Category: Random

A few weeks ago when my family went to Emily’s house for a family! Fun! Night! we were playing a hot game of Trivial Pursuit (from the 90s, y’all.) and I kept making jokes about how I hoped I’d get questions about World War 2 or the Holocaust because I am a little obsessed with both of those things. Ok, obsessed is not the right word. Much more interested than the average person is a more apt description.

I read, a lot. I read every night before I go to sleep. And usually I’ll read five or six historical non-fiction books in a row and then I’ll read two or three fiction books. For the past couple years, almost all of the non-fiction books have been about the events that took place during World War 2.

So. Last week I read a book called Darkness Over Denmark, about the Nazi occupation of Denmark, the Danish resistance, and the rescue of the Danish Jews. It was a really fascinating story. The Danes overall had it much better than other countries the Nazis rolled over in their quest for world domination.

Let me break it down for you: The Nazis regarded the Danes as fellow Aryans and decided to play nice. Even though they busted in and occupied the country, they let the Danish government stay in place. They didn’t mess with the Danish Jews, either. It worked for awhile, but after a couple years of increasingly tough German restrictions, the Danish government resigned, refusing to collaborate any longer. And then, basically, all bets were off. The Danish Resistance, which had been somewhat active before this, got really busy blowing up German factories and rail road lines, etc. The Germans were pretty pissed, and by the fall of 1943, they decided to go after the Danish Jews after all.

There was a German man, a Nazi party member, working in Denmark as the shipping agent for Germany. His name was Georg Duckwitz. Having lived and worked in Denmark for a few years, he really liked the Danish people and had a lot of very friendly relationships with Danish political figures. When he was informed of the Nazi plan to round up and deport Denmark’s 8,000 Jews, he knew he had to take action. First, he traveled to Berlin to try and dissuade Nazi leaders from going through with it. When that failed, he traveled to Sweden and met with the Swedish prime minister to ask him to take in all Denmark’s Jews. The Swedes agreed. Duckwitz could have been arrested and much worse by his own party for his actions, but he pressed on. He returned to Denmark and told his friends in the Danish political arena the date and time that the Nazi round-up would begin. They in turn told the Jewish leaders, who alerted their community that they had 2 days to go into hiding or be captured. The Jewish community got themselves together and got outta dodge, and they were heavily aided by their non-Jewish neighbors.

Through the courageous actions of Georg Duckwitz (who never was found out by the Nazis) and hundreds of non-Jewish Danish citizens, 95% of Denmark’s Jews escaped, most to Sweden, ferried secretly at night in fishing boats.  It is truly an amazing story. The round-up of the Danish Jews was a huge, embarrassing failure for the Nazis, and over 7,000 lives were saved. It is really the only Jewish population in Nazi-occupied Europe that was preserved. Amazing.

I had certainly never heard the name Georg Duckwitz before I read this book, and I also knew next to nothing about Denmark. But I was inspired by the story of this German man and his Danish neighbors who worked to save their friends and fellow Danes and I wanted to do my part to keep their story from obscurity.

I hope you enjoyed the history lesson. And I hope that you’ll remember it and think about good old Duckwitz now and then. His courage is certainly worth remembering.

A couple years ago, I wrote a post about a TV show I had seen called “16 & Pregnant.” I’ve been a regular viewer since then, and I’ve also faithfully watched the spin off, “Teen Mom.” Several weeks ago, I got a PR pitch that caught my eye – an opportunity to interview one of the teenage mothers, Chelsea Houska, whom I highlighted in my original post. The show gets very mixed reviews – some people think it shows teen pregnancy for the difficult thing it is, others think having a show about it glamorizes the subject. I was curious to hear the opinions of someone actually on the show, so I set up an interview with Chelsea.

The first thing I asked Chelsea was regarding that same subject – critics of the show. Her response echoed how I feel about it – she feels the show depicts teen parenting how it really is, and doesn’t make it look easy or glamorous at all. Like Chelsea pointed out, those girls spend a lot of time crying. We’ve also seen how Chelsea struggled with balancing school and being a mom, and we’ve seen her grow up a lot. Chelsea’s situation is better than many girls on the show, in that she is very close to her parents and they are a wonderful support system for her. Even still, though, it’s tough and her life has changed dramatically since becoming a mom.

I was also curious about the impact the show has had on Chelsea’s daughter, Aubree, who is about to turn three. Chelsea says Aubree loves talking to people and likes the attention. It’s going to be weird, for sure, when Aubree gets older and sees the footage, though. Much like how when my kids get older, they are going to read this blog and think I am a complete nutcase. But I guess we’ll both cross that bridge when we come to it. I asked Chelsea how she would feel if Aubree wanted to be on a reality show one day, and she said she’d be supportive, although she would warn Aubree that there’s a lot of criticism that comes with it.

If she had the chance to do it all over again, Chelsea says she would definitely still have done the show and that overall it’s been a great experience. I guess I was a little surprised to hear that (although Chelsea’s story has not been a train wreck like certain other reality stars who may or may not have eight kids), but I was really glad to hear that it hasn’t been detrimental to her life. Because if it was, I’d feel like I had to stop watching, and that would be very sad.

Chelsea’s a smart girl with a wonderful family, and I’m sure she and Aubree will flourish in the future. I enjoyed talking with her, and it was great to get an inside view of Teen Mom.

What are your thoughts on shows like this? Do you watch them? Would you let your kids watch the show, if they were at an appropriate age? Do you think the shows warn against teen pregnancy or glamorize it?

P.S. In case you were wondering (and I certainly was), Chelsea reports that she and Adam aren’t together and haven’t been in a while. Hallelujah.

Each fall, I enjoy checking out The Mindset List from Beloit College – you know, the thing that makes you realize just how freaking old you are by telling you all the things college freshman consider ancient history? Yeah, that. So now that I think about it, “enjoy” may not be an appropriate word. Regardless, it is pretty interesting. And frightening.

Let’s start with this little fact – this year’s entering college freshman were born in 1994. Had MTV been less Pedro/Puck and more Farrah/Janelle at the time and I had been striving to be on 16 & Pregnant, I could theoretically be their mom.

Frankly, that’s enough for me. I don’t need to read the rest of the list.

But… let me throw a couple more things out there.

#4 – Michael Jackson’s family, not the Kennedys, constitutes “American Royalty.” Now, I am not old enough to remember the Kennedy dynasty (just the tragic deaths of the subsequent generations) but the Jacksons? For real?

#8 – Bill Clinton is a senior statesman of whose presidency they have little knowledge. Just imagine the comedy they’ve missed!

#20 – Exposed bra straps have always been a fashion statement, not a wardrobe malfunction to be corrected quietly by well-meaning friends. #20.5 – the term “wardrobe malfunction” is not new-fangled.

#25 – They have lived in an era of instant stardom and self-proclaimed celebrities, famous for being famous. See also: The Real World and Teen Mom references above.

#34 – Billy Graham is as familiar to them as Otto Graham was to their parents. Otto who?

#71 – Despite being preferred urban gathering places, two-thirds of the independent bookstores in the United States have closed for good during their lifetimes. Oh, my heart.

But, there are some good things, too.

#12 – For most of their lives, maintaining relations between the U.S. and the rest of the world has been a woman’s job in the State Department.

#23 – Women have always piloted war planes and space shuttles.

#24 – White House security has never felt it necessary to wear rubber gloves when gay groups have visited.

Maybe the last 18 years haven’t been in vain after all.

I wonder what the Beloit list will look like when Kate and Joshua enter college. That’ll be the 2026 List.

Surely – surely – we’ll have flying cars by then.