If you are looking for a book that keeps you anxious from start to finish, this is it. Mission to Paris is an action filled novel that tells the story of Fredric Stahl, a movie star turned spy. The novel was released in June 2012, and is now available everywhere.

Between the author’s knowledge of history, Paris, and spy criteria in a way that creates a complex story line that keeps the reader guessing throughout. The voice he uses allows for a very honest and straightforward tone that creates a true image of what it is like to be living alongside the characters throughout their missions. Since there is so much going on throughout the plot, the constant and reliable voice throughout is a must, and done wonderfully.

Alan Furst is widely known for his spy novels, which have been translated into well over a dozen languages. His followers do not have to wait any longer for this highly anticipated addition to his Night Soldiers novels. Furst has been continuously writing novels since the 1970’s, and has found an amazing way to depict spy novels.

Mission to Paris takes you through Paris in the late 1930’s, in a unique view that shows how chaotic the time was in Europe. The narration allows you to see multiple characters and their positions at all times, yet keeps the reader guessing until the end. The time period was a very hectic and overbearing time when Hitler and the Nazis were trying to take control. The story shows the history of Paris at this time, as well as the additional story Furst has placed in it of Stahl’s life as a spy and the influential and dangerous characters that he gets involved with.

The irony of the novel is the component of the film Fredric Stahl is staring in. The movie he is acting in is about the aftermath of war, while Paris is getting ready for war. All that can be said is the movie turns out to be a bit different than what Stahl signed for.

This is not a book to skim over in any way; you will want to take the time to read it thoroughly. As you are reading, you will not want to miss the great details that create a very intense spy plot. There is so much going on, and each line demands its own importance.

Furst’s book allows the reader to engage in romance, suspense, confusion, false identities, and adventure. Yet, Paris is ultimately what keeps all these aspects together as its own main character throughout. Even the subtle use of the French language throughout the novel allows the reader to feel as if they are truly there taking on the challenge. In addition to Furst’s great life exposure seeping through the novel, Furst knows how to use the historical context in a way that allows the reader to grasp the true intensity of the novel.

Image Courtesy of   Tulsa City-County Library

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Las Vegas, U.S.A – For the 3rd annual World Swastika Rehabilitation Day, Raelians, together with representatives from the Buddhist and Hindu religions, are planning to carry out major events in cities throughout the Americas, Australia, and Africa on Saturday, June 23.

In Europe, Raelians from Germany and its surrounding countries have decided to use this opportunity to inform the German public about the swastika’s history, since most Germans completely ignore the swastika’s good standing as a very ancient symbol of peace for Buddhists and a symbol of good luck for numerous other cultures.

The city of Karlsruhe, where the event is to be held, has nevertheless banned Raelians from displaying any type of swastika except for the Raelian symbol, in which a swastika intertwines with a six-pointed star.

“According to an order issued by the Karlsruhe government on June 15, the display of swastikas would lead to ‘an immediate danger for the public safety and order” explained Thomas Kaenzig, coordinator of World Swastika Rehabilitation Day. “But how can a peaceful assembly explaining the religious and multicultural origin of this symbol be a threat to public safety? The attempt by the German government to bury the swastika under the pretext that it’s a symbol of violence and hatred only gives credit to the horrible Nazi ideology. On the contrary, the government should encourage our action, since by giving this symbol its true value, we finally allow the German people to turn the page.”

Kaenzig said that is exactly what 18 members of the European Parliament did in a letter to the European Commission dated February 21, 2005. “For Raelians, the swastika is one of the most prominent traces left by the extraterrestrial scientists who created us, who were mistaken for gods by our ancestors,” Kaenzig said.

“We can find this symbol in all ancient cultures: in Buddhist manuscripts, on Shinto temples in Japan, in traditional African and Native American artwork, absolutely everywhere. Even in Israel one can find numerous synagogues and other ancient sites displaying the swastika.And last but not least, the Bellevue castle of the German president in Berlin proudly displays swastikas without compromising public safety. The ban by the city of Karlsruhe is an insult not only for all Raelians, but also for all Buddhists, Hindus and Shintos who represent a majority of the world’s population. As a reminder, in 1988 the Munich appeals court has established that ‘use of the Raelian symbol obviously doesn’t contravene against the protection purposes of article 86a of the penal code and is hence not punishable under this statute.’”

Kaenzig said that despite the ban imposed by the city order, the group in favor of rehabilitating the swastika has decided to proceed with the event, which will start at 3 p.m. at the Kronenplatz in Karlsruhe.

He added that in the United States, demonstrations will take place in Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and Miami starting at 3 p.m. local time, and that large swastika banners will be flown in the skies of the Los Angeles area and along the New Jersey coastline from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. local time, and in the New York City area from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST.

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Adolf Hitler allegedly fathered a child with Charlotte Lobjoie, a French teenager, while serving as a soldier during world war I, reported Le Point, a French news-magazine, recently. Hitler’s love child, Jean-Marie, was born in March 1918 and was later adopted by the Loret family in the 1930s.

Miss Lobjoie informed her son of his infamous father in the early 1950s, just before passing away. Even though she rarely spoke of Hitler, she did tell Jean-Marie a few things about him,

When your father was around, which was very rarely, he liked to take me for walks in the countryside. But these walks usually ended badly. In fact, your father, inspired by nature, launched into speeches which I did not really understand.

He did not speak French, but solely ranted in German, talking to an imaginary audience. Even if I spoke German I would not be able to follow him, as the histories of Prussia, Austria and Bavaria where not familiar to me at all, far from it.

My reaction used to anger your father so much that I did not show any reaction.

After his mother’s passing, Mr.Loret found paintings of her signed by Hitler. It was also reported that in Germany, a picture of a woman painted by Hitler was found that closely resembled Miss Lobjoie.

Despite never meeting his father, Jean-Marie had an eventful life. He fought the Nazi forces in 1939 in order to defend the Maginot Line and wrote an autobiography, called “Your Father’s Name Was Hitler” 30 years ago. According to the Telegraph, his book will be republished in order to include the new evidence provided by his lawyer Francois Guibalt.

Mr. Gibault believes that Loret’s children could use their father’s relation to Hitler to “establish a claim to royalties from Hitler’s manifesto, Mein Kampf.”

According to msnbc, Mr.Guibalt was quoted by Le Point saying that Mr. Loret began searching for new evidence linking him to his father by hiring a number of experts: a historian, a geneticist, and a handwriting analyst. Later, it was reported that the results confirmed Jean-Marie Loret’s claim as Adolf Hitler’s son. Jean-Marie Loret died in 1985 aged 67.

Adolf Hitler, who was born in an Austrian village, often spoke of his love for Paris. Despite being in touch long after Mr. Loret was born. Hitler and Miss Lobjoie never got married. In 1945, he married his mistress, Eva Braun, towards the end of World war II and shortly afterwards, committed suicide.

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AJC applauded the Norwegian prime minister for publicly apologizing for his country’s role in the Holocaust. ”Without diminishing the Nazis’ responsibility, it is time to recognize that police and other Norwegians took part in the arrest and deportation of Jews,” said Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. “I find it appropriate to express our deep apology that this could have happened on Norwegian soil.”

The prime minister was speaking yesterday at a Holocaust remembrance ceremony at the site where, 70 years ago, 532 Norwegian Jews were forced onto the Donau ship and sent to Auschwitz. ”During the war, a total of 772 Norwegian Jews and Jewish refugees were arrested and deported. Only 34 survived,” said the prime minister. ”The murders were without a doubt the Nazis’ work, but it was Norwegians who arrested. It was Norwegians who drove the cars. And it happened in Norway.”

Twenty years ago, as the Prime Minister noted, Norway’s parliament provided both private and communal restitution for the “economic liquidation” the Norwegian Jews had been subjected to, which signified, “a moral acceptance of the state’s responsibility” for what had befallen the country’s Jews.

“Now, 20 years later, Prime Minister Stoltenberg has gone an important step further with his expression of regret for the role played by some Norwegians in the Holocaust,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris. “His words on International Holocaust Remembrance Day are a powerful reminder that the Nazi evil was too often assisted by some locals in occupied countries. We welcome the prime minister’s apology, as well as his forthright call for vigilance against those who continue to hate.”

In his speech, Stoltenberg said, “Seventy years later, it pains me to say that the ideas that led to the Holocaust continue to live on.” He expressed concern that Norwegian Jews have said they live in fear today. “We shall not have it like this in Norway,” said the prime minister. “No one should have to hide his own faith, cultural identity or orientation.”

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/statsministerenskontor/

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In observance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, AJC issued the statement below, and re-released its short film on the Nazi death camp, Belzec. More than 500,000 Jews were slaughtered there in less than a year. Only two Jews survived.  The full text of AJC’s statement follows:

We Remember

In the Jewish tradition, we are commanded to remember (zachor) and not to forget (lo tishkach). On January 27, we commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On this solemn occasion, 67 years after the liberation of Auschwitz:

We remember the six million Jewish martyrs, including 1.5 million children, who were exterminated in the Holocaust.

We remember the entirely new alphabet created by the Nazis for the Final Solution — from the letter “A” for Auschwitz to the letter “Z” for Zyklon-B.

We remember not only the tragic deaths of the six million Jews, but also their vibrant lives—as shopkeepers and craftsmen, scientists and authors, teachers and students, parents and children, husbands and wives.

We remember the richly hued and ancient Jewish civilizations that were destroyed—from Salonika to Vilna, from Amsterdam to Prague.

We remember the slippery slope that began with the rantings of an obscure Austrian-born anti-Semite named Adolf Hitler and led, in the course of less than 15 years, to his absolute control over Germany.

We remember the fertile soil of European anti-Semitism—cultivated over centuries by cultural, political, and religious voices—that created an all-too-receptive climate for the Nazi objective of eliminating the Jewish people.

We remember the courage of Denmark, as well as Albania, Bulgaria, and Finland, for their extraordinary efforts to protect their own Jewish communities.

We remember the courage of thousands of Righteous Persons—whom we call, in Hebrew, Hasidei Umot Ha’olam—who risked their own lives that others might live.

We remember the millions of non-Jews—Poles and Russians, Roma and the disabled, political opponents and homosexuals—murdered under the relentless Nazi onslaught.

We remember the valiant soldiers of the Allied nations who, at such great human cost, vanquished the Third Reich.

We remember the survivors of the death camps, who endured such unimaginable suffering and who have inspired us all with their indomitable courage, spirit, and will to live.

We remember the absence of an Israel in those war-time years—an Israel that, had it existed, would have provided a haven when so shamefully few countries were willing to accept Jewish refugees.

We shall never forget those who perished.

We shall never forget those who saved even a single life. As it is written in the Talmud: “He who saves one life has saved the world.”

We shall never forget the importance of speaking out against intolerance, whenever and wherever it occurs.

We shall never forget the inextricable link among democracy, the rule of law, and protection of human rights.

We shall never forget the age-old prophetic vision of a world of justice, harmony, and peace.

And we shall never forget that each of us, in ways large and small, can help bring us closer to the realization of that prophetic vision.

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The remains of Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler’s one-time deputy were exhumed from his grave in the middle of the night and sprinkled into an unknown lake. Hess committed suicide back in 1987, after spending 46 years in prison. While Hess had already spent 23 years at his past burial site, the Lutheran Church no longer wished to continue the lease on the deputy’s plot.

Reasoning behind the discontinuation was due to the plot turning into a shrine for Neo-Nazis, said the Lutheran church. It had become a place for people to visit and use the Nazi salute. Hess’ death date had become a reason for a Neo-Nazi march, even though all related acts had been banned six years prior.

The family’s cooperation with Hess being removed is uncertain. While the family eventually agreed and made arrangements for Hess to be exhumed, Mail Online claims one of his granddaughters went to extremes trying to file a lawsuit against the church.

Hess was originally imprisoned by Hitler due to a conspiracy theory. During the Nuremberg Trials he was pardoned for crimes against humanity and war crimes, but was sentenced to life in prison for crimes against peace, and conspiracy to commit crimes against peace.

While some people have claimed conspiracy theories surrounding his death, it is widely known that Hess hung himself with an electrical cord.

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