Holocaust

  • Margard (Marga) Kaufmann, born in Gronau, Germany 10 November 1928. Murdered in Auschwitz on 3 September 1943, reached the age of 14 years. Marga’s parents were married in 1923 in Gronau, where her mother, Adele, had taken over her grandmother’s grocery store in 1918. Marga never knew her grandparents, Zilversmit. Her mother had four brothers,

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  • They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and while this may be true, it can never tell the entire story. That’s why I believe it is crucial to listen to or read the testimonies of survivors, liberators, and even perpetrators to understand the Holocaust from multiple perspectives. Let us begin with the words

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  • Despite the dire circumstances she was living through, Anne Frank did not give up hope. It should be a lesson for all of us. The following are some (of her) words of hope—she was wise beyond her years. “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”

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  • I know that some people will see the title of the post and will get the shivers. They will think it is going to be a story of indescribable horrors of cruelty. Perhaps a tale of experiments on women in Dachau. They might not even read the rest of this post because they might not

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  • One aspect of the Holocaust which is often forgotten is the other damage caused. What I am referring to is the fatalities caused by a lack of qualified medical staff. I am not sure if there is any data on that, but it stands to reason that aside of the 6 million or more Jews

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  • Van der Klein

    My last name is a bit of a mystery. A distant cousin started a family tree several years ago and at some stage he got stuck, because our family name seems to have appeared out of nowhere. He could trace it back to somewhere in the late 19th century. There are plenty of Klein’s but

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  • Sinterklaas, also known as Saint Nicholas, is a beloved tradition in the Netherlands and parts of Belgium, celebrated annually on December 5th (Sinterklaasavond or Pakjesavond) and leading up to that date. It is also observed in other regions with Dutch heritage. The tradition centers around Sinterklaas, a figure akin to Santa Claus, who is based

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  • A father does everything for his children. A father provides for their needs, offers them comfort, and protects them. He loves them, hugs them, and tucks them in with bedtime stories. But how can a father, with all his love and care, become a monster to other children? Without hesitation or remorse, he killed thousands—many

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  • 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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  • Wauwilermoos was an internment camp as well as a prisoner-of-war penal camp during World War II in Switzerland, situated in the municipalities of Wauwil and Egolzwil in the Canton of Luzern. Established in 1940, Wauwilermoos was a penal camp for internees, including Allied soldiers during World War II, among them members of the United States

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