Friesland
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My Hero, Wietske—My Mother Although she didn’t have much formal education, she was the wisest person I have ever known. She taught me that giving up was never an option. She understood that sometimes, comfort didn’t come from long speeches but from the simplest gestures—like saying, “Come in for a cup of coffee and a
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Salomon Cohen was the second of three children born to Joseph Cohen and Federika Gozina Godschalk. He was born on July 14, 1907, in Gorredijk, a small town in Friesland, the Netherlands. Like his father, Salomon followed the trade of a butcher. On June 10, 1936, he married Roosje de Wilde, the daughter of Gerson
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St. Antonius Hospital, located in Sneek, the Netherlands, played a significant role during World War II. Established as a healthcare institution, it became a crucial facility for both military and civilian medical care amid the war’s challenges. Nestled in the picturesque town of Sneek, St. Antonius Hospital bore witness to one of the most tumultuous
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When I say “sporting hell,” I don’t mean the suffering caused by war or violence, but rather the challenges of participating in a sporting event under extreme weather conditions. The Dutch have always been passionate about sports, with ice skating holding a special place in their hearts. Not even a war could diminish their love
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In the Middle Ages, beer was the drink of the people. “Ordinary” rain and canal water was not safe to drink. Because the drink had to be heated during the production process, the barley juice contained fewer harmful bacteria than water and was therefore healthier. It is estimated that the average Frisian drank as much
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I wasn’t sure what to call this post. I had considered the title “Mission Impossible” but I did go with “Escape to Victory.” On 8 December 1944, the KP (Knok Ploeg-boxing crew) resistance group in Friesland managed to liberate 51 members of the resistance from the Blokhuispoort, the detention centre in Leeuwarden, without any escalation
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Eva and Bram, born in 1932 and 1934, were the children of Hartog Beem and Retje Kannewasser in Leeuwarden. At the end of 1942, and at least until May 1943, Eva and Bram were still in-hiding in the Veluwe, at ‘De Zwarte Boer’ near Elspeet. The children were arrested in February 1944 and 6 March
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There is a lot of rightful criticism about how the Dutch dealt with the Jews during WWII. A lot more could have been done, there is no question about that. But, it is easy to say these things in retrospect. If you are faced getting killed for a simple act of defiance , you might
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The story of the two Tulp brothers is bizarre and yet intriguing in more way than one. They were half brothers, the older brother took the path of evil although he was a police officer, Where the younger one risked his life by resisting the evil his brother was part of. Sybren Tulp was born
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The buzzword nowadays is “immigrants” and in hardly any context it is used in a positive way.Here is the thing though, who is an immigrant? This is just a micro snapshot in history. It is basically a background of my family well at least from my Mother’s side. The picture at the start of the
History of Sorts 
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