30 FEATURE
13 MAY 2021
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From the front line…
An end of restrictions is in sight. Proceed with caution!
BY JACQUELINE CURZON Sophie Scholl is a name little known, but she is in fact an iconic figure in her native country of Germany, with an extraordinary story. This weekend would be the 100th birthday of this young lady who stood up to Adolf Hitler and ultimately paid for it with her life. Sophie was born in 1921 in the town of Forchtenberg, where her father was mayor. By the time she reached her teens, Hitler was running the country and, like many non-Jewish youths, Sophie and her older brother Hans joined the Hitler Youth movement and the League of German Girls, but they quickly grew disillusioned with fascism and the burgeoning antisemitism around them. Hans and Sophie moved to Munich to study at university and whilst there formed a small group of anti Nazi protesters. Their group of six were known as the "White Rose resistance," advocating non violent opposition. She was ultimately betrayed to the Gestapo and both she and Hans were interrogated and sentenced to death by guillotine. Despite being tortured, they refused to betray the rest of the group, but the authorities swiftly tracked them down and they were all executed. To commemorate the centenary of her birth a special German coin is being minted, which is a lovely way to remember such a special young woman. An obituary of note this week was that of Yitzhak Arad (94), former chairman of Yad Vashem, the Jewish Holocaust Museum. Born in Święciany, 50 miles north of Vilnius, he and his family lived happily until the German occupation. In 1941 the 15 year old Yitchak Rudnicki managed to escape and flee to Belarus. Of a population of 3,000, most Jews were executed and the remaining 250 were forced to work as skilled tradesmen for the Germans. Arad and 10 friends decided to return some months later, but were captured. They were lucky not to be executed, and instead were tasked to clean confiscated Soviet weapons for the Nazis. In a massive act of bravery, he managed to smuggle some of these weapons out, which later came in useful when they met up - and fought with - Soviet partisans, known as the Markov Brigade. Ultimately 200,000 Lithuanians were murdered, mainly by collaborators. After the war he moved to Israel, where he changed his name to Arad, and after military service, he accepted the post of Director at Yad Vashem which he ran for 21 years. He was a highly academic individual, taking a BA in History, MA in Holocaust Studies, and laterally a PhD on the destruction of the Vilnius Jews. After retiring from Yad Vashem he taught Jewish history at Tel Aviv University and published extensively. We say Shalom, and thank you to an amazing man. This week's data for covid deaths
Jacqueline Curzon PHOTO: LARA MINSKY PHOTOGRAPHY
recorded figures in single digits, including zero deaths on Monday. Social distancing rules are now being replaced with guidance, restaurants and pubs will now serve food and drinks inside, overnight stays in hotels and B&Bs are back on the menu, and face masks are no longer compulsory in schools. Museums and cinemas will be reopening, and if you’re lucky, so might your doctor's surgery. To the return of these common sense steps, I can only say, Hallelujah. It is still unclear if any rules or guidance will differ between the vaccinated and the non vaccinated. Anyhow, you now have permission to hug your friends and relatives, although you are cautioned not to get carried away…. I can put money on Ms Sturgeon rejecting even a token Boris bump, far less acquiescing to a Hadrian hug. To those of us who have recently ignored the ban on the most minor of physical contact without misadventure, we say ‘about time, Mr J.’ Handshakes will now be timetabled for next January, with gender specific hand-holding at simchas, by 2023. On a more serious note, a new enemy has emerged: mucormycosis. Ring any bells? Me neither, but pay attention because this is a seriously bad bit of news. (Skip the next few sentences if you are very squeamish.) It is a black fungus commonly found in soil and rotting vegetables. It can infect the sinuses, lungs and brain in immunocompromised individuals and is appearing in recovering covid patients in India. With 300,000 daily covid cases emerging, things are therefore looking very bleak. Before coronavirus the fungus was rarely seen, but hospitals in India are now seeing multiple cases each day. It has a mortality rate of 50% according to the CDC, and in the worst cases doctors have needed to remove eyes, the nose and parts of the jaw bone to save the patient's life. Dr Prashant Rahate, in Nagpur, says the Mucor ‘is playing absolute havoc.’ In Gujarat every hospital will have a dedicated mucormycosis ward. Medication to treat it {intravenous antifungal injections} is
generally unaffordable for most Indians, at a cost of £33 per day. Maybe the UK could send some antifungal IVs and try and prevent further misery? In Nepal, climbers on Everest are being asked to bring empty oxygen cylinders back down, as the country’s healthcare system approaches collapse with a surge in covid cases. Given the season must be over by now, there should be no need for climbers to take them UP. Someone is always in charge, be it in business, education or politics, but not all those in charge are leaders. Sir Keir Starmer, rather more parve than fleishig in the kaleidoscope of politics, is unfortunately proving such an anomaly:- Captain of a struggling ship which has set a course for collision. His reluctance to prescribe meaningful change since he took over in opposition, has rankled with supporters, who have voted with their feet. For a former DPP without natural political acumen to put forward a pro-Remain candidate in Hartlepool was surely a suicidal mission in a town with one of the highest Leave electorates. Misjudgments and his general lack of concrete policy and political gravitas has resulted in the loss of 300 Labour council seats. Angela Rayner has now been promoted to Deputy Leader [also Shadow first Secretary of State, Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Shadow Secretary of State for the future of work]. Despite this catalogue of portfolios, she has been replaced as Party Chairman by Anneliese Dodds. Now, they do say ‘if you want a job done, ask a busy woman,’ so Ms Dodds and Raynor may find themselves being promoted even higher, if Starmer doesn’t get his act together. E-scooters are becoming all the rage. Who hasn’t had to swerve to avoid a collision from the silent pavement predator? This week a 3 year old child was seriously injured after a pavement ‘hit and run’ from a scooter. He was struck from behind, the rider fell off but quickly remounted and rode off without stopping. To clarify the position on e-scooters, they are legal to buy in the UK, but illegal to be ridden on pavements or roads, and may only be ridden on private land. Those joyfully and selfishly meandering along roads and pavements do take note of this, and also of the £300 fine which you might receive, plus points on your driving license if you are a driver. Let’s wish the little lad a full recovery. In another unbelievable incident, James Gibbons (34) was stabbed by a youth of 16. The self employed plumber had gone to the aid of another man, and then died in an altercation. Mr Gibbons' family said ‘he had spent the day celebrating the second birthday of his twin daughters.‘ How sad that so often the Good Samaritan loses their life, defending others. A posthumous award would surely be appropriate in such cases.
I am sad to mention the passing of my good friend Nan, from Glasgow, whom my mother had known since school (1940s), and who later was her bridesmaid. Over the lifetime they had known each other Nan had proved an enigmatic and outgoing lady, talented in the dramatic arts and dance, and who was still active in her 80s. Whilst many might boast of having a long life, few can claim to have had such a full and happy life. She was simply put, a whirlwind of activity and positivity. The last time I visited her, some months back, she spontaneously broke into a song and dance routine she had choreographed some years back. Like so many people today, her book of life was summarily snapped closed by an advancing cancer. Whilst looking through their 1947 yearbook, I came across a poem which she had written, aged 15. The poem is called: “Ssh! Don’t Tell!” There was a young lady called Ellen, who enter’d a contest at spellin’, when once she got stuck, she had awful luck, for one of the rules was ‘no telling’. I will struggle to move these little mementos on as they feel too personal to just drop into recycling, but I might offer them to her extended family. And, of course, I still have jotters and notebooks of my own. !! Poignantly, I wonder if any of my own family will keep these or the souvenir journals I compiled of my travels across Europe and Africa. My Russian trip is still provisionally on the cards, and all being equal, I fully intend to document my {likely hilarious} exploits and experiences of that journey also. And sadly, I end with a story of a baby minke whale which got lost and ended up 100 miles out of its usual habitat. As our smallest whales in UK waters, minkes can grow to 10 metres, and are common in the North Sea, so it is unclear how it then ended up in the Thames, near Richmond Lock, stuck on boat rollers. Teams from RNLI and British Divers Marine Life Rescue did their utmost to save the whale, but it managed to wriggle free and swam off, ending up in Teddington Lock. It was then obvious that it was seriously injured from being stranded amongst vines and weeds, and pushed up against the brick wall of the river. After assessment from experts and a vet at London Zoo, the decision was made to put the whale down. Dan Jarvis, field support officer at BDMLR, said that whales usually come ashore for good reason; other than very occasionally getting lost, they would normally be ill or injured. An autopsy is planned to find out more, especially to ascertain if any environmental factors came into play. Love Jacqueline x
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