Auschwitz

  • This might seem like a strange statement for me to make to the people who read my blogs, but when it comes down to it, I know very little in relation to the Holocaust. Yes, I do know the statistics and the numbers. Yes, I do know the stories of the survivors and even a…

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  • A working day in Auschwitz

    Every aspect in Auschwitz was designed for either extermination or dehumanization of the prisoners, mainly Jewish prisoners. For those young and fit enough to work there was a daily roll call, sometimes these could last for hours. Prisoner were forced to stand still, wearing very thin clothing regardless what weather condition ,even the slightest movement…

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  • Jews in the NSB

    Many European countries had an equivalent of the NSDAP(Nazi) party, the Dutch National Socialist party was the NSB. It may be hard to believe nowadays but not every National Socialist party started off as an anti-Semitic party, as was the case with the NSB. The NSB even had Jewish members, and the party leader ,Anton…

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  • I will NOT be silenced

    I will not be silenced, no matter how often people try to silence me. I will not be silenced despite the threats. I will not be silenced although a small voice in my head sometimes says, “just give up”, but there is a louder voice screaming “No you fool, you have to keep going. You…

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  • The most impactful way to convey the story of the Holocaust is to personalize it—to bring it down to an individual, human level. Rather than reducing the victims to mere numbers or statistics, we must illuminate their lives, their struggles, and their humanity. By sharing their personal stories, we can break through the abstraction and…

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  • Brigitte Eicke was a German girl who also kept a diary during the war, but her life was vastly different from Anne’s. As a member of the Nazi Youth organization, her perspective reflects the indoctrinated worldview of an average German child living under the Nazi regime. Brigitte’s diary entries, unlike Anne’s, are generally more mundane,…

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  • Esther Feitsma was born in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, on November 30, 1931. She was murdered in Auschwitz on October 8, 1942, at the age of just 10 years. There is no picture of Esther Feitsma, nor is there much information about her. So why did I choose to write about this seemingly random name? Because,…

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  • The Holocaust was not only a result of systemic ideologies but also the actions of individuals who embraced cruelty with fervor. Among these was Ruth Closius-Neudeck, a German SS overseer at concentration camps, whose infamy stems from her merciless treatment of prisoners. Her life and actions provide a chilling example of how ordinary individuals can…

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  • Viewing images of the death and destruction wrought by the Holocaust can be deeply gut-wrenching. While it’s often said that a photograph speaks a thousand words, it’s equally valid that it can never tell the whole story. A photo captures only a single moment in time. This is one of the reasons I rarely share…

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  • Red Sector A

    “All that we can do is just survive. All that we can do to help ourselves Is stay alive…” These are the opening lines of the song “Red Sector A” by the Canadian Rock band Rush. I am not exactly a fan of the band; there are only a few of their songs I like,…

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