Westerbork
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Below is a press cutting from the 1928 Amsterdam Olympic Games. “Everything was taken care of down to the last detail. Nice practice material—not too heavy—logically composed, neatly executed in class, wonderful order and leadership, in one word sublime. …The jury was also enthusiastic and awarded the Kleerekoper corps a total score of 316.75 points,…
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Sometimes I feel like just giving up posting about the Holocaust, but I know I can’t. It is not always the images that upset me, more often it is that lack of images that gets to me. There are no images because the victims were just too young and were born in captivity, so there…
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This story has torn my heart open. I can’t tell you too much about Johannes van der Hoek all I can tell you is that he was born on 6 November 1942, in Westerbork. He must have been placed on a transport to Auschwitz, straight after his birth because, he was murdered there on 9…
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Rita and Sandor Joachim Krammer met their death on 26 October 1942, Nazis murdered them at Auschwitz. Rita was born on 5 January 1935 in Groningen, the Netherlands. Her little brother, Sander Joachim, was born on 15 March 1937. Their mother, Regina Krammer-Gunsberger. was born in Deutschkreuz in Austria, and their father, Jacob Krammer, in…
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Elleke Trijtel was born in Amsterdam on October 24. 160-days later, they murdered you in Sobibor. Dear Elleke, your parents loved each other, you were the fruit of their love. You were born under a regime that hated you so much, they only allowed you to live 160 days. There was no rain the day…
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When I saw this photograph, I was reminded of another photo. It was a picture of my colleagues and I in 1993/1994. It was taken at work on the day of the retirement of one of my colleagues at the time. We had a small party afterwards at the cafeteria of Philips Sittard. The photo…
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On September 29, 1943, Amsterdam was declared ‘Judenrein’. (Free of Jews) It happened after a major raid, in which 5,000 people, including the board and employees of the Jewish Council, were arrested and transported via Amstel station to Camp Westerbork. Those who were able to avoid the raids ended up in hiding places. A countrywide…
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Millions were murdered during the Holocaust, and each of these victims represents a tragic and sad story. However, although very few, there were some positive Holocaust stories, but even with the positivity, there was an underlying negative story, because it tells of their disrupted lives. Hans Leo (Henry in later life) Abraham and his sister…
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Sometimes I come across photographs which are so vivid that they seem like they are not photos—but realistic. And then, knowing what the fate is of those in the picture, I feel like just giving them a hug and telling them everything will be fine. I also know that couldn’t be further from the truth.…
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Like in Germany itself, the Holocaust in the Netherlands didn’t happen overnight it was a gradual process. Less than two months after the Nazi invasion of the Nethera]lands, Jewish employees of the Dutch Air Raid Defence Service were dismissed. It was the first in a long line of anti-Jewish measures. Jews were gradually isolated from…
