Shin-Kickers From History: Gaston Madru Secretly Films Occupied Paris

Today I stumbled across an unexpected story–or at least a part of a story. Talking to a reporter about her experiences as a war correspondent Sigrid Schultz mentioned “our French colleague Gaston Madru who had been killed by German soldiers when they caught him alone in his car near Leipzig on April 19, 1945. Because…

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World War II Map by Map

If you’ve been hanging around here on the Margins for a while, you know I have a weakness for reference books. These days I try to exercise some self-control when it comes to adding a volume or three to my hoard.* The bookshelf dedicated to references books is close to  full** and every book added…

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Chicago Celebrates Casimir Pulaski

For my first ten or twelve or thirty years in Chicago, I was regularly taken by surprise by a local holiday. On the first Monday in March, Chicago’s administrative offices, and public libraries are closed for Pulaski Day, a holiday honoring Casimir Pulaski, the Polish nobleman who fought on the colonial side in the American…

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