the Netherlands
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German troops invaded the Netherlands in May 1940. The Nazi regime stayed in power in the Netherlands until May 1945. However, the Allies had already liberated the southern provinces in the autumn of 1944. Despite the occupation, life went ahead as usual for many, at least to some extent. The Nazi occupiers still allowed sporting…
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On May 23, 1977, the Netherlands was gripped by one of the most dramatic and violent episodes in its post-war history. A group of South Moluccan extremists launched a coordinated attack, hijacking a train and taking hostages in a nearby elementary school. This act of terrorism was not random—it was rooted in decades of political…
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A Pinch Cat Flashlight I worked for Philips from 1987 to 1997. It was a company that took great pride in its history. In 1891, mechanical engineer Gerard Philips (1858–1942) and his father—manufacturer, banker and tobacco and coffee trader—Frederik Philips founded the light bulb factory of the same name in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. In 1991,…
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Johan Marius Nicolaas Heesters (5 December 1903 – 24 December 2011), known professionally as Johannes Heesters, was a Dutch-German stage, television, and film actor, as well as a vocalist and concert performer. His career began in the 1920s and spanned more than eight decades. Remarkably, he continued acting until his death, making him one of…
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The “Westerbork Film” refers to a film shot by Rudolf Breslauer at the Westerbork transit camp during World War II. This film is a significant historical document because it provides a rare visual record of life in a Nazi transit camp. The film was commissioned by Albert Gemmeker, the Westerbork Camp Commandant in 1944. He…
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Behind every yellow star was a human being with hopes, fears, and a life—just like you and me. This blog will contain images of human beings. These are all photographs of Dutch Jews, or of other European Jews who had managed to escape the Nazi regime—though only briefly. I don’t know the fate of each…
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Catharina Brücker was the eldest child of Romanian tailor Mozes Brücker (1892–1944) and the Dutch Rossetta Eijl (1896–1944). Her father made women’s clothing for major fashion houses in Rotterdam and owned several shops in the city. From age six until she was twenty, Catharina attended a dance school where she learned ballet, tap dance, and…
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Most of my life has been occupied with one question: “Why did my Grandfather die?” As far as I am aware and as far as I was told by my family, he was executed by the German occupiers during World War II. It has only been recently I actually found out the actual date he…
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On April 29, 1942, the Nazis announced a new humiliation for Jewish Dutch citizens. Starting on May 3, they were required to wear an identifying mark: a six-pointed yellow Star of David with the word “Jew” in the center. This star made it possible to recognize Jews in public. The German occupiers intended this to…
History of Sorts 