Holocaust
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Westerbork was liberated on April 12, 1945, by Canadian forces. At the time there were still 876 inmates there. Something which isn’t widely known is that this liberation nearly was a destruction. The Canadians thought the camp was a Germany military base. They had plans for shelling Weseterbork. This was published in de Telegraaf on…
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Marie Davidson-Wallach was one of the 8 Dutch Jews who were murdered on April 9, 1945. Now some people will dispute this . They will say that she probably just died because of disease our malnourishment. The fact is that she was forcibly taken from her house, transported to more then one camp, against her…
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I am amazed, and equally appalled, that so little is known about this awful event, which took place only a few days before Hitler’s suicide, and less than a month before the end of World War II in Europe. Perhaps that is why it is only a footnote in history. The prisoners: 2,862 Ukrainian, Russian,…
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Jacob was born on October 19,1934 in Amsterdam. He was the youngest child and only son of Rachel Morpurgo-Kijl and Abraham Morpurgo. He had 2 siblings, sisters Carla Celina Morpurgo and Vogelina Morpurgo. This family was just a regular family, the Father Abraham, was a draper by trade. Mother Rachel is what they call nowadays…
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All Holocaust stories are sad, even the stories of survival have elements of sadness in them. Because the survivors will have suffered physical and mental pain, and also coping with the loss of family and friends. I came across a list of household inventory of goods that had belonged to Sara Dewijgaert-Blits. Sara was born…
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I am not a great believer in posting graphic images, but when it comes to the Holocaust there really is not always a way around it. The above picture was from Ohrdruf, shortly after its liberation. It is actually one of the least graphic photos. The Ohrdruf camp was a subcamp of the Buchenwald Concentration…
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I wish I could tell you a long story about the Rooselaar family, but I can’t. I will, however, convey what is known because it is a chilling tale of evil and destruction. The Rooselaar family lived in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. They were moved or rather deported to Westerbork at some stage. I know this…
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Last Sunday I once again had the privilege to be invited and attended a presentation, organised by the Ghetto Fighters’ House museum, As before I was astounded how little I actually know about the Holocaust. This the the recording of that presentation and the explanation about the event. If the Wannsee Conference discussed plans to…
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I always try to keep my emotions out of it when I write about the Holocaust, but I often fail. How could I not get emotional when I see a picture of a baby who was murdered. Donald was born in Amsterdam, on 30 March 1941 .He was murdered in Sobibor, on 11 June 1943.,…
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In general I am always careful to put all the blame on the Germans when it comes to the Holocaust. There is no denying that the bulk of the responsibility lies with them, but there were many other who enabled them and actively and willingly participated in the mass murder. I also try not to…
History of Sorts 