the Netherlands
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April 30,1945 was a day that would have given a great sense of relief for millions around the globe, that was the day that Adolf Hitler decided to take his own life. However for a few people it was a day filled with tragedy. Four Dutch Jewish citizens died that day in Bergen Belsen. Although…
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(Originally published 29 April 2022) The title of this blog does not refer to the verse in the bible in the book of Exodus chapter 16 verse 15, “And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto…
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There were 4 concentration camps in the Netherlands. The best known was Westerbork, the other 3 were Vught,Amersfoort and Ommen. A relatively unknown fact is that there were also an estimated 42 work/labour camps. Between January 1942 and October 1942 , the Jewish work camps in the Netherlands spread across the countrie from which unemployed…
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All stories of children murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust are enormously sad on many levels. The story of Helga Renate Sara Zons is particularly heartbreaking. There are no pictures of her, just a death certificate to remember her. The certificate was issued ten years after the Nazis murdered her. What makes it very…
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Geleen is a small former mining town in the province of Limburg, in the south east of the Netherlands. It is not a particular famous place, although it is the place where the first professional football was played in the Netherlands, and it used to host one of the world’s biggest rock festivals’PinkPop’ It is…
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Every time when I look at a picture of a young Holocaust victim, I get this uncomfortable feeling, and even feel physically unwell. But that is a miniscule price to pay to ensure that they are remembered, not as just a number or statistic, but as a human being. Made from flesh and blood, a…
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Each single murder committed during the Holocaust was truly awful, but there are some who even have a sadder element to the death. Vrouwtje Gosschalk-van Esso was born in Meppel, the Netherlands, on 11 June 1895.Her place and time of death are registered as Bergen-Belsen, 17 April 1945. Her first name Vrouwtje, translates as little…
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I am always amazed and in awe of people, who despite awful conditions and a very uncertain and bleak future, were still determined to not let that destroy their love for each other. Although they knew the marriage probably wouldn’t last long they still decided to get married. The picture is a wedding picture of…
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Robert Bierman was murdered on July 18, 1942 in Auschwitz, he was 4 years old. I could have done a piece on his sister ,Francisca, who was also murdered on July 18, 1942. She was aged 6. The reason why I picked Robert because it is his birthday today. He was born in Amsterdam on…
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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…
History of Sorts 