KNOW YOUR WORLD (past and present)

Anna Delvey lived the secret and exciting life of a millionaire, mixing within the New York socialite scene. A potential heiress, it was never clear where Anna Delvey was from, but one thing did remain: she suspiciously paid for everything in cash.  She would hang out among New York socialites, including many celebrities. When asked about her background, Anna rarely gave the same answer twice. Despite the inconsistency, Anna knew exactly how to act like she came from money, avoiding suspicion for years. Like many heiresses, Anna circulated around the city from hotel to hotel with no permanent residence. Occasionally, she would have to leave the country to renew her tourist visa. Anna eventually checked into the boutique Soho hotel on 11 Howard Street in early February 2017, where she planned to stay for a while. Anna knew just the right people and earned herself a reputation. Thus, the hotel managers didn’t even ask her for a credit card at the time, something they would later regr...

Audrey, an ordinary woman with a deep love for children, was a single mother who tirelessly provided for her three children through two jobs. She aimed to give them the best life possible.  Her dreams included envisioning a future filled with grandchildren’s laughter and the joy of life. However, in late 2018, Audrey’s life took an unexpected turn. Feeling unwell, Audrey initially attributed her sickness to fatigue and took a few days off from work. When her condition didn’t improve after three days, she sought medical help and was informed that further examination was necessary.  This required her to spend several days in the hospital. With no one to care for her children, Audrey approached her neighbor, Tish, whom she knew only in passing, and requested that she watch over her kids overnight while she underwent medical tests. Tish, a mother of five who had experienced life in an orphanage herself, agreed to help despite the surprise of the situation. Audrey returned home the...

A mother, a child, a death pit. German and Ukrainian (collaborator) soldiers following the order by Heinrich Himmler. October 13, 1941, Ukraine. "l still remember the young girl, slender and dark, who, passing near me, pointed at herself, saying, "twenty-three."I walked around the mound and faced a frightful common grave.  Tightly packed corpses were heaped so close together that only the heads showed. Most were wounded in the head, and the blood flowed over their shoulders. Some still moved. Others raised their hands and turned their heads to show that they were still alive. The ditch was two-thirds full. I estimate that it held a thousand bodies. Here in Berlin and more and more across Germany, we have so-called "Stolpersteine." These are solid metail stones, which are embedded in the street, where a former German jew or family lived, who was killed during the holocaust.  I think - but did not yet "google" for it - that there is even an Overview of ...

In the past, women who suffered from anxiety, depression, and sudden mood swings were sent to the doctor. After an "examination", it was decided that they suffered from "female hysteria." To help combat this disease, a series of treatments were created, including "pelvic massage", with the aim of achieving what was then called "pelvic paroxysm", that is, an orgasm. Soon the treatment became popular, and so many women went to the doctor to undergo it that a special device had to be created. The device emitted rhythmic vibrations and massages and, at first, wealthy women or women from good families kept it in their homes in case of any "outbreak of hysteria." This is how one of the first vibrators in history was created. A device that is still used today and that, obviously, acquired a purely sexual nuance. It is interesting to see how the vibrator emerged from an apparent illness and how the treatment quickly became popular. Why didn’t h...

A German engineer and manager of a German construction firm in the Ukraine, and his foreman, came upon an Einsatz execution squad killing Jews from the small town of Dubno in the Ukraine.  He gave the following eyewitness account: My foreman and I went directly to the pits. Nobody bothered us. Now I heard rifle shots in quick succession from behind one of the earth mounds.  The people who had got off the trucks – men, women and children of all ages – had to undress upon the order of an SS man who carried a riding or dog whip. They had to put down their clothes in fixed places, sorted according to shoes, top clothing and undergarments. I saw heaps of shoes of about 800 to 1000 pairs, great piles of under-linen and clothing.  Without screaming or weeping these people undressed, stood around in family groups, kissed each other, said farewells, and waited for a sign from another SS man, who stood near the pit, also with a whip in his hand. During the fifteen minutes I stood n...

Between the years of 1850-1900, women were placed in mental institutions for behaving in ways that male society did not agree with. Women during this time period had minimal rights, even concerning their own mental health.  Research concluded that many women were admitted for reasons that could be questionable. Since the 19th century, many of the symptoms women experience according to admittance records would not make a woman eligible for admittance to a mental asylum today. Women with symptoms were later diagnosed insane by reasons such as religious excitement, epilepsy, and suppressed menustruation.  The symptoms and diagnoses presented, show that labeling of women as insane was done very lightly and was influenced by social attitudes toward women. Did these women truly need to be admitted to asylums, or was their admittance an example of their lack of power to control their own lives?  Further research could raise additional questions such as a comparison of the rate o...

The picture is of James E. Callahan was considered one of the most famous pictures taken during the Vietnam War.  Photographer Henri Huet captured a young medic trying to save the lives of his buddies in the midst of machine gun fire on 17 June 1967.  It was not just that which made this a remarkable picture, it was the look on Callahan’s face that told the entire heart wrenching story. A story of desperation and helplessness of sadness and loss. Arguably, the quintessential story of Vietnam. In the picture, Callahan was trying to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a dying Solider.  The battle was three-hour battle long and took place approximately 50 miles northeast of Saigon. Callahan treated numerous fellow Soldiers injuries during the battle.  During the guerrilla ambush on the 1st Infantry Division on that day, thirty-one Soldiers were killed and more than 100 wounded. Many people have wondered the fate of Medic James E. Callahan. Did he make it out of Vietnam...