Why Did Victorians Cover Mirrors During Mourning?

Why Did Victorians Cover Mirrors During Mourning?

Today I want to take a look at one of the unusual Victorian mourning traditions. In many homes, when someone had died mirrors were covered with black cloth.

Now you may ask yourself, why? Well, there were several reasons for this. Some people believed that a soul could actually become trapped in a mirror before it had been able to pass on. Another belief was that if it was left uncovered it could let demons into your home, also that should you looked in the mirror you would be next to die. Others thought that to see your own reflection while you were grieving was a sign of vanity and that it distracted from remembering the person who had died. Grieving was taken very seriously during the Victorian Era and unlike today when we want to make grief easier and lighter. It seems to me that Victorian society often wanted you to prove how grief stricken you were. Society actually judged you for it. It is really sad in a way that at a time when you are vulnerable, Victorian society could still find a way to measure it.

Not every Victorian family followed this tradition, and it was never an official rule. But, it became well known, especially in households that observed strict mourning customs.

Whether it was based on superstition, religion, or simply respect for the dead, covering mirrors became a part of Victorian mourning.

Had you ever heard of this before?

Anne Frank Part 12: What Happened to the Anne Frank and the Others After Their Arrest?

Anne Frank Part 12: What Happened to the Anne Frank and the Others After Their Arrest?

Today I want to find out a little about what happened to the eight people from the Secret Annex after they were arrested. 

After their arrest on the 4th of August 1944, they were taken to the SD (Sicherheitsdienst) headquarters at Euterpestraat in Amsterdam, where they were interrogated. They were then transferred to the House of Detention (Huis van Bewaring) on the Weteringschans.

Anne Frank

The prison conditions were harsh. There were many other Jewish prisoners held there, along with members of the Dutch resistance, political prisoners, and people arrested for other reasons. By August 1944, Jews arrested during raids, discovered in hiding, or awaiting deportation were frequently held there. The prison was overcrowded, with cramped cells, limited food and poor sanitation. Prisoners often had little idea where they were going next or what would happen to them. This was the last time all eight of them were together. 

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Westerbork Camp

They were then sent to the Westerbork transit camp on the 8th of August. Because they had been caught in hiding, they were treated like criminals, placed in the punishment section and forced to carry out hard labour. On the 3rd of September 1944, they were placed on the last transport train from Westerbork to Auschwitz, they arrived about two and a half days later. By this stage the Second World War was turning against Germany. The Allied forces had liberated much of France and Belgium and were approaching the Netherlands, the Soviet Red Army was advancing from the east towards Poland. As a result, no further trains were sent from Westerbork to Auschwitz after this transport, making it the last of its kind.

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Auschwitz-Birkenau, 1944

When the train arrived at Auschwitz, the reality of the camp became clear. Guards shouted orders as the prisoners were forced onto the platform for a selection. Within minutes, the men were separated from the women, often without any chance to say goodbye. The prisoners had to hand over all of their belongings before their heads were shaved, they were stripped, disinfected and given thin striped prison uniforms. Their names were replaced with identification numbers, and they were sent into overcrowded barracks where hunger, disease and fear were part of life.

Fritz Pfeffer

Otto Frank, Hermann van Pels, Peter van Pels and Fritz Pfeffer were all sent to the men's camp. Anne, Margot, Edith Frank and Auguste van Pels stayed together in the women's camp at Auschwitz for several weeks. The conditions were beyond harsh but at least they still had each other during this time. In late October 1944, Anne and Margot were transferred to Bergen-Belsen, and Edith Frank stayed at Auschwitz. It was the last time they would all be together.

Peter van Pels

At Bergen-Belsen, Anne and Margot faced terrible overcrowding, starvation and disease. Both sisters tragically died there in February or early March 1945, only weeks before the camp was liberated. Edith Frank died in Auschwitz in January 1945. Hermann van Pels was killed at Auschwitz, Fritz Pfeffer died at Neuengamme, Peter van Pels survived the death march from Auschwitz but died at Mauthausen on the 5th of May 1945, just three days before the camp was liberated. Auguste van Pels died during forced transfers between camps in the final months of the war. Otto Frank was the only one of the eight to survive.

Edith Frank

After the war, Otto returned to Amsterdam, where Miep Gies gave him Anne's diary. She had managed to save it from the floor of the annex after the family had been taken, and she had kept it safe in the hopes of returning it to Anne. 

Margot Frank

I would like to take a moment and remember Anne Frank, the seven people who shared the Secret Annex with her, and the millions of innocent victims of the Holocaust. May they never be forgotten. No matter what is happening in the world, we must always remember the cost of hatred.

Norwich Cathedral Part 4: What Did the Benedictine Monks Who Lived There Actually Do?

Norwich Cathedral Part 4: What Did the Benedictine Monks Who Lived There Actually Do?

 

I want to take a little bit of time to look at the Benedictine monks. They lived in the Monastery that was connected to the cathedral and they dedicated their lives to prayer, learning and helping others.

The monks would have followed the Rule of Saint Benedict. It encouraged a life of worship, work and study. Their day started very early, before sunrise. They went to morning prayers in the cathedral but they also went several more times each day.

The monks came from many different backgrounds. Some were from ordinary families, while others came from wealthy or noble households. Some joined as boys to get an education, others chose the monastic life as adults. Once they became monks, they promised to live a life of prayer, obedience and simplicity.

Joining the monastery was not easy. Anyone who wanted to become a Benedictine monk had to first spend about a year as a novice. They had to learn the Rules of Saint Benedict and the daily routine. Only if both the monk and the monastery agreed would he take lifelong vows and become a full member of the community.

When they were not praying, the monks kept busy with many tasks. Some of them copied books like the bible and important documents by hand. At the time every page had to be written individually. This was skilled work because many people could not read or write. Some worked in the kitchens, gardens and workshops, others cared for the monastery's library and records.

Food was also important, they usually ate simple meals of bread, soup or stew, vegetables, cheese and fish. Much of it was grown or produced at the monastery by the monks themselves. They also had many fasting days during the year, when they were not allowed to eat meat from animals such as cows, sheep or pigs. Instead, they ate fish, eggs and other simple foods. The monks ate together in silence while one monk read from the Bible or other religious books.

The monastery played an important role in the community. Travellers and pilgrims could shelter there, the poor and sick were often helped, and they took education seriously. It was not just a place of faith and religion, it was also a place of learning and of charity.

This way of life continued until the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII in the 16th century. Although the monastery has sadly disappeared, Norwich Cathedral still stands as a reminder of the Benedictine monks. 

What part of a medieval monk's life do you think would have been the most difficult?

Anne Frank Part 11:What Happened to the Helpers After the Arrests?

Anne Frank Part 11:What Happened to the Helpers After the Arrests?

Meip and Jan Gies

Today I want to take a look at what happened to the brave men and women who helped Anne Frank and the others in the Secret Annex after the arrests on the 4th of August 1944. They had risked everything for more than two years, and now they were faced with the consequences.

Victor Kugler and Johannes Kleiman were arrested alongside the people in hiding. As the senior employees running Otto Frank’s business, the German authorities had strong evidence that they had knowingly helped to hide Jewish families. After being questioned, both men were sent to the SS prison camp at Amersfoort. Johannes Kleiman was released after a week because of his poor health, but Victor Kugler was transferred to forced labour camps. As the war came to an end in 1945, he escaped during an Allied air attack and managed to survive.

Bep Voskuijl 

Miep Gies and Bep Voskuijl were also questioned, but they were not arrested. Historians are still unsure exactly why. Miep later believed that SS officer Karl Silberbauer noticed her Austrian accent during her questioning and chose not to detain her, but no one knows his true reason. Bep may have been released because the authorities didn’t have enough evidence to prove she was involved. Both women were incredibly fortunate, as they could easily have both been imprisoned.

Miep’s husband, Jan Gies, was not at Otto Frank’s business when the Secret Annex was discovered, so he completely avoided being arrested. He continued to work with the Dutch resistance, he helped other people in hiding and also obtained illegal ration cards. Together, Jan and Miep never gave up hope that those taken from the Annex might survive and return home.

Miep and Bep returned to the Secret Annex after the arrests. They found Anne’s diary and other papers on the floor. Miep kept them safe. She refused to read them because she hoped that one day she would be able to return them to Anne.

After the war, Otto Frank was the only person from the Secret Annex to return. Miep gave Anne’s diary to him, and after reading his daughter’s words, he decided they should be published. Without the courage of Miep Gies, Jan Gies, Bep Voskuijl, Victor Kugler, Johannes Kleiman and the other helpers, one of the world’s most important personal accounts of the Holocaust may never have survived.

Their bravery did not end with the arrests. Even after everything had been lost, they ensured that Anne Frank’s voice would live on.

Do you think the bravery of Anne Frank’s helpers receives the recognition it deserves?

Next time, we will start to find out what happened to Anne Frank, her family and the others immediately after their arrest.

How Clean Were Tudor Homes and Were They Really as Dirty as We Think?

 

How Clean Were Tudor Homes and Were They Really as Dirty as We Think?

Today I want to try and find out just how clean Tudor homes really were. It is easy to think that people living more than 400 years ago paid little attention to cleanliness, but the reality was more complicated. Although they lacked the modern plumbing and cleaning products that we have today, many Tudors still worked hard to keep their homes as clean as they could.

The standard of cleanliness usually depended on a family’s wealth. Rich households employed servants that could do the cleaning, they swept floors, dusted furniture and emptied chamber pots every day. Poorer families had to do the jobs themselves, usually in much smaller homes where people and animals sometimes had to share the space.

Floors were regularly swept with simple brooms that were made from bundles of twigs or heather. In wealthier homes, fresh rushes were spread across the floor. These helped to provide some warmth and comfort, but they also trapped the dirt and had to be replaced regularly. Contrary to popular belief, they were not usually left to rot for months at a time.

Without running water, washing was much harder than it is today. Water had to be carried from wells, rivers or public pumps, so it was used carefully. Clothes were washed less often than modern clothing, but many people changed and cleaned their linen undergarments regularly, as these absorbed sweat and helped keep the body clean.

Good smells were also considered important. People burned herbs like rosemary and lavender these helped to make their home smell more pleasant. They sometimes even scattered them around their homes to freshen the air. Although people of the time did not understand germs, they did believe that bad smells could spread diseases, so keeping the home smelling nice was thought to keep you healthy.

By modern standards, Tudor homes would probably be seen as dirty, especially because there were no toilets, vacuum cleaners or disinfectants. But even without all these things many Tudor families took pride in keeping their homes as tidy and clean as they could.

 

Were Tudor homes cleaner than you expected and do you think you could have lived in one?

 

Anne Frank Part 10: How Was the Secret Annex Discovered?

Anne Frank Part 10: How Was the Secret Annex Discovered?

Today I want to have a look at one of the biggest mysteries that surrounds the story of Anne Frank. After more than two years in hiding, the Secret Annex was discovered on the 4th of August 1944. But who betrayed them, and was it even a betrayal at all?

On the morning of Friday the 4th of August 1944, German SS officer Karl Silberbauer and several Dutch police officers arrived at Otto Frank's business premises on Prinsengracht in Amsterdam. Victor Kugler was working in the office when they arrived. After being questioned, he was forced to lead them through the building to the Secret Annex. Kugler later recalled that the first person he saw when they entered the annex was Edith Frank. He tried to remain calm, and said quietly, "The Gestapo is here," before the officers took complete control. Otto Frank remembered that he had been upstairs helping Peter van Pels with a lesson when an armed officer suddenly appeared in the doorway. It brought more than two years of hiding to an abrupt end.

 Anne Frank, her family, the Van Pels family and Fritz Pfeffer were all arrested. Two of the helpers, Victor Kugler and Johannes Kleiman were also arrested.

For many years, people believed that someone had informed the authorities about the Secret Annex. Several individuals have been suggested over the decades, but no theory has ever been proven. Historians continue to debate what really happened.

Some people believe there may have been a betrayal, but others suggest that the discovery could have happened by chance whilst there was an investigation into illegal ration coupons, fraud or other activities that were connected to the building. Despite decades of research, there is still no definitive answer.

After the arrest, the eight people were taken away for questioning before being sent to Westerbork transit camp. From there, they were deported on the last transport from Westerbork to Auschwitz on the 3rd of September 1944.

More than 80 years later, the exact reason the Annex was discovered remains a mystery. 

Next time, I want to take a look at what happened to the helpers after the Secret Annex was discovered. What became of the people who risked everything to protect Anne Frank and the others?

What do you think happened? Was the Secret Annex betrayed, or could it simply have been discovered by chance?

What Was Cholera and Why Did It Terrify Victorian Britain?

What Was Cholera and Why Did It Terrify Victorian Britain?

Today I want to take a look at one of the deadliest diseases of the Victorian era. That is Cholera. Cholera spread fear across Britain because it could strike without warning. It could kill healthy people in just a matter of hours.

Cholera is a bacterial disease. It spreads through water or food that is contaminated with human waste. During the early Victorian period, most people did not know this. Many people believed that diseases were caused by bad smells in the air, known as "miasma."

Britain experienced several major cholera outbreaks during the 19th century. Starting in 1831. The crowded towns and cities that were created by the Industrial Revolution often had poor sanitation. Many families lived without proper sewers, clean running water or effective waste disposal. This let the disease to spread fast.

The symptoms were terrifying. The victims suffered from severe vomiting, diarrhoea, painful muscle cramps and extreme dehydration. Within only hours, they could become dangerously weak, their skin taking on a bluish-grey appearance because of the loss of fluids. Many people tragically died the same day they became ill.

One of the most important turning points happened in 1854. Dr John Snow investigated a deadly outbreak in Soho. He found that many victims had used water from the Broad Street pump. After the pump handle had been removed, the outbreak declined. But historians do note that the outbreak had already begun to decline naturally by the time the handle was removed. However, removing it became the famous symbolic event supporting Snow's findings. His investigation became one of the foundations of modern epidemiology and it helped to prove that contaminated water, not bad air, was spreading cholera.

The outbreaks eventually led to major improvements in public health. New sewer systems, cleaner water supplies and better sanitation transformed Britain's towns and cities, saving countless lives in the years that followed.

It is difficult to imagine living in a time when something as simple as drinking a glass of water could be deadly.

Had you realised that it was contaminated water, rather than bad air, that caused cholera?