the Netherlands
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There is, quite rightly, considerable criticism of how Dutch society and institutions dealt with the persecution of Jews during the Second World War. More could undoubtedly have been done, and there is no question that too many people cooperated, remained passive, or simply looked the other way. But it is easy to make such judgments…
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When you look at the photograph above, you may be forgiven for thinking it shows a class of children doing arts and crafts at school. They are children doing arts and crafts, but it is not in a school (at least not a regular school) it is a group of children in the Westerbork Transit…
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I was going to write an article about Ursula Gerson, who was murdered in Auschwitz on September 6, 1944, at the age of 8. But then I saw there were more Dutch Jewish children and Jewish refugees, who fled Germany and Austria with their parents, who were murdered that day. Duifje Gans was murdered in…
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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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I was reminiscing on TV shows I watched as a kid in the Netherlands. One of my favourite shows was a series called “Q&Q”. It was about 2 teenage detectives. The boys named Aristides Quarles and Wilbur Quant accidentally snap a photo of a dead body in the woods. After finding the place where the…
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Anne Frank is one of the most well-known figures of the Holocaust, primarily due to the posthumous publication of her diary, “The Diary of a Young Girl.” Born on June 12, 1929, in Frankfurt, Germany, Anne and her family were forced to flee to the Netherlands in 1933 following the rise of Adolf Hitler and…
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Among the 97 transports from Westerbork, the one on September 3, 1944, holds particular significance. It was the last major transport from the camp and included Anne Frank, whose diary would later become one of the most poignant testimonies of the Holocaust. Westerbork: A Transit Camp of Despair Westerbork was initially established in 1939 as…
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On 3 September 1944, Anne Frank and her family were put on a transport from Westerbork to Auschwitz. It would be the last train to leave Westerbork. The train arrived three days later at Auschwitz. The women selected from this transport, including Anne, Edith, and Margot, were marked with numbers between A-25060–A-25271. Anne Frank’s final…
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Luise Löwenfels (was a German nun of Jewish descent who is remembered for her courage and faith during the Nazi era. Her story is one of personal sacrifice, spiritual conviction, and tragic martyrdom. She was born on July 5, 1915, in Eschweiler, Germany, into a Jewish family. Her parents, both of Jewish heritage, raised her…
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I have written about Westerbork before, but today I want to address the paradox and the misconception of the camp. Camp Westerbork was a Nazi transit camp in Drenthe province, northeastern Netherlands, during World War II. It was used as a staging location for sending Jews to concentration camps elsewhere, mainly Auschwitz and Sobibor. The…
History of Sorts 