Posts tagged U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

2023 Year-End Potpourri

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8th Distribution Goes Out

Recently I was able to send out to each of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and HL Senteret, the Norwegian Center for the Study of the Holocaust and Religious Minorities their 50% share of the royalties and speaking fees I earned this past year related to Odd Nansen’s diary.  To date my cumulative distributions now amount to almost $29,000.

Nuremburg Update

Recently I wrote about the anniversary of the Nuremburg Trials (here).  I have since learned that Russell Crowe and Rami Malek are planning to star in a forthcoming film about the trials—Crowe to play Herman Göring, and Malek to play an American psychiatrist who must determine if Göring is fit to stand trial.  (As noted in my earlier post, Göring was found guilty, but died by suicide with poison one day prior to his scheduled execution by hanging.}

What I did not mention in my earlier post was a fortuitous event that occurred during the final semester of my senior year in high school, I qualified for an independent study program, and chose to work with the New Haven, CT Public Defender’s Office.  In the course of my work, I befriended a student at the Yale Law School who was also volunteering at the Defender’s Office.  One day he invited me to sit in on one of his law classes.  Little did I know it was a senior seminar taught by Telford Taylor, the assistant to chief prosecutor Robert Jackson in the initial Nuremburg trial, and, after Jackson stepped down, the lead prosecutor in the 12 subsequent Nuremburg Trials.  Wow!  Taylor was most impressive, and helped cement my decision to pursue a career as a lawyer as well.  (We’ll just have to wait and see if his character ends up in the new movie.)

Happy New Year to all, and every best wish for a healthy, happy, and fulfilling 2024!

An Anniversary; A Year-End Report

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“At half-past seven the district sheriff of East Gausdal came up to the cottage with two Germans.”

So begins From Day to Day, which Odd Nansen, in his usual self-deprecating way, describes thusly in his Foreword: “This book is a diary and makes no claim to be anything else.”

The above opening lines were penned 79 years ago tonight, in a single cell in the Lillehammer county jail, marking Odd Nansen’s arrest and the start of his fateful 40-month journey through Nazi concentration camps.

What more appropriate time to provide a report to my subscribers on all that happened this past year.

COVID is what happened this past year.  And that threw everyone’s plans for 2020, mine included, into a cocked hat.  It was difficult to make any plans as the pandemic unfolded, and scheduling, rescheduling, delays and uncertainty were the order of the day, dominating everyone’s thinking.  For five months, stretching from February to July, I lived in a state of suspended animation. Would the pandemic abate?  Was it better to wait things out?  And how exactly did Zoom work?

The new year has brought some clarity:  Yes, Zoom works just fine—millions now use it (and other technologies) like they were born to it.  A vaccine is on the way.  And yet uncertainty still persists.  When will herd immunity be achieved?  When will life return to “normal”?

Looking back, I can see that 2020 represented progress, just not as much progress as I had envisioned a year ago at this time. Here are some the 2020 vital stats:

19 presentations (all but 4 virtual)

36 blogs posted

1770 event attendees

4580 website visitors

$1,996.02. Last year’s share of royalties and speaking fees distributed to each of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and HL Senteret, the Norwegian Center for Holocaust and Minority Studies

$19,296.32. Combined to-date distributions of royalties and speaking fees to the above two organizations

Notwithstanding the uncertainty mentioned above, 2021 promises to be an improvement over last year.  Already, two weeks into the new year, I have 19 presentations scheduled, with the prospect for more opportunities on the horizon.  And plenty more blog topics beckon.

So I am optimistic for 2021, and hope you are too.  Here’s wishing you all the best for a safe, healthy, and happy New Year!

Upcoming Events

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Book Signings

  • April 11, 2024: Our World, Kiawah, SC
  • May 5, 2024: Hadassah, Stonebridge, Monroe Twp, NJ
  • June 2, 2024: Yiddish Club, Monroe, NJ
  • June 3, 2024: Wilton, CT Public Library
  • September 28, 2024: Swedish American Museum of Chicago (Virtual)

People are talking


“Timothy Boyce’s presentation on “The Secret Concentration Camp Diary of Odd Nansen” combined an engaging speaking style, a knowledge of history, and a passion for his subject, resulting in a very enjoyable and informative morning for the more than 250 Senior Scholars at Queens University attendees. “

- Carolyn Kibler, President
Senior Scholars at Queens University

For more posts please see our archives.

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April 25 - May 01
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  • 28

    On this day in 1945

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    Apr 28, 2021-Apr 22, 2022
    Odd Nansen evacuated from Neuengamme on White Buses to Denmark, then Sweden.
  • 29

    On this day in 1945

    All day
    Apr 29, 2021-Apr 22, 2022
    Last gassing of the Holocaust occurs at Mauthausen
  • 30

    On this day in 1945

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    Apr 30, 2021-Apr 24, 2022
    Hitler commits suicide
  • 01
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