The artwork, titled "Bust of a Woman in a Flowery Hat (Dora Maar)," was completed near the conclusion of the pair's stormy nine-year romance and depicts Maar with gentler, more vibrant tones compared to earlier portraits Picasso created of his lover.

The newly revealed painting shows Maar's fragmented visage rendered in brilliant colors without traditional perspective, appearing distressed and near tears, created during the period when Maar discovered that 61-year-old Picasso planned to abandon her for 21-year-old artist Françoise Gilot.

The completion of the portrait occurred in July 1943, with limited exhibitions held beyond his Paris studio on Rue des Grands Augustins. It remained in private ownership since its purchase in August 1944, during Paris' liberation month.

Nazi forces controlling Paris during World War II classified Picasso's creations as "degenerate," resulting in studio raids and exhibition ban threats against his artistic output.

Documentation of its existence came through a black-and-white photograph captured before the sale and included in an art publication, while the current seller, who inherited the work from an unnamed French collector grandparent, has chosen anonymity.

Numerous paintings of Maar were created by Picasso, including his renowned "Portrait of Dora Maar" and "Dora Maar au Chat," though she commented about these works: "All of his portraits of me are lies. They're all Picassos. Not one is Dora Maar."

Their initial meeting occurred in late 1935 while she captured promotional photographs for Jean Renoir's movie "The Crime of Monsieur Lange," during which period Picasso maintained his existing relationship with Marie-Thérèse Walter, mother of his daughter Maya, throughout his involvement with Maar.

Maar's masochistic nature captivated Picasso, leading him to frequently portray her as a suffering individual, typically weeping, as seen in "La Femme qui pleure" (Weeping Woman), which art historians believe he created to symbolize Spanish civil war anguish while also reflecting his reported mistreatment of Maar and their violent confrontations.

Maar, who passed away in Paris in 1997 at the age of 89, earned recognition as both Picasso's inspiration and model, beyond their romantic connection, establishing herself as an accomplished surrealist photographer whose techniques significantly influenced his artistic development throughout their partnership.

Lucien Paris auction house has conservatively appraised the 80cm x 60cm oil painting at approximately €8 million ($6.9 million), while anticipating substantially higher final bids. The auction house maintained secrecy about the artwork's existence until Thursday's media presentation.

Auctioneer Christophe Lucien described the find as monumentally significant, characterizing the piece as a masterpiece and an exceptional demonstration of how Picasso's creativity provided essential illumination during the occupation's darkness, noting that while experts knew of its existence through photographs, the work's true colors remained unseen until now.

"It is not only a milestone in the history of art but also in the private life of Picasso," Lucien stated, adding, "It is a refreshing portrait of Dora Maar; exceptional and full of emotion. Discovering it is a big moment in our lives as experts."

The painting will be auctioned by Lucien Paris on October 24, with public display scheduled for three days preceding the sale.

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Members of the National Socialists Network held a flashmob protest last night, marching through the Melbourne CBD for over an hour whilst displaying a banner reading "WHITE MAN FIGHT BACK"

The march was led by NSN leader Thomas Sewell.
This is the first major protest the group… pic.twitter.com/I0Y06C0TRz

— What's News!? (@Whats_Newsss) August 8, 2025

 During the march, a 26-year-old man who approached the group and tried to stop them was violently attacked and taken to the hospital in non-life-threatening condition. No one was arrested during the march.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan harshly condemned the march and said, "Nazis don't belong in this country and they know it. That's why they hide behind masks in the dark." Allan announced that new anti-vilification laws will take effect next month, and subsequently, police will be granted powers "to unmask cowards at protests."

Nazis don't belong in this country and they know it.

That's why they hide behind masks in the dark.

I thank Police who maintained the public order.

It's clear they need more powers, and we're giving it to them.

Our criminal Anti-Vilification laws come into effect next month.…

— Jacinta Allan (@JacintaAllanMP) August 9, 2025

The march was led by the far-right organization "National Socialists Network," and it is considered the first major demonstration by the organization since Australia Day events, when more than a dozen participants were arrested, including the organization's leader himself, but all charges were later dropped.

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About a thousand people, most of them descendants of Nazis who took part in the extermination of Jews during the Holocaust, will participate Wednesday in a march supporting Israel through central Berlin streets under the messages "We will not stay silent again" and "The people of Israel live." The march will take place marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and against the backdrop of rising antisemitism since October 7. The marchers will pass through historical sites connected to the Nazi regime, including Hitler's bunker, symbolizing their commitment to learn from the past and prevent its recurrence.

The event is organized by March of Life, a German Christian movement founded in 2007 by Jobst Bittner – a descendant of a Nazi family – and additional partners who chose to face historical truth, take moral responsibility, work toward reconciliation with the Jewish people, and fight antisemitism.

"October 7 was a turning point. We witnessed that antisemitism doesn't belong to the past – it is the present," Bittner said. "When Jewish suffering is met with silence – it's not a coincidence, it's a failure. Antisemitism thrives on ignorance, denial, and the silence of the majority. That's why we cry out: We will not be silent! The time to take a stand is now. Not later. Not quietly." Senior German government officials, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, head of the Wiesenthal Institute, Jewish community representatives, Holocaust survivors, and a representative from the Israeli embassy in Germany are expected to attend the march. They will be joined by hundreds of Germans who are direct descendants of SS members, Wehrmacht soldiers, and Nazi policemen who actively participated in the Holocaust.

Marcus Diemer (62), who will participate in the march, recounts: "My grandfather was a devoted Nazi. He joined the Nazi party as early as 1928, and in 1939 he served as a police officer under the SS in Poland. He was involved in property confiscation, torture, and murder of Jews and Poles, and took part in Kristallnacht." Diemer discovered his family's dark past through archive searches and decided to make "another voice" heard.

"The first time I came to Israel in 2007, when the plane landed, I felt like I was coming home," Diemer said. "I've never met people like Israelis, open, ready for forgiveness. Unfortunately, most media in Germany is biased against Israel and doesn't show that rockets are constantly being fired at you. We want our voice to be heard, that not only Jews raise their voices, but also we as Germans."

Kim Kascha (25), a student from Tübingen, will also march on Wednesday. "My great-grandfathers served in the Nazi German army. When we asked them about the war, they avoided elaborating on the subject," she said. "One of my grandfathers, Reinhold Kascha, even mentioned that he learned to ride horses and referred to his military service as unimportant and even with humor, but after his death we discovered that he was involved in the invasion of Poland, the establishment of the Kovno ghetto, and the cruel treatment of Jews there."

"It wasn't easy for me to speak up for Israel at the university," she continued. "I have quite a few friends, many of them Muslims, who were very angry with me because of the way I sided with Israel. But I continue on my path. We learned from the past that the Holocaust happened because the majority remained silent. If we stay quiet now, we are no better than our family. We have a responsibility to support Israel and not stand by when Jews are attacked."

Felix Kunsa (31), a volunteer with the organization, testifies about the personal change he experienced: "My grandfather was a Nazi until the day he died. My life changed when I met Holocaust survivors in Israel and told them about my family. When I looked into their eyes, the historical knowledge moved from my mind to my heart."

"We are in a reality where we see Holocaust survivors sitting next to Nova survivors, and there is a connection between them because people tried to kill them because they are Jews – because of antisemitism," Kunsa added. "For us, it wasn't the Nazis who murdered Jews, it was our family. We don't come from guilt, but to raise our voice so that history doesn't repeat itself."

Members of the organization will come to Israel and, on May 11, will inaugurate an exhibition in Jerusalem dealing with the history of antisemitism. They will later hold marches in Beersheba, Netanya, Ashkelon, and Zichron Yaakov. Throughout May, more than 60 reconciliation and remembrance marches are expected to take place around the world.

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A federal court in Philadelphia has sentenced Donbon Farish, a 29-year-old Mississippi resident, to two years in prison followed by three years of probation for orchestrating an antisemitic harassment campaign targeting synagogues and Jewish-owned businesses in Pennsylvania.

According to the June 2023 indictment, Farish conducted a series of threatening phone calls to Jewish institutions across Pennsylvania's Eastern District, employing VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology to conceal his identity.

In his communications with Jewish institution representatives, Farish repeatedly invoked the Holocaust, while shouting various antisemitic threats, including "Heil Hitler," "All Jews must die," "We will put you in labor camps," "Destroy the Jews," and "Hitler should have finished the job."

"The antisemitic harassment and threats perpetrated by Farish spread terror among his victims, whose sense of security was fundamentally shaken by fears of potential escalation and physical violence," Federal Prosecutor Jacqueline Romero stated. "Every individual, regardless of their faith or background, has the right to feel secure in their community."

FBI Philadelphia Office Director Wayne Jacobs emphasized: "No member of our community should have to live in fear, regardless of where they work, reside, or practice their religion. This sentence demonstrates that the FBI and our partners at the Federal Prosecutor's Office will not tolerate heinous threats designed to undermine community security."

As part of a plea agreement reached in June, Farish admitted guilt to charges of internet harassment and five counts of misuse and harassment through communication devices. He also acknowledged selecting his victims based on their religious identity.

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As Europe grapples with a surge in antisemitism, one of Germany's most prominent Jewish leaders draws haunting parallels between current events and the infamous Night of Broken Glass. Dr. Charlotte Knobloch, who witnessed Kristallnacht as a six-year-old child, warns that public indifference today echoes the silence that preceded one of history's darkest chapters.

"I can still see the crowds, smell the burning synagogue, feel the heat of the flames," recalls Dr. Knobloch, her voice steady despite the weight of the memory. "We crept through back alleys and forests, desperately trying to hide my father – a well-known Munich attorney and senator. The next day's destruction is seared into my memory. The Nazis, I believe, orchestrated this chaos to gauge public reaction. The German people's silence spoke volumes."

Dr. Knobloch, who last week celebrated her 92nd birthday, serves as president of Munich's Jewish Community and stands as one of Germany's most influential Jewish voices. On that fateful night in 1938, her father, Fritz Neuland, received an anonymous phone call warning of imminent danger. He quickly gathered his family – all except his mother, who refused to leave – and attempted to reach his law office nearby, which he shared with the later Bavarian Prime Minister Wilhelm Hoegner.

A cautionary call to his office revealed the gravity of their situation. When an unfamiliar voice answered, Neuland, disguising his identity, inquired about his own whereabouts. The response – "We're also searching for Fritz Neuland" – confirmed his worst fears. That night, the Neuland family wandered Munich's darkened streets seeking sanctuary. Their attempt to warn a family friend ended in horror as they witnessed him being dragged from his home, bloodied, and beaten. This friend would later perish in Dachau after a brief release from an initial concentration camp internment.

"For a child, the terror was incomprehensible," Dr. Knobloch reflects, her gaze distant. "I couldn't understand why firefighters ignored the burning buildings. SS troops smashed windows and kicked down doors, dragging people into the street. Though I already knew Jews were unwelcome in Germany, watching this violence unfold – feeling the cold, sensing the panic – overwhelmed me. When I began to cry, my father held me close, warning that my tears could betray us. The mob didn't yet know we were Jewish, but discovery meant certain death in that atmosphere of hatred."

By nightfall, the family found refuge with a non-Jewish friend in Munich's outskirts. The violence of November 9-10, 1938, left hundreds of Jews dead, thousands arrested, and countless more deported to concentration camps. Synagogues across Germany burned while Jewish-owned businesses and property faced wholesale destruction. The Nazi-sanctioned "popular uprising" raged unchecked by law enforcement until dawn.

After the Holocaust claimed several family members, Dr. Knobloch married and contemplated leaving Munich. Circumstances kept her in Germany, where her father joined approximately 60 Jewish survivors in rebuilding Munich's devastated Jewish community.

Decades of relative calm followed, but recent years have brought disturbing changes. The rise of populist parties, particularly the far-right Alternative for Germany – some of whose members express Nazi sympathies – along with anti-Israel demonstrations at universities and growing fear among German Jews about wearing religious symbols in public, deeply trouble Dr. Knobloch.

"Today's Germany eerily echoes the 1920s," she observes. "Hitler's rise wasn't supernatural – he was democratically elected. While Jewish life here has evolved significantly since the 1930s and 40s, and antisemitism plagues the entire world, not just Germany, the crucial question remains: How does the public respond? Will people remain indifferent? Education and accurate historical information are our strongest weapons against hate."

In response to these concerns, Dr. Knobloch has partnered with the Claims Conference to launch an innovative virtual reality experience. The project, "Inside View of Kristallnacht," developed in collaboration with Meta, UNESCO, and USC Shoah, allows young people to witness the events through a child's eyes – her eyes. This educational initiative, designed for schools and institutions, harnesses cutting-edge technology to illustrate the dangers of antisemitism and xenophobia while highlighting hate speech's devastating consequences.

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The speaker of Canada's House of Commons resigned Tuesday for inviting a man who fought for a Nazi military unit during World War II to Parliament to attend a speech by the Ukrainian president.

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Just after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered an address in the House of Commons on Friday, Canadian lawmakers gave 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka a standing ovation when Speaker Anthony Rota drew attention to him. Rota introduced Hunka as a war hero who fought for the First Ukrainian Division.

Observers over the weekend began to publicize the fact that the First Ukrainian Division also was known as the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, or the SS 14th Waffen Division, a voluntary unit that was under the command of the Nazis.

Video: Canadian House Speaker Anthony Rota resigns after publicly praising Nazi / Credit: Reuters

"No one in this House is above any of us. Therefore I must step down as your speaker," Rota said in Parliament. "I reiterate my profound regret for my error in recognizing an individual in the House during the joint address to Parliament of President Zelenskyy.

"That public recognition has caused pain to individuals and communities, including to the Jewish community in Canada and around the world in addition to Nazi survivors in Poland among other nations. I accept full responsibility for my actions," he added.

Rota stepped down after meeting with the House of Commons' party leaders. All main opposition parties had called for Rota to step down, and House government leader Karina Gould said that lawmakers had lost confidence in Rota. "This is something that has brought shame and embarrassment to all of Parliament and indeed all Canadians. The speaker did the honorable thing in resigning," Gould said.

Gould said that Rota invited and recognized Hunka without informing the government or the delegation from Ukraine, adding that the fact that Rota didn't inform anyone and didn't do due diligence broke trust with lawmakers.

Members of Parliament from all parties rose to applaud Hunka on Friday unaware of the details of who he was. "Never in my life would I have imagined that the speaker of the House would have asked us to stand and applaud someone who fought with the Nazis," Gould said.

"This is very emotional for me. My family are Jewish holocaust survivors. I would have never in a million of years stood and applauded someone who aided the Nazis." Gould said Rota found out about it over the weekend. "He probably should have resigned as soon as he learned about it," she said.

Canadian Health Minister Mark Holland had called the incident "incredibly embarrassing." The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies said in a statement that the incident "has left a stain on our country's venerable legislature with profound implications both in Canada and globally."

"This incident has compromised all 338 Members of Parliament and has also handed a propaganda victory to Russia, distracting from what was a momentously significant display of unity between Canada and Ukraine. It has also caused great pain to Canada's Jewish community, Holocaust survivors, veterans and other victims of the Nazi regime." In an earlier apology on Sunday, Rota said he alone was responsible for inviting and recognizing Hunka, who is from the district that Rota represents. The speaker's office said it was Hunka's son who contacted Rota's local office to see if it was possible if he could attend Zelenskyy's speech.

The prime minister's office said it was unaware that Hunka was invited until after the address. The speaker's office also confirmed it did not share its invite list with any other party or group. The vetting process for visitors to the gallery is for physical security threats, not reputational threats, the speaker's office said. In Moscow, a Kremlin spokesman said it was "outrageous" that Hunka received a standing ovation. Russian President Vladimir Putin has painted his enemies in Ukraine as "neo-Nazis," although Zelenskyy is Jewish and lost relatives in the Holocaust.

"It's highly unfortunate and the only winner here is the Putin regime, which is already spinning what happened on Friday to justify its ongoing military actions in Ukraine," said Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal. The opposition Conservatives in Canada have blamed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but Béland noted that the speaker's role in Canada is as an officer of Parliament who does not participate in partisan caucus meetings and is not a member of the Cabinet. "Canada's reputation is broken. This is by far the biggest hit Canada's diplomatic reputation has ever taken under in history and it happened under Justin Trudeau's watch," Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said.

Poilievre said everyone in the House of Commons on Friday should have been vetted with Zelenskyy in attendance. Robert Bothwell, a historian and professor at the University of Toronto, called Rota clueless for waiting so long to step down. He said an apology from Trudeau is also justified. "He should not make it personal; there is nothing he personally did wrong, but the event embarrassed the country and as PM he takes responsibility," Bothwell said. "Trudeau doesn't have the strongest image and this will cause other leaders to see him as damaged goods."

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Sheetal Deo was shocked when she got a letter from her Queens apartment building's co-op board calling her Diwali decoration "offensive" and demanding she take it down.

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"My decoration said 'Happy Diwali' and had a swastika on it," said Deo, a physician, who was celebrating the Hindu festival of lights.

The equilateral cross with its legs bent at right angles is a millennia-old sacred symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism that represents peace and good fortune. Indigenous people worldwide used it similarly.

But in the West, this symbol is often equated to Adolf Hitler's hakenkreuz or the hooked cross – a symbol of hate that evokes the trauma of the Holocaust and the horrors of Nazi Germany. White supremacists, neo-Nazi groups and vandals have continued to use Hitler's symbol to stoke fear and hate.

Over the past decade, as the Asian diaspora grew in North America, calls to reclaim the swastika as a sacred symbol became louder. These minority faith communities are being joined by Native Americans whose ancestors used it in healing rituals.

Deo believes she and people of other faiths shouldn't have to sacrifice or apologize for a sacred symbol simply because it is often conflated with its tainted version.

"To me, that's intolerable," she said.

Yet to others, redeeming the swastika is unthinkable.

Holocaust survivors could be re-traumatized by the symbol that represents a "concept that stood for the annihilation of an entire people" and the horrors they experienced, said Shelley Rood Wernick, managing director of the Jewish Federations of North America's Center on Holocaust Survivor Care. Her grandparents met at a displaced persons' camp in Austria after World War II.

"I recognize the swastika as a symbol of hate," she said.

Steven Heller, author of "Swastika: Symbol Beyond Redemption?", said it is "a charged symbol for so many whose loved ones were criminally and brutally murdered." Heller's great-grandfather perished during the Holocaust.

"A rose by any other name is a rose," he said. "For many, it creates a visceral impact."

The symbol itself dates back to prehistoric times. The word "swastika" has Sanskrit roots and means "the mark of well-being." It has been used in Hindu prayers, carved into the Jains' emblem, marked Buddhist temple locations, and represented the four elements for Zoroastrians.

The symbol is ubiquitous in India today. It also has been found in the Roman catacombs as well as various places in Greece, Iran, Ethiopia, Spain and Ukraine.

The symbol was revived during the 19th century excavations in the ancient city of Troy by a German archaeologist, who connected it to Aryan culture. Historians believe this is what made it appealing to the Nazi Party, which adopted it in 1920.

In North America, in the early 20th century, swastikas made their way into architectural features, military insignia and team logos. Coca-Cola issued a swastika pendant. The Boy Scouts awarded badges with the symbol until 1940.

The Rev. T.K. Nakagaki said he was shocked when he heard the swastika referred to as a "universal symbol of evil" at an interfaith conference. The New York-based Buddhist priest thinks of swastikas as synonymous with temples.

In his 2018 book titled "The Buddhist Swastika and Hitler's Cross: Rescuing a Symbol of Peace from the Forces of Hate," Nakagaki posits that Hitler referred to it as the hooked cross or hakenkreuz.

"You cannot call it a symbol of evil or (deny) other facts that have existed for hundreds of years, just because of Hitler," said Nakagaki, who believes more dialogue is needed.

The Coalition of Hindus of North America is among several faith groups leading the effort to differentiate the swastika from the hakenkreuz. They supported a new California law that criminalizes the public display of it, making an exception for the sacred swastika.

Pushpita Prasad, a spokesperson for the Hindu group, called it a victory, but said the legislation unfortunately labels both the sacred symbol and Hitler's as swastikas.

It's led to self-censorship. Vikas Jain, a Cleveland physician, said his family hid images containing the symbol when they had visitors because of the lack of understanding. Jain says he stands in solidarity with the Jewish community, but is sad that he cannot freely practice his Jain faith.

Before WWII, the name "Swastika" was popular in North America, including for housing subdivisions in Miami and Denver, an upstate New York hamlet and a street name in Ontario. Some have been renamed while others continue to carry it.

The Oregon Geographic Names Board will soon vote to rename Swastika Mountain in Umpqua National Forest.

The mountain's name, taken from a nearby ranch that used a swastika cattle brand, made news in January when hikers were rescued off the butte, said Kerry Tymchuk, the Oregon Historical Society's director. A Eugene resident questioned the name, spurring the vote, he said.

For the Navajo people, the symbol represents the universe and life, said Patricia Anne Davis, an elder of the Choctaw and Dineh nations. She said Hitler took a spiritual symbol "and made it twisted."

In the early 20th century, traders encouraged Native artists to use it on their crafts. After it became a Nazi symbol, several tribes banned it.

"I understand the wounds and trauma that Jewish people experience when they see that symbol," Davis said. "All I can do is affirm its true meaning. ...It's time to restore the authentic meaning."

Jeff Kelman, a New Hampshire-based Holocaust historian, believes the hakenkreuz and swastika were distinct. Kelman, who takes this message to Jewish communities, is optimistic about the symbol's redemption.

"When they learn an Indian girl could be named Swastika and she could be harassed in school, they understand how they should see these as two separate symbols," he said. "No one in the Jewish community wants to see Hitler's legacy continue to harm people."

Greta Elbogen, an 85-year-old Holocaust survivor whose family members were killed at Auschwitz, said learning the swastika is sacred to so many is a blessing and feels liberating. Elbogen, born in 1938 when the Nazis forcibly annexed Austria, went into hiding in Hungary before immigrating to the US.

Elbogen said she no longer fears the symbol: "It's time to let go of the past and look to the future."

For many, the swastika evokes a visceral reaction unlike any other, said Mark Pitcavage, an Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism researcher who maintains the group's hate symbols database.

The ADL explains the sanctity of the swastika in many faiths and cultures, but Pitcavage said Hitler polluted the symbol: "While I believe it is possible to create some awareness, I don't think that its association with the Nazis can be completely eliminated."

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"The Viennese Café is an institution of a special kind which is not comparable to any other in the world," Stefan Zweig wrote about his hometown, the glorious capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and now the capital of Austria. When Austria became part of the Third Reich in 1938, Zweig had to leave for good, and as we all know, he would never return to Vienna. Likewise, the scene of the Viennese Café that he adored would never recover from World War II.

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Many of the coffeehouses quickly reopened after the war had ended to show that the destruction has not hurt their spirit. On the surface, business was back – the marble tables were standing; the newspapers were placed on the stands; the pleasant aroma of coffee spread all over. But this was a mirage. The backdrop may have been restored, but it was lifeless.

The Viennese coffeehouse scene was created to a large extent by Jews who would frequent them for many generations. The annihilation of the Jewish community emptied the physical shell of its inner greatness. Of course, even today tourists from all over the world come in droves to enjoy Vienna's famous coffeeshops in order to experience some nostalgic era, but this is akin to visiting the pyramids: You see what's left of a large civilization, and this only highlights the fact that it's gone.

Austria was not the first European nation to get a taste of the black beverage, but it quickly got hooked on it. According to the accepted version of events, the first Viennese Café was opened in the late 17th century by a Ukrainian nobleman called Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki, one of the heroes in the 1683 Battle of Vienna, when the Christian armies defeated the Turkish invaders.

Kulczycki was in Vienna in 1683 when the Ottoman Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa Pasha placed the city under siege. Thanks to Kulczycki's command of the Turkish language and familiarity with Islamic customs, he managed to escape Vienna and pass unnoticed through the Turkish garrisons. In doing so, he managed to relay invaluable intelligence between Vienna and the forces that had been sent to help it break the siege.

In the big battle that eventually unfolded, the Christians managed to crush the Ottomans and Kulczycki was hailed as a hero. In appreciation of his resourcefulness, he was awarded benefits, awards, and practically a free hand in taking whatever he wanted from what the fleeing Ottomans had left behind.

Legend has it that he shocked many when instead of taking the most valuable spoils from the loot – such as weapons – he only wanted to take with him 300 sacks of coffee beans. Everyone around him was convinced that the actual contents of those sacks were just camel feed, but Kulczycki, who had spent some of his years in the Ottoman empire as a young man, knew full well what the coffee beans could be used for.

Kulczycki knew how to make coffee from the beans, but he was also well aware of the coffee scene in the Ottoman Empire and what its allure could be. In order to introduce his fellow Viennese residents to the wonders of coffee, Kulczycki made sure it would become affordable and accessible. Kulczycki knew a thing or two about proper marketing well before it had become a profession and simply walked the streets of the city while offering free tastings of this new beverage.

He went on to open the first Viennese coffeehouse, calling it the "House under the Blue Bottle." To attract customers who were still very much new to drinking something other than alcohol, he carried out two additional masterstrokes in marketing. First, he made sure that add some exotic element by serving it in traditional Turkish garbs. He then adapted the traditional black coffee to make it more acceptable to the Viennese palate: He added milk and sugar.

There is also an alternative version to this story, which attributes the introduction of coffee to Vienna to the Armenian merchant Johannes Diodato. Regardless, there is general consensus that Kulczycki was the chief of the coffee merchant guild after the city became a coffee powerhouse. The two figures – Kulczycki and DIodato – are both memorialized in Vienna, so the virtual spat over who was first has never been fully settled.

Beans, affinity, and spiritualism

The great leap forward of the coffee scene in Vienna took place much after the pioneering duo had left for greener pastures. This time it was not the Ukrainians or Armenians who were at the forefront, but the Jews. Before that could happen, there was the challenging period of 1803-1813, during the height of the Anglo-French Wars, when coffee beans were scarce in the capital because of the geopolitical situation, and they were given permission to serve wine instead.

The golden age of the Viennese coffeehouse began in the second half of the 19th century. By 1830, there were already 80 cafés in the city. Some 50 years later, their numbers would reach 300, and by the early 20th century the figure stood at roughly 600. In a way, the changing nature of the cafes was a microcosm of the changing world. In the mid-19th century, the cafés were for men only, but soon enough entire families would sit there, and by the time the 20th century came along, women could sip coffee on their own.

This period coincided with the realization among many Jews across the Austro-Hungarian Empire that they had to integrate into the general society. They began enrolling in universities, made inroads in new occupations that were both prestigious and rewarding, and of course, flocked to the capital.

At every café, you would see a distinct clientele. Café Schwarzenberg was a hub for business people; Café Parsifal would become the preferred spot for members of the philharmonic orchestra; Café Rebhuhn was the place where journalists would work; Café Central was the place where intellectuals gathered.

Many of the Jews began assimilating but society was not overly keen on having them integrate to the fullest extent, especially if they refused to convert to Christianity. Faced with antisemitism, many Jews opted to sit in cafés, where there were no real barriers. This atmosphere was magic for Jews because they felt a sense of connection. The Viennese café had become the alternative to the synagogue, their spiritual home. Moreover, it was the linchpin that held their lives together.

The Viennese café would serve food and drinks, but what drew the masses was the added value it offered. The customers appreciated the fact that this was a place where they could sit and exchange views, make friends and enemies, pick up their mail and post their responses, shower praise or heap criticism on people, as well as play chess or cards. In other words: They lived in the café.

One of those cafe regulars was Gustav Grüner, who coined the phrase: "A true coffeehouse guest is someone who, when leaving, puts his chair on the table by himself." This was clearly his way of telling how long people should stay at a coffeehouse. Grüner practiced what he preached: His café hopping would only end at 4 a.m.

A house, more than just for coffee

Naturally, the more coffeehouses became a place for social gatherings, the more they catered to a specific clientele. At Café Schwarzenberg, the oldest among the cafés on the Vienna Ring Road, the regulars would normally be those who worked in finance or business. Café Parsifal was the place where the philharmonic orchestra's players would gather with their close associates, and so forth. Café Rebhuhn, which was founded in the 18th century, was the watering hole for journalists, and Café Griensteidl was the place for writers and poets who formed part of the Young Vienna (Jung-Wien) group of intellectuals, including Hugo von Hofmannsthal,  Richard Beer-Hofmann, Arthur Schnitzler, and Hermann Bahr.

At Café Central, where intellectuals would gather, you could find the writer Peter Altenberg, the founder of the school of individual psychology Alfred Adler, the historian Egon Friedell, the journalist and author Alfred Polgar, architect Adolf Loos and the mathematician, novelist Leo Perutz, and of course, Theodor Herzl, the founder of political Zionism.

They would be accompanied by members of the Vienna Circle of logical positivists. In the big hall on the first floor, the chess players would play and play to the point that the café would often be referred to as "the Chess Academy." Their small apartments, whose atmosphere was in stark opposition to that of the café, were just for sleeping because their waking hours were dedicated to the café. It is no wonder, then, that in the address book for the residents of Vienna Altenberg's residence was listed as "Café Central, Wien."

Around the tables of the Café Landtmann, near the city hall and the national theater Burgtheater, the celebrities of those days would sit, including Sigmund Freud, Gustav Mahler, Emmerich Kálmán, Felix Salten, Max Reinhardt, and Oskar Kokoschka.

Most of the artists preferred Café Museum, whose internal design was the making of Loos himself. Unlike other coffeehouses, which had the Thonet chairs designed by Austrian Jew Michael Thonet, the furniture in Café Museum was influenced by the desire for simplicity and functionality, and as a consequence, the place was often dubbed Café Nihilismus (café nihilism).

Some celebrities would keep alternating cafés (including Freud, who would sometimes visit Café Central). Others would become regulars at multiple cafes simultaneously, pledging their faith to their preferred coffeehouse at all costs, considering it a crucial part of their daily lives. For them, the coffeehouse was their home, perhaps even more than then real place of residence.

Newspapers and shortbread

The story of District Court Judge Reiter underscored what it meant to be a regular at the Viennese Café. His honor would arrive every day at 4 p.m. sharp and sit at the same table at Café Colosseum, immediately being served a melange with whipped cream and two horn-shaped shortbreads. He would then be handed the evening papers and all other national and international newspapers, pay, and finally leave – without uttering a word.

Generations of waiters would be trained on how to properly serve the judge. Then one day, the unthinkable happened: Two waiters were quarreling with the owner and then stormed out. When the judge arrived at his designated time, no one was there to wait his table. At 4:06 p.m., the crestfallen judge turned to the substitute waiter and sent him to Café Hacker across the road to bring his Melange with the whipped cream and two horn-shaped shortbreads

There was often a joke that in Vienna coffeehouses that if you went there, you would consume time and occupy a seat but you would end up paying only for coffee. Even if some of the regulars thought this was too pricey, they would never even entertain the thought of giving up their favorite pastime. It is often said that Zweig would often find himself without money to pay the bill and then he would turn to the waiter and ask, "Can you please keep this table for me. I will go drink my coffee at home and then come back."

During the 1920s, many of the city's intellectual elite relocated from Central and Museum to the Jewish-owned Café Herrenhof. It became a powerhouse of Judeo-Viennese culture with colorful figures descending on it every day. The thoughts and ideas they articulated would fly far and wide, well beyond the walls of the coffeehouse.

One example was the brilliant Jewish jurist and card player Hugo Sperber. When asked how long a game would last, the eccentric lawyer would respond with one of two answers. If he answered, "Unfortunately, I have a court appearance tomorrow," it was understood that he would not be able to play long because he would have to get a good night's sleep. The other response, "Until the students arrive," was a well-known reference to the Passover Haggadah, meaning, until dawn.

As for the brews available in the coffee shops, there was a wide variety. They would have to choose the kind of drink (which usually referred to the ratio of coffee to milk) and its size ("nut-cup", "piccolo" or "teacup"). Melange, for example, had equal amounts of coffee and milk. In a Brauner, you would find the coffee to be dominant and in others, milk was most of the beverage.  At a later stage, there was also a variety of combinations and variations that could include ice cream, ice cubes, rum, and a whole host of glasses.

The sophisticated waiters at Herrenhof had a paint-color scale with 20 different shades of brown, each with its own number. The regulars would choose their preferred number and got the coffee in the color of their choice. The numbers would be meaningless in any other coffeehouse, and even the types of coffees would have their own nomenclature in the Herrenhof. If you ordered a Sperber Turk, the waiter would know that your choice is Turkish coffee with a double shot along with two cubes of sugar. This was the coffee that Sperber would ask for before important legal proceedings.

Humanity's heritage

After the Anschluss, the golden era of the Viennese coffeehouse came to an abrupt end. Cafe Herrenhof was seized from its Jewish owner and no Jewish customers were allowed in. The lucky few Jews managed to flee the country, but others were persecuted and murdered. Nevertheless, in the Herrenhof, they continued to serve the coffee to Aryans who would frequent it all through the war, and the headwaiter Franz Hnatek continued to carry the baton as he had done since its founding in 1918.

When news broke that the Allies had landed on the beaches of Normandy, it was all too clear where the pendulum was shifting in the war. Hnatek whispered into the ears of one of the patrons who could hardly be suspected of being a Nazi sympathizer: "Does this mean that the other gentlemen are coming back soon?"

The ever-so energetic Hnatek knew the world only through the prism of his clients, or rather through their presence or absence. Most of his customers would never return. Only a handful of the Jews of the city, which in 1938 stood at 250,000, survived the Holocaust.

With the disappearance of the Jews, the routine that had been built around the Viennese coffeehouse came to an end, even if the tourist information centers claim otherwise. We can at least take solace in that UNESCO has listed the Viennese Coffee House Culture in its inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage institutions.  The memory, at least in that regard, will live on.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the Knesset via Zoom on Sunday as part of his flurry of speeches to legislative chambers around the world in an effort to convince governments to actively support his country in the face of the Russian invasion.  

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With the parliament in recess and undergoing renovations, most MKs and ministers tuned into the virtual event from various locations. Those without access to Zoom, and Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy, who hosted the event, gathered to view the address from a specially designated hall in the parliament. All participants' were muted to prevent interruptions during the speech.

"We want to live but our neighbors want us dead, there is not a lot of room for compromise," Zelenskyy said, paraphrasing former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir.

"Just like you were wandering around the world, looking for safety, our people are now wandering the world. This is an unjust war, with Russian trying to destroy anything that makes Ukrainians who they are," Zelenskyy continued. "Our history and your history are histories of survival," he continued. "Listen to what the Kremlin is saying, they're using the same terminology of the Nazi party. What they sought to destroy all of Europe, they didn't want to leave any of you, and now from of us. They called it the 'Final Solution'."

"The people of Israel, you saw how Russian rockets hit Babi Yar. You know what this place means, where the victims of the Holocaust are buried," he said. "The Righteous Among the Nations in Ukraine made their choice 80 years ago, and now we expect you to make your choice," he concluded, referring to the Ukrainians who risked their lives to hide Jews from being sent to the extermination camps.

Levy delivered an opening speech just before the president began his remarks. "I want to thank you for dedicating time during these tough months to discuss with us in Israel," Levy said. "I would like to extend our solidarity with the pain of the Ukrainian people," he continued. He said that "We should do everything to end the fighting as soon as possible," and added that he hoped the mediation efforts of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett "bear fruit."

President #Zelensky to Israel's Knesset:

'Listen to what the Kremlin is saying, they're using the same terminology of the Nazi party'

'What they sought to destroy all of Europe, they didn't want to leave any of you, and now from of us. They called it the 'Final Solution'' pic.twitter.com/HjhsKw8pSU

— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) March 20, 2022

The Tel Aviv Municipality hosted a live stream of the speech on a large screen in the city's central Habima Square and about 1,000 had gathered well before the speech. The decision to show the speech at the square came before the Knesset address was finalized when officials of the Ukrainian Embassy in Israel asked the city to organize an event that would reach the broader Israeli public. The two events were eventually folded into one.

Israel's parliament is one of many across the world that Zelenskyy has addressed. Last week, he spoke virtually to members of the US Congress, again urging US lawmakers to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, invoking the horrors of Pearl Harbor and 9/11.

Since the beginning of the war on Feb. 24, over three million refugees have fled the besieged country in what has been described as Europe's largest ground war since World War II.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, whose late father was a Holocaust survivor, thanked Zelenskyy for the speech. "We will continue to assist the Ukrainian people as much as we can and we will never turn our backs to the plight of people who know the horrors of war," Lapid said. But Yad Vashem, Israel's national Holocaust memorial, which had previously condemned Putin's Nazi references, also harshly criticized Zelenskyy, without naming him.

"Propagandist discourse accompanying the current hostilities is saturated with irresponsible statements and completely inaccurate comparisons with Nazi ideology and actions before and during the Holocaust," it said. "Yad Vashem condemns this trivialization and distortion of the historical facts of the Holocaust."

The Israeli public has been largely supportive of Ukraine since Russia invaded its western neighbor on Feb. 24. But Israel's government has been much more cautious as it carves out a role as a mediator in the war, in part because of Russia's strong military presence in Syria in support of the Bashar Assad regime. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett paid a surprise visit to Moscow to meet with Putin on March 5. Since then, he has spoken to the Russian leader at least twice and to Zelenskyy at least six times, according to his office.

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Ex-Lebanese Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi told Lebanon's MTV in recent days that the Iranian-backed Hezbollah is like the Vichy regime of France during World War II, and that Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah should stand trial for betraying Lebanon, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

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"I won't be tagged [as an enemy] by an Iranian agent. I don't need an integrity certificate from him. He needs to stand trial for his crimes against Lebanon," said Rifi, in an interview recorded and translated by MEMRI.

"We need people who are 100% Lebanese, and not agents of Iran. Who receive weapons from Iran, training from Iran, and who work for the Iranian project," he said.

"These are historical delusions that the Iranian regime lives in. It wants to restore the great Persian empire. This is a historical illusion that ended 1,400 years ago and will not ever return," he added.

"Take for example France during the Second Lebanon War. There were people who cooperated with the Nazi regime with the excuse that they were being realists. And there were other people, free people with principles, who refused to cooperate with the Nazi occupation. They extended a hand to the Allies and freed their country. I want to go in this process, more or less," said the former minister.

"We as Lebanese cannot do this by ourselves, but we cannot in any way give legitimacy to Hezbollah and its illegal weapons. Until the right moment comes from a regional and global perspective in which we can liberate the homeland as France did in the Second World War.

"I want to remind all Lebanese that those who collaborated with the Nazi occupation, the Vichy Regime of General Petain, they were all tried for betraying the homeland and here too the same will happen," he said.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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