WORLD WAR II, MUSIC, HISTORY, HOLOCAUST
Last Wednesday I was a guest on the ‘Creativity and Technology Solutions for Business and Life Show,’ presented by Joe Dans on WTBQ Radio. WTBQ is an independent radio station broadcasting from Warwick, New York. The last locally-owned radio station in Orange County, New York, WTBQ broadcasts on 1110 AM and 93.5 FM, throughout Orange County and Northern New Jersey.
We had a talk about my blog and how history repeats itself.
source
Isidor Straus and his wife Ida were prominent passengers aboard the Titanic. Isidor Straus was born in Germany in 1845 and immigrated to the United States with his family—when he was a child. He eventually became a successful businessman and co-owner of Macy’s department store in New York City, along with his brother Nathan.
Isidor and Ida were well-known figures in New York society and known for their philanthropy and civic engagement. Despite their wealth and status, they were known for their humility and kindness.
During the Titanic’s fateful voyage in April 1912, Isidor and Ida chose to stay together rather than separate during the evacuation. When offered a place on a lifeboat, Isidor reportedly refused to leave without his wife, saying, “I will not go before the other men.” Ida also refused to board a lifeboat without her husband.
As the ship sank, Isidor and Ida were last seen standing together on the deck, holding each other. Their devotion to each other in the face of disaster has become legendary, symbolizing the strength of their love and commitment.
Their tragic deaths aboard the Titanic left a profound impact on American society, and their story has been immortalized in books, films, and memorials dedicated to the Titanic disaster.
Isidor Straus was born to a Jewish family in Otterberg, Bavaria, Germany on February 6, 1845. Immigrating to the United States as a boy, Isidor grew up to briefly serve in Congress and became co-owner (along with his brother, Nathan) of Macy’s department store.
Ida Blun was also born on February 6 in Germany, though four years later than her husband when her Jewish family came to America. There she met and married Isidor in 1871. The couple had seven children and were remembered as especially affectionate throughout their marriage—writing letters to each other every day when Isidor was away on congressional duties or business. This love and affection would be displayed right up until the end.
The Straus‘s boarded in Southampton and checked into first-class cabins C-55-57 which cost them £221 (approximately £32,300 in today’s money). Isidor’s manservant John Farthing and Ida’s newly employed maid, Ellen Bird were travelling with them.
On the night of April 14, 1912, the ship hit an iceberg and quickly began to sink. And while the popular movie might have us believe that the elderly couple died holding tightly to each other in their bed, the truth is much more moving.
Following the collision with the iceberg, Mrs. Straus almost entered Lifeboat 8. Jessica, their great-great-granddaughter explained “They were in their 60s, had been together for many, many years, and had several children together. Ida would not go without her husband. Isidor was offered a place on another lifeboat but he chose not to go without her. He begged her to get on and she turned and said to him, ‘Isidor we have been together for all these years. Where you go, I go.'”
Ida Straus removed her fur coat and handed it to her maid, Ellen Bird. Ellen entered Lifeboat 8 under the persuasion of the Straus’s and was saved.
The couple were last seen sitting together on a pair of deck chairs arm in arm.
The body of Isidor Straus was recovered by the Mackay-Bennett and was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx, New York. Mrs. Straus’s body was never recovered. John Farthing also perished.
Sources
https://www.titanicbelfast.com/history-of-titanic/titanic-stories/a-love-story-for-the-ages
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2023/06/23/titanic-oceangate-ida-isidor-straus
https://www.ifcj.org/news/stand-for-israel-blog/a-titanic-love-story
Despite the war raging throughout the world—there were still some times to celebrate some events. The celebrations in this post are impressions of New Year’s Eve in New York in 1941 and San Francisco in 1943.
Sources
https://www.opensfhistory.org/osfhcrucible/2018/12/30/new-years-eve-1943-a-closer-look/
The story below must have been one of the saddest stories of 9/11.
The attack on the World Trade Center in New York touched Corkman Mr John Clifford’s family in a particularly cruel way.
Just hours after learning that his brother, Ronnie, who worked in the centre, had survived the disaster, Mr Clifford was told that his sister, Ruth, was on one of the planes that smashed into the trade centre’s twin towers.
Speaking at his home in Togher, Cork, about the death of his sister, Ruth McCourt, and her four-year-old daughter, Juliana, Mr Clifford said it was Ronnie who came to mind when he heard the news of the attack.
He immediately tried to get through to Ronnie’s wife in New Jersey. She told him his brother had escaped from the south tower with seconds to spare.
“She told me that Ronnie had been at a meeting and that when he stepped outside the office, which was on the ground floor, the woman immediately in front of him was met by a massive fireball.
“He tried to cover her with a cloth, but she had suffered horrific injuries already.
“Then there was another explosion and people rushed Ronnie and the woman he was helping out of the building.
“I think she died later. It seems that he was incredibly lucky to get out of there alive and he was able to ring home to say that he was alright.
“The problem was this all happened before the buildings collapsed and we had to wait another four hours to discover whether or not he was still safe.”
Mr Clifford described how news filtered through to Cork that Ruth and Juliana had boarded a flight at Logan Airport in Boston bound for Los Angeles.
Realising that a flight out of Logan had been hijacked, he asked a friend to go to the airport on his behalf.
His friend was told by a United Airlines official that Ms McCourt was on the flight. Mr. Clifford said his sister had spent most of the past 30 years in the US and was living in Connecticut with her husband, David, a retired businessman.
“They had Juliana late in life and they were both retired from business and enjoying their daughter and their lives. My mother Paula is also living in Connecticut and she used to be the nanny for Juliana.
Both David and my mother are absolutely devastated at what has happened.
“I think Ruth wanted to go to Los Angeles on the same flight as her friend, Page, but she was unable to get on that flight because it was full and so she had to wait for the second one, which was hijacked.
“United Airlines have been in touch, and we are waiting for them to ring again to find out when we can go to America to be with the rest of the family.
“We are totally shocked and I think the reality is only creeping in now that we realise the extent of the tragedy after the immediate shock.”
Mr Clifford’s other brother, Mark, who runs a security firm in Cork, said the chain of events that led to the death of his sister and the near-death of his brother Ronnie was “absolutely staggering.”
“No words could describe what we feel about this,” he said.
His brother Ron Clifford bravely assisted a severely injured woman at the World Trade Center on September 11, not realising his sister Ruth and niece Juliana were aboard United Flight 175 and tragically killed.
Below is the audio of First Responders, Air Traffic Controllers, Dispatch Personnel, Airline Employees, Pilots, Citizens, Pilots, and Terrorists.
Sources
https://www.tsa.gov/videos/911-events-unfold-0?page=0
https://abcnews.go.com/US/photos/photos-remembering-911-148555/image-79823554
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/corkman-tells-of-brother-s-escape-and-sister-s-plane-death-1.327074
https://www.irishcentral.com/news/irish-brother-sister-tragedy-9-11
https://www.irishpost.com/news/remembering-irish-victims-september-11-attacks-171207
This blog will contain images from that awful day.
Never Forget.
On September 11,1941 the construction of the Pentagon had started. Sixty year later, terrorists tried to destroy it.
An image etched forever in my mind.
After burning for 56 minutes, the South Tower of the World Trade Center collapses, killing more than 800 people in and around the building.
People watch from Jersey City, N.J. as the North Tower dissolves in a cloud of dust and debris about a half hour after the South Tower collapsed. More than 1,600 people in and around the building are killed. Only 102 minutes passed between the time of the first plane crash and the collapse of the second tower.
Father Mychal Judge was designated as ‘Victim 0001’, effectively recognising him as the first official casualty of the attack.
Finishing this blog with one of the saddest stories of that day.
The attack on the World Trade Centre in New York touched Corkman Mr John Clifford’s family in a particularly cruel way.
Just hours after learning that his brother, Ronnie, who worked in the centre, had survived the disaster, Mr Clifford was told that his sister, Ruth, was on one of the planes that smashed into the trade centre’s twin towers.
Speaking at his home in Togher, Cork, about the death of his sister, Ruth McCourt, and her four-year-old daughter, Juliana, Mr Clifford said it was Ronnie who came to mind when he heard the news of the attack.
He immediately tried to get through to Ronnie’s wife in New Jersey. She told him his brother had escaped from the south tower with seconds to spare.
“She told me that Ronnie had been at a meeting and that when he stepped outside the office, which was on the ground floor, the woman immediately in front of him was met by a massive fireball.
“He tried to cover her with a cloth, but she had suffered horrific injuries already.
“Then there was another explosion and people rushed Ronnie and the woman he was helping out of the building.
“I think she died later. It seems that he was incredibly lucky to get out of there alive and he was able to ring home to say that he was alright.
“The problem was this all happened before the buildings collapsed and we had to wait another four hours to discover whether or not he was still safe.”
Mr Clifford described how news filtered through to Cork that Ruth and Juliana had boarded a flight at Logan Airport in Boston bound for Los Angeles.
Realising that a flight out of Logan had been hijacked, he asked a friend to go to the airport on his behalf.
His friend was told by a United Airlines official that Ms McCourt was on the flight. Mr. Clifford said his sister had spent most of the past 30 years in the US and was living in Connecticut with her husband, David, a retired businessman.
“They had Juliana late in life and they were both retired from business and enjoying their daughter and their lives. My mother Paula is also living in Connecticut and she used to be the nanny for Juliana.
Both David and my mother are absolutely devastated at what has happened.
“I think Ruth wanted to go to Los Angeles on the same flight as her friend, Page, but she was unable to get on that flight because it was full and so she had to wait for the second one, which was hijacked.
“United Airlines have been in touch and we are waiting for them to ring again to find out when we can go to America to be with the rest of the family.
“We are totally shocked and I think the reality is only creeping in now that we realise the extent of the tragedy after the immediate shock.”
Mr Clifford’s other brother, Mark, who runs a security firm in Cork, said the chain of events leading to the death of his sister and the near death of his brother Ronnie was “absolutely staggering”.
“No words could describe what we feel about this,” he said.
His brother Ron Clifford bravely assisted a severely injured woman at the World Trade Center on September 11, not realising his sister Ruth and niece Juliana, aboard United Flight 175, were tragically killed.
sources
https://abcnews.go.com/US/photos/photos-remembering-911-148555/image-79823554
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/corkman-tells-of-brother-s-escape-and-sister-s-plane-death-1.327074
https://www.irishcentral.com/news/irish-brother-sister-tragedy-9-11
https://www.irishpost.com/news/remembering-irish-victims-september-11-attacks-171207
The Charley Project profiles over 14,000 “cold case” missing people mainly from the United States. It does not actively investigate cases; it is merely a publicity vehicle for missing people who are often neglected by the press and forgotten all too soon. A person must have been missing for at least one year to be listed; see the FAQ for additional information on the site, its goals, and its founder/administrator. This is my interview with Meaghan Good, founder of the Charley Project.
One of the cases we talk about is of Annie McCarrick, 26, of Long Island, New York. She went missing on 26 March 1993. She was living in Sandymount, Co. Dublin. The last confirmed sighting of her was at a post office in Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow. However, there was an unconfirmed sighting of her outside Johnnie Fox’s Pub in Glencullen, Co. Dublin. This sighting was by a doorman of the pub who said she was with an unknown man. They left the lounge of Johnny Fox’s Pub and entered the cabaret room where the unknown man paid for both of them to enter. McCarrick had invited her friend, Hilary Brady and his girlfriend, Rita Fortune to dinner at her apartment the next day. When McCarrick was not there, they contacted her parents in New York and she was reported missing. McCarrick’s parents, John and Nancy McCarrick arrived in Ireland shortly after their daughter was reported missing, but left after a six-month long unsuccessful search for McCarrick.
source
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Seeing babies in incubators nowadays is a fairly common sight.
Infant incubators are used to provide a warm environment for babies born prematurely or for other infants who are unable to maintain a normal body temperature. The infant incubator is a relatively small, glass-walled box that may have portholes fitted with long rubber gloves through which nurses can handle and care for the infant. Most infant incubators are fitted with special devices that can control the concentration of oxygen inside the incubator; this is necessary because some infants need either greater or lesser amounts of oxygen owing to particular diseases they may have. Infant incubators also regulate the humidity inside the enclosure.
The concept of the incubator was developed in France as early as 1857. The first device in the USA was built by William Champion Deming at the State Emigrant Hospital on Ward’s Island, New York.
The device was warmed by 57 liters of water. The forerunners of this constant temperature sensor in the uterus were the Ruehlsche cradle in Moscow in 1835 and the ” warming bath ” introduced by Credé in Leipzig in 1864.
On September 7, 1888, an incubator was used for the first time in the U.S. to treat a premature baby. Edith Eleanor McLean, the baby in the photo above, was the first child to be placed into such a device. She weighed 1,106 grams at birth.
There is not much known what happened to baby Edith afterwards.
Update December 2.2021
One of Edith’s grandchildren contacted me and gave me the following additional information.
“I know what happened to little Edith. She is my grandmother. Her name was changed to Myrtle Eleanor. She went on to give birth to 13 children. My mom was the 12th.”
sources
https://www.onthisday.com/photos/baby-incubator
The first incubator baby was named Edith
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inkubator_(Medizin)
Donation
I am passionate about my site and I know you all like reading my blogs. I have been doing this at no cost and will continue to do so. All I ask is for a voluntary donation of $2, however if you are not in a position to do so I can fully understand, maybe next time then. Thank you. To donate click on the credit/debit card icon of the card you will use. If you want to donate more then $2 just add a higher number in the box left from the PayPal link. Many thanks.
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It was Billy Joel’s 74th birthday on 9 May, and I was thinking about writing a piece about his musical history, going back to the times when he joined a band called “Echoes,” at age 16 to the times when he joined the bands “The Hassles” and “Atilla.” Then I came across a story which connected Billy Joel with World War II, the Holocaust and a large German retail and travel company, and indirectly to 4 Olympic games—and I thought that would make a much more engaging story.
Billy Joel was born William Martin Joel on 9 May 1949 in the Bronx, New York, and grew up in Long Island. Billy’s father, Howard (born Helmut) Joel, was a classical pianist and businessman, born in Nuremberg, Germany, to a Jewish family. He was the son of merchant and manufacturer Karl Amson Joel.
Karl Amson Joel started a business in household linens in 1927. The business was so profitable that he, his wife and their young son, Helmut, moved to an affluent area of Nuremberg. As his business rose in prominence—the Nazis rose in their power. The Nazis put their sights on eliminating the Joels and all Jewish businesses.
After the rise to power of Nazism in 1933, Karl Amson Joel was increasingly discriminated against by the regional Nazi Party leaders, especially Julius Streicher, the founder and publisher of the virulently antisemitic newspaper Der Stürmer.r.
In May 1933, Der Stürmer ran a front-page article calling Karl a Yid and accusing him of underpaying and sexually harassing his workers. Billy Joel’s father, Helmut [aka Howard], was one of four Jews in his Nuremberg classroom directed to sit apart from their classmates.
Karl Amson Joel moved his company to Berlin in 1934, renting a factory in Wedding, and installing new packing machines in the stitching department. However, had to remain in Nuremberg. As persecution increased (e.g. deliveries had to be marked with a “J” for Jude [Jew]). Jewish firms became Aryanized (the forced expulsion of Jews from business life in Nazi Germany, Axis-aligned states, and their occupied territories. It entailed the transfer of Jewish property into Aryan hands), Joel was forced to sell his company in 1938 to Josef Neckermann.
For fear of further persecution, Karl Amson Joel moved to Switzerland in July 1938 and later to the United States via Cuba.
Neckermann made his fortune as the owner of one of Europe’s largest department stores. His business made him the director of a very successful mail-order company under the slogan Neckermann Macht’s Möglich (Neckermann makes it possible) and also a travel company.
Shortly after World War II, Neckermann was sentenced to one year in a military prison.
In 1949, Karl Amson Joel successfully sued Neckermann for compensation in a Nuremberg court. Eight years later, the parties settled, and the files were closed.
In 1957, Karl Amson Joel got a compensation of 2 million West German marks for his former company from Neckermann, who at that time ran the most successful German mail order selling company.
As I said earlier on in this blog there is also a connection to 4 Olympic games, albeit indirect. Josef Neckermann was also a German equestrian and Olympic champion. He was one of the richest private citizens to have ever competed at the Olympic Games, and he did quite well, winning six medals in the dressage. Neckermann’s Olympics medals were as follows: 1960 – individual bronze, 1964—team gold (both for the mixed German team), 1968—team gold and individual silver, 1972—team silver and individual bronze, all for West Germany.
Other members of Billy Joel’s family were killed during the Holocaust.
I could not finish this blog without at least including one of his many songs. This is my favourite Billy Joel song.
sources
https://www.sarahlawrence.edu/magazine/then-now/campus/outback.html
https://jewishweek.timesofisrael.com/stranger-no-more/
https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/12487
Donation
I am passionate about my site and I know you all like reading my blogs. I have been doing this at no cost and will continue to do so. All I ask is for a voluntary donation of $2, however if you are not in a position to do so I can fully understand, maybe next time then. Thank you. To donate click on the credit/debit card icon of the card you will use. If you want to donate more then $2 just add a higher number in the box left from the PayPal link. Many thanks.
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How could a seemingly healthy woman spread a potentially deadly disease?
Typhoid or Typhoid fever fever is a bacterial infection that can spread throughout the body, affecting many organs. Without prompt treatment, it can cause serious complications and can be fatal.If typhoid fever isn’t treated, it’s estimated that up to 1 in 5 people with the condition will die. However at the start of the 20th century that number would have been greater.
The main symptoms of typhoid fever are:
Additionally it can cause diarrhea and a rash.Typhoid fever is caused by a type of bacteria called Salmonella typhi. It is basically spread by poor hygiene.
Mary Mallon was an asymptomatic carrier of the pathogen associated with typhoid fever. This means although she was infected she didn’t have any signs of the symptoms. Although she herself did not have the symptoms, she was a carrier and could infect others around her.
She was born in 1869 in Cookstown, County Tyrone, in what is now Northern Ireland.Orphaned as a child, Mary lived with her grandmother. Her Grandmother taught Mary how to scrounge for food and cook with what they had, making potato cakes and nettles over a peat fire.
In 1883 or 1884, Mary immigrated to the US where she lived with her Aunt and Uncle.In 1900 , she found employment in Mamaroneck, New York, as a cook.
Soon a number of residents of the houses where she worked developed fever and diarrhea.
In 1901, she moved 18 miles to Manhattan, where members of the family for whom she worked developed fevers and diarrhea, and the laundress died. Mallon then went to work for a lawyer and left after seven of the eight people in that household became ill.
In 1906 she moved to Oyster Bay ,Long Island.Where again she got a job as a cook. Within two weeks, 10 of the 11 family members were diagnosed with typhoid and hospitalized. Mary moved jobs again, this time for a wealthy New York banker, Charles Henry Warren. The Warrens had rented a house in Oyster Bay for the summer of 1906, Mallon went along too ,where she infected six of the 11 people in the family.
Eventually one of the families Mary had worked for hired George Soper, a typhoid researcher
After his investigation Soper released his results on June 15, 1907, in the Journal of the American Medical Association. He had the believe that Mary Mallon could be the source of the outbreak.He wrote:
“It was found that the family changed cooks in August 4. This was about three weeks before the typhoid epidemic broke out. The new cook, Mallon, remained in the family only a short time, and left about three weeks after the outbreak occurred. Mallon was described as an Irish woman about 40 years of age, tall, heavy, single. She seemed to be in perfect health.”
Soper looked into the employment agencies which staffed private kitchens and retrieved the name of Mary’s employers from 1900 to 1907. He found out that typhoid had struck seven of the last eight families where she worked. He also discovered, , that in all the stricken households she had lovingly iced and nursed the victims ,even receiving a tip of $50 from one employer.
Soper tracked Mary Mallon to a house on Park Avenue,home of Walter Bowen, where a daughter and maid had already come down with typhoid. When Soper approached Mary about her possible role in spreading typhoid, she was furious.
Soper reported this to the authorities and eventually, the New York City Department of Health arranged for Mallon to be taken into custody. Doctors found typhoid bacteria in her gallbladder, but she refused to have it removed as she didn’t believe she carried the disease. Mallon was held in isolation for three years at a clinic located on North Brother Island.
In 1910 it was agreed that Mallon could be released from the Hospital if she agreed to stop working as a cook, and take precautions to ensure that she didn’t infect more people with typhoid. She returned to the mainland and got a job as a laundress. But Sbecause this was a low paid job she changed her name to Mary Brown and resumed working as a cook.
For the following five years, everywhere she went, typhoid followed. In 1915 she set off a major outbreak in New York in which 25 people were infected and two died. She was arrested and on March 27,1915 the health authorities returned her to quarantine on North Brother Island,where she remained for the rest of her life.
Despite her isolation she became a minor celebrity and was occasionally interviewed by the media.Visitors were strongly urged warned not to accept even a glass of water from her . On November 11,1938, died of pneumonia at the age of 69.
Donation
I am passionate about my site and I know you all like reading my blogs. I have been doing this at no cost and will continue to do so. All I ask is for a voluntary donation of $2, however if you are not in a position to do so I can fully understand, maybe next time then. Thank you. To donate click on the credit/debit card icon of the card you will use. If you want to donate more then $2 just add a higher number in the box left from the PayPal link. Many thanks.
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Sources
Irish Times
Irish America
9/11 they used to be just 2 numbers until that fateful day in 2001. Ever since then it has become ingrained in the human psyche as one of the days the world changed.
Even now ,19 years later it is hard to fathom the events of that day. Even when it happened it was hard to believe even though we could see it unfold in front of our eyes on TV screens or otherwise.
It was the day where we experienced evil and ruthlessness on so many levels. I say ruthlessness for it wasn’t only displayed by the terrorist. I worked at a telecom company at the time and about half an hour after the attacks, I received a call from a Banker in Switzerland complaining about telephony and data loss between Zürich and New York. He complained even though he was well aware what had happened, to him all that mattered was money transfers.
The one thing that bothers me is the fact that the reported number of casualties is 2996. This includes the 19 who committed the attacks, as if they were victims. Those 19 evil monsters, should not be included in that number. It diminishes the respect and the memories of the real victims.
These are the numbers we should focus on
Total number killed in attacks in New York: 2,753
Number of firefighters and paramedics killed: 343
Number of NYPD officers: 23
Number of Port Authority police officers: 37
Total Number of people killed on United Airlines Flight 93: 40
Total Number killed at the Pentagon attack:184.
2977, each a different story of innocent lives destroyed.
I don’t know all the stories but I know a bit of the story of ‘Victim 0001’
Mychal Judge was born Robert Emmett Judge on May 11, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York, the son of immigrants from County Leitrim, Ireland. His father died when he was still a child.To earn income following his father’s death, Judge shined shoes at New York Penn Station.
After spending his freshman year at the St. Francis Preparatory School in Brooklyn, where he studied under the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, in 1948, at the age of 15, Judge began the formation process to enter the Order of Friars Minor.In 1961, he was ordained a priest.
In 1992, Judge was appointed a chaplain to the New York City Fire Department. As chaplain, he offered encouragement and prayers at fires, rescues, and hospitals, and counseled firemen and their families, often working 16-hour days.
When the planes hit the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, Father Mychal Judge ran into the North Tower alongside the firemen he served..
At the time, French documentary filmmakers were inside the North tower. Their camera captured some of the last moments of Mychal Judge’s life. In the film, according to his friend, Father Michael Duffy, you can see the priest standing by the plate glass window, watching the bodies fall on the patio outside.
“And if you look closely at that film, you’ll see his lips moving,” Duffy stated. “Now, for those of us who know him, he wasn’t one that talked to himself. He was praying. And absolving people as they fell to their death.”
Moments later, the South Tower collapsed. The force of the explosion shattered the windows and flung the priest across the lobby. In the darkness, some firemen stumbled over his body.
Mychal Judge was designated as “Victim 0001” and thereby recognized as the first official victim of the attacks.
History of Sorts 
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