Amsterdam
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In the dark of history’s cruel abyss,A child’s innocence—lost in the mist.Amidst the horror, the anguish, the pain,A young soul’s light, forever slain. In shadowed corners, where terror thrived,A child’s laughter, once so alive.But silenced now, by tyranny’s hand,In a world where humanity couldn’t stand. No tender embrace, no gentle care,Just the echoes of sorrow,…
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Something I had not been aware of, but of course, it makes sense that the Nazis also used trams to transport the Dutch Jews to the concentration camps in the Netherlands. The GVB is the company that runs the trams in Amsterdam and has had that name since 1943. A new film and book titled Verdwenen…
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This is Rachel Soesan—her face is filled with so much life and joy, and why wouldn’t it be when she was 4. Her whole life lay before her. Yet there were some who perceived her as a threat to society. She was born on December 20, 1938 in Amsterdam. She would have been 85 today.…
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The fact that so many were murdered during the Holocaust is hard to fathom, and it is often compounded by personal stories. None so sad as that of Heinz Felix Geiringer. It is not clear if he died just before the end of the war in Europe or shortly after the end. Several databases list…
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Philip Mechanicus was born, three days before Adolph Hitler, in Amsterdam on 17 April 1889 to a Jewish family. After he left school, he started to work for the social-democratic daily newspaper Het Volk in the shipping and records department. He worked his way up to become a journalist. After finishing his military service, he worked in…
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The one thing that always puzzled me is that the Nazis never stole one of the most famous paintings, if not the most famous Rembrandt—”Nacht Wacht” (Night Watch). Recently, I found out the reason. In August 1939, it became clear that war was inevitable. The Dutch government took steps for the safety of the Dutch…
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The parents of Jacques and Fred Goldwasser managed to reach Switzerland, but they were forced to leave their children behind. In 1943, the brothers were separated and placed with foster parents. Jacqui was with the childless couple Messow, and Freddi was with the then-childless couple Jonas. Richard Messow and Erich Jonas owned a Sperre as…
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Never Again are two words that are easily said. Though, do we mean them? Or are we just saying them to make ourselves feel better about us? Recently, I was called ”a genocide junkie.” I did not judge the person who said it because I could see why they said it. I disagree—because they are wrong about…
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Mijn interview met Joosje Asser over Vaselientje Joosje Asser is de dochter van Eli Asser, tekstschrijver en journalist Joosje’s moeder is Eefje Croiset. Na de bevrijding werd Eli Asser journalist. Hij werkte voor het Haagsch Dagblad en het weekblad Vrij Nederland. Zijn doorbraak als tekstschrijver kwam in 1953 bij de VARA, waarvoor hij de komische…
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Nelly Vega was a Dutch from Amsterdam minding her own business. She was a little girl doing her homework in front of a painting with some cows, a bridge and a field. A little Dutch girl. Little did she know she would become an enemy of the state. There were men, and perhaps women, who…
