5th anniversary of the murder of Lebanese political activist Lokman Slim
He was considered fearless. With words and cultural activism, he fought against sectarian violence, for a democratic and secular Lebanon. This made him powerful enemies in his homeland. On February 3, 2021, Lokman Slim was murdered. More here.
125th birthday of biophysicist Mária Telkes
Born on December 12, 1900, in Budapest, Mária Telkes became famous in the USA as the “Sun Queen.” During World War II, she developed a portable solar distiller and in 1948, she designed one of the first solar-heated houses. More here.
Blues musician Abi Wallenstein turns 80.
Abi Wallenstein was born on December 8, 1945, in Jerusalem, the son of German Jews who had emigrated during the Nazi era. He has lived in Germany since 1960, when his parents returned there. He has been considered one of Europe’s blues greats for almost as long. More here.
The opera composer and singer Carol Sams just turned 80.
Carol Sams wrote nearly 40 operas for adults and children. She was the first woman in the US to receive a doctorate in composition. On November 25, she celebrated her 80th birthday. Listen to our podcast here.
November 25: Third anniversary of my friend Gitti Czirr’s death
Gitti was also a journalist, a “gem of children’s radio.”
I miss her.
Those who speak German can listen to some of Gitti’s stories on my website. Or in English more here.
The German Ernst Friedrich and his fight for peace
On October 1, 1925, the pacifist Ernst Friedrich opened the world’s first anti-war museum in Berlin. In 1992, his grandson was able to reopen the museum, which had been destroyed by the Nazis. More here.
On the death of the German-South African journalist, writer and human rights activist
Born in 1924 to Orthodox Jewish parents in Fürth near Nuremberg, Ruth Weiss had to flee from the Nazis to South Africa as a young girl. There she experienced the apartheid regime. This made her a lifelong fighter for human rights. More here.
German Green Party co-founder Eva Quistorp turns 80.
In 1979, she co-founded the German Green Party. In the 1980s, she organized the large peace marches in the then capital, Bonn. She also fights for women’s rights. Today, Eva Quistorp turns 80. More here.
On the 100th birthday of the human rights activist Malcolm X
Malcolm X was one of the most prominent figures of the US Black rights movement. He preached separatism and resistance against whites. It was only shortly before his death in 1965 that he adopted a more conciliatory tone. What traces did Malcolm X’s ideas leave behind? More here.
Navajo activist and artist receives environmental award.
Indigenous activist Klee Benally is being honored with the Nuclear-Free Future Award for his work against uranium mining in his native Arizona. Posthumously, because Benally joined his ancestors on December 30, 2023. He was 48 years old. More here.