Amsterdam
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It is easy to blame the Germans for the Holocaust and of course for the most part they are to blame for it. However there were many in the occupied countries who were very happy to lend a helping hand. There were even more who did something worse then helping out. There were those who…
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Happy Birthday Willem Belinfante. You would have been 87 today. You were born on May 30 1934. in Amsterdam. Your parents were Esther Pais Belinfante, your mother, and Wolf Belinfante, your Father. Both born in Amsterdam. Your Father was a butcher, nowadays in this Covid 19 era he would have been considered an essential worker.…
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It is strange sometimes how little you can find out of a person, yet you can still tell a story about him. Martin Sealtiel was born on May 19,1935. There are no pictures of him. The only indication that he was born was a newspaper announcement in a local newspaper, placed on May 20-1935 by…
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World War II wasn’t only death and destruction, there were a few occasions where there was some reprieve. Sports remained very important during the war, to keep up the morale. The above picture is of Private Leonardo Rodriguez of Cartaro, Arizona, roping a calf during the American Red Cross rodeo and “Wild West” show staged…
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Dr. Maria Montessori once said “Children are human beings to whom respect is due, superior to us by reason of their innocence and of the greater possibilities of their future.” The picture above is of a Montessori school in Amsterdam, it was taken in 1937. Leonard Samuel van Esso was one if that school’s pupils.…
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Günther Ernst Aronade was born on March 19, 1918 Kattowitz, Germany, now Poland. I am not sure on the exact date but it looks liked Günther and his wife Alisa (Ilse) Heymann moved to Amsterdam in 1938, I can only imagine because of the Nazi regime in Germany. In September 1943 the couple ended up…
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I need someone to explain to me the threat this nine-month-old child posed to the Nazi state? Annelise Julie van Voolen was born on 17 September 1942 in Amsterdam and was murdered on 1 July 1943 in Westerbork. She was cremated the following day July 2nd. I don’t know what caused her death but I…
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This looks like a fairly standard receipt and although it is hard to make out the names on the document, it does tell a very dark tale. The document is a receipt issued by the SS to a Dutch citizen. The receipt is an acknowledgement of a payment of 37.50 Dutch guilders to this man…
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I wish I could tell you that this picture was used to have a good laugh at my history teacher Benno Redisch. The photograph was handed to us by his wife to use in a presentation on his 10th anniversary as a teacher, but he was not my teacher. I wish I could tell you…
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I have to be honest and admit that I am not entirely sure if the title is entirely correct, I am working on presumptions. However they are well founded presumptions. More then 75% of all Dutch Jews were murdered during the Holocaust it is therefore safe to presume that the at least 75% of these…
History of Sorts 