Westerbork
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On the eve of World War II, the Jewish population of the Netherlands numbered approximately 140,000–150,000 people, representing about 1.5 percent of the country’s total population. The community was highly urbanized, with Amsterdam serving as its undisputed cultural and demographic center. Known affectionately by its Hebrew-derived nickname Mokum (“place” or “city”), Amsterdam was home to…
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I came across an excerpt from the book Wiswassebeesjes by author Dieta Kalk. I can’t think of a proper translation for the word, but that doesn’t really matter. In the book the writer, recalls the removal of the Wallage family from Aprikozenweg 21 in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, a day after seeing the Star of David.…
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We are only a few weeks away from the 2026 FIFA World Cup. This milestone inspired me to look back at players who never had the chance to compete in major football tournaments, either as players or coaches. Before diving into their individual stories, consider the context of the photograph above: a game of football…
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The Holocaust wasn’t only the mass murder of Jews and others, it was preceded by other crimes. Although many people would not have perceived them as crimes, because they were legalised by Nazi laws. The greed of the Nazis was expressed in a large number of measures, orders and ordinances (VO) with the force of…
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The involvement of the Dutch railways (Nederlandse Spoorwegen, or NS) in the Holocaust is a deeply tragic chapter in Dutch history. During World War II, the NS played a significant role in the deportation of Jews and other persecuted groups to Nazi concentration and extermination camps. Context and Occupation The Netherlands was occupied by Nazi…
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The “Westerbork Film” refers to a film shot by Rudolf Breslauer at the Westerbork transit camp during World War II. This film is a significant historical document because it provides a rare visual record of life in a Nazi transit camp. The film was commissioned by Albert Gemmeker, the Westerbork Camp Commandant in 1944. He…
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Starting in May 1942, wearing a yellow fabric star in the Netherlands, called the “Star of David,” was made compulsory by the Nazis. This measure made it easy to identify Jewish people and was designed to stigmatize and dehumanize them. This was not a new idea; since medieval times many other societies had forced their…
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Martin Haas was born Martijn Haas, at the end of 1936 in Breda, a small city in the south of the Netherlands. Just before the war started, about two hundred Jews lived in Breda. Martin survived because his parents kept him safe in hiding. His parents and 2 of his siblings did not survive. His…
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This broke my heart. On September 14, 1945, an obituary appeared in the Nieuw Israëlitisch Weekblad, a Dutch Jewish weekly newspaper. It was an obituary for several generations of one family: George Sandelowsky (father and father-in-law), who had died on February 25 as a result of the awful conditions in Bergen Belsen concentration camp. aged…
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During the Holocaust, six million Jews were murdered. In 1933, there were about nine-and-a-half million Jews living in Europe. Worldwide there was an estimated 15.3 million. It gives you an indication of the impact of the Holocaust. The number of six million is often disputed, not only by Holocaust deniers but also, by people like…
History of Sorts 