Amsterdam
-
Someone looked at this beautiful smiley face and decided he had to die. In a land where shadows silently creep,A small boy’s dreams are laid to sleep.Four tender years, too soon erased,In Auschwitz’s grip, his spirit faced. Eyes of wonder, wide and bright,Shining stars in the darkest night.A heart so pure, a soul so new,Innocence…
-
As a father of three children, although they are all supposedly adults now, I often have nightmares and worries about them. I lie awake at night when they are out with friends. When they leave the house, there are a million worst-case scenarios that haunt my brain. There is some news you hope as a…
-
Anne Frank was born on 12 June 1929. As we all know her story through her diary, I will not go into Anne’s story, but instead, I will look at a few other children who were also born on that day and who, like Anne, were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. Levy Spanjer…
-
A few years ago, I was asked to give a speech at my eldest son’s high school graduation as a representative of the Parents’ Council. I ended the speech with a quote from Margot Frank. “Times change, people change, thoughts about good and evil change, about true and false. But what always remains fast and…
-
I am not sure what to make about the photograph above. It is either extremely brave and heroic, or naive, perhaps even arrogant. The photo is of Pierre Coronel, operating a radio transmitter during World War II, while in hiding. It is one from a set of pictures. Listening to an illegal radio could result…
-
Karl Rauscher was part of the German Air Force, the Luftwaffe. Specifically from the so-called Werftabteilung; tasked with the repair and scrapping of downed aircraft. Before the war, he had been a professional photographer During the war years, he was stationed in a large number of European countries. He took nearly 1500 photographs in those…
-
On may 15 1945 , Otto Frank wrote the following letter, while on board the Monowai steamship. This was exactly 5 years after the Dutch army had capitulated to the Germans. “The closer we get to home the greater our impatience to hear from our loved ones. Everything that’s happened the past few years! Until…
-
Just a young girl standing outside her school in Amsterdam with a sign that reads, “Memory of my school time, 1936.” The whole future was still ahead of her. The possibilities were endless. Her dream was to become a midwife, a noble profession to help deliver new life and witness the joy of young mothers,…
-
Maurice Blik is a British sculptor and a former President of the Royal British Society of Sculptors. He is known for his figurative male sculpture. He was born in Amsterdam on 21 April 1939. Many pieces of his art were influenced by his experiences in Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp as a young child. His father…
-
As long as a name is mentioned, no one will be forgotten. is a quote I saw on the Joods Monument website(Jewish Monument) and it is so true. Sometimes I find it hard to find the inspiration and right words to remember those millions who were murdered, but just mentioning their names is sometimes enough…
History of Sorts 