dirkdeklein
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Simon Walvisch was born in Amsterdam, 1 on 9 March 1882.He was murdered in Auschwitz, on 1 October 1942. Reached the age of 60 years Occupation: Tobacconist He was a son of Jacobus Mozes Walvisch and Schoontje Zeeman. He married Rosette Abram, a daughter of Simon Abram and Judith Presser, on 29 June 1904 in…
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I don’t think I have to tell anyone who Elie Wiesel is, but for those who don’t know him, I’ll provide a brief overview. Elie Wiesel was born in Sighet (in Transylvania, now a part of Romania, but part of Hungary between 1940 and 1945) on 30 September 1928 and grew up in a Chassidic…
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On September 29, 1943, Amsterdam was declared ‘Judenrein’. (Free of Jews) It happened after a major raid, in which 5,000 people, including the board and employees of the Jewish Council, were arrested and transported via Amstel station to Camp Westerbork. Those who were able to avoid the raids ended up in hiding places. A countrywide…
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These are just a few random bits of World War 2 history. The above picture is of Reich Commissioner Dr. Seyss-Inquart receiving a group of BDM girls: demonstration of gymnastics exercises. Netherlands, location unknown, September 29, 1941. What puzzles me is why would a 49 year old man be interested in a group of teenage…
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The general consensus is that once you introduce Hitler into a debate or an argument, you have lost that argument. Even though I subscribed to this opinion—my view has changed. I believe not comparing some current far-right politicians to Hitler is a mistake. For example, despite what Putin thinks, he has become a far-right dictator…
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WARNING: CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES In general, I try to avoid posting graphic pictures, for two reasons. Firstly, I know from my own experience if something is too graphic I look away. Secondly, we live in an era where so many people get offended by everything, especially the truth, that the only option they feel they…
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The picture is of a page in a poetry album which belonged to a friend of Hedi Metzger. The text is in German and it says. “Forget me not, trust in G-d. Speaking is silver, and silence is gold. This from your memories, Hedi Metzger, Amsterdam 19-4-1939.” Less than 2.5 years later she would be…
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Last Sunday I had the honor and privilege to be invited to a zoom presentation by the Ghetto Fighters’ House museum titled “The Hippocratic Oath at the Umschlagplatz: The Jewish Doctors of the Warsaw Ghetto” Three words from that presentation stuck with me “Just like me”. The sum up perfectly what the Nazis should have…
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I came across Gershon Willinger’s name on the Joods Monument website. It is his 80 birthday today, When I saw his name and his birthday, I also saw that the date and the place of his death were not known. I figured this was going to be an awful tragic and depressing story. I decided…
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The history of Sittard-Geleen is a bit of a complicated one. The city used to be 2 towns, but in 2001 the towns of Sittard and Geleen merged and are now known as Sittard-Geleen. On September 18, 1944 both towns were liberated. With the liberation of Sittard on 18 and 19 September 1944, the war…
History of Sorts 