Tel-Aviv - Old and new buildings

 Tel-Aviv is a mixture of the old and new buildings.

Most dangerous part of my research in Israel was traveling by Tel Aviv buses!

In Stockholm, the special blue city basis has a middle speed of approx. 13 km per hour. Not during rush hours, but during the time period of 24 hours. That means that their speed during rush hours is actually much, much lower.

In Tel Aviv, the city buses are driving 3-4 times faster in comparison to Stockholm. Why?

Two explanations. When driving, they are really driving. They have a much higher acceleration to the level of "running speed". However, the main reason for the difference is found at the bus stops. Disembarking and embarking the bus takes just seconds. It is possible, as people are using 5 wide doors instead of 3, as in Stockholm buses.

1 599 namn saknas av "Tysk-svenskar" som fick lift till Sverige med de Vita Bussarna. Ofta var den nog flykt undan rättvisan.

 

Gustaf Ekström sittande första från höger.

Pratade idag med min kolega från båtbryggan, Matti Palm. Jag undrade om han hade undersökt vilka nazister som fick fly till Sverige med hjälp av Vita bussar. Ett namn jag kände till var Gustaf Ekström som var under krigsplacerad på SS-Hauptamt. Rottenführer Gustaf Ekström arbetade med propaganda mot ockuperade länder och värvade nya frivilliga till SS.

Gustaf Ekströms chef, SS-Obergruppenführer Gottlob Berger dömdes under Nürnbergrättegångarna som krigsförbrytare. Gustaf Ekström var mellan åren 1933 och 35 förbundssekreterare i Nordisk ungdom, det svenska nazistpartiets ungdomsavdelning.

1 599 namn saknas av "Tysk-svenskar" som fick lift till Sverige med de Vita Bussarna. Ofta var den nog flykt undan rättvisan.

Dziesięciolecie Małego Przeglądu w "Nasz Przegląd Ilustrowany": Dodatek specjalny do "Naszego Przeglądu" R.15 [i.e. 14], nr 1 (3 stycznia 1937)

Dziesięciolecie Małego Przeglądu w "Nasz Przegląd Ilustrowany": Dodatek specjalny do "Naszego Przeglądu" R.15 [i.e. 14], nr 1 (3 stycznia 1937).

Bernadotte - Red Moon & Coca-Cola - White bus mission.

The President of the USA gets a call from the CIA: 

Mr. President, Russians landed on the moon and started to paint it red. Shall we act?

No, just wait.

New call, after some months:

Mr. President, Russians are working very hard, half of the moon is now painted, shall we act? 

No, just wait

A few months later another CIA call to Donald Trump:

Mr. President, 95% of the moon is now painted, shall we act? 

No, wait until it is fully covered in red and just paint Coca-Cola white on it.  This way we will get a lot of money from the Coca-Cola company.

A friend of mine told me this joke a few years ago. Since that. I was always connecting the Coca-Cola story with Mr. Folke Bernadotte. I thought that it quite accurately illustrates how he used the White Bus mission to create his own, new image, in Europe. His image was of course as well, the image of Sweden, so important in post-war Europe. He painted the red moon, white and left the symbol of the red crosses unpainted.  His entire procedure can be followed in his own book Slutet.

As the Russian and Allied forces approached Germany at the end of 1944, SHAEF decided what should be done regarding Allied prisoners in Germany. Within the Norwegian government, Major Johan Koren Christie wrote a memorandum on September 23; the Norwegian prisoners should "stay put", and wait until they were liberated by the advancing Allied and Russian forces.

However, besides the Stay-put recommendation, the Danes obtained a German permit to retrieve the first group of 231 prisoners. The first ones transported back to Denmark were Danish policemen from the concentration camp Buchenwald. The first Danish transport, using four red DSB buses started on December 5. Until the end of February 1945, the Danes transported 341 prisoners home, most of them ill. These journeys gave the Danes valuable experience in how to perform this type of action.

Starting in February 1945 Allied air blows paralyzed communications throughout the length and breadth of Germany and powerful elements of the Red Army consolidated bridgeheads and regrouped along the Oder while significant advances were made by forces on the flanks.

In March the massive offensive in the west reached the Rhine from Koblenz to the Dutch border. Dashing to seize a usable bridge overlooked by the enemy, United States troops crossed the broad river at Remagen. In the Saar, a coordinated offensive was launched to destroy the remaining German forces west of the Rhine. Later in March Crossing, the Rhine River allowed US and British troops to advance into the interior of Germany. Bergen-Belsen truce talks, between British and German troops, started probably during the first week of April.

The small corridor between Sovjet and Allied troops that was constantly attacked became one of the most dangerous areas in the entire of Europe. However, Mr. Bernadotte decided that this small corridor between Sovjet and Allied should be used for transports of the Scandinavian inmates from the concentration camps.

Red Moon as seen from my camera.

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Danish red buses were used at the start of the mission in December 1944. They brought Scandinavian inmates from German concentration camps and prisons to Sweden. Red buses were later painted white and used, together with the Swedish military buses in the common White bus mission.

Swedish military buses were used in the common White bus mission.

Frontiers in Europe at the end of March and the beginning of April 1945.

Opis Domu Sierot w lokalach na ulicy Siennej 16 w Gazecie Żydowskiej z 21 grudnia 1941 roku - Twierdza dziecięca - Korczak nie ustaje w pracy, nie wpada w rozpacz, ale martwi się. I głębokie zmarszczki na jego wysokim czole pogłębiają się. - Podział jednego pokoju na szwalnię, jadalnię, uczelnię, pokój rozrywkowy i... sypialnię ( na noc) przypomina...

Korczak nie ustaje w pracy, nie wpada w rozpacz, ale martwi się. I głębokie zmarszczki na jego wysokim czole pogłębiają się.

"Podział jednego pokoju na szwalnię, jadalnię, uczelnię, pokój rozrywkowy i... sypialnię ( na noc) przypomina...".

Podczas Wielkiej akcji w Warszawskim getcie, Guta Eizencwajg, autorka artykułu o Korczaku i Domu Sierot jako obywatelka obcego państwa została 17 lipca 1942 r. uwięziona na Pawiaku . Jej matka pozostała w getcie i często przesyłała jej paczki do więzienia. Do paczek bliski przyjaciel Guty - urzędnik Gminy, dołączał listy, dzięki którym więźniowie Pawiaka wiedzieli o wydarzeniach w getcie. W październiku 42 r. do internowanych w Pawiaku dołączyła matka Guty. Guta Eizencwajg wraz z matką przeżyła wojnę w Vittel we Francji. Guta Eizencwajg była absolwentką szkoły pedagogicznej w Krakowie, jako dziennikarka napisała kilka artykułów do Gazety Żydowskiej.
 

"Podział jednego pokoju na szwalnię, jadalnię, uczelnię, pokój rozrywkowy i... sypialnię ( na noc) przypomina...".

List Janusza Korczakado redaktora Gazety Żydowskiej na temat poprzednio zamieszczonego artykułu.
7 stycznia 1942 r.

 
Szanowny Panie redaktorze!
Dziękuję za życzliwą ocenę pracy Domu Sierot, ale...

"Miły Platon, bardziej miła prawda" 

Dom Sierot nie był, nie jest, nie będzie Domem Sierot Korczaka. Za mały, za słaby, za biedny i za głupi na to, by dwie setki bez mała dzieci wybrać, ubrać, zgromadzić wyżywić, ogrzać otoczyć opieką i w życie wprowadzić... Tej wielkiej pracy dokonał wysiłek zbiorowy wielu setek ludzi dobrej woli i światłego zrozumienia sprawy dziecka... sieroty. Są wśród nich liczne piękne imiona, są liczni bezimienni... - ich praca,, pomoc, rada, doświadczenie budowały materialnie i duchowo. 

Wilczyńska, Pozówna, Korczak (jeśli potrzebne imiona) - to urzędnicy i administratorzy znacznej fortuny. 

Zabezpieczeni odnośnie potrzeb osobistego życia ile umieją, wiedzą i mogą - starają się poprawnie i celowo wypełniać warunki umowy z Zarządem Towarzystwa "Pomoc dla sierot", a przez Zarząd ze Społeczeństwem. Na debet i credit Instytucji składają się walory i braki całej dzielnicy żydowskiej, wszystkich jej członków. Zasługą dzieci, ich rodzin, byłych i obecnych wychowawców, zarówno najbliższych jak i najdalszych sercu i pamięci, jest że Dom Sierot posiadł życzliwość i zaufanie, imię dobre i możność dalszego istnienia. 

Nie zajmowałbym czasu, uwagi i papieru sprostowaniem mało ważnej niedokładności, gdyby nieporozumienie nie miało ogólnego znaczenia: mylnie utożsamiamy zakres, technikę, sprawność i wynik pracy z osobą urzędnika, któremu została powierzona do wykonania. JKPS. Na cmentarzu w Paryżu jest piękny pomnik z napisem: "Zmarłym, Wszystkim, którzy odeszli, ku pamięci". Niezadługo staraniem Patronatu naszego odbędzie się nabożeństwo za dusze zmarłych Przyjaciół i wychowanków Domu Sierot.

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How White and how Swedish are White buses?

In December 1944, the Danish Foreign Ministry received German permission to bring sick police officers from the concentration camp in Buchenwald, Germany. This marked the beginning of a humanitarian operation later known as the White Buses. In the very first two missions performed by Danish in 1944 and 1945, the buses were borrowed from DSB - a Danish train and bus company. They were red as in the photo above.

On April 5, 1945 half of the Swedish buses and the crew returned to Sweden and were replaced by Danes. The Danes mustered 33 buses, 14 ambulances, seven lorries, and four private cars. The Danish contingent was coordinated with the Swedish and from 8 April the "White buses" was a mixed Swedish-Danish expedition, with the Swedes in command. The Danish vehicles were also painted white, but displayed the Danish flag, (the Dannebrog), instead of the Red Cross. When on the 12th of April 35 buses left from Friedrichsruh to collect the Scandinavian Jews at Theresienstadt the majority of buses were Danish.

On April 5,1945 half of the Swedish buses and the crew returned to Sweden and were replaced by Danes. The Danes mustered 33 buses, 14 ambulances, seven lorries, and four private cars. The Danish contingent was coordinated with the Swedish and from 8 April the "White buses" was a mixed Swedish-Danish expedition, with the Swedes in command. The Danish vehicles were also painted white, but displayed the Danish flag, (the Dannebrog), instead of the Red Cross.

Wrong description: First White buses from Germany. However, these buses have never been to Germany. They are local buses registered in Malmö. True, White buses had yellow military registration plates, and probably at the time this photo was taken, they were already back at the military base at Hässelholm, and their´s drivers with families.

Wrong description: First White buses from Germany. However, these buses have never been to Germany. They are local buses registered in Malmö. True, White buses had yellow military registration plates, and probably at the time this photo was taken, they were already back at the military base at Hässelholm, and their´s drivers with families.

In December 1944, the Danish Foreign Ministry received German permission to bring sick police officers from the concentration camp in Buchenwald, Germany. This marked the beginning of a humanitarian operation later known as the White Buses. In the very first two missions performed by Danish in 1944 and 1945, the buses were borrowed from DSB - a Danish train and bus company. They were red as in the photo above. Later, Danish Aid Corps arranged for cars and buses to transport the prisoners together with the Swedes. At that time also Danish buses were painted white, especially when leaving Denmark. Within Denmark, Danish buses kept their original paint.

When the Swedish and Danish initiatives were coordinated most of the vehicles in the operation of bringing the Scandinavian prisoners were Danish. This, later called the White bus mission was carried out until the end of April.