the Netherlands
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Anne Frank’s diary remains one of the most significant and poignant records of the Holocaust, providing an intimate glimpse into the lives of those forced into hiding under the oppressive rule of Nazi Germany. However, while Anne’s voice is immortalized in her writings, the other individuals who shared her confinement in the secret annex in…
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The title of this blog is a line from a song by the hip-hop group Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. I chose it because it speaks a simple truth—a child does not know how to be evil. The boy in the picture above is Samuel Siegfried Opdenberg. He was born on February 7, 1940,…
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Annick (Germaine Mathilde) van Hardeveld Annick (Germaine Mathilde) van Hardeveld was born in 1923 in Amsterdam. She was the first child of her father, Jan van Hardeveld, and her French mother, Germaine Bertin. A few years later, a baby brother was born: Yann Emile. When the war broke out in May 1940, Annick was sixteen…
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Two lives so brief, their stories untold,In shadows of darkness, their fates took hold.Nehemia Levy Cohen, born with winter’s breath,In Amsterdam’s arms, unaware of death.Roosje van der Hal, spring’s gentle child,From Groningen’s heart, her laughter wild. On January’s day, the cold tracks groaned,Two babes were taken from the love they’d known.To Westerbork’s gates, where the…
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Sara de Jong van Koningsbrugge was born in Schoten, the Netherlands, on 24 April 1914. The SS murdered her in Auschwitz on 21 January 1945 at the age of 30. Since 1936, Sara de Jong was married to Adolphus (‘Dolf’) Adrianus Petrus van Koningsbrugge (Amsterdam, 21 October 1913 – Heerlen, 15 June 1974). Based on…
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Crimes committed during the Holocaust were not exclusively the actions of Germans. In ALL occupied territory, there were local citizens who willingly participated in the atrocities. While some governments, , have made efforts to confront this dark history, others, particularly in Eastern Europe, have attempted to whitewash these crimes. Why I begin with this will…
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The painting titled “Boats on Rough Seas Near a Rocky Coast” was created in the mid-17th century and seized in June 1944 from Minna Bargeboer-Kirchheimer, who was a victim of Nazi persecution. Minna was born on October 7, 1867, in Nieheim, Germany. In 1893, Minna married Abraham Bargeboer, a Dutch Jewish cattle dealer from Winschoten,…
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Henriëtte Pimentel (1876–1943) was the director of the daycare center on Plantage Middenlaan. With a small group of allies, she smuggled approximately 600 Jewish children from the center to safe hiding places. On Tuesday, April 19,2022 the Henriëtte Pimentel Bridge was unveiled. The beautiful bridge over the Mauritskade leading to the Tropenmuseum will officially be…
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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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The Dutch Hunger Winter, also known as the Hongerwinter, was a devastating famine that gripped the Netherlands during the final months of World War II, from November 1944 to April 1945. This period of extreme hardship left a profound mark on Dutch society, shaped the collective memory of the war, and offered critical insights into…
History of Sorts 