the Netherlands
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When I say “sporting hell,” I don’t mean the suffering caused by war or violence, but rather the challenges of participating in a sporting event under extreme weather conditions. The Dutch have always been passionate about sports, with ice skating holding a special place in their hearts. Not even a war could diminish their love…
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I planned to do this blog about Elisabeth Flesschedrager-Appelboom. She was born in Amsterdam, on 2 February 1921 . Murdered in Auschwitz, 18 January 1945. She reached the age of 23, and was a seamstress. She was married to Philip Flesschedrager, who was born in Amsterdam on 8 July 1920. Murdered in Auschwitz, 26 December…
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It is well known that the Nazis made no distinction in age when deporting Jews in the Netherlands. The result was that even venerable elderly people were murdered in Auschwitz and Sobibor, and other camps. Among the victims listed on the Joods Monument(Jewish Monument) site, Klara Borstel-Engelsman is the oldest, at the remarkable age of…
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Ik weet niet welke straf Mevrouw C. uit Amsterdam kreeg, ik ga er vanuit dat ze de doodstraf kreeg. Het gaat ook over een van de zovele zelfmoorden tijdens de Shoah, waar zo weinig over gesprokem word. -Aanklacht, Beschuldiging en Veroordeling van Mevrouw C. uit de Blasiusstraat in Amsterdam, die zich met anderen bezig hield…
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Westerbork had opened by the Dutch authorities during the summer of 1939 to shelter and house the Jewish refugees coming from Germany. The first refugees arrived in Westerbork on 9 October 1939. After Nazi Germany invaded and occupied the Netherlands, Westerbork became the main concentration camp in the Netherlands. From 1942 to 1944, the majority…
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It would be easy for me to say that Dutch Jews, and those who fled Germany and Austria, were badly treated by the Germans in the Netherlands during World War II. To a great extent that would be true, but the Germans were helped by a great number of Dutch. One thing I have often…
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Time and time, I get told the history of the Holocaust it is not mine to tell. That I should leave the stories to others. I get told this from children and grandchildren of survivors and those who want to distort history alike. To those, I say, “It is my story to tell.” In fact,…
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Croonenberg Family of Grevenbicht (a small village near Sittard) Before I go into the main story I have to explain the geographical history of the Westelijke Mijnstreek (Western Mining area). It is situated in the province of Limburg, the most southern province of the Netherlands, in the southeast of the country. It is also the…
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This is the aspect of the Holocaust I struggle most with. How can anyone look at this child and perceive him to be a threat to the nation. How can they look at his face and decide that he needs to be killed immediately. Sjelomo Hamburger would have celebrated his 80th birthday today. But he…
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At first glance when you look at the picture it doesn’t appear to be extraordinary. There is an officer clearly giving a speech. There are a few Christmas trees at the back so it appears to be some sort of Christmas do. The officer is Albert Konrad Gemmeker he was a German SS-Obersturmführer and camp…
History of Sorts 