Magic at War

Have you ever been taught first aid? Did you learn the head-tilt move to clear an airway, or use a resuscitation mannequin to practise mouth-to-mouth ventilation? If you have, you probably didn't know that the inventor of these was a Danish doctor called Henning Ruben. Aside from his life-saving inventions, Henning was a magician. Along with several thousand others, he took part in the mass escape of Jews from Denmark after the Nazis occupied the country during World War Two. After, he revolutionised the science of resuscitati on. Henning Ruben (1914-2004) was born in Copenhagen, Denmark and was the eldest son of an orthodox Jewish family. Dr. Henning Ruben (Source: resuscitationjournal.com) After finishing school Ruben entered the Royal Dental College from which he qualified as a dentist in around 1935. In his spare time, he toured theatres and halls as a professional dancer, excelling at tango, with a well-known singer. He was an accomplished at...

Dutch poet and writer Willem Wilmink's most famous poem was Ben Ali Libi. It was inspired by a Dutch-Jewish magician, murdered by Nazi Germany during World War Two. But, was Ben Ali Libi a fictional character, or did he really exist? Read on, to find out...   On a list of artists, all killed in the war, I spotted a name I'd not heard of before, intrigued and excited, I looked up each fact, about Ben Ali  Libi, the magical act...   – Willem Wilmink   Professor Ben Ali Libi was indeed a real person. He was born Michel Velleman, on 5 January 1895 in The Netherlands. He came from a poor Jewish family and grew up in Amsterdam’s Koestraat, a slum area for ‘second-class citizens.’ Little is known of Velleman’s early life. He  probably started off as a young marketplace performer, which was a common trade. He may also have been mobilised as a soldier during World War One. (Although he wouldn't have seen any fighting as The Netherlands remained neutral throughout the war...