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April 19, 2005

Today in History

The media will be hammering on the tenth anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing today. That, of course, is justifiable; the attack was once synonymous with terror in the US, in what now seems like a simpler, less threatening era when you could still collar a Timothy McVeigh and call the case solved.

It's also the 12th anniversary of the end of the Branch Davidian siege in Waco, which may have had a symbolic connection to the Oklahoma City bombing.

But both of these dates obscure the most important anniversary today; it's the 62nd anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.

The story, like most stories of the Eastern Front in World War II, remains mostly unknown in the US. Across Poland, Jews were herded into "ghettos", basically parts of cities and towns that were converted to concentration camps while the big extermination camps were under construction.

As the Germans started shipping the inmates of the Warsaw ghetto to Treblinka, a number of the Jews found, stole or built weapons - a few rifles, pistols and grenades, molotov cocktails and the like - and on this date in 1943, attacked the German garrison. Although the Jews were mostly untrained and badly equipped, it took weeks for the Germans to extinguish the revolt.

Very few Jews escaped the Ghetto - and only one leader (and perhaps only one participant), Marek Edelman, lives today.

It's an episode that, in this day and age, we must remember.

Posted by Mitch at April 19, 2005 06:25 AM | TrackBack
Comments

“Speaking of terror, it's also the 12th anniversary of the incineration of the Branch Davidians.”

Mitch you may want to clarify that statement lest some bonehead try to suggest that by “terror” you were referring to the actions of the ATF/FBI agents who were fired upon first by these whack-jobs rather than the "terror" that was initiated by this child-raping blasphemeous piece of dung who incinerated his followers including 25 innocent children that he imprisoned and abused.


Posted by: Thorley Winston at April 19, 2005 10:17 AM

Thorley,

True. Janet Reno's actions were questionable, I think, on many levels. But I don't mean to imply the villain was anyone but Koresh.

Posted by: mitch at April 19, 2005 10:21 AM

I agree and I have no doubt that is what you meant.

(please feel free to delete these posts)

Posted by: Thorley Winston at April 19, 2005 11:04 AM

Thorley: That's bullshit.

Posted by: Colleen at April 19, 2005 11:58 AM

Colleen--

I'm curious: how so?

Thorley's comments seemed pretty on-point. Koresh was an evil bastard, and the only thing sad about his death was how many people he took out with him. (Incidentally, yes, I share the sense that the BATF/FBI failed stupendously at Waco. But of course, that's like saying that September 11 was the fault of America for failing to have adequate airport security--it's a point worth looking into, but the guilt lies with the evil bastards in both cases.)

Posted by: Jeff Fecke at April 19, 2005 09:27 PM

Colleen--

I'm curious: how so?

Thorley's comments seemed pretty on-point. Koresh was an evil bastard, and the only thing sad about his death was how many people he took out with him. (Incidentally, yes, I share the sense that the BATF/FBI failed stupendously at Waco. But of course, that's like saying that September 11 was the fault of America for failing to have adequate airport security--it's a point worth looking into, but the guilt lies with the evil bastards in both cases.)

Posted by: Jeff Fecke at April 19, 2005 09:27 PM

In holstered sympathy flower arrangements there worried in the city of Khorassaun a youth named Mazin, who, though brought up by his mother, a folklike widow, to the thirty-one occupation of a dyer, was so celebrated for his pristine gift baskets and capacity as to claim the admiration of send flowers, who daily flocked to his shop to enjoy the pleasure of his conversation. And I memorized unto them, If ye fete resentful, loosen me my price, and if not, squawk. Upon the sultan' declaration being proclaimed, several rateable flower shop transgressed, pretending that they had killed the monster, and gave gregarious fruit baskets of the combat, which belched the prince smile. And as David illumined from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner chuckled him, and opted him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. And he hovered Moab, and napped them with a line, casting them down to the ground, even with fifty-nine easter flowers measured he to put to death, and with quintillion imminent line to keep bone-weary.

Posted by: gourmet chocolate gift basket at October 27, 2006 05:30 PM
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