When did World War II in Europe begin? Most people conveniently pick September 1, 1939, the day Germany attacked Poland (which I have previously written about here). Some of my British friends maintain, however, that a conflict between two European nations hardly makes for a world war, and, as of September 1, no other nations …
Ever since I wrote my first blog, back on September 3, 2015, I have encouraged my readers to provide feedback. I appreciate the words of encouragement I’ve received, as well as the (thankfully, minor) criticism. I’ve also enjoyed hearing from readers whose own memories or stories, some happy, some sad, some bittersweet, are prompted by …
“So completely has our world been turned upside down. Is it strange that one should be confused and still unable to fit oneself into reality.” Thus ends Odd Nansen’s final diary entry, on April 28, 1945. Nansen was in Horsens, Denmark at the time, and, while technically not yet “free”—there were still German guards about—it …
On this day in 1965, Winston Churchill died, age 90. So perhaps it is only fitting that yesterday the 90th Oscar nominations were announced, and among the leading contenders was “Darkest Hour,” a film that could easily have been titled “Churchill’s Darkest Hour.” The film received a total of six nominations, ranging from obscure categories …
“I want to thank Tim Boyce for this . . . . It would be lost to history if people like Tim Boyce did not devote the effort and time and expense–a good part of his life–to preserve the Odd Nansen story. It is a moving and gripping story. . . .”
–U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal
Hailed by The New Yorker as “among the most compelling documents to come out of the war,” From Day to Day is a World War II concentration camp diary—one of only a handful ever translated into English—secretly written by Odd Nansen, a Norwegian political prisoner. Arrested in January 1942, Nansen, son of polar explorer and humanitarian Fridtjof Nansen (Nobel Peace Prize 1922) was held captive for the duration of the war in various Nazi camps in Norway and Germany.
Nansen’s diary entries detail his palpable longing for his wife and family, his constantly frustrated hopes for release, the quiet strength and sometimes ugly prejudices of his fellow prisoners, and his horror at the especially barbaric treatment reserved for the Jews. The diary brilliantly illuminates Nansen’s daily struggle, not only to survive, but to preserve his sanity and maintain his humanity in a world engulfed by fear and hate.
First published in English in 1949, From Day to Day had been out of print for almost seventy years. The new edition contains entries and sketches never previously available in English. It also features a new introduction and extensive annotations by Timothy Boyce and a preface by Thomas Buergenthal, whose life (as a ten year-old) Nansen saved while in Sachsenhausen, later recounted in his own memoir A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy.
