History of Sorts

Dirk de Klein, born 10 April 1888.

Died 25 November 1939.

Place of residence: Heinsberg, Germany

Cause of Death: Pneumonia.

Dirk de Klein was diagnosed with an incurable disease in 1936. He was also an ardent opponent of the Nazi regime and had criticized Hitler and Himmler—publicly on several occasions. Dirk de Klein did not like the direction his beloved Germany was going. He had moved to Heinsberg from the nearby Dutch town of Geleen in 1930.

In late November 1939, during a check-up in the Hospital, he was transported by Gemeinnützige Krankentransport GmbH (Charitable Ambulance —a National Socialist subdivision of the Action T-4 organization. The euphemistically named company transported sick and disabled people to the Nazi killing centres to be murdered under the Nazi eugenics program and known for the grey buses it used.)

Dirk de Klein was transported to the nearest T-4 facility and was gassed there.

His family was told that he was transferred from the nearby hospital to a specialist hospital to treat his condition. Unfortunately, he died of pneumonia caused by complications in his medical treatment.

Now you all probably know by now that this Dirk de Klein is in fact me. But this blog is meant to illustrate that anyone could have been a victim of the Nazi regime. I was just lucky I was born in 1968 rather than 1888.

But it easily could have been me. Even geography could have been a possibility. Many people moved to Germany from the Netherlands and vice versa, especially in the southeastern part of the Netherlands. My hometown and the town I mentioned Heinsberg, are only a few miles from each other, within walking distance.

Let us never ever forget what happened to millions of innocent lives, and let us remember that this could easily happen again. Only this time, you might be the victim.