Sunday, March 30, 2008

People, Jewish people and non-Jewish people

From: groundviews dot org
2007/12/17/
A political commentator who witnessed this new phenomenon on its first day of implementation has noted thus; “Yesterday I saw people on the streets. Today I see Jewish people and non-Jewish people.” This new arrangement caused so much of pain to Jews that most of them curtailing their outings consigned themselves to be indoors, a virtual voluntary house arrest. If it were necessary go out they carried something like a book so that they could hide the badge being shown, by way of holding the book over the badge. If caught not wearing the badge due to sheer reluctance in some cases or mere forgetting with many elders, one earned the wrath of the authorities resulting in being thrown into prison with no clemency. Therefore, the trauma instilled in the mind of the affected was such that people resorted to a habit of getting a hand written notice displayed on the interior side of their house doors as a precaution against probable absentmindedness. “Is the badge OK?” “Don’t forget the badge” “Where is your badge?’ are the common reminders.

The Deputy

From Wikipedia entry: The Deputy

The Deputy, a Christian tragedy (German: Der Stellvertreter. Ein christliches Trauerspiel), also known as The Representative, is a controversial 1963 drama by Rolf Hochhuth which indicts Pope Pius XII for his failure to take action or speak out against The Holocaust. It has been translated into more than twenty languages.

[In Act III, Father Riccardo Fontana, the priest protagonist] “first voices his idea to follow the example of Bernhard Lichtenberg and to follow the Jews to the death camps in the East, and possibly to share in their fate”. [In Act V] “he dons the yellow star and joins deportees to die at Auschwitz, where the rest of the act takes place”.

Bernhard Lichtenberg was a German Catholic priest who protested against the Nazis attitude towards Jews, and was considered by them as incorrigible - that’s why they sent him to the Dachau concentration camp.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

German Postage Stamp

German  Christmas six-pointed star Postage Stamp

Christmas six-pointed star appears on a Germany-Berlin postage stamp issued in 1983. Courtesy of Ronik from Israeli Collect Forum

Stella Octangula Music Band

There's a band called Stella Octangula which uses on it's website many interesting three-dimensional Star of David images. They started playing in late 2006 and named  their band after Kepler's famous Stella Octangula, eight pointed 3D star.

Impossible Star of David-2

Impossible Hexagram

Photo is courtesy of Dan Feldman who wrote to me that the impossible triangle and the impossible Star of David interested his son Ariel of Blessed Memory.

He built a 3 dimensional model which could be seen from a certain angle as an impossible Star of David, made from two impossible triangles cut in the middle of the flanks. In addition, you can see the Star of David shape in the center of the structure.

Copyright: Dan Feldman © 2008

Friday, March 28, 2008

Star Of David Made From Six Impossible Triangles

Star Of David Made From Six Impossible Triangles

Photo shows a sketch of an impossible Star of David. It is courtesy of Dan Feldman who wrote to me that the impossible triangle and the impossible Star of David interested his son Ariel of Blessed Memory.

After his passing we found, among other things that he scribbled in his notebook, this Star of David made from six impossible triangles

Copyright: Dan Feldman © 2008.

Plastic Cube

Plastic Cube Star of David

Photo of Plastic Cube with Star of David is courtesy of Dan Feldman who wrote to me that it was a present they gave to their son Ariel of Blessed Memory for his 21st birthday, which occurred a week before his passing. In the cube there are triangles and pyramids, which create big and small Stars of David. The quality of the photo is low, but enough to illustrate the object.