DeSantis Hits the Campaign Trail in Iowa as Alternative to Trump
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sought to court Iowa voters as the best alternative to Donald Trump, continuing the
2023-06-01 07:52
US to send up to $400 million in military aid to Ukraine, officials say
U.S. officials say the Biden administration is sending up to $400 million in additional military aid to Ukraine, including a variety of munitions for advanced air defense systems and a number of small, surveillance Hornet drones
2023-07-25 06:16
Cyclist in her 70s dies after collision with car
The crash involving a car and a bicycle happened on Cootehill Road in County Monaghan on Saturday.
2023-10-22 03:54
Meloni Muscles in on KKR’s Telecom Italia Deal, Taking 20% Stake
The Italian government agreed with US private equity firm KKR & Co. to take a stake in Telecom
2023-08-11 17:28
Who is Dr Mod Helmy? The WWII hero in today's Google Doodle
Today’s Google Doodle is a reminder that some human beings are truly extraordinary. The design, which you’ll see if you head to the search engine’s homepage, is a celebration of Dr Mohamed “Mod” Helmy – a man who risked his life to save Jewish people during the Second World War. Dr Helmy was born in Khartoum, Sudan, on 25 July, 1901, to an Egyptian father and a German mother. At the age of 21, he moved to Germany to study medicine, swiftly proving his skills as a talented physician and becoming head of urology at Berlin’s Robert Koch Hospital (now known as Krankenhaus Moabit). Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter However, Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in 1933 was to turn his happy life upside down. Dr Helmy was forced to watch, powerless, as his Jewish colleagues were all fired from the hospital. And whilst he was initially kept on, he was soon subjected to discrimination and persecution for being a North African, and lost his job, too. He was also banned from marrying his German fiancée Annie Ernst (although, we’re pleased to say, he was able to do so some years later). In 1939 and again in 1940, the doctor was arrested along with other Egyptian nationals. And although the Nazis released him when he became gravely ill, he was under strict instruction to report to the police twice a day as proof he was unfit for internment. Despite being targeted by the regime himself, Dr Helmy continued to speak out against Nazi policies and, after being demoted to the role of doctor’s assistant, he made the most of his limited position by writing sick notes to help innocent people escape hard labour. He also repeatedly risked his life to help his Jewish friends. When Berlin’s deportation of the Jews began and his family friend Anna Boros was in need of a hiding place, Dr Helmy brought her to a cabin he owned in the neighbourhood of Buch. This became her safe haven until the end of the war, as Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Center, notes in its biography of the doctor. At times of danger, when he was under police investigation, Dr Helmy would arrange for Boros to hide elsewhere. “A good friend of our family, Dr Helmy…hid me in his cabin in Berlin-Buch from 10 March until the end of the war,” she wrote after the war. “As of 1942 I no longer had any contact [with] the outside world. The Gestapo knew that Dr Helmy was our family physician, and they knew that he owned a cabin in Berlin-Buch. “He managed to evade all their interrogations. In such cases he would bring me to friends where I would stay for several days, introducing me as his cousin from Dresden. When the danger would pass, I would return to his cabin. “Dr Helmy did everything for me out of the generosity of his heart and I will be grateful to him for eternity”. Dr Helmy also helped protect Boros’ mother, Julianna, her stepfather, Georg Wehr, and her grandmother, Cecilie Rudnik. Thanks to his courage and resourcefulness, all four of them survived the Holocaust. He remained in Berlin until his death in 1982. In 2013, Yad Vashem posthumously bestowed its Righteous Among the Nations award on Dr Helmy. He was the first Arab rescuer to be awarded the prestigious title. The Google Doodle artwork was created by Berlin-based artist Noa Snir to honour his Egyptian and German background and capture his open-hearted nature. Speaking about her work on the project, Snir told a Google Q&A: ": I found the story of Mod Helmy very moving. I come from a Jewish background, and the thought of individuals outside of the Jewish community risking their lives to help others during WW2 is something that personally gives me hope about humanity. "I think Helmy's case is an especially interesting one as he himself suffered persecution due to his background and ethnicity, and that still didn't stop him from helping as many people as he could. It's unfathomable to me, this type of courage and integrity." She added that she hoped people would view her Doodle and reflect on the fact that "even in one of the darkest moments in world history, there were truly remarkable people who made acts of extreme courage and solidarity". "I think we should all aspire to be the Mod Helmy's of the world, or ask ourselves how we can take example from him in whatever small way we can," she said. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-07-25 16:24
IShowSpeed expresses support for 'Free Palestine' movement amid Israel-Hamas conflict in viral video, Internet says 'we made the right man famous'
In a brief six-second clip, IShowSpeed can be observed chanting 'Free Palestine'
2023-10-20 21:20
Biden declares emergency over lead in water in US Virgin Islands
President Joe Biden declared an emergency over lead-in-water contamination in the U.S. Virgin Islands earlier this week after tests on St. Croix revealed levels more than 100 times the limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency – among the worst results a U.S. community has seen in decades
2023-11-22 22:25
Israel Latest: Military Goes Into Hamas’s Gaza Stronghold
Israel said its troops have entered the middle of Gaza’s main city, as they continue their operation to
2023-11-08 14:57
Migrant surge in US sparks anguish in Democratic cities
Hundreds of migrants congregate by the huge wall marking the US-Mexico border in southern California, a tiny glimpse of the crisis unfolding in American cities as new...
2023-10-14 10:57
Anchorage adds to record homeless death total as major winter storm drops more than 2 feet of snow
Four homeless people have died in the last week on the streets of Anchorage as a major winter storm dropped more than 2 feet on snow on Alaska’s largest city
2023-11-11 07:28
Banc of California and PacWest to merge, raise $400 million in equity
By Niket Nishant and Nupur Anand (Reuters) -Banc of California and PacWest Bancorp will merge in an all-stock deal to
2023-07-26 04:53
Smuggler sentenced to 12 years in deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants who suffocated in truck
A Romanian man who was part of an international human smuggling ring has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants who suffocated in a truck trailer in 2019
2023-07-12 01:50
You Might Like...
Seager stars with 2-run HR, stellar defense to lead Rangers over D-backs 3-1 in World Series Game 3
Garnacho scores acrobatic wonder goal for Man United to revive memories of famous Rooney strike
Unedited 'glitch in the Matrix' wedding dress photo horrifies Instagram
Authorities capture 1 inmate who escaped Ohio prison, but convicted murderer still on the lam
Andrew Tate invites fans to 'download Rumble' and subscribe to TateSpeech on Twitter
Japan asks court to dissolve 'Moonies' church over Shinzo Abe killing
Internet in splits as 'Family Guy' takes a dig at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle over their multi-million dollar Netflix deal
UAW chief to say whether auto strikes will grow from the 34,000 workers now on picket lines