Greek civil servants have stopped work in a 24-hour strike that is disrupting public transport
Greece’s civil servants have walked off the job on a 24-hour strike that disrupted public transport and left ferries tied up in ports
2023-09-21 18:27
Redistricting fights in these 10 states could determine which party controls the US House
Around the country, politicians are waging high-stakes battles over new congressional lines that could influence which party controls the US House of Representatives after the 2024 election.
2023-10-22 23:18
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
Japan's automakers unveil EVs galore at Tokyo show to catch up with Tesla, other electric rivals
Toyota, Honda, Nissan and other Japanese automakers are serious about rolling out battery electric vehicles to catch up with the world's frontrunners like Tesla and BYD
2023-10-25 11:56
McCarthy warns House GOP now is not time to force vote impeaching Biden: 'What majority do we want to be?'
Speaker Kevin McCarthy urged House Republicans to vote against the resolution brought forward by GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado forcing a vote to impeach President Joe Biden this week, arguing now is not the right time, multiple sources in the closed door meeting told CNN.
2023-06-21 22:52
'Made exact replica': 'Home Town Takeover' stars Erin and Ben Napier reveal their favorite Fort Morgan project
The new season of HGTV's 'Home Town Takeover' will see Erin and Ben Napier helping to complete 18 renovation projects, including homes and public spaces
2023-05-10 09:55
Final Stretch of Central-Bank Hiking Will Be Toughest, BIS Says
The unprecedented cycle of global interest-rate increases is entering its most challenging stretch as inflation threatens to become
2023-06-25 17:24
Microsoft CEO says unfair practices by Google led to its dominance as a search engine
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says unfair tactics used by Google led to its dominance as a search engine, tactics that in turn have thwarted his company’s rival program, Bing
2023-10-03 04:16
Madison Beer celebrates ‘Silence Between Songs’ album with stylish vinyl ahead of release and fans ‘couldn’t be prouder’
Madison Beer's second album, 'Silence Between Songs', is scheduled to release on September 15 and will have a total of 14 tracks
2023-09-13 15:55
Blinken warns rival Sudanese generals to respect latest truce or face possible sanctions
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned Sudan’s rival generals to abide by the latest cease-fire or face possible sanctions
2023-05-24 04:56
Trump decries gag order in federal 2020 election subversion case
Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday decried the gag order issued on him by the federal judge overseeing his federal 2020 election subversion case, claiming she "took away my right to speak."
2023-10-17 22:57
Ecuador president dissolves legislature, bringing elections forward
By Alexandra Valencia QUITO (Reuters) -Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the National Assembly in a decree on Wednesday, bringing forward
2023-05-17 20:23
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