The Washington Post followed Brazilian journalist Clóvis Messerschmidt, who is convinced residents of his town have concealed secrets for decades about the escape of Nazis from Germany and crimes they committed during World War II.

Clovis, a small-town journalist for a local paper with circulation under 1,000 copies in Ibirubá, has devoted his life to finding the secret tunnel system that many town residents say lies beneath the town center and was used to smuggle Nazi war criminals and stolen property they brought from Europe. The town, where most residents have German ancestry dating to the 19th century, has been home to persistent rumors and mutual accusations among residents about Nazi collaboration.

At the heart of the investigation is Dr. Frederico Ernesto Braun, a town resident under whose house the journalist searched for tunnels and hidden chambers. According to Merschmidt, Braun faked his death in 1964 after a long life of conspiracies and crime, and maintained contact over the years with senior Nazis. An old photograph of Braun beside a man in a Nazi uniform confirms the theory for the journalist.

If the details sound somewhat implausible, it's worth noting that both contemporary newspapers and Brazilian police records show that a Nazi cell did operate in the town, gathering weapons, portraits of Hitler, and money to aid Nazi Germany during the war. Is it implausible to think the same cell mobilized after the war to help senior regime figures escape? Moreover, Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal said at the time he received evidence that senior Nazi Martin Bormann was spotted in the Brazilian town. However, so far, Merschmidt's searches have raised more questions than they have answered.

At Braun's house, he discovered a hidden door leading to an underground chamber, which was sealed by high concrete walls. In other locations around town, he discovered mysterious shafts, but nothing beyond that.

"The soil in Ibirubá is dense and thick, without rocks or gravel, which is perfect soil for growing soybeans but terrible for digging tunnels. Amazingly, no one thinks that for 60 years, no such tunnel has collapsed," Brazilian historian Rene Gertz told The Washington Post.

He believes all Messerschmidt has is circumstantial evidence and an obsession. "This is another unfortunate case of a Brazilian town trying to deal with its Nazi past and with conspiracy theories," he told the American newspaper. But Messerschmidt himself hasn't ceased his search for the Nazi tunnel system. "What began as an article marking 60 years since the establishment of the town center has become a relentless search for the truth," he said.

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There has been speculation that @Heritage is distancing itself from @TuckerCarlson over the past 24 hours.

I want to put that to rest right now—here are my thoughts: pic.twitter.com/F8bcxBIqKI

— Kevin Roberts (@KevinRobertsTX) October 30, 2025

Carlson's shift happened gradually – since Fox News showed him the door two years ago, he began sharpening his tone against Israel and adopted a voice perceived as "isolationist." At first, it was the friendly interview with Putin, then the conversation with Iran's president, and a sympathetic interview with antisemitic conservative commentator Candace Owens. Carlson called for revoking citizenship from anyone who served in the IDF, claimed 9/11 was an inside job, and strongly opposed all American aid to Israel in the war against Iran.

Last week, Carlson interviewed Nick Fuentes, a highly influential white nationalist streamer who doesn't shy from overt antisemitism, racism, and crude chauvinism. Fuentes is well known in American far-right circles, and regularly leads his supporters – the "Groyper Army" – in attacks on those perceived as too soft or too moderate. The man previously claimed Holocaust victim numbers are exaggerated, said women "want to be raped," and, after the recent election, published the slogan "your body, my choice," a parody of the pro-choice slogan.

In the interview with Carlson, he proudly admitted he "admires" Stalin, explained why fighting "organized global Jewry" is necessary, and contemptuously mocked Christian Israel supporters – Carlson's greatest "enemies" since he adopted his new line. The interview sparked outrage in the conservative Right – from Ted Cruz, who called Fuentes a "Nazi" to Ben Shapiro who condemned Carlson's silence. But then something nobody expected happened – Kevin Roberts, president of the prestigious Heritage Foundation, posted a video warmly defending his "close friend" Carlson. Roberts came out swinging against the "venomous coalition" attacking Carlson, and explained you can criticize Israel without being antisemitic – while using terms like "the globalist class" – a familiar antisemitic dog whistle.

No to Ben Shapiro
No to the neocons
No to dual citizens
No to Benjamin Netanyahu
No to cancel culture
No to genocide and ethnic cleansing
No to the Christ-hating Talmud
No to Greater Israel
No to our Jewish oligarchy

AMERICA FIRST. AMERICA FOREVER https://t.co/XwvzilknID

— Nicholas J. Fuentes (@NickJFuentes) November 3, 2025

The shock in American Jewry, especially the conservative community, was enormous – and to understand why, you need to know the Heritage Foundation's tremendous power. The foundation was founded in 1973 and has become the most influential conservative think tank in Washington, serving as an American counterpart to the Kohelet Forum, with an annual budget exceeding $100 million and employing hundreds of staff members. It shaped American government policy from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump and led "Project 2025," which sought to outline the incoming Trump administration's policy framework, quite successfully.

At a time when American Jews face unprecedented attacks from the far-right and far-left, what appeared as overt antisemitic currents penetrating Republican Party institutions shocked many. The response was immediate – eight Jewish organizations abandoned the foundation's "Project Esther," including the Coalition for Jewish Values and the Zionist Organization of America. The National Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, operating under foundation sponsorship, announced it was severing ties and moving to independent operation. Mort Klein, ZOA president, issued a clear ultimatum – if Roberts doesn't apologize, sever ties with Carlson, and resign, the organization will cease all cooperation.

Senator Ted Cruz called Fuentes a "Nazi" and described Carlson's silence, "If you sit there with someone who says Adolf Hitler was very, very cool, and that their mission is to combat and defeat global Jewry, and you say nothing, then you are a coward and you are complicit in that evil."

Inside the institute itself, no less, a genuine internal revolt unfolded. Five members of the antisemitism task force resigned in protest, and Roberts' chief of staff "offered his resignation," which was quickly accepted. Wednesday saw a stormy employee meeting whose recording was leaked to the media, with veteran staff attacking Roberts with unprecedented sharpness. Roberts opened the meeting with an apology, "I made a mistake, I disappointed you and the institution. Period." He admitted the expression "venomous coalition" was "a terrible word choice, especially for our Jewish colleagues and friends," and promised to correct but not resign. "You showed staggering lack of courage and lack of judgment," senior researcher Amy Swearer told him, "I have no confidence in your leadership."

The leaked meeting recording reveals the depth of fury at the foundation. A veteran employee threw at Roberts, "Buckley (William F. Buckley, a founder of modern American conservatism) understood we must expel the crazies and purge the movement of antisemitism – that's what built American conservatism, and now we're reversing the entire process." Daniel Flesch, a Jew working at the institute's National Security Center, described "difficult days when the institution is unable to say out loud that Tucker is antisemitic, and we don't want to identify with him." One young female employee actually defended the video and claimed that, as a Catholic, "Christian Zionism" is heresy. A clear hint that, despite the strong reaction among most employees, even inside the foundation itself, the "civil war" – centered on the struggle over Israel – is seeping in.

The Heritage Foundation crisis is a symptom of a deeper rift in the American Right. On one side stand the veteran conservatives and traditional Israel supporters; on the other grows a new generation of isolationist populists who see Israel as a burden and supporting it as a betrayal of "America First."

Tucker Carlson explains why Zohran Mamdani is winning:

"That guy [Zohran Mamdani]  was the ONLY person in the New York City Mayor's debate to say he wanted to focus on New York City.  All the other candidates said, 'Israel.'

America is done with lsraeI
pic.twitter.com/qdIl7biu6a

— ADAM (@AdameMedia) October 29, 2025

Horseshoe theory speaks of a situation where extreme ends meet – and in today's America, they're meeting around shared open hatred of Israel, and in secret even more. For the vast majority of American Jews, who see Zionism and connection to Israel as a central component of their identity, these two horseshoe ends become a hammer and an anvil, with the Jewish community finding itself between them.

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An additional banner, with the same message, was hung on the front of the TOS church and the adjacent conference center on Eisenbahnstraße street. The initiative is led by church members and the March of Life movement, which has worked for years to commemorate the Holocaust and build bridges with the Jewish people – and now mobilizes for the approximately 50 hostages still held in Gaza.

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However, a Daily Mail investigation has cast a dark shadow over this milestone appointment. German archival evidence reveals that the woman destined to head the agency that battled Nazi Germany is the granddaughter of Constantin Dobrovolsky, a Ukrainian Nazi collaborator infamously known as "The Butcher" for his savage wartime conduct. He served Nazi forces as "Agent Number 30" after abandoning the Red Army in 1941 to become Germany's primary intelligence operative in Ukraine's Chernihiv region.

This discovery carries particular weight given current geopolitical tensions, as the Kremlin attempts to legitimize its Ukrainian invasion through anti-Nazi rhetoric, transforming what should have been a triumphant moment into a complex diplomatic challenge.

Metroville's background includes an international upbringing in a polyglot household, anthropological studies at Cambridge, and a career spanning decades in MI6's most perilous assignments across Europe and the Middle East before advancing to senior MI5 leadership.

Active participation in Jewish extermination and property theft

German archival documents demonstrate Dobrovolsky's direct involvement in what he termed "the extermination of Jews" in correspondence with Nazi superiors. His operations included commanding a 300-strong Ukrainian police force that systematically "cleansed" 12 sub-districts, executing hundreds of Jewish civilians and Ukrainian partisans while systematically looting victims' possessions. The gravity of his crimes prompted Soviet authorities to post a 50,000-ruble bounty for his capture.

As Soviet armies advanced westward in 1943, Dobrovolsky orchestrated his family's evacuation, smuggling his wife Barbara and infant son (Metroville's father) to Germany before their eventual arrival in Britain. Barbara subsequently married David Metroville, a Georgian immigrant, in 1947, with their son adopting the Metroville surname while remaining seemingly unaware of his biological father's criminal wartime activities.

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Kanye West, the controversial American rapper now known as "Ye," has released a new music video called "Heil Hitler," adding to his record of antisemitic behavior.

The video, titled "HEIL HITLER (HOOLIGAN VERSION)," was published on West's X account and has already accumulated approximately 27,000 likes and over a million views. This release continues his track record of antisemitic behavior, including selling a T-shirt featuring a swastika through his fashion brand Yeezy.

Ye (Kanye West) has dropped the full video for his controversial song "Heil Hitler"

Yeah, you read that right. The track has already sparked outrage worldwide, with critics calling it a dangerous flirtation with Nazi imagery and antisemitic rhetoric. Ye, known for pushing… pic.twitter.com/Oue5DAWBy6

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) May 8, 2025

In the video, men appear draped in animal skins, and the artist declares, "So I became a Nazi, I'm the villain." In the song, the artist addresses the backlash he faced after making controversial statements, including previously stating on his X account that he "loves Hitler," that he is a Nazi, and to "Call me Yadolph Hitler" – a play on his current name, Ye.

"Is this kind of posting allowed??" a user commented on X, while comments supporting the artist's latest release were quick to appear: "I hate to say it but it's a hit," one user said, "he still makes bangers," said another. The video comes at a time when antisemitic incidents are increasing worldwide, with particularly sharp rises in the United States.

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The complete and extraordinary story of police officer Yaakov Biskowitz was never fully revealed until now. He embodied heroism both as a Holocaust survivor from the Sobibor camp in Poland and as an Israeli police officer who received a commendation for saving a human life.

As a young boy, Biskowitz became one of the few people who survived for an extended period in a death camp, participated in the revolt that led to the camp's closure, and was the last Jew to leave Sobibor alive. He testified at the Eichmann trial, taking the stand in police uniform and presenting the camp map he drew himself, which became the most detailed documentation of the site to date. The camp map he meticulously created contributed significantly to exposing Nazi atrocities and assisted in archaeological excavations that uncovered gas chambers and crematoria that had remained buried and hidden underground for decades.

Eighty-two years after his escape from the camp and 13 years after his death, the Israel Police Heritage Center has produced a virtual reality exhibit dedicated to his work exposing the mass murder at Sobibor. Simultaneously, an academic article titled "Reassessment Based on Archaeological Excavations and Documentation as Tools for Reconstructing Sobibor Camp: The Testimony of Yaakov Biskowitz as a Test Case" will soon be published by Chief Inspector Dr. Yossi Hemi from the History Department of the Heritage Center and archaeologist Dr. Yoram Haimi, who excavated the area for 15 years and revealed the remains of the death camp to the world.

Sobibor was one of three death camps, along with Treblinka and Belzec, established as part of "Operation Reinhard," a comprehensive plan to exterminate Polish Jews. The camp was established in 1942, and shortly afterward, 15-year-old Biskowitz arrived there with his parents and sister Hinda. His mother and sister were immediately sent to the gas chambers, while his father was selected to work in the camp as a carpenter.

"I, being a child, was dragged by my father," he recounted during the Eichmann trial. "From that transport, they took about 12 people. From the first day, I worked with everyone. Initially, it was building the camp and barbed wire fences, and we dragged branches running from a distance of about 1.9 miles."

With his father in the killing valley, Biskowitz witnessed how those who didn't work were shot or sent to gas chambers, and he worried constantly about his father, who had fallen ill with typhus. "I would carry him to work every day," he recounted. "We worked in the Ukrainians' casino. He sat in the corner, and I worked for him too. I did my best, but the day came when I could no longer carry him. That day, two SS men came, removed him from the barracks, and led him to the shooting pit, accompanied by beatings and shouting. They shot him in front of me. I wanted to run after him, but the workers who were with me held me back."

Biskowitz remained in Sobibor for one year and four months, making him one of the few Jews who survived so long in a death camp, as the average life expectancy in these facilities did not exceed two months.

On October 14, 1943, the famous revolt broke out that was later immortalized in the film "Escape from Sobibor," with a screenplay written by camp survivor Thomas Blatt.

"With the cessation of frequent transports to the camp, towards spring 1943, the Jews understood that the place would be closed and all its inhabitants eliminated," Dr. Hemi explains. "Then the Jewish underground members began to organize for the revolt, in which hundreds of prisoners participated." The Jewish prisoners set an ingenious trap for the Nazis, inviting them to try on new leather coats, shoes, or to inspect items they had crafted for them. Every SS man who entered was attacked with axe blows or knife stabs. Sixteen camp staff members were eliminated through this strategy. Biskowitz himself stabbed one of them.

The guards eventually recovered from the shock and shot hundreds of the Jewish prisoners. Those who managed to escape to the forests were caught and executed. Only 47 camp residents survived, but Biskowitz's survival story stands out as truly miraculous. Due to the commotion during the revolt, he failed to reach the fence and was forced to flee toward the crematoria. He hid in a shooting pit until after midnight, when only guards remained in Sobibor. Under the cover of darkness, he managed to escape and became the last living Jew to leave the camp.

In his testimony at the Eichmann trial, he described his harrowing escape from Sobibor: "I remained in the Lazarett, the shooting pit, until after midnight. After jumping over a fence two meters high, through the yard where people undressed before the gas chamber, several shots were fired at me from the guard on the tower. Since it was already dark, no bullet hit me. Later, many SS men came and started running in my direction, but they thought no one was running and left the place. Only at night did I start to penetrate through wire fences, tearing barbed wire with my hands. The guard wasn't there by chance. Finally, I managed to get out of the camp."

The hardships Biskowitz endured did not weaken his resolve. At about 17 years old, he joined the partisans and later enlisted in the Polish army, working in mine clearance. About a year later, he deserted the army following an antisemitic dispute and was sentenced to death. The army ultimately decided to grant him clemency, and he served four months in prison before returning to his position. A few months later, he deserted again, joined the Betar movement, and with its help relocated to a refugee camp in Germany.

In 1947, he boarded an immigrant ship bound for Palestine that the British intercepted and diverted to Cyprus. Two years later, he immigrated to Israel and enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces. In 1952, he was discharged and joined the police force. During his law enforcement career, he served as a patrol officer, traffic policeman, embassy guard, member of the prisoner escort unit, and in the national headquarters guard.

In 1959, Biskowitz was called at night to a street in Tel Aviv following a report of a man threatening to jump from his apartment window. When he arrived, the man jumped, and Biskowitz extended his hands to catch him. While the man was saved, Biskowitz suffered severe injuries that required a month of hospitalization.

The incident was reported in newspapers at the time, and much was said about the police commissioner's commendation awarded to him, but Biskowitz deliberately concealed the fact that he was a Holocaust survivor. Only with the opening of Adolf Eichmann's trial in May 1961 did he reveal what he had endured, describe his role in the Sobibor revolt, and disclose that a friend from the death camp had managed to save some photographs from the crematoria – the only memento of his parents and sister. On his own initiative, he also presented his drawing of the camp to the court without realizing the historical significance it would later hold.

Throughout his life, Biskowitz married twice, to Bella and Tova, and left behind two children, Aryeh and Yechiel. He retired from the police force and passed away in 2002 at the age of 76. Four years after his death, the map he had drawn became one of the key tools that exposed what had transpired in the camp. The process began when archaeologist Dr. Yoram Haimi from Kibbutz Mefalsim in the Gaza border region discovered that his uncles had been murdered in Sobibor. "I went there to see if there was a museum or archive, but there was nothing," Haimi recalls. "There were only three monuments and a forest. As an archaeologist, I thought it was a place worth investigating. I met with the manager of a synagogue museum in the town near Sobibor, and he said if I get funding, he would arrange the permits."

Haimi located Biskowitz's map in the state archives, and it guided him throughout the excavations that began in 2007 and concluded in 2021. "We found 220,000 artifacts there, including jewelry, watches, tableware, perfume bottles, and teeth," he says. "Unfortunately, the Polish authorities placed most of them in storage and didn't allow us to bring them to Israel. Biskowitz's map proved remarkably accurate and was enormously helpful. Wherever he indicated barracks or gas chambers had stood, that's precisely what we found. Everything had been buried in the ground."

As someone who experienced October 7 in Mefalsim, Haimi commented on conducting similar excavations in the Gaza border region in the future. "I need to recover from the trauma, and since that Saturday I've taken a break from excavations."

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The former residence of "Hitler's deputy," Hermann Goering, situated on Sylt island in northern Germany, has been listed for sale at a price estimated between 15-18 million euros. The vacation property, designed by Munich architect Otto Heilmann, was built in 1937 at the request of Emmy Sonnemann, Goering's second wife.

The estate faces the sea and is nestled among coastal dunes, with no neighboring homes in the immediate vicinity of the vacation house that the Nazi criminal used for his summer retreats. The property is vast, spanning approximately 7,755 square meters (83,477 square feet), with around 200 square meters (2,153 square feet) of living space containing three bedrooms and three bathrooms. The vacation residence features a traditional thatched roof and terraces with views over the North Sea.

Following World War II, the property changed hands multiple times. In 1958, the Birkenstock family, renowned for their sandal brand, acquired the house for 60,000 German marks. Filmmaker Philip Birkenstock and his brother spent their holidays there for nearly four decades. While the Birkenstock family developed a strong attachment to the property, they decided to sell it in 2019 for $12 million.

Over the past four years, the house has undergone comprehensive renovations, including the replacement of the parquet flooring and fireplace, along with the addition of a new basement featuring a modern heating system and updated infrastructure. Following these extensive improvements, the property is now being marketed through Sotheby's real estate catalog. The company's website describes it as "a preserved structure with significant cultural and historical importance. The house faces the sea within a minute's walk, situated among dunes in an excellent location, making it particularly attractive."

Hermann Goering, a Nazi war criminal, was a military officer and politician who served as one of Adolf Hitler's top lieutenants and commanded the German air force. Throughout the Nazi regime, he was considered Hitler's potential successor and was among the key architects of the "Final Solution" program. He was also notorious for his ostentatious lifestyle, appreciation of fine art, and extreme brutality.

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Nazi criminal Irmgard Furchner died Monday night at the age of 99, according to reports in German media. Furchner served in her youth as a secretary at the Stutthof concentration and extermination camp and was charged about two years ago with assisting in the murder of more than 11,000 Jewish prisoners at the camp. Furchner was apparently the last war criminal to be convicted of crimes committed during the Holocaust.

She enlisted in the SS during World War II. At the age of 18, she was sent to serve as a secretary to the camp commander, where her responsibilities included stenography, recordings, and transmitting reports to SS headquarters on behalf of the camp. Because of her assistance in the murder of tens of thousands of prisoners in the extermination camp where she served, Furchner was charged at age 96 with collaborating with the Nazis. The late prosecution of Furchner for being responsible for the murder of 11,412 Jews was made possible thanks to a change in German criminal law designed to include those who assisted in the supporting apparatus of extermination in responsibility for the acts of murder in the concentration camps.

During the trial, Holocaust survivors refuted the defense's claims that Furchner did not know what was happening. Josef Salomonovic, who was only six when his father was shot to death at Stutthof, said, "She is guilty even if she just sat in an office and stuck the stamp on my father's death certificate." Holocaust survivor Manfred Goldberg said that "it was impossible not to know what happened in the camp because there were bodies openly transported." After maintaining silence throughout the trial, Furchner finally stated, "I am sorry for what happened. I regret having been in Stutthof in those days. I cannot say more."

In December 2022, the juvenile court – where she was tried because she was only 18 at the time of committing the war crimes – declared that Furchner was found guilty and sentenced her to only two years of suspended prison time due to her advanced age. Furchner was the first German civilian to be charged with complicity in Nazi crimes in the extermination camps, but also apparently the last war criminal to be convicted of crimes during the Holocaust.

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The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) published "Stronger Than Fear," which profiles Righteous Rescuers from nine countries along with stories of the Jewish people they saved. The initiative joins Israel's longstanding efforts to honor those who protected Jews during the Shoah.

At an event launching the collection in Limoges, France, Holocaust survivors will meet the children and grandchildren of the Righteous Rescuers who saved them. In other instances, living Righteous Rescuers will meet descendants of Holocaust survivors they helped save.

"During the Shoah, thousands of individuals across Europe risked their own lives to save Jews from the Nazis," President of the Claims Conference Gideon Taylor said. "Today, only about 150 of those Righteous Rescuers are still with us. The Claims Conference has been a long-time supporter and funder of many Righteous Rescuer programs around the world, and we are proud to continue honoring their sacrifice with this publication."

The gathering will include Jewish siblings Dr. Sophia Joachims, 89, and Mark (Manek) Schonwetter, 91, who were born in Poland and survived the Holocaust thanks to a Righteous Rescuer family that hid them. Survivor Colette Zeif from Paris will also attend. After her mother was deported to Auschwitz in 1942, Colette and her elder sister Jacqueline were taken in by the couple Marguerite and Charles Bayrand in Limoges, who presented them as their own children.

Rüdiger Mahlo, Representative of the Claims Conference in Europe, emphasized the educational importance of these stories: "The history of the Righteous Rescuers extends beyond the lives they saved. They demonstrate the courage needed to speak out, to act, and to choose empathy over apathy. The transmission of these stories is at the core of educating every generation on the Holocaust."

Bronislawa Bakun, a Righteous Rescuer from Janów/Sokólka in Poland who rescued more than 12 Jews from persecution and death, offered a powerful yet humble perspective: "We simply did what one does when one is human."

Greg Schneider, Executive Vice President of the Claims Conference, noted that the publication provides 36 portraits of Righteous Rescuers who together saved more than 220 Jews. "Each portrait is a living example of humanity and courage," he said. "The Claims Conference is committed to passing their legacy of strength and active compassion on to future generations."

While more than 28,400 Righteous Rescuers have been vetted and registered by Yad Vashem, only about 150 remain alive today. Their testimonies are considered critical to Holocaust history and deeply personal to the global Jewish community, including Israel.

Pierre-Michel Kahn, the only survivor of the Montbéliard roundup of February 1944, saved by Righteous Rescuer Louise Blazer, shared his perspective: "Saving Jews at the risk of one's own life means preferring the lives of others to one's own. I'm thinking of Lou Blazer, a member of the Resistance and suspected as such by the German police, who didn't hesitate to ask the Kommandantur for a safe-conduct, allowing her to get a Jewish child out of prison, as he was about to leave for Auschwitz."

The book features rescuers from Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Germany and France. Currently available in English and French, further editions are planned in Polish, German, Hebrew, and Lithuanian throughout 2025.

Jaroslawa Lewicki, a Righteous Rescuer originally from Złoczów in Poland who, together with her mother and grandfather, hid two Jewish boys in their house for more than a year, shared her family's approach: "To give the hidden Jews hope for survival, we had to conceal our own fear. My mother would remind us every day that we must be stronger than our fear, or nothing will succeed."

Witold Lisowski, a Righteous Rescuer from Warsaw who along with his mother and brother smuggled food and medicine into the Ludwisin ghetto and hid Dudek Inwentarz in their home for several years, reflected on the lasting impact: "Today, when I see the family of 30 that Dudek founded after we helped him survive the Second World War, I know that it was worth taking every risk."

Regina Suchowolski Sluszny, a Holocaust survivor from Belgium saved by the Flemish couple Anna and Charel Jacobs-Van Dijck, explained her mission to share these stories: "The aim of my testimonies in various schools and organizations in Belgium is to help people understand the heroism of the Righteous through my own story and that of my husband, Georges Suchowolski. We are two Jewish children who were hidden for many years by non-Jews."

She added, "These Righteous risked their lives to protect children they didn't even know the day before. It is to honor all the Righteous Among the Nations that I recount what happened to us. These Righteous must never be forgotten, for it was they who enabled us, at the risk of their own lives and of being sent to forced labor themselves, to start a family after the war. Thanks to the Righteous, 50% of the Jewish people living in Belgium before the war survived. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!"

The Claims Conference has upheld a commitment to honor Righteous Rescuers since 1963, when Yad Vashem began officially recognizing individuals as Righteous Among the Nations. The program takes its name from the literature of the Sages (Chasidei Umot HaOlam), which describes non-Jews who came to the aid of Jewish people in times of need.

A digital version of the book "Stronger Than Fear" is available on the Claims Conference website.

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Crucial elections scheduled for February 23 in Germany will shape the future of Europe's most influential nation and the European Union. The early elections were triggered by the collapse of the "traffic light" coalition (named after the party colors) between the Social Democrats (SPD), Free Democratic Party (FDP), and the Greens, following disputes over government economic policy.

While the left-wing parties – the Social Democrats and the Greens – demanded the government increase its budget deficit, Finance Minister and center-right FDP leader Christian Lindner refused to deviate from the "black zero" policy, which requires the government to maintain a nearly balanced budget. Chancellor Olaf Scholz, leader of the Social Democratic Party, ultimately dismissed Lindner from the government.

Unlike the September 2021 elections, where climate change dominated the campaign following floods that claimed about 200 lives two months earlier, immigration and Islamic terror threats have become the central issues this time. Two recent attacks carried out by Muslim immigrants – a December attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg that left six dead and 300 injured, and last week's attack in Munich that injured dozens – have intensified public criticism of immigration policies.

Many Germans now recognize that former Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision to open the country's borders to millions of Middle Eastern refugees in the summer of 2015 was devastating. Merkel, who led the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU/CSU) and governed Germany from 2005 to 2021, initiated a refugee policy that continues to generate controversy. The refugee issue intersects with economic concerns, another key campaign focus. Many Germans are frustrated with the rising cost of living and question why the state continues to fund the massive refugee project that began under Merkel and continued under the traffic light coalition.

While the left maintains illusions that immigration is part of the solution for Germany's aging population, the right calls for clear measures against it. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU/CSU) led by Friedrich Merz, who according to all predictions is expected to become the next chancellor, advocates for significant immigration reduction. The Alternative for Germany (AfD), led by Alice Weidel, demands an immediate halt to immigration and deportation of illegal immigrants. This hardline stance has made AfD the second-largest party in Germany according to polls, with 22% support, while CDU/CSU leads with 30%. Together, these parties command 52% of public support, up from their combined 34% in 2021 (24% for CDU/CSU and 10% for AfD).

In contrast, the traffic light coalition, which won 52% in 2021 (26% for SPD, 15% for Greens, and 11% for FDP), is expected to collapse in the upcoming election. Polls show SPD likely dropping to 16%, the Greens weakening slightly, and FDP at risk of not clearing the 5% threshold. The far left, which ran as a united list in 2021 and received 5%, has split into two parties that barely poll above the threshold, with at least one expected to enter parliament.

Polls indicate that forming a coalition will be complex, challenging, or nearly impossible. The natural move would be to form a full right-wing government led by the Christian Democrats and Alternative for Germany, but AfD faces a boycott over allegations it resembles a certain party that ruled Germany from 1933 to 1945.

Interestingly, regarding support for Israel, antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment actually come from the German left, which holds negative views toward Israel and supports the Palestinian struggle against the Jewish state, while the German right sees Israel as the last bastion of Western civilization in the Middle East. One thing is certain – a political crisis due to internal boycotts would be devastating for Germany.

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