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Freedom House: Map of Freedom in the World
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לֹא תִרְצָח    Thou Shall Not Murder
(Exodus 20:13)

Life for Jews living in the Pale of Settlement was a weave of family and community; prosperity mingled with poverty; periods of normalcy and the ordinary; grinding persecution, pogrom, fear, degredation, and finally Holocaust. Jews built and contributed, went about their every day, and most put G-d in everything they did. They lived alongside good gentiles and xenophobic gentiles, always sub-citizens of the ruling Christian powers, tragically too often targets of tyrants and marauders. Jewish families and their organizations built vibrant communities and strong merchantile economies. They erected grand structures and proud homes. They contributed to society, proudly wore their country's uniform (that is until WW II), and policed, fought, and sacrificed with their countrymen during brief periods of toleration. They did their best to live as normal people. They were normal people.

But always, they paid a dreadful price to sanctify The Lord in Christian lands.

וַאֲבָרֲכָה מְבָרְכֶיךָ וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ אָאֹר
וְנִבְרְכוּ בְךָ כֹּל מִשְׁפְּחֹת הָאֲדָמָה׃


"I will bless those who bless you,
and I will curse him who curses you.
All of the families of the earth will be blessed in you."
Genesis 12:3


This site attempts to understand and present the daily ordinariness of Jewish communities and family life in the shtetls as well as to document present day antisemitism that still ferments throughout Europe and Russia and to warn about the growing and very real existential threat to Israel from Islam, co-sponsored by traditional anti-semites.

So much is known about the Holocaust and more is to be found. Not as widely documented is what our relatives and their neighbors did when not faced with deprivation and slaughter. How would life have been, what would Europe look like now if its most vulnerable minority had not been brutally annihilated in the Holocaust? The region once called Volhynia in a prior time of Poland, now Ukraine and centered around the small city of Sarny is explored in these pages. More shtetl life from other areas of the Pale will be added through your contributions of materials and links.

Contact us to add your information.  This a free service.


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Related News Links   Click on a news title to expand
Current News
Posted: August 14, 2010
Demand in Sweden to change Nazi-inspired cliff names
Ynetnews.com
A series of mountain crags called "Swastika" and "Himmler" have caused uproar in Sweden after a climber publicized the Nazi-inspired names given to the popular climbing area, the Telegraph reported Saturday.

Posted: August 12, 2010
Norwegian Anti-Semitism Prompts Senator's Concern
Camera
The SWC list underscores the menacing environment for the tiny Jewish community in Norway -- a mere 1300 people. Children are subjected to bigotry in schools, cemeteries have been repeatedly desecrated, a cantor was beaten, a community building shot at and in January 2009, according to Norwegian author Erik Eiglad, the largest ever anti-Jewish demonstration in history occurred -- larger than during the Nazi era.

Posted: August 12, 2010
'White Jews', not 'good Nazis': How Germany rejected Holland's settler farmers
Cnaan Liphshiz, Haaretz.com
They came in their thousands from Holland to Eastern Europe to be good Nazis and help the Germans colonize more land during World War II. But according to the first major research into the Dutch settler movement, their German brethren despised them, dubbing them "white Jews."

Posted: August 10, 2010
Costa Blanca's hidden Nazis
Martyn Richard Jones, The Guardian
Spain's Costa Blanca provided a safe haven for many Nazis, allowing them to enjoy a retirement without regret or atonement

Posted: August 9, 2010
New SS War Crimes Suspect Emerges in Germany
Speigel OnLine
After John Demjanjuk and Samuel K., German prosecutors are now accusing a third former SS camp guard of war crimes. Ukrainian-born Alex N., who is over 90, is accused of being involved in the shooting of Jewish prisoners at the Treblinka I labor camp. A decision will now be taken whether to charge him.

Posted: August 1, 2010
Peres Calls Britain 'Pro-Arab, Anti-Israel'
Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu, IsraelNN.com
Britain is in an uproar over comments in a Jewish newspaper by President Shimon Peres, who called British policies "pro-Arab" and "anti-Israel." His remarks were contained in an interview conducted by Ben Gurion University Professor Benny Morris for Tablet, a year-old New York-based Jewish news website.

Posted: August 1, 2010
Swastikas on frontages of kosher stores in Paris
AFP and EJP
Swastikas were discovered on Thursday on the frontages and windows of a dozen kosher stores in Paris, the Union of Jewish Students in France (UEJF) announced. "We see it as a new demonstration of anti-Semitic hatred," the union said.

Posted: July 29, 2010
Neo-Nazis hack into Buchenwald concentration camp website
AFP
Neo-Nazis have hacked into Germany's Buchenwald concentration camp website, defacing it and redirecting visitors to a revisionist site, the camp's memorial foundation director said Wednesday.

Posted: July 29, 2010
Jewish group 'surprised and disappointed' by British PM’s 'one sided' remarks on Gaza
EJP
A US Jewish group exressed "surprise and disappointment" at the "one-sided" remarks by British Prime Minister David Cameron, in which he condemned the Israeli attack on a Turkish ship bound for Gaza as "completely unacceptable" and described Gaza as "a prison camp."

Posted: July 27, 2010
French writers confab canceled over Israeli invite
JTA
A writer’s conference at a southern French university was canceled when unidentified Arab participants refused to attend with an Israeli author. The University of Provence Aix-Marseille nixed the conference last week aimed at featuring Mediterranean authors.

Posted: July 23, 2010
'The Hell of Polish Jewry' Chronicling the Holocaust from Inside the Ghetto
Jan Friedmann, Spiegel Online
Roughly 50 men and women in the Warsaw Ghetto chose a special form of resistance. In a secret archive, they documented their path to doom for future generations, chronicling the Nazis' crimes as they were being perpetrated.

Posted: July 21, 2010
27 Jewish graves vandalized in eastern France
AP
Police say vandals have smashed or overturned 27 gravestones at a Jewish cemetery in eastern France.

Posted: July 17, 2010
Women’s Role in Holocaust May Exceed Old Notions
Isabel Kershner, The New York Times
Amid the horrors of the Holocaust, the atrocities perpetrated by a few brutal women have always stood out, like aberrations of nature.

Posted: July 15, 2010
The Shared Extremism of Neo-Nazis and Migrant Youth
Sven Röbel, Spiegel Online
Following an anti-Semitic attack in Hanover, German authorities have identified a new source of anti-Semitic hatred in Germany: young migrants from Muslim families. The ideological alliance has officials concerned.

Posted: July 8, 2010
British ambassador: "World needs more men like Fadlallah"
The Elder of Ziyon
From the official British foreign office blog, by Frances Guy, Ambassador to the Republic of Lebanon, Beirut, on July 5, entitled "The passing of decent men"

Posted: July 5, 2010
Our World: Standing down the hate-filled jury
Caroline B. Glick, JPost.com
In Britain today, hating Israel has become a valid criminal defense. Last week five people charged with destroying property valued at some $225,000 at the EDO MBM arms factory in Brighton during a January 2009 break-in were found not guilty of all charges. They were found innocent although all five admitted to having committed the crime.

Posted: July 2, 2010
British Judge and Jury Exonerate Anti-Israel Criminals
Robin Shepherd and Melanie Phillips, Camera
Bigotry against the Jewish state is now so entrenched in contemporary British society that juries have begun to acquit criminals merely if they can show that they acted against Israeli interests. No other defence is necessary.

Posted: June 15, 2010
Israel: Abandoned, Isolated, and Under Assault
An Essay
Today in the international community Israel stands as probably the most reviled nation in the world. More reviled that Iran, more reviled than Sudan or Somalia, almost as reviled as Hitler's Germany.

Posted: June 14, 2010
Another Bit of Mordor: Synagogue Shuts Service Due to Threats
Camera
The synagogue in Weesp cancelled its service last Saturday after the police informed members about threats received.

Archived News
Setting the memory of Holocaust victims in stone
We Do Not Live in Normal Times: Britain's Best and Brightest Stage a Pogrom
Nukes & Apartheid: The Guardian's Double Libel
Nukes & Apartheid: The Guardian's Double Libel
Israel boycott again on agenda in UK
Swastika: Symbol of the Sun, Not Nazi Terror?
Anti-Zionists Firebomb Kristallnacht Synagogue, Demand PA Peace
Anti-Semites Attack Jewish Graves in Greece and US
Anti-Zionists Firebomb Kristallnacht Synagogue, Demand PA Peace
Swedish Candidate Blames Jews for WWII, 9/11
Three arrested for Nazi slogans at Greek Jewish cemetery
Three arrested for Nazi slogans at Greek Jewish cemetery
Anti-Semitic display at football match in Poland
Neo-Nazis Murder Yeshiva Student
The wrong path to peace
French Anti-Semites Tear Gas Elderly Man at Synagogue
No tolerance for false history
New British Libel: Jerusalem Traffic Light Bias against Arabs
Jew attacked with knife, iron rod in France
Anne Frank's tree, now dying, still inspires hope and new life
Greece to seek extradition of Nazi war criminal Alois Brunner
Antisemitic Vandalism in Ternopil, Ukraine
Israel deputy ambassador 'shocked' by Manchester attack
British protesters attack Israel's deputy ambassador
Sarkozy: Europe is at Israel’s side because it took oath after WWII to give a State to the Jewish people
'Israel made world better'
The dogs of war
Parisians protest 'Ben Gurion Promenade
British chutzpa
Anti-Semitism Incidents Double in 2009
Rise of anti-Semitism in Scotland
Soldier, survivor have emotional reunion
Swastika graffiti at former concentration camp in Germany
Analysis: Why don’t Norwegians take on anti-Semitism?
Nazi Propaganda for the Arab World
Swedish Pension Fund Divests From Elbit Systems
Budapest Seder stoned; none injured. Chabad rabbi’s house by Great Synagogue attacked twice.
Some Spaniards return to Judaism
Anti-Semitic graffiti on Jewish school in Sofia
Anti-Semitic graffiti on Jewish school in Sofia
UK to expel 'Mossad representative' over Dubai hit case
German city bans Israel flag – again
Stag night: Strippers, beer, Auschwitz
Concentration Camp Vandalized in Poland
Austrian gov't finds mass graves of Nazi victims
Israel Gets Hate Mail from Spanish Children
Changing Face in Poland: Skinhead Puts on Skullcap
Islamic preacher who called Jews "filth" to speak at London university
No longer Londonistan but Hamastan
Germany starting to grasp nature of modern anti-Semitism
UK officer says views of Israeli forces 'anti-Semitic'
Mass grave of history: Vatican's WWII identity crisis
Jews leave Swedish city after sharp rise in anti-Semitic hate crimes
Neo-Nazi arrested of Auschwitz sign theft
Tonge: Investigate IDF stealing organs in Haiti
British and American Courts Threaten Jews’ Independence
What motivates anti-Semites?
Record number of anti-Semitic attacks in Britain
Depressing Report on Antisemitism
Anti-Semitic acts almost doubled in France in 2009
FT sees Israel as main cause of ME problems
Confronting Jews who defame Jews
Berliners fight anti-Semitism among Muslims
In search of a lost world: Poland revives its Jewish past
Anglicans Detail Church of Wales' Anti-Jewishness
Jews Flee Swedish Town in Wake of Anti-Semitism
Dutch pro-Palestinian socialite: Jewish lobby plays on Holocaust
Nazi's daughter helps Shoah survivors
The Holocaust's untended graves
Swedish mayor blasts Zionism
Really bad anti-semitism in Malmo, Sweden
Jewish cemetery in Strasbourg desecrated
We are still in the shadow of the Holocaust
Dachau survivor: In orphanage we became children again
Minister Edelstein: Goldstone Report anti-Semitic
European Anti-Semitism Worse Since 2008
Jews 'had to be periodically massacred'
Two Britons and a Greek arrested over synagogue arson in Crete
Russian President declines Polish invitation to attend Auschwitz ceremonies
Why the British left hates Israel
Arsonists Attack Crete Synagogue Second Time in Two Weeks
Moldovan Church Blames Jews for Anti-Semitic Rally
Pianist Kissin protests against BBC anti-Israel bias
Guardian Ed: "In Israel They Murder Each Other a Great Deal"
Chabad Rabbi Attacked in Vienna
Chabad Rabbi Attacked in Vienna
Ukrainian Mayor Keeps Up Antisemitic Rhetoric
UN marks November 29 'day of mourning'
Israel is Europe's blind spot
Germany honours Jewish athlete banned from 1936 Olympics by Nazis
'Why Israel' film canceled after violent German leftist protest
British TV program to examine UK's 'powerful Israel lobby'
Britain's timid Jews
Yemen's Jews. The End
Death of leading neo-Nazi set to cripple far-right
Inserting Anti-Israel Messages Into Grand Opera Productions
Anatomy of a Swedish Blood Libel
Blood Libel promoted by Counterpunch, Alison Weir
The Guardian list omits Israel's Nobel Peace Prize winners
Warsaw ghetto uprising head dies
Little girl at the window: Only known film of Anne Frank is posted on YouTube
Kiev marks Babi Yar anniversary with new monument
ADL: Anti-Semitism in Spain on the rise
Spain Throws Out Israeli University From Int'l Contest
'Hitler Youth' Synagogue Restored to Jews in Poland
Neo-Nazis Attack Synagogue, Policeman’s House
Anti-Semites attack in Argentina, Russia
Jews recreate kindertransport train trip
Jews recreate kindertransport train trip
Italian FM urges EU to condemn Swedish newspaper report, calls it ‘act of blatant anti-Semitism’
Anti-Semitism Thrives on Dutch Social Media
Antisemitic Vandalism in Melitopol, Ukraine
Vandals Strike Lithuanian Holocaust Memorial
Israel disturbed by Swedish silence
Anarchists, Anti-Israel Activists Planning Rallies Worldwide
Mounting concern over neo-Nazi terror
Report: Swedish government funds fuel Mideast radical NGOs
Ex-Nazi guard John Demjanjuk fit for trial in Germany
Med Students Accused of Buying Bones of Holocaust Victims
Jewish cemetery desecrated in Czech Republic
New anti-Semitic incidents in Poland
'Lost' Jews in Spain find Israel advocacy
'Photograph' Marks Anne Frank's 80th Birthday
At Buchenwald Obama condemns Holocaust deniers, Merkel ‘bows before all victims’
Greek Jews protest over cemetery vandalism
Candidly Speaking: Ugly vibes from Europe
Tomb of Hasidic leader desecrated in Poland
Czech far-right party linked to BNP runs Euro election TV ads demanding 'Final Solution' to gypsy problem
Paranoia or Persecution? Belgium—a place where it is not only acceptable to hate Jews, it is recommended.
Sakharov Widow: World Ignores Shalit Due to Anti-Semitism
Ukrainian Far-Right Party Succeeds in Effort to Ban Holocaust Film in Schools
Neo-Nazis screaming 'Heil Hitler' attack concentration camp survivors during memorial service for 345,000 dead
Sharp Increase in Anti-Semitic Attacks in Belgium
The Story of Sobibor
Labour Party embroiled in race row after candidate told she was 'too white and Jewish' to be selected
New survey: marked increase in anti-Semitism worldwide
Norwegian lawyers: Extradite Olmert, Livni, Barak
Anti-Semitic hate crimes rise sharply
Austrian Foreign Minister slams EU countries for boycotting Durban 2
Swastikas drawn on delivery from Lithuania
France attending Durban II parley
Swiss officials defend Ahmadinejad meeting
Scottish TUC set to call for boycott and divestment
Greek Jews 'shocked' after Holocaust denier is acquitted by Athens Appeals court
French project aims to counter rise of Holocaust denial in Muslim world
Deported former Nazi guard a free man in Austria
German teens drawn to neo-Nazi groups - study
£100 million of British taxpayers’ money supports organisations that fund Hate Education in the Middle East
Neo-Nazis Demonstrate in Slovakia
Latvian court bans Waffen SS veterans' parade, demo
Dutch judge orders teens to visit Anne Frank House
Welcome to Ramallmö
Sweden's anti-Israel apartheid policy is about more than sport
‘What Holocaust?’– as the beauty said to the bishop
Holland: Shoes thrown at IDF officer during speech
Making the world 'Judenstaatrein'
Anti-Semitic Incitement Against Jewish Mayor Revs Up in Ukraine
Review of Pius X Society websites reveals virulent anti-Semitism
No fans when Sweden hosts Israel for Davis Cup (ed: Swedish cowards)
French Holocaust role recognised
European Jewish Congress calls upon European leaders for real action against anti-Semitism
The writing is on the synagogue wall - World depressions lead to a rise in anti-Semitism. All over Europe, the evidence is around us
Anti-Semitism Skyrocketing in Britain and France
Survey: 31% of Europeans blame economic crisis on Jews
High-ranking Foreign Office diplomat arrested over anti-Semitic gym tirade
Rise in antisemitic attacks 'the worst recorded in Britain in decades'
Kosher warehouse hit in Paris blaze
Pope Removes Ban on British Holocaust Denier Bishop
British bishop faces German probe for Holocaust denial
Neo-Nazis plan Gaza 'Holocaust' vigil in Berlin
Greek Jews criticise police for not protecting desecrated cemetery
Norwegian envoy equates Israel with Nazis
British academics: 'Israel must lose' war with Hamas
British Muslim leaders slam surge of anti-Semitic attacks, 101 incidents recorded
Man wearing Jewish symbol stabbed near Paris
France: 55 anti-Semitic acts since start of Cast Lead
Violent Gaza protests reveal how gentle civilised Britain has changed into something very ugly indeed
Jews in Rome outraged over boycott call
Gaza conflict spreads to Europe with Jews attacked
Vatican alarmed by Muslims burning Israeli flags outside cathedrals
Gaza-linked attacks on Jews sweep Europe
Unknown assailants set fire to the door of Brussels synagogue
Terror in France: Flaming Vehicle Rammed into Synagogue
The Irony of Modern Day Anti-Semitism in Spain
Israelis shot and wounded in Denmark
German Mayor in Hiding after Far-Right Threat
Extreme right crime soars by 30 percent in Germany: report
Greek newspaper attacks Jews
Lviv City Councilmen Want Jewish Group Investigated
Filmed beheadings show Russian neo-Nazis are borrowing tactics from al Qaeda
UK Boycott Backfires - UK & Israeli Scientists Collaborate
In Russia, a Grisly Message Marks Rise in Hate Crimes
Jewish World War II memorial vandalised in Czech Republic
Polish Jew gave his life defining, fighting genocide
Neo-Nazi March Protected by Police in Berlin
Russian Anti-Semitism by Kremlin Kitchen selling in the US.
Ukraine: Crosses planted on synagogue lawn
Swedish neo-Nazi party undergoes makeover
Anti-Semitism Arrives in Golders Green
Prague's Jewish revival
The British rescue that saved a boy from death in Nazi Germany
Child circumcision to be banned in Denmark?
2 Jewish cemeteries desecrated in eastern Germany
Wave of attacks on rabbis hits Europe
Canadian police arrest 1980 Paris synagogue bomb suspect
Windows of Hungarian synagogue smashed on eve of 75th anniversary of "Kristallnacht"
Kantor: 70 years after Kristallnacht life of the Jews still threatened by intolerance
Jewish group blasts Greek newspaper for comments on Obama’s election
A TOP Euro neo-Nazi leader has secretly set up home in Britain
Blueprints for Auschwitz camp found in Germany
Norway Funding PA Hate Media
Austrian student tracks down Nazi war criminal
Austrian Parliament elects extreme-rightist as its vice-president
Cemetery desecration: Romanian Jews denounce the authorities indifference
Vienna tram driver sacked over "Sieg Heil" comment
German official was at anti-Israel rally
Ukraine: Neo-Nazis planned to bomb synagogue
Austria's extreme-right leader Joerg Haider dies in car crash
Polish Righteous Among the Nations to be honored at Yad Vashem
Launch of new body aimed at instilling more tolerance across Europe
Fascists Win Election in Austria
Nazi war criminal invited to judge a beauty pagent
Rabbi, son attacked in Ukraine
Following protests, Salonika to be included in ‘network of martyred cities’
Three young Jews attacked in Paris on their way to synagogue
Swastikas, racist and anti-Semitic tags on French college walls
Police investigate desecration of Berlin's Holocaust Memorial with swastikas
Video shows young man urinating on Holocaust monument on the Greek island of Rhodes
Grandson of partisan arrives for IDF service
Paris anti-Semitic T-shirt probe
Report: German neo-Nazis stepping up violent attacks
Tisha B'Av in Vilnius: Swastikas sprayed on Jewish building
Report: Anti-Semitism on the rise in UK
Anti-Semitic books on sale in central Moscow
Jewish group condemns Nazi funeral
Greek Jews protest Salonika’s decision not to include the city in martyred cities network
'Stop construction on mass grave site'
Herzliya Hails a Warsaw Ghetto Jewish Hero
German Jews angry that citizenship test ignores Holocaust
German university teaches anti-Semitic theory
Anti-Semitic Iranian performance subsidized by Germany
Tajikistan's Jews despair as only synagogue razed
Grave anti-Semitic attack in Paris: teenager in coma
Visitors can't get enough of Hitler tours in Munich
Croatian Nazi war criminal relaxes among Austrian Euro 2008 fans
Israel's ambassador says Britain has become a hotbed of radical anti-Israeli feeling
EU leader to dedicate Brussels synagogue as "Great Synagogue of Europe"
Former Swedish neo-Nazis become Holocaust commemorators
The universities' witch-hunt against the Jews
Britain's Jewish population growing for first time since WWII
Anti-Jewish Attacks in LA, England and NYC
London synagogues walls daubed with anti-Jewish graffiti
Strange bedfellows
Polish woman who saved 2,500 Jewish children in Warsaw ghetto dies
Last Hitler bomb-plotter dies at 90
Nazi Hunters Publish Most-Wanted List
Report: Major Anti-Semitic attacks triple in 2007
College rejects Shoah denier
Poland's Jewish community flourishes
Yossi Harel
Le Pen: Auschwitz didn't have gas chambers
Belarus vandals daub swastikas on Shoah monument on Hitler's birthday
Iran: Seven historic synagogues in Tehran destroyed
Bronze plaques stolen from Terezín Memorial
The Warsaw Ghetto: key facts and what remains
The Holocaust Declaration
Polish embassy to YouTube: Remove anti-Semitic film
Neo-Nazi French Soldiers Arrested
Russian skinheads kill 49 'foreigners' since January
French senior civil servant fired for anti-Israel pamphlet
In Russia's third largest city, the blood libel is resurfacing
Hundreds march in Latvia to commemorate SS unit
US State Department: Anti-Semitism on rise globally
Austrian Jewish sports club regains former glory
German children tired of Holocaust
Tomb of R' Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev Attacked in Ukraine
6 held in anti-Semitic attack in France
Chelsea fans hurl anti-Semitic abuse at coach Grant
Swastika daubed on Berlin's Holocaust memorial
Assaults on Jews in UK hit record levels
Krakow church holds service against 'kikes who spit on us'
Grave near Kiev is reminder of 20th century's only blood libel
Rector of major Ukraine college says 'no such thing as anti-Semitism'
Rio judge bans float on Holocaust
Wave of attacks on Jews in Russia
Israeli highschoolers believe another Holocaust possible
Anti-Semitic Attacks and Jihad Threaten US, Other Diaspora Jews
Genocide's Ghosts
PBS's 'The Jewish Americans': A Triumphant Tale
Berlin investigates: Whatever happened to the Jewish businesses?
Jewish Cemetery Attacked in New Jersey
Police investigate desecration of 101 graves at Vienna's main cemetery
U.S. Rep. Lantos, only Holocaust survivor in Congress, to retire
Tajikistan Government Destroys Only Synagogue
Copyright © 2007 Jerry Kashtan, All Rights Reserved.
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Last Updated: May 2, 2008