Book review: Barbara Skarga, ‘’After the liberation. Notes on the Gulag’’, 1944-1956 (Amsterdam, 2022) ISBN 9789403107226; 432 pp., €34.99 by Patrick van Schie In May, the Netherlands and Europe invariably look back at the end of the Second World War. First the stories about the horrors of the time under National Socialism, followed by the […]
Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska Estonian people fought for their independence from the Russian Empire, from 1917 to 1920. The most significant day was February 24th, 1918, on which Estonia declared statehood, which is commemorated as a national holiday. Independence Day is a national holiday in Estonia marking the anniversary of the Estonian Declaration of Independence in 1918. […]
By Patrick van Schie October 7 is for many a date to remember the horrific attack by the terrorist organization Hamas on random civilians in Israel, who were murdered, raped, and/or kidnapped, with an estimated nearly 100 still being held hostage. In Europe, October 7 also holds a grim significance, albeit much further back in […]
Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska photo: ©City of Warsaw When visiting one of the most prominent locations of the capital of Poland, Warsaw, called Nowy Swiat you cannot miss the roundabout with a palm tree. It is called General Charles de Gaulle roundabout and nearby there is his statue. Why is the presence of General Charles […]
On March 1 the National Day of Remembrance of Cursed Soldiers is celebrated in Poland. European Institute on Communist Oppressions supported the school activities at the Sosabowski Polish School in Dutch Brunssum about the Cursed Soldiers as our target is sharing the knowledge about the crimes of communism. Pupils, parents and teachers gathered to honour […]
On Saturday, March 2 the Dutch newspaper published an opinion article of 2 pages by Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska, our board member entitled Putin is the only one who can break all the rules, he rules like Stalin. In her article she discusses the similarities between Russia now at the Soviet times, the death of Navalny, war […]
Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska Grutas park in Lithuania is a unique place which cannot be missed if you are interested in history and especially in communism and communist propaganda. It is an impressive 2km long exposition park where about 90 monumental sculptures of communist leaders, dictators from the Soviet times are displayed. While walking you cannot miss the […]
Patrick van Schie A century ago, on January 21, 1924, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known as Lenin, died. His embalmed body still lies in the mausoleum on Red Square in Moscow. Communists still revere him; and not just the elderly. The British Marxist Student Federation (MSF), for example, states on its site: “Lenin was without […]
By Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska “Doctor, will I live?” These were the last words of Loreta Asanavičiūtė, a 23 year old Lithuanian freedom defender, who was run over by a Soviet tank on January 13 1991. On this day armoured Soviet forces drove through peaceful crowd which gathered to protect the symbol of Lithuania’s independence – […]
By Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska On the 13th of January, Freedom Defenders’Day is celebrated in Lithuania to commemorate victims of the Soviet military aggression of 1991. The candle, as symbol of the memory, is lit on this day across Lithuania and by the Lithuanian communities abroad. On 13 January 1991 armored Soviet forces drove through peaceful […]
By Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska On November 11, 1918, Józef Piłsudski (Poland’s Chief of State) took over the authority over the Polish army from the Regency Council (in Polish: Rada Regencyjna or Rada Regencyjna Królestwa Polskiego. It was a semi-independent and temporarily appointed highest authority, head of state, in partitioned Poland during World War I). He […]
By Beata Bruggeman-Sękowska On September 19, 1940 Witold Pilecki, a member of the Secret Polish Army, let himself get caught and arrested by German policemen in Warsaw in order to be sent to Auschwitz death camp. His intention was to infiltrate the camp, set up a resistance network there and gather information about the death […]
By Beata Bruggean-Sekowska On September 17 about 1 million troops of the Red Army crossed the eastern borders of Poland starting the red invasion of Poland. It was sixteen days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. The invasion ended on 6 October 1939 with the two-way division and annexation of the entire […]
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