History of Sorts

In Auschwitz’ shadow, where darkness lay deep,
A mother once cradled her children to sleep.
Her son, just ten, with bright, curious eyes,
Her daughter, eleven, under grey, smokeless skies.

They walked hand in hand on a road cold and grim,
A path carved in silence, devoid of a hymn.
The mother, so gentle, whispered soft prayers,
But the heavens were mute, untouched by her cares.

The son, full of questions, looked up to her face,
“Why is the world filled with such empty space?”
His sister, now silent, no words could she find,
For fear had wrapped tightly around her young mind.

Yet the mother, so brave, held them close to her chest,
Knowing her love was their last place of rest.
She kissed them both softly, with tears she concealed,
For a mother’s true strength in her heart is revealed.

They were led to the place where the living must part,
Where hope is extinguished, and pain steals the heart.
But love, undiminished, though bodies must fall,
In Auschwitz, that night, it outshone them all.

Now in the silence where shadows once trod,
They rest in the arms of a merciful God.
For though evil had claimed their last breath on this earth,
Their spirits, unbroken, now dance in rebirth.

Lena van Gelder-Leeraar, born in Zutphen, the Netherlands 5 May 1912. She was murdered in Auschwitz on 6 October 1944 at the age of 32.

Mina Sarah van Gelder was born in Groningen, the Netherlands, on September 1, 1936. She was murdered in Auschwitz on 6 October 1944, at 8 years old.

Juda van Gelder, born in Groningen, the Netherlands, on 20 August 1934, was murdered in Auschwitz on 6 October 1944 at the age of 10 years.

Rachel van Gelder was born in Groningen, the Netherlands, on December 5, 1932, and was murdered in Auschwitz on October 6, 1944, at the age of 11.

Jacob Philipp van Gelder was born in Groningen, the Netherlands, on November 7, 1904, and murdered in Buchenwald on March 11, 1945. He reached the age of 40 and worked as a butcher.

Source

https://www.joodsmonument.nl/en/page/135422/jacob-philipp-van-gelder