Bergen Belsen
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Petrus Antonius Aalders was just a young man who wanted to determine his future. Petrus was born on April 2, 1924, in Gennep, Limburg, the Netherlands and by trade, was a professional hairdresser. After being called up for the Arbeitseinsatz, forced labour in Germany, he went into hiding in Eindhoven. Now and then, he returned
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Henriëtte Delia (Jetje) Hamburger was part of the so-called Gruppe Unbekannte Kinde, unknown children, a group of more than fifty children whom the Nazis had failed to identify. She and her brother—were betrayed at their hiding place in Amsterdam. Jetje Hamburger was born on December 24, 1943 in Eindhoven. Her parents were no longer together. Her
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I am actually happy that I could not find any images of Anton de Rosa because I don’t think I could take that. When I say 10 months of life, that is literally what it was. He only lived for 10 months. The picture above is of his birthplace, Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp. Where was
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Recently, I heard of a bizarre argument that persecuted persons should not have had sex. They should not have taken the risk of getting pregnant. To me, it makes perfect sense they have sex, especially in times of discord. It’s a basic primary instinct that gives a feeling of comfort, albeit for a short time.
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Liberation for Bergen-Belsen arrived on 15 April 1945. Major Dick Williams, one of the first British soldiers to enter and liberate the camp said, “It was an evil, filthy place; a hell on Earth.” The British comedian Michael Bentine, who took part in the liberation of the camp, wrote this on his encounter with Bergen-Belsen:“Millions
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We all know who Anne Frank is, as her diary is one of the most famous books ever published. But the story of her sister Margot is often overlooked. Margot Betti Frank was born in Frankfurt am Main on 16 February 1926. Margot also kept a diary but that was never found. But we do
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It’s hard to believe that the only time the Olympics were held in the Netherlands, was nearly 100 years ago at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. One of the competing Dutch athletes was Ben Bril. Ben (Barend) Bril was born on 16 July 16 1912, in Amsterdam, the host city for the 1928 Summer Olympics. He
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Generally, I don’t care for colourized photographs, especially not those from the Holocaust. However, I did come across a few striking depictions of that dark era. A former prisoner holds a human bone from a large pile of other bones from the Buchenwald concentration camp’s crematory. 1945. An emaciated 18-year-old female Russian prisoner stares into
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The beautiful beast and the hyena of Auschwitz were just some names used for Irma Grese. She was born to Berta Grese and Alfred Grese, both dairy workers, on 7 October 1923. Irma was the third of five children (three girls and two boys). In 1936, her mother died by suicide after drinking hydrochloric acid
History of Sorts 