Geleen
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I came across this death notification of Jacob Rosenboom. The reason why it drew my attention was the date. Jacob died on 10 April 1968, the very day I was born. Then when I did more research, I discovered that Jacob had lived in my hometown of Geleen in the Netherlands. The Rosenboom-Wolf family lived…
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Geleen is a small former mining town in the province of Limburg, in the southeast of the Netherlands. It is not a particularly famous place, although it is where the first professional football was played in the Netherlands, and it used to host one of the world’s biggest rock festivals, “PinkPop.” It is also where…
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My tribute to my Mother and Hero, who passed away on January 26,1996. a day that forever changed my life. My tribute is in Dutch, English and Frisian. Dutch Mama, deze foto van jou is typisch zoals mensen zich jou zullen herinneren. In de keuken, koffie aan het maken, klaar om soep en botherhammen te…
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The buzzword of the day seems to be “immigrants,” often carrying a negative connotation. But here’s the question: who exactly is an immigrant? What follows is just a brief snapshot of history—a glimpse into my family’s background, at least on my mother’s side. The picture at the beginning of this blog shows the marriage certificate…
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On October 5, 1942, the small Dutch town of Geleen, located in the province of Limburg, experienced a devastating bombing raid during World War II. This event is significant not only for the destruction it caused but also for the tragic error that led to the bombing of a civilian area instead of its intended…
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I want to start by saying that I am not Jewish, though I may have some Jewish ancestry, which I am still exploring. However, the Jewish people of Geleen were my fellow citizens, just like anyone else, regardless of race or color. Tragically, the majority of Jews from Geleen were murdered during the Holocaust—a fate…
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The address of Bloemenmarkt 7 won’t mean much to most of you, and it probably doesn’t mean that much to some of the people in Geleen. It was the address of a butcher shop and apartment in a square in the suburbs of Lindenheuvel in Geleen, the Netherlands. Today it is the home of a…
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I want to start by saying that I am not Jewish, although I may have some Jewish ancestry. I am still looking into that. However, the Jews from Geleen were my fellow citizens, as were any other one, regardless of race or colour were my fellow citizens. However, the majority of the Jews of Geleen…