Amsterdam
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Gesina Groen would have been 85 today. But she was murdered on her 1st birthday. She was born on July 26,1941 in Amsterdam and murdered in Auschwitz July 26,1942, together with her mother. There are no pictures of Gesina, just a picture of the house she lived in. The address is Nieuwe Keizersgracht 70, Amsterdam,…
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According to the Joods Monument (Jewish Monument) website, 210 Dutch Jews were murdered on this day 84 years ago in Auschwitz. I could write a piece on each person, but I decided to stick with only one of the victims because it symbolises the pure evil of the Nazi regime. The photograph above is of…
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On 6 July 1942, Otto Frank took his family into hiding in the now-so-well-known secret annex where Anne wrote her diary. Otto and Edith Frank planned to go into hiding with the children on 16 July 1942. However, Margot received a call-up notice from the Zentralstelle für jüdische Auswanderung (Central Office for Jewish Emigration) on 5 July,…
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The Netherlands remained neutral during the First World War. However, that did not mean the country was unaffected by the conflict. In the course of 1916, for instance, food shortages began to emerge. In Amsterdam, this led to the so-called Potato Riot in the summer of 1917. Potatoes were the staple food of the common…
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The biggest group of people who were murdered during the Holocaust were the Jews. An estimated 6 million were killed. The number of 6 million should have really been zero, because none of these people had done anything wrong, They were only killed because they were Jewish or had been Jewish, there was no other…
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Mordechai Santilhano was a Dutch-Jewish performing artist. He was born on 11 January 1905. He was murdered in or near Auschwitz on 12 October 1944. He used the artist name Max Santiel or simply Oom Max-Uncle Max. I could say quite a lot about him, but I have decided to leave his own words to…
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In a secret annex, hidden from sight,A girl named Anne penned dreams in the night.Amidst the shadows, where fears took flight,Her words found wings, a beacon of light. A diary’s pages, inked with her pain,Chronicles of hope amidst the rain.Whispers of laughter, echoes of tears,A testament to youth’s fleeting years. Behind the curtains, the world…
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There is this funny riddle, it goes like “What’s Rembrandt’s first name?” Rembrandt of course is his first name, his last name is van Rijn. Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn born 15 July 1606 Unlike the riddle, his life wasn’t funny. He suffered many tragedies in his life. He got married on June 22 1634 to…
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Salo Muller is a Dutch physiotherapist, author, and Holocaust survivor known for his efforts in seeking justice and compensation for Holocaust victims. He was born on February 29, 1936, in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Salo Muller’s early life was profoundly affected by the Holocaust. His parents, who were Jewish, were deported and murdered in Auschwitz when he…
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Before I go into the main story about Adriana Valkenburg, I have to explain something about prostitution in the Netherlands to put this into context. It has always been acceptable in the Netherlands. However, it was only in 1988 that prostitution was considered a legal profession—but in the year 2000, prostitution was legalized by the…
History of Sorts 