History of Sorts

When you look at the photograph above, your first reaction is to probably think it’s an ordinary historical picture from somewhere in the Netherlands.

The picture couldn’t be more typically Dutch if for one detail—the photograph was taken in Amsterdam during the war, and the man is wearing a star on his jacket.

As in all occupied countries, the Star of David was introduced to the Netherlands. The star had to be clearly visible, as with this Jewish Man from Amsterdam who cycled on Leidseplein in May 1942.

It is a typical Dutch photograph because the man was Dutch, and he just happened to be Jewish. In the Netherlands, it shouldn’t have mattered. No one there cared about your religion, but what does matter is how you conduct yourself in society.

Yet, between 1940 and 1945, religion suddenly did matter. The Jews were singled out, and 75% of them were murdered. The Dutch Jews had always been a sizeable minority, the majority living in Amsterdam. The Jews lived in the most densely populated country in Europe with an advanced social administration—which was left intact after the swift and decisive Nazi invasion of 1940, and it helped the Nazis identify the Dutch Jews. Of the initial 140,000 Jews who lived in the Netherlands, approximately an estimated 35,000 survived the Holocaust. A sad thought, more than likely, the man on that bike was also murdered.

In my opinion, that photo is more disturbing than the pictures from the concentration camp. The picture tells me he was not different from anyone else in that crowd of cyclists, except for that star patch on his coat. He was just a man on a bike going about his business, not causing any harm to anyone. He conducted himself properly in society, and yet he was singled out. It could have been anyone.




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