Auschwitz
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When the rain falls, my face gets wet. When the sun shines, it blinds my eyes. When the snow falls, I want to go out and feel the crunch of the fresh new snow beneath my feet. When it is muddy, I get dirty. When I am hungry, I eat. When I am thirsty, I…
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When you look at the photograph above, you may be forgiven for thinking it shows a class of children doing arts and crafts at school. They are children doing arts and crafts, but it is not in a school (at least not a regular school) it is a group of children in the Westerbork Transit…
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A few years ago, on the 22nd of June 2016, to be precise I wrote a blog titled “Holocaust and Humour.” I received loads of criticism for it. The thing I found extraordinary the criticism didn’t come from people who read the blog, but only from people who read the title. I didn’t mean to…
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I was going to write an article about Ursula Gerson, who was murdered in Auschwitz on September 6, 1944, at the age of 8. But then I saw there were more Dutch Jewish children and Jewish refugees, who fled Germany and Austria with their parents, who were murdered that day. Duifje Gans was murdered in…
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Anne Frank is one of the most well-known figures of the Holocaust, primarily due to the posthumous publication of her diary, “The Diary of a Young Girl.” Born on June 12, 1929, in Frankfurt, Germany, Anne and her family were forced to flee to the Netherlands in 1933 following the rise of Adolf Hitler and…
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Among the 97 transports from Westerbork, the one on September 3, 1944, holds particular significance. It was the last major transport from the camp and included Anne Frank, whose diary would later become one of the most poignant testimonies of the Holocaust. Westerbork: A Transit Camp of Despair Westerbork was initially established in 1939 as…
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On 3 September 1944, Anne Frank and her family were put on a transport from Westerbork to Auschwitz. It would be the last train to leave Westerbork. The train arrived three days later at Auschwitz. The women selected from this transport, including Anne, Edith, and Margot, were marked with numbers between A-25060–A-25271. Anne Frank’s final…
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Luise Löwenfels (was a German nun of Jewish descent who is remembered for her courage and faith during the Nazi era. Her story is one of personal sacrifice, spiritual conviction, and tragic martyrdom. She was born on July 5, 1915, in Eschweiler, Germany, into a Jewish family. Her parents, both of Jewish heritage, raised her…
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Amid the wire and winter’s breath,Where silence echoes the song of death,A lone starling perched, dark and small,Sang to the void that answered its call. It fluttered near walls stained by grief,Among the ruins, beyond belief,Its wings beat fast against the grey,A fleeting dance in a world of decay. Above the barracks, cold and bare,It…
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It is seldom that 3 random words can send shivers down your spine but the words ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ do. Just three ordinary words used many times in daily life and yet they also mean total horror. The literal translation is Work makes free, I know they are often translated as works set you free,…
History of Sorts 