Holocaust
A week of extraordinarily direct and honest radio on the World Service
The most inspiring voice on radio this week belongs to Hetty Werkendam, or rather to her 15-year-old self as she…
The power of Sue MacGregor’s The Reunion
The return of Sue MacGregor’s long-running Radio 4 series The Reunion (produced by Eve Streeter) is a welcome reminder of…
The enigma of Enric Marco
Enric Marco has had a remarkable life. A prominent Catalan union activist, a brave resistance fighter in the Spanish Civil…
Don’t believe the sales figures – DVDs are thriving
According to the accountants’ ledgers, DVDs are dying. Sales of those shiny discs, along with their shinier sibling the Blu-ray,…
Filming the Final Solution
Amid the abundant cinema of Nazi atrocity, Son of Saul is exemplary. Ian Thomson explains why
Sins of the fathers
This is a documentary in which three men travel across Europe together, but they’re not pleasurably interrailing, even though there…
The brutal mask of anarchy
In September 1939 Britain went to war against Germany, ostensibly in defence of Poland. One big secret that the British…
Behind the Black Flag curtain
So you’ve just popped out of town for the day on an errand. And when you get back, everyone has…
Normandy
I am compiling a list of the best black puddings. It began in Spain when I encountered my first morcilla…
The lives of others
‘I call Zelma Cacik who may be living in London,’ says the announcer, in the clipped RP accent of the…
All that glitters is not gold
Woman in Gold feels rather like a Jewish version of Philomena as this too is about an older woman seeking…
All in the mind
Big event. A new play from Sir Tom. And he tackles one of philosophy’s oldest and crunchiest issues, which varsity…
Dirty dancing
Vienna’s New Year’s Day concert is still tarnished by its Nazi origins, says Norman Lebrecht
Never say ‘never again’
Twenty years ago, I was a witness to the Rwandan genocide. Those who speak of lessons from it are deluded
Stealing history
What do you feel when a survivor of Auschwitz tells you their story?
Plucky little Denmark
Of all the statistics generated by the Holocaust, perhaps some of the most disturbing in the questions they give rise…
Keep on running
The Book Thief is based on Markus Zusak’s novel of the same name which, although written for young adults, appears…
Russia’s missing memorial
Why is there no gulag museum to compare with Yad Vashem?
