Geleen
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I can never understand people who are ashamed or embarrassed of where they are from or where they were born. You should always be proud of your roots. Even if you live somewhere else you should never lose your pride of your birth place. It is perfectly possible to be proud of the place you…
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The photograph above might appear strange for a Holocaust story, but I posted it for a good reason. It is a chemical plant called DSM. At the edge on the top of the photo, you can see a few apartment blocks where I grew up, in the town of Geleen in the Netherlands. The DSM…
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I always get frustrated when people try to excuse the actions of thugs and criminals by blaming their difficult childhoods or lack of places to play. These photos are from a petrochemical plant in Geleen, the Netherlands. When I was growing up, it was known as DSM (Dutch State Mines), even after the actual mines…
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One of the difficulties I have in telling or writing stories about the Holocaust is the sheer volume of victims. I believe the best way of keeping the memories alive is to personalize the stories. Rather then talk about millions ,talk about individuals and show that they were human beings like every one else. To…
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I came across this death notification of Jacob Rosenboom. The reason why it drew my attention was the date. Jacob died on 10 April 1968, the very day I was born. Then when I did more research, I discovered that Jacob had lived in my hometown of Geleen in the Netherlands. The Rosenboom-Wolf family lived…
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Geleen is a small former mining town in the province of Limburg, in the southeast of the Netherlands. It is not a particularly famous place, although it is 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 also where…
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My tribute to my Mother and Hero, who passed away on January 26,1996. a day that forever changed my life. My tribute is in Dutch, English and Frisian. Dutch Mama, deze foto van jou is typisch zoals mensen zich jou zullen herinneren. In de keuken, koffie aan het maken, klaar om soep en botherhammen te…
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The buzzword of the day seems to be “immigrants,” often carrying a negative connotation. But here’s the question: who exactly is an immigrant? What follows is just a brief snapshot of history—a glimpse into my family’s background, at least on my mother’s side. The picture at the beginning of this blog shows the marriage certificate…
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On October 5, 1942, the small Dutch town of Geleen, located in the province of Limburg, experienced a devastating bombing raid during World War II. This event is significant not only for the destruction it caused but also for the tragic error that led to the bombing of a civilian area instead of its intended…
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I want to start by saying that I am not Jewish, though I may have some Jewish ancestry, which I am still exploring. However, the Jewish people of Geleen were my fellow citizens, just like anyone else, regardless of race or color. Tragically, the majority of Jews from Geleen were murdered during the Holocaust—a fate…
History of Sorts 
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