Gertruda's Oath

Gertruda's Oath
Author: Ram Oren
Publisher: Doubleday Religion
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2010-08-03
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0385527195

Trapped in the horrors of World War II, a woman and a child embark on a journey of survival in this page-turning true story that recalls the power and the poignancy of Schindler’s List. Michael Stolowitzky, the only son of a wealthy Jewish family in Poland, was just three years old when war broke out and the family lost everything. His father, desperate to settle his business affairs, travels to France, leaving Michael in the care of his mother and Gertruda Bablinska, a Catholic nanny devoted to the family. When Michael's mother has a stroke, Gertruda promises the dying woman that she will make her way to Palestine and raise him as her own son. Written with the invaluable assistance of Michael, now seventy-two and living in New York City, GERTRUDA’S OATH re-creates Michael and Gertruda’s amazing journey. Gripping vignettes bring to life the people who helped ensure their survival, including SS officer Karl Rink, who made it his mission to save Jews after his own Jewish wife was murdered; Rink’s daughter, Helga, who escaped to a kibbutz, where she lived until her recent death; and the Jewish physician Dr. Berman, who aided Michael and Gertruda through the worst of times. GERTRUDA’S OATH is a story of extraordinary courage and moral strength in the face of horrific events. Like Schindler’s List, it transcends history and religion to reveal the compassion and hope that miraculously thrives in a world immersed in war without end.

Friendship, Love, and Brotherhood in Medieval Northern Europe, c. 1000-1200

Friendship, Love, and Brotherhood in Medieval Northern Europe, c. 1000-1200
Author: Lars Hermanson
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2019-05-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 9004401210

In this book, Lars Hermanson discusses how religious beliefs and norms steered attitudes to friendship and love, and how these ways of thinking affected social identity and political behaviour. With examples taken from eleventh- and twelfth-century northern Europe, the author investigates why friendship was praised both by brotherhoods of aristocratic warriors and by brethren within monastery walls. Social and political functions rested on personal connections rather than a strong central state in the High Middle Ages. This meant that friendship was an important pragmatic instrument for establishing social order and achieving success in the game of politics.

Premodern Beliefs and Witch Trials in a Swedish Province, 1669-1672

Premodern Beliefs and Witch Trials in a Swedish Province, 1669-1672
Author: Göran Malmstedt
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2022-07-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 9783030761226

This book examines the worldview and perceptions of reality that formed the setting for the witch trials held in the Swedish province of Bohuslän in 1669-1672. The first part of the book explores the conduct of the trials and provides, among other things, an analysis of the defendants and of the various accusations from neighbours and the court. The following parts analyse the perceptions of reality found in the statements made in court by witnesses and the accused. The topics addressed include the relationship between dreams and reality, belief in shape-shifting, the power of words, emotions, and magically charged matters, as well as perceptions of God and the Devil. The beliefs that surfaced during the trials were part of a general mentality that characterised people’s perception of the world, both before and after the trials. As the records from the prolonged cross-examinations of the accused are unusually detailed, the defendant’s statements, together with accusations, testimonies, and the courts’ questions, provides a unique insight into premodern worldviews.

Woman Under Monasticism

Woman Under Monasticism
Author: Lina Eckenstein
Publisher:
Total Pages: 528
Release: 1896
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

Ch. 1 Introduction\Section 1: The Borderland Heathendom and Christianity\Section 2: The Tribal goddess as a Christian Saint\Section 3: Further Peculiarities of this Type of Saint\Ch. 2 Covents Among the Franks, A.D. 550-650\Section 1: At the Franish Invasion\Section 2: St. Radegund and the Nunnery at Poitiers\Section 3: The Revolt of the Nuns at Poitiers, Covent Life in the North\Ch. 3 Convents Among the Anglo-Saxon, A.D. 630-730\Section 1: Early Houses of Kent\Section 2: The Monastery at Whitby\Section 3: Ely and the Influence of Bishop Wilfrith\Section 4: Houses in Mercia and in the South\Ch. 4 Anglo-Saxon Nuns in Connection with Boniface\Section 1 : The Women Corresponding with Boniface\Section 2: Anglo-Saxon Nuns Abroad\Ch. 5 Convents in Saxon Lands Between A.D. 800-1000\Section 1: Women's Convents in Saxony\Section 2: Early History of Gandersheim\Section 3: The Nun Hrotsvith and her Writings.\Ch. 6 The Monastic Revival of the Middle Ages\Section 1: The New Monastic Orders\Section 2: Benedictine Convents in the Twelfth Century\Section 3: The Order of St. Gilbert of Sempringham\Ch. 7 Art Industries in the Nunery\Section 1: Art industires Generaly\Section 2: Herrad and the Garden of Delights\Ch. 8 Prophecy and Philanthropy\Section 1. St. Hildegard of Bingen and St. Elisabeth of Schonau\Section 2: Charity and Philanthropy\Ch. 9 Early Mystic Literature\Section 1: Mystic Writings for Women in England\Section 2: The convent of Helfta and its Literay Nuns.\Ch. 10 Some Aspects of the Convent in England During the Later Middle Ages\Section 1: The External Relations of the Convent\Section 2: The Internal Arrangements of the Convent\Section 3: the Foundation and Internal Arrangements of Sion\Ch. 11 Monastic Reform Previous to the Reformation\Section 1: Visitations of Nunneries in England\Section 2: Reforms in Germany\Ch. 12 The dissolution\Section 1: The Dissolution in England\Section 2: The Memoir of Charitas Pirckheimer\Conclusion.

Sylvia Rafael

Sylvia Rafael
Author: Ram Oren
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2014-09-23
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0813146976

"There is a lack of quiet in Sylvia that craves for action.... She knows that she is special and that she possesses unusual and varied abilities." -- From the Mossad's psychological evaluation of Sylvia Rafael When Moti Kfir, head of the Academy for Special Operations of the Mossad, first interviewed Sylvia Rafael in a coffee shop, he knew she would make a great combatant for Israel's intelligence agency. She was outgoing, resourceful, brilliant, and had a talent for bonding with others. When Kfir warned her that the mysterious job they'd met to discuss could be dangerous, she simply sat back comfortably in her chair and smiled. Sylvia Rafael is the page-turning account of a young, dedicated agent as told by the man who trained her. Drawing on extensive research and interviews, authors Ram Oren and Moti Kfir tell the story of Rafael's rise to prominence within the Mossad and her intelligence work trying to locate Ali Hassan Salameh -- the leader of Palestine's Black September organization and the mastermind behind the murder of eleven Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. Her team's misidentification of their mark would eventually lead to her arrest and imprisonment for murder and espionage. Now available in English for the first time, Sylvia Rafael offers new insight into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, its history, and its human cost. It is a gripping, authentic spy story about a fearless defender of the Jewish people.

Ludwig Prandtl

Ludwig Prandtl
Author: Michael Eckert
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2019-02-25
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3030056635

This is a comprehensive biography of Ludwig Prandtl (1875-1953), the father of modern aerodynamics. His name is associated most famously with the boundary layer concept, but also with several other topics in 20th century fluid mechanics, particularly turbulence (Prandtl's mixing length). Among his disciples are pioneers of modern fluid mechanics such as Heinrich Blasius, Theodore von Kármán and Walter Tollmien. Furthermore, Prandtl founded the Aerodynamische Versuchsanstalt (AVA) and the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut für Strömungsforschung in Göttingen, both of them seeds for the growth of fluid mechanics in Germany. Yet Prandtl was also a representative of aeronautical research - from Imperial Germany via the Weimar Republic to the "Third Reich". Although not a party member, he assumed the role of a goodwill ambassador for Nazi Germany. This objective treatment of his career will be of interest to all scientists and historians wanting to learn more about Prandtl's influence and the early development of fluid- and aerodynamics.

Forest Ecosystems

Forest Ecosystems
Author: David A. Perry
Publisher: JHU Press
Total Pages: 631
Release: 2008-07-24
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0801888409

2009 Outstanding Academic Title, Choice This acclaimed textbook is the most comprehensive available in the field of forest ecology. Designed for advanced students of forest science, ecology, and environmental studies, it is also an essential reference for forest ecologists, foresters, and land managers. The authors provide an inclusive survey of boreal, temperate, and tropical forests with an emphasis on ecological concepts across scales that range from global to landscape to microscopic. Situating forests in the context of larger landscapes, they reveal the complex patterns and processes observed in tree-dominated habitats. The updated and expanded second edition covers • Conservation • Ecosystem services • Climate change • Vegetation classification • Disturbance • Species interactions • Self-thinning • Genetics • Soil influences • Productivity • Biogeochemical cycling • Mineralization • Effects of herbivory • Ecosystem stability

Schadenfreude, A Love Story

Schadenfreude, A Love Story
Author: Rebecca Schuman
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
Total Pages: 244
Release: 2017-02-07
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1250077664

“A wild and wonderful ride” from a comic memoirist “who writes brilliantly about Germany and Germans . . . and being young and insane. . . . just read it, ok?” (Dave Barry, Pulitzer Prize–winning, New York Times–bestselling author of Best. State. Ever). You know that feeling you get watching the elevator doors slam shut just before your toxic coworker can step in? There’s a word for this mix of malice and joy, and the Germans invented it. It’s Schadenfreude, deriving pleasure from others’ misfortune. Misfortune happens to be a specialty of Rebecca Schuman—and this is great news for the Germans. For Rebecca adores the Vaterland with a single-minded passion. Let’s just say the affection isn’t mutual. Schadenfreude is the story of a teenage Jewish intellectual who falls in love—with a boy (who breaks her heart), a language (that’s nearly impossible to master), a culture (that’s nihilistic, but punctual), and a landscape (that’s breathtaking when there’s not a wall in the way). Rebecca is a misunderstood 90’s teenager with a passion for Pearl Jam and Ethan Hawke circa Reality Bites, until two men walk into her high school Civics class: Dylan Gellner, with deep brown eyes and an even deeper soul, and Franz Kafka, hitching a ride in Dylan’s backpack. These two men are the axe to the frozen sea that is Rebecca’s spirit, and what flows forth is a passion for all things German. At once a snapshot of a young woman finding herself, and a country starting to stitch itself back together after nearly a century of war, Schadenfreude, A Love Story is a hilarious and heartfelt memoir proving that sometimes the truest loves play hard to get. “Spit-out-your-schnitzel funny.” —Pamela Druckerman, New York Times–bestselling author of Bringing Up Bébé

Crossing the River

Crossing the River
Author: Shalom Eilati
Publisher: University of Alabama Press
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2008
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0817316310

Shalom Eilati was born in 1933 in Kovno, Lithuania. He immigrated to Palestine in 1946.