Escape

  • Some might think the title, Escape to Suriname—A Holocaust Christmas Story, is a bit contradictory. Dutch Jews were fully integrated into Dutch culture, and many would have participated in the Sinterklaas and Christmas celebrations. This story is about more than that, and one I was not familiar with. On Christmas Eve 1942, more than a hundred,

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  • Johanna Langefeld (née May, 5 March 1900 – 26 January 1974) remains one of the most intriguing and morally complex figures among the female staff of Nazi concentration camps. Rising from a modest background as a domestic-economy instructor to become an Oberaufseherin (senior female overseer), she served at Lichtenburg, Ravensbrück, and the women’s section of

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  • On June 20, 1942, the SS guard at the Auschwitz exit was visibly shaken. In front of him idled the car of Rudolf Höss, commandant of the notorious concentration camp. Inside were four armed SS men. One of them—a second lieutenant, or Untersturmführer—was shouting and cursing furiously. “Wake up, you buggers!” he bellowed in German.

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  • Who Was Eva Braun?

    Who Was Eva Braun? A Villain, a Victim, or a Naive Girl Entranced by Love? Was she a shadowy accomplice to one of history’s greatest villains or a naive girl who fell hopelessly in love with the worst man imaginable? Was she his muse, his hostage, or both? Eva Anna Paula Hitler (née Braun; 6

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  • “Dolle Dinsdag” or “Mad Tuesday,” which occurred on September 5, 1944, was a pivotal and chaotic day in the Netherlands during World War II. The day is remembered for the widespread belief among the Dutch population that liberation from Nazi occupation was imminent, leading to scenes of jubilation, panic, and disarray. This essay delves into

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  • The saying goes, “Music can soothe the savage beast,” but what if it is the savage beast that is using the music as a cynical form of evil and torture? In July 1942, Hans Bonarewitz attempted to escape from the Mauthausen concentration camp by trying to hide himself inside a box and was captured on

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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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  • Günther Ernst Aronade was born on March 19, 1918 Kattowitz, Germany, now Poland. I am not sure on the exact date but it looks liked Günther and his wife Alisa (Ilse) Heymann moved to Amsterdam in 1938, I can only imagine because of the Nazi regime in Germany. In September 1943 the couple ended up

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  • A little known fact is that the Jehovah Witnesses were also persecuted by the Nazi regime. It is estimated that 1,000 German Jehovah’s Witnesses died or were murdered in concentration camps and prisons between 1933 and 1945, as did 400 Witnesses from other countries, of which were about 90 Austrians and 120 Dutch Jehovah Witnesses

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  • On May 23, 1943, Dr. Joseph Mengele started his “work” at Auschwitz. I am not going to say too much about this evil personified individual. In particular, Mengele found pleasure in working in Auschwitz The doctors in Auschwitz were all scheduled according to a work rota for the selections when new victims arrived by train,

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