Rotterdam

  • The title is about Jacques Swaluw but it really is about just more than Jacques. Jacques was born in Rotterdam on the 19th of June 1942. Esther Swaluw was the daughter of Isaäc Swaluw and Maria Melkman. On 2 December 1913, she married Izak van Been in Rotterdam, a son of Abraham van Been and

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  • Love during the Holocaust

    Getting married is one of the most wonderful things that can happen to you in life. It is a union of love which is quite powerful. However it can also be nerve wrecking, admittedly more so for the bride then the groom. You want to make sure the day goes well, you hope the weather

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  • Happy Birthday Gretha Reintje Cohen. It should have been your 84th birthday today. An evil regime did not even allow you to reach your 6th birthday. You were murdered 10 days before your 6th birthday in Sobibor, on July 9th 1943. No matter how sad your death is, it is even sadder to see that

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  • Lee Harvey Oswald left Moscow on June 1st, 1962. Two days later on June 3,1962 he crossed the Dutch border at Oldenzaal. From Oldenzaal he traveled to Rotterdam to board the cruise ship ‘SS Maasdam IV’ to set sail for New Yoek on June 4,1962. From the time he crossed the Dutch border to the

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  • Tonight is the 2nd semi finals of the 2021 Eurovision song contest. I have to admit I really enjoyed the 1st semis. Lets just have a look back at some of the more bizarre moments in Eurovision history, note this blog will contain some nudity. Starting off with one of this years presenters. No I

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  • The Dutch were surprised that the Germans did not honour the neutrality of the Netherlands, why I don’t know because there were indications that the Germans had plans to invade the Netherlands. On the other hand the Germans expected to be welcomed with open arms. They had envisaged like the anschluß in Austria. Both nations

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  • I came across date about the ‘Voormalig Rotterdams kindertehuis’ or Former Rotterdam home for Children. Initially I was a bit confused. I wanted to find out more so I looked in some Rotterdam archives, then I noticed that the actual home was in Arnhem. To make it even more confusing the address was Amsterdamscheweg 1,

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  • (updated on March 29, 2024) There are very few regrets I have—but I do regret that I did not buy tickets on January 5, 1995, for Rory Gallagher in my hometown of Geleen, in the Netherlands. The concert was in de Hanenhof, which would not be the world’s best venue, but it could hold a

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  • Maastricht is one of my favourite cities. I grew up only about 10 miles away from it and would have visited it numerous times. It is, the most south eastern city in the Netherlands and is well known for its close proximity to Belgium and Germany. It is also the the home of violin virtuoso

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  • Perhaps the Dutch government were naive to believe that they would able to stay neutral like they did in WWI. Perhaps they thought they had nothing to fear from the Germans. However when Germany invaded Norway and Denmark in April 1940, it became clear that neutrality was no protection. Frantically the Dutch started to prepare

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