Franceska Mann: The Ballerina’s Revolt

Blog,

As I was going through some old school assignments and art projects, I found an essay from my sophomore of high school on Auschwitz. Two decades ago. In the paper, I mentioned that there were no rebellions in the camp. I’ve learned in recent years, that couldn’t be further from the truth! I’ve learned there were many ways people rebelled in Auschwitz and other Nazi camps.

Very recently, I learned about Polish ballerina Franceska Mann (born Franceska Manheimer-Rosenberg) who was a rising star who got deported from the Warsaw Ghetto.

There are reports of whether she was involved in rebellions helping or betraying her fellow Jews before being deported. What seems to be more clear is that she ended up arriving at Aushwitz on October 23, 1943 on a passenger train.

I was surprised to learn that Mann wasn’t saved for a while longer at the camps. She was beautiful and a little bit of a celebrity. Instead, she and and perhaps 100 other women (depending on account) were sent to the gas chambers.

Again, the story gets a little blurred, but there was some sort of riot that these women started. Here is the most famous one:

Franceska noticed the guards were watching her undress. While the guards were in a trance, she struck a guard’s forehead hard with her Stiletto.

She grabbed his gun and shot two guards. She killed Joseph Schillinger and wounded Wilhelm Emmerich, who walked with a limp the rest of his life.

Franceska’s actions caused the other women to fight the guards. The revolt was shut down, and the women were killed. The details aren’t too clear as there were few surviving witnesses. The main story is that there was a women revolt, and two guards were shot. There was a rebellion which inspired prisoners. She has also inspired art—and even a ballet.

The story of Franceska Mann and the other women uprising is one of the many stories about Jews who fought back, and who didn’t go to their fates as lambs to the slaughter.

Links:

A story of hope,tenacity and bravery. The Jerusalem Post. Accessed January 27, 2025.


Ballerina Franceska Mann Kills Nazi Guard and Injures Two Others at Auschwitz. This Week in History. Accessed January 27, 2025

Franceska Mann’s last dance at Auschwitz. World Jewish Congress YouTube video. Accessed January 27, 2025

Franceska Mann Wikipedia article Accessed January 27, 2025

Strong women of the Jewish faith: Franceska Rosenberg-Manheimer 1917-1943 Part V. Accessed January 27, 2025

I’m Sorry I Left

Blog

I’m embarrassed and sorry with how long I’ve been gone. After a leave of absence, I came to the realization that I need certain people. Those people include you-the reader-and the people mentioned on this site.

And I hope one contribution can be a sort of museum or display. I already have wonderful art I commissioned and received from talented artists.

Now, I can’t compete with the cool history blogs out there, but I hope to contribute to your interests.

Overall, I hope to learn more and then share what I learn about our friends from the past.

Image from pixabay.com. Creator’s page is https://www.creativefabrica.com/designer/emmie-norfolk

Happy Birthday, Elizabeth Barrett Browning!

Blog, Poets, True Love, ,

I was thinking of Elizabeth Barrett Browning last night. It’s probably because as she got older as a single maid, she got more ill, but she managed to go on with her work and eventually found true love. I wrote her a note last night/this morning. I decided just to do a little research and read she was born March 6!

So of course, I’ll have to include that birthday note to her!

I still can’t believe it! I was writing today thinking I should post my note, and I was determined after I discovered it was Mrs. Browning’s birthday!

Letter

EBB~

Elizabeth Barrett Browning-I keep you in mind as I age. Maybe when I’m 40, I’ll be married, but if not, what can I do? I’m not married yet or have your talent, and so it’s depressing. You had a lot going for you, but I bet it was hard. I have spinal and head problems myself. Perhaps I’m…of what was I going to say? No, I won’t ever know your genius or exact pain, but somehow you give me inspiration and my heart reaches out to you because you triumphed when it came to love. No one ever could have predicted what you ended up doing–eloping with such a seemingly eccentric poet. Maybe your husband eloping with someone–but not you! It’s cool that he took a chance on a 35-plus-year-old woman.

Birthday wishes,

~A 35+ woman 

P.S. Upon further research, I’ve discovered just how much you fought for causes with all you had. So it’s not surprising that when you found the one, you went for it. 

Elizabeth Barrett Browning and her husband, Robert Browning

Further Thoughts

I noticed I lost my thoughts in the middle of the letter. I really might be getting senile.

Anyway, I don’t have enough thoughts presently to even write a poem, but hopefully Elizabeth Barrett Browning would think this post is good enough.

Happy birthday, Mrs. Browning!

Images

Birthday cake image from pixabay.com, public domain.

Photograph of EBB and Robert Browning, public domain.

Engraving EBB, engraved by Thomas Oldhan Brown, public domain.

The Queen’s Name

French Revolution, Mothers, , ,

The queen’s name is precious to me.

Louis XVI

My tenth grade word history book inferred Marie Antoinette was a careless spender. A novel I read in college portrayed her as a loose woman.

Of course that’s been years, and through surprising study and realizations, I came to discover that the messages those writers conveyed were lies. I usually roll my eyes every time a piece of entertainment comes out about Marie Antoinette because it includes slander–and the filmmakers make lots of money from it.

Usually, I can get over it to a reasonable degree. After seeing a recent trailer, though, I can’t this time. I immediately wanted to find production and say:

In the name of all that’s good, stop!

Stop defaming the name of Marie Antoinette.

Stop defaming the name of her husband, Louis XVI.

Stop defaming the names of their faithful friends and family.

Stop it!

As an American, I feel a strong inclination to make these strong requests. Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI contributed generously to the Americans during the Revolutionary War. I enjoy many freedoms, and so I feel that Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI’s efforts should be recognized and honored—and no more lies!

To those in the entertainment industry, academic circles, and different types of influencers  who encourage these crude rumors–please, please stop.  


“Portrait of Marie-Antoinette at Temple” by (maybe after) Alexander Kucharsky

Hatshepsut: Nearly Erased From History, But Why?

Royalty, , , ,

This question started out at the airport. But it started with the Internet search, “pharaoh during Moses’ time.” I’m still wondering what Moses’ time in Egypt was like, and I was surprised that Hatshepsut was mentioned in a possible timeline.

She was included in the article, “Who Were the Egyptian Pharaohs During the Time of Moses?” The article discusses Alfred J Hoerth’s book Archaeology and the Old Testament where he presents an interesting timeline, and Rameses II–a pharaoh usually included in Moses’ story–isn’t that present. Instead, the article talks about the possibility that the pharaoh that eventually let the slaves go was Thutmose III, the stepson/nephew of Hatshepsut.  

It’s said Thutmose III was responsible for making Hatshepsut disappear from history.

What I mean by “disappear” is that it was him who tore down her monuments, hid her achievements, and had her pictures scratched out from the wall art.

Back to the airport, I went to YouTube to a Horrible Histories’ sketch I vaguely remember watching about Hatshepsut.

If the video is taken off the Internet, the history you “learn” from it is that Hatshepsut ruled for nearly 22 years, but was probably murdered by her stepson, and then he erased her from history. He was super mad.

It’s a great story, and I love Horrible Histories. But I decided to do a more thorough search.

Well, it was a quick search. My plane was boarding shortly. I scanned some information, and the only information I remembered was she made her stepson head of the army.

I thought about that fact for the whole flight.

Taking a Dig?

So, after I got to my destination and during some free time, I watched a documentary titled Hatshepsut: Secrets of Egypt’s Lost Queen. It’s a about archeologists and other historians examining her life and mummy candidates to see if they could find her.

What stood out to me most was the excitement of those involved in the project. I totally get it. You want to meet a person in history so badly, and this is chance to get close! There were discovered, little trinkets probably owned by Hatshepsut, and I would love to get my hands on something owned my one of my historical heroes!

And of course I was impressed how they narrowed the mummies to one candidate.

If you accept that candidate to be her, then Hatshepsut wasn’t murdered. (Sorry, Horrible Histories.) The documentary reports she died from a tooth infection/disease. Other reports showed diabetes or bone cancer. Whatever the case, she wasn’t killed by someone else.

Then the documentary shifts to a team also looking at certain wall art where they discovered where her images had been. But the images had been scratched away, and they had been replaced with images of Amenhotep II, who happened to be the son of Thutmose III.

The commentators said this action was probably taken for Amenhotep II to have a stronger claim to the throne, and that the throne is usually passed down from father to son.

Plus, Thutmose III didn’t go on a rampage right after her death to destroy Hatshepsut’s legacy. He removed her from history when he got older. Like two decades later. There’s a good chance that Thutmose III wasn’t taking a dig at his stepmother.

She wasn’t the only ruler carved out of Egyptian history–even men were. It was a strategic move to avoid future conflicts. It is sad, but that’s the way it was.

If the documentary was right in their claims, I’d like to imagine she celebrated when found.

Wrapping It Up

Gathering other information, Hatshepsut prepared her stepson very well to rule. I’ve concluded that Hatshepsut practically gift-wrapped Egypt for him.

To Thutmose III With Love, Hatshepsut

Ancient Egypt rulers were unlikely to predict the way good technology that was to come. (I’m always surprised with new tech that comes out myself.) Maybe Thutmose III meant to do a sloppy job. But that’s just a speculation.

I believe Hatshepsut and Thutmose III were more of a team than enemies.

Other Thoughts

In one of Simon Whistler’s videos on Hatshepsut, he reflects on remembering Hatshepsut, and how she was unsure how or if she would be remembered.

In case you didn’t make it through this whole video, Mr. Whistler quotes the female phaoroh saying:

“Now my heart turns this way and that, as I think what the people will say. Those who see my monuments in years to come, and who shall speak of what I have done.”

Hatshepsut

I think Hatshepsut’s story offers hope people who think they’ll be forgotten.

But the forgotten part can be temporary…even if thousands of years go by!

When Moses Met Zipporah

Scriptures, True Love

“Where ever there’s water, there’s people,” says my biblical lands instructor during each lesson.

So, of course, the well is a popular place. It’s a great place to meet people!

It was somewhat romantic when Jacob met Rachel at the well. He knew she was the one he was looking for, and he helped water the sheep, gave her a kiss, and then she ran to her dad.

Zipporah (a.k.a. Tzipora or Sephora), and Moses had a similar experience, but a little different…

So Moses had been on the run because Egypt’s leader found out Moses had killed an Egyptian who had been attacking a fellow Hebrew. To quote Moses’ flight:

Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.

[How long Moses had been in Midian, I don’t know. Maybe he knew a few people before the following incident.]

Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.

And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.

I think I can speak for many women when I say guys helping and caring for animals are very attractive! The perfect gentleman who’s good with animals. Can’t get much better than that!

Let’s check out some of Hollywood’s famous dramatizations of that famous “meeting.”

The Ten Commandments:

Well, in the both the movie and Exodus account, there were seven daughters, a well, sheep, and bad guys…I think that’s what the movie got right. Even though I’m not too sure if the girls flirted with him, I do love the heroic music and observation comments!

The Prince of Egypt:

Huh…four daughters shown. I wonder where the other three are hiding. But the film does feature a well, sheep, and bad guys. This encounter in the film is Moses and Zipporah’s second meeting, which isn’t accurate. But there is a possibility he liked her, but let’s get back to the scriptural text about what the daughters did after Moses helped them:

And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day?

And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread.

I find the daughters’ father hilarious. His daughters were just being cautious. I can imagine that the daughters were caught off guard and awkwardly said they had to go after the chores was done.

It’s the type of thing I would do. My dad has reacted similarly. One example was when a cute guy (I knew already) asked to give me a ride. I said no. When I told my dad about it, he said, “You should have said yes!”

Reuel (referred to as Jethro later in the text) and Moses hit it off.

And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.

Darn, no details of Moses and Zipporah’s courtship. I agree with the rabbis when they said as Jethro got to know Moses, he approved of Moses. The “eat break” line (I used the King James Version of the Bible) is translated in other versions as “break bread.” “Break bread” might be a hint to Moses that he’d marry one of Jethro’s daughters. Zipporah might have heard this and made a plan to get Moses. Or Moses noticed her good qualities and went after her.

Or maybe the two fell in love through a song…to end this post, let’s watch The Prince of Egypt’s, “Through Heaven’s Eyes.”

P.S. The Hebrew slaves didn’t build the pyramids. That’s what my biblical lands teacher told me.

Featured image: Moses and his Ethiopian wife Zipporah by Jacob Jordaens. Public domain.

I don’t own the videos or movies.

I want to find a nice guy like Moses though.

Arranged: Marie-Antoinette and Louis XVI

Blog, French Revolution, Royalty, True Love,

If their lives had crossed paths, would there have been any chance that they’d get together? Yes, yes, YES!

First of all they were the same religion. I’ve concluded that in all marriages—you better have the same standards.

Marie-Antoinette and Louis remind me of the couples that knew each other in high school and went to some of the same church functions, but hooked up after graduation. They became adults, noticed, and took a strong interest in each other.

 

Click here to read a more detailed analysis of this couple.

 

Featured image:Marie Antoinette, Emperor Maximilian and Louis XVI by Josef Hauzinger  Josef Hauzinger public domain.

 

Arranged: Catherine of Braganza and Charles II

Artists, Royalty, , , ,

Catherine and Charles’ marriage didn’t end in divorce, but it wasn’t exactly a success. The man had many mistresses before and during their marriage, but the couple stayed on somewhat good terms.

Would Charles’ character had been different if he hadn’t had access to so many women? If he lived today, would he had signed up for an addiction recovery program?

Catherine had admirers herself. One man got fired from her service for getting too close with her. After Charles’ death, there were rumors she had a relationship with a Frenchman who had served her for years.

Maybe the mothers would still have played an important part in matchmaking; only this time it would be for everyday life, not making alliances between two countries. The mothers of this couple were both Catholics. Charles’ mother was happy when her decided to marry a good, Catholic girl.

Once again, religion is an important factor. Charles declared himself a Catholic at the end of his life, which is what Catherine had been her whole life.

I don’t know if they would have picked each at an ordinary party, but their marriage probably would have been better if they hadn’t been in high positions where they had opportunities to interact with questionable characters and temptations.

 

 

Featured Image: Charles II of England and Queen Catherine of Braganza (Dutch engraving, 3rd quarter of the 17th century)

Arranged: Michal and David

Blog, Royalty, , , , ,

Michal and David were both at the royal court, and David was working his way to have power—for which Michal was used. But what if Israel hadn’t wanted kings—would they have gotten married? It’s hard to say since they were from different tribes, and usually tribes of Israel stuck with their own. However, marrying into other tribes still occurred.
When it came to martial rules, though, Israel’s number one was “marry in the covenant.” They had the same religion, and that’s huge. Say that somehow they got “arranged.” Would the marriage have worked?

If they weren’t royal there would have been more privacy. Michal and David would have spent more time together. There wouldn’t have been much competition—if any—with other wives. The two would have had a better chance of having a family together.

Let’s fast-forward to today. There’s still much controversy around royal marriages. I will tie in Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew. The couple divorced, but Sarah still gives flowing reviews of her ex in public. In one interview, she said their marriage would have worked out if they had been “in normal life.”

Let’s say Michal and David had lived in a “normal life”—would their marriage have worked? I strongly believe it would have.

 

Featured image: David and Michal by Virginio Grana, 1865

King David’s Biography, A Poem

Blog, Michal, Poetry, Royalty, Truth

Some think I’m too harsh on King David. It’s heartbreaking for sure when researching people that associated with him. His victims didn’t get that much justice during their lives. Here’s my biography about the man:

“King David’s Biography, A Poem”

King David gloried in his life and times
But tried to cover up his crimes.
He got caught in his lies
And his family cut ties.
He took too many wives
And destroyed many lives.

King David’s Biography, a Poem ©Sarah Patten, 2019