Geleen
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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 have written about the bombing of Geleen before, but since today is the 81st anniversary, I thought it a good idea to revisit that awful day. Geleen is a town in the southeast part of the Netherlands. It used to be a mining town. Although the Bombing of Geleen was a devastating event, I…
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Today 80 years ago my hometown, Geleen, was bombed by the RAF by mistake. Originally the target was the German city of Aachen. 84 were killed. This is the story of that day: England, 5 October 1942: The weather at 9:15 am: rain and low clouds; at 12:15 p.m.: clearings extending South; 4:10 pm: further…
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For anyone who is not from Geleen or the province of Limburg ,in the south East of the Netherlands, the name Geleen will mean very little. Yo may have visited the town perhaps while it was still hosting the annual Rock festival of PinkPop. Maybe you even visited the former mining town during one of…
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I am always intrigued in the history of how things come to be. Like who was the first to discover could be turned into a hot beverage. However, as the title suggest this is not a blog about coffee but about my other guilty pleasure, Chocolate. The history of chocolate is a bit more mysterious…
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It is just a photo of a soldier with his family. One could easily dismiss this photograph as someone’s memory. A father who loved to smoke, a mother all dressed up and two well-dressed children—a boy and a girl. This photo could have easily been a picture of my grandfather with his family. Like the…
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The title of the blog is ‘The Steinbach Family’ but is really a blog about the Romani people. The reason why I picked the Steinba,ch family name is twofold. Firstly the picture at the start of the blog is of Settela Steinbach. It is one of the most iconic pictures of the Holocaust. Initially she…
