Karen Kirsten and Julie Welsh were models who famously tested the Thunderbolt roller coaster at Coney Island in 1966. The Thunderbolt was a classic wooden coaster built in 1925, known for its intense drops and sharp turns.

Join us this Sat., Feb. 15, 10 am-1 pm ET, for FREE WWII monthly virtual conference. Highlight: conversation with WWII veteran Richard Rossi moderated by Friends’ Resident Historian Alex Kershaw. Reserve your spot today!: wwiimemorialfriends.org/mont…

My Mom Claimed A Convent Of Nuns Kept Her Hidden From The Nazis. Learning The Truth Changed My Life. huffpost.com/entry/world-war…

Holocaust memoir author Karen Kirsten warns of parallels between 1930s and today trib.al/XMtvi0R

On the eve of the one-year mark since the October 7 massacre, I urge all who claim to care about Palestinians in Gaza and beyond to remember what this dark day represents for the Israeli and Jewish people. Please understand that 10/7 was an exceptionally painful day in which over 1,000 were criminally murdered and maimed; children, women, and bystanders were randomly killed, kidnapped, abused, and taken hostage; remember the trauma that this unjustified terror act has brought upon the Jewish people, making it the worst single-day attack since the Holocaust. Do not celebrate Hamas, the despicable terror organization that has destroyed Gaza, held its people hostage, and delivered them on a silver platter to the most extremist government in Israel’s history. Do not taunt the Jewish people or boast about the supposed act of resistance, which October 7 was not. Do not harass people who are commemorating the tragedy and its victims. Please be mindful and respectful. Be as outraged and horrified as you want to be about Gaza and the unbelievable death and destruction there. But give Israelis and Jews the space to remember their lost loved ones. The two traumas do not have to cancel each other out; they are, in fact, intertwined, and only this recognition can help us move forward. Gaza is central to my being, identity, lived experience, and connection to the land. I care deeply about ending the war and being part of the Strip’s transformation. But that would never mean denying the horrors that Hamas and other terrorists committed on October 7. Not in my name. I stand with my Jewish brothers, sisters, and allies in remembering those who lost their lives on that fateful day, and pledged to always be a partner in pursuit of healing, reconciliation, justice, freedom, safety, security, and dignity for all.

.@aussiekk's new memoir, IRENA'S GIFT, is an extensively researched look at her family's survival during WWII. Her research journey began after a shocking letter rewrote her family history. Check out the book here. l8r.it/xe5L @PenguinBooksAus

My heart is just broken.

Weaving history with mystery, @aussiekk uncovers her family’s traumatic experiences during the Holocaust in her remarkable memoir, IRENA'S GIFT. @kensingtonbooks bookpage.com/?p=205628

.@aussiekk watched her family history be rewritten in the wake of a shocking letter. Dig into the exensive research and family story that informs her memoir, IRENA'S GIFT, just out today! l8r.it/4X9j @PenguinBooksAus