the Netherlands
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There are no pictures of Michel Polak and Mirjam Brilleman. There is only a picture of one the place they were murdered. Auschwitz and more then likely Auschwitz-Birkenau. There are no pictures of the 2 children because they were born on November 20,1941 in Amsterdam. The Nazis already had a tight grip on Dutch society…
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George Okker would have celebrated his 101st birthday on November 14,2022 . Although turning 101 is not that common, it is not that uncommon either. However poor George Okker didn’t even reach his 20th birthday. There is quite a bit of data on George but strangely enough no photographs. The only pit of picture I…
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Edward Jonas Ossendrijver was born on November 8,1941. Today would have been his 80th birthday. On his 10th birthday he may have listened to Cold, Cold Heart, sung by Tony Bennett which was released that day. On his 20th birthday he may have heard about the Imperial Airlines Flight 201/8, a Lockheed Constellation aircraft, which…
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Like Anne Frank ,Etty (Esther) Hillesum, also kept a diary during World War 2,describing her experiences of the Holocaust. She was born in the city of Middelburg in the southwest of the Netherlands, on January 15,1914. She was the daughter of Levie Hillesum and Riva Bernstein. In 1932 she moved to Amsterdam to study law…
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Annelies Marie Frank aka Anne Frank, born 12 June 1929 – murdered February or March 1945, in Bergen Belsen. She was a German-Dutch teenager of Jewish heritage, kept a diary. One of the most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust, she gained fame posthumously with the 1947 publication of The Diary of a Young Girl…
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It is strange sometimes how one thing can draw your attention to another. I did a piece recently on the German national anthem, that led me to look at the Dutch national anthem. “Wilhelmus van Nassouwe”, usually known just as “Wilhelmus” is the national anthem of the Netherlands. It dates back to at least 1572,…
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One of the weapons during World War II was propaganda—a powerful tool. The armies did not have to be persuaded to go to war, it was their job to follow the orders of their respective governments. However, propaganda was used to persuade civilians of the merits of war. This was done by all sides. World…
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The saying goes “Behind Every Great Man There Is A Great Woman” but of course it can also be said that behind every great woman there is a great man. The Anne Frank foundation said about Miep Gies’s husband. “Jan was not a person to stand in the limelight, not even amid all the publicity…
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I usually include a photograph when I write about the youngest victims of the Nazi regime. But I could not find a picture of poor little Mirjam Rosalie de Leeuw. In a way I am happy about that, I have looked into too many eyes of the innocent souls that were brutally murdered ,and regardless…
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Below is a list of names of random people. They only had 3 things in common. They lived in the Netherlands at the time of arrest. They were Jewish. They were al murdered today 80 years ago in Mauthausen, only for the reason that they were Jewish. Fritz Rothstein Born in Breslau, 10 August 1921…
History of Sorts 