the Netherlands
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This is an element of the Holocaust which is often forgotten. There were dozens of Jewish labour camps in the Netherlands (as you can see, I did not say the occupied Netherlands). On 7 January 1942, the Jewish Council in Amsterdam was put under pressure and made responsible for supplying 1,402 Jewish unemployed people. Ultimately,…
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I have seen thousands of Holocaust pictures, but this one hit me right in the gut. It is not horrific. It is a little girl smiling, oblivious to the evil that is surrounding her. She is holding on to a signpost with a sign saying, Verboden voor Joden (Forbidden for Jews). The little girl is Hannelore…
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On 21 October 1944, all three of the Kober children were murdered in Auschwitz, together with their mother. Marianne Miriam Kober was born in Oss, the Netherlands, on 3 March 1930, and had reached the age of 14. Ruth Margarete Kober was born in Amsterdam on 9 March 1933, she was 11 years old. Michael…
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The parents of Jacques and Fred Goldwasser managed to reach Switzerland, but they were forced to leave their children behind. In 1943, the brothers were separated and placed with foster parents. Jacqui was with the childless couple Messow, and Freddi was with the then-childless couple Jonas. Richard Messow and Erich Jonas owned a Sperre as…
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I believe that the most powerful weapon the Nazis had during World War II was its propaganda machine. Other countries used propaganda, but not as effectively as the Nazis. Perhaps critical thinking had not been eradicated or banned elsewhere. The Nazis often used art to spread their message. Some of their posters remind me of…
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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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The NSVO—Nationaal-Socialistische Vrouwenorganisatie (National Socialist Women Organisation-SS), was the female branch of the NSB, the Dutch Nazi party. To win women for National Socialism in the Netherlands, Mussert founded the NSVO on 1 September 1938. As an independent branch of the NSB, it was led by Mrs. A.M. by Hoey Smith-van Stolk. The purpose of…
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Never Again are two words that are easily said. Though, do we mean them? Or are we just saying them to make ourselves feel better about us? Recently, I was called ”a genocide junkie.” I did not judge the person who said it because I could see why they said it. I disagree—because they are wrong about…
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Operation Market Garden was a failed operation by the Allied forces, which would have dire consequences for the Netherlands in the following winter. Irish journalist and author Cornelius Ryan wrote the book A Bridge Too Far about the operation. Market Garden was divided into two parts.Market: Airborne forces (of Lieutenant General Lewis H. Brereton’s First Allied Airborne…
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When you look at the photograph above, you may be forgiven for thinking that it is an image of a class of children doing arts and crafts at school. They are children doing arts and crafts, but it is not in a school (at least not a regular school) it is a group of children…
History of Sorts 