t be too nice” when throwing suspects into the back of a police car. He went on, “Like when you guys put somebody in the car and you’re protecting their head, you know, the way you put their hand over, like, don’t hit their head and they’ve just killed somebody, don’t hit their head, I said, ‘You can take the hand away, OK?’” 

4. Abandoned Puerto Rico

Last October, when Trump visited Puerto Rico after the island’s devastation by Hurricane Maria he tossed rolls of paper towels at its residents and promised his administration would provide all kinds of aid and would write off Puerto Rico’s $72 billion debt. He also sought to downplay the severity of the destruction in the island, compared to that wrought by Hurricane Katrina. But the debt has not been written off, around 1,065 people died on the island in September and October, on par with the Katrina deaths and now, three months after the storm, thousands of these American citizens still have no power, no homes and no access to potable water. 

5. Pushed “Fake News”

Trump, along with the flunkies like Mike Pence who attempt to outdo each other in obsequious praise of their master, is waging a war on the truth with his constant declarations of “Fake News” whenever a critical voice is raised against him. Trump cannot stand to be criticized, even when the truth is obvious, as in the size of his inauguration audience. While Trump decries the truth as fake news, Kellyanne Conway came up with “Alternative facts.” This authoritarian approach to any events that don’t match Trump’s prescribed opinions and policies is extremely dangerous.

6. Authorized More Arrests By ICE

It started early on: In the first weeks of Trump’s presidency, immigration arrests went up 32.6 percent; Trump had pledged that he was only going after the criminals but in fact ICE arrests of non-criminals doubled. As if that weren’t horrendous enough, the Department of Homeland Security has come up with a plan to separate families: When officials detain undocumented immigrants near the border with Mexico, the children will be handed over to Child Protective Services while their parents will be sent to detention centers. 

7. Lined His Own Pockets

Trump has used the presidency to enrich himself from day one, whether it’s Trump hotels welcoming foreign dignitaries or the $91,655,424 that American taxpayers have spent on his golf trips. And now Trump will likely be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the tax bill that he signed into law last week. No wonder he wanted to celebrate. Since he hasn’t released his tax returns, it’s impossible to say how much he will gain, but it will undoubtedly be in the millions. Oh and other members of his already-wealthy family like his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner also stand to save millions.

8. Made America Less Great

In a survey conducted annually by the Nation Brands Index, the U.S. has lost its top place ranking as the country with the best international image. The top spot is now held by Germany while the U.S. has dropped to sixth place. The poll questioned public opinion on 50 countries, asking questions about governance, culture, heritage, exports, tourism, investment and immigration. Countries ahead of the U.S. were France, the U.K., Canada and Japan. Those were the overall rankings, but in the area of governance, the U.S. has dropped from 19 to 23 under Trump.

9. Stirred Up Violence In The Middle East

Earlier this month, Trump declared Jerusalem to be the capital of Israel, a move which provoked immediate protests and violence in the region and brought condemnation from around the world. (Not to mention, why does a U.S. president have the right to name the capital of another country?)  Incredibly, Trump called his announcement and the decision to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem “a step to advance the peace process” between Israel and Palestine. To no one’s surprise, Israel’s Netanyahu called this a “historic landmark” while Palestinian President Abbas said the U.S. was making a “declaration of withdrawal” from peace process negotiations.

10. Lied Hundreds Of Times

As a teacher who tries to hold students responsible for telling the truth, this is especially galling to me. It’s hard to insist on truth and integrity when our president will say anything as long as it makes him look good. The Washington Post has been keeping track of Trump’s lies: By the middle of November, after 298 days in office, Trump had made 1,628 false or misleading claims. That’s about six a day, but that’s only what the Post’s reporters have access to, so the number is probably much higher.

All of this means that we must keep resisting as we head into 2018 and fight for changes in the November 2018 elections so that we can begin to take pride in the U.S. again.

 

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