Bernolf Kramer

It always feels good to look back at the end of the year: what did we experience together in 2023?

The year started well. We announced an important year: 80 years ago, in October 1943, the uprising in Sobibor broke out. Because of the uprising, we know the history of a place that was meant to remain unknown, a place that remained obscure to those who were there after the war.

Now, after 80 years, a new museum stands on this site, honoring the victims in a way that’s appropriate (if one can say so); here, you can mourn, name the victims, and reflect on how you want to stand in the world. This is the place whose story must continue to be told. We are convinced of this; it remains our mission.

This thought was much needed when the world changed on October 7th. The horrific attack by Hamas in Israel deeply affected us. Although we as a Foundation consciously do not engage in public debate, it is clear that the events in Israel and Gaza are very close to our hearts. This overshadows our reflections, and in this context, I write this message.

In February, we held our networking event. The turnout was large and diverse, reminding us again of the importance of being able to act in a strong network. We introduced our ‘oral history’ project with students from the University College Utrecht. Beautiful conversations with first-generation survivors can be seen and heard on our website. If you are interested in participating and sharing your story, please let us know on info@sobibor.org!

Quietly, on May 14, 2023, in Herzliya, Israel, the last survivor of Sobibor, Sophia Engelsman-Huisman, passed away. She was one of the 18 Dutch survivors of the Sobibor extermination camp and the last survivor of the 34,313 Jews deported from Westerbork to Sobibor.

And then ‘Sjiwwe for Sobibor’; a theatre project about the 19 trains that went to Sobibor between March and July 1943. ‘Theater Roestvrij’ created a beautiful, moving performance about life in Westerbork before departure and on the train. This production was a collaboration with ‘Theater Na de Dam’ (‘Theatre after the Dam‘), Westerbork Memorial, and the Sobibor Foundation.

The young actors also performed before our memorial on June 1st near the Vondelpark in Amsterdam. A performance right on the street. Passersby stopped, and it was beautiful to see young people portray history in this way.

The young actors also played an adapted performance after the commemoration of the Children’s Transports in Camp Vught, enhancing this year’s memorial. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can find it on YouTube.

Rosanne Kropman’s book was presented on October 10th in Amsterdam. Thanks to Marc van Velzen, the great-grandson of Jacob’s widow, Rosanne Kropman found photos of Jozeph Jacobs, the Dutchman who planned an uprising in Sobibor in the summer of 1943. The book is now in its third edition, including the discovered photos. The book is at the moment only available in Dutch.

The podcast ‘Erased’ by Audiodroom also deserves mention. It tells the story and the search for Ilse Wagner, a forgotten classmate of Anne Frank. The podcast, partly recorded in Sobibor, is also a beautiful document about Sobibor and its history. The entire podcast is available weggegumd.nl.

Our field and remembrance trips this year were a heartwarming success. During the memorial trip in May, relatives could welcome their new stones. On the in-depth trip, the teachers’ program developed well; more and more teaching materials and methods are being exchanged.

At the beginning of the summer, Ingrid Zijlstra stepped down as secretary and board member. She managed our website, newsletters, and much more for over five years. Fortunately, we found Naomi Koster willing to join the board. We are very pleased with her extensive experience and large network.

For the first time in 3 years, the International Youth Conference was organized in October. This year also marked the 10th anniversary of the first International Youth Conference. We gathered all Dutch participants for a first lustrum celebration at the Provinciehuis in Arnhem. The youngsters, now spread across the country, still found common ground in their memories of the trip. The impact was well articulated in a survey we conducted earlier this year among the youngsters: ‘being there is so much more important than just having heard about it’. If you are interested in the survey results, you can review them here.

On October 12th and 14th, the commemoration of the Sobibor uprising took place. We traveled there with the board and former board, including the daughter of Jules Schelvis. In Sobibor, we met the Dutch delegation, including outgoing Prime Minister Rutte, who gave the opening speech at the official commemoration; it was subdued and well-considered. On October 14th, we had control over the memorial ourselves, along with Bildungswerk Stanislaw Hantz. With a large group, including the youngsters from the International Youth Conference, we walked the grounds, from the roll call area, through the Lane of Remembrance, to the ash hill. We listened to speeches by Marvin Raab, Tagan Engel, and Rena Blatt, relatives of uprising survivors, and named names. We paused at the stones. The new Lane of Remembrance/Memorial Lane is impressive.

The Dutch Television (NOS) created a special documentary. They told the story of the victims from Westerbork and Sobibor. You can also watch this documentary online.

We remain more aware than ever that we must continue to tell our stories. This was also done by Professor Dr. Marc van Berkel with his story about Holocaust education during the Sobibor lecture at the Amsterdam Resistance Museum at the end of October. The ensuing discussion was intense.

Fortunately, we were able to end the year festively with the awarding of the Jules Schelvis Youth Prize to Oscar Visser. Oscar interviewed his grandfather Joost van Hilten about the war and Sobibor. From the jury report: ‘Oscar’s work describes a process in which, by interviewing a survivor, he not only allows that person to tell their story but also becomes part of the process of passing on the story of Sobibor’. Theater Roestvrij received an honorable mention for ‘Sjiwwe for Sobibor’

This is what we experienced together in 2023. We are on the eve of 2024, the year that the Foundation celebrates its 25th anniversary! I once again thank my fellow board members Petra, Menno, Bernolf, Fergal, Marijke and Naomi for all the work they do.

Let’s all hope that 2024 can be a calmer year in the world!

Happy New Year

Christine Gispen-de Wied
December 30, 2023

On October 29, the Resistance Museum in Amsterdam hosted the gathering to commemorate the Sobibor extermination camp revolt of October 14, 1943. This gathering is jointly organized annually by the Resistance Museum and the Sobibor Foundation.

What is special this year is that the uprising was eighty years ago. Moreover, Sobibor death camp has regularly been in the news. Starting with articles in the daily newspapers about the presentation of Rosanne Kropman’s book “The Darkest Dark” and with television broadcasts about the commemorations in Sobibor and Westerbork.

Keynote on Holocaust education

Marc van Berkel was invited as keynote speaker on Holocaust education. He has recently been appointed extraordinary professor of Holocaust education at Radboud University in Nijmegen, succeeding Ido Abram.

Read the keynote of Marc van Berkel (Dutch)

He described how education about the Holocaust has evolved since the 1960s, current challenges and the relationship between Holocaust education and combating anti-Semitism. And especially now, after the upsurge of violence in the Middle East , which has also caused unrest in the Netherlands, resulting in the cancellation of several demonstrations. But also with consequences for education. Teachers will have to watch their words even more closely when covering the history and current events of the Middle East.

The “new beginning” after 1945 meant that it was not until the 1970s that specific attention was paid to the persecution of Jews, and only much later did Holocaust education become a compulsory part of history education.

Anno 2023 the interest among young people in the Holocaust is high, although their knowledge is slowly decreasing. The reason could be that history is an elective subject in upper secondary school. Another reason could be that personal testimonies from family members are becoming increasingly scarce. This is why guest speakers are so enormously important and far more important than films with often historically inaccurate information.

Holocaust-related research shows that more than half of young people approve of Holocaust awareness in schools.
However, many teaching materials still offer inaccurate or one-sided information. Teachers’ knowledge is also declining. Many young people reproduce persistent stereotypes and prejudices regarding Jews.
On the other hand, many young people are indeed interested. Especially through stories of relatives they can empathize. Empathy is known to be an effective mechanism for reducing prejudice.

Discussion on Holocaust education

After this keynote speech, the afternoon was continued by a discussion with Bettie Schols-Meents (has been giving guest lectures in schools for the National Support Center Guest Speakers of Westerbork for many years) and Hadassa Hirschfeld (historian, former deputy director CIDI and organizer/guide of youth trips to Auschwitz). This discussion was led by Petra van den Boomgaard.

The Sobibor Foundation is proud to announce that the Jules Schelvis Youth Prize 2023 has been awarded to Oscar Visser. His paper, “My Family and Sobibor” (Dutch) which stands out for its clear and almost matter-of-fact writing style, deals with the past of the Sobibor extermination camp in a way that is both informative and poignant.

Oscar, a high school student, has chosen an unusual perspective for his paper. Despite personal involvement through the loss of family members, including three in Sobibor and one in Auschwitz, he chooses to step back from individual suffering and focus on the facts: the decision making surrounding the construction of the camp, the executive leadership, the gruesome procedures and the physical layout of Sobibor.

Oscar’s paper gives space to the cold facts, after which he modestly connects to the personal by describing the history of four Stolpersteine in Amsterdam. The sober account of the uprising in Sobibor and the current state of the former camp form the conclusion of his argument, which, however, does not end before he echoes the appeal of Jules Schelvis himself: the story of Sobibor must continue to be told.

Through this approach, the suffering of individuals does not become a veil that obscures the view of the systematic processes of the Holocaust. On the contrary, it strengthens awareness of the immense impact of the events in Sobibor. Oscar demonstrates that a factual approach, in the spirit of Jules Schelvis’s own testimonies, does not mitigate the horror, but the call for remembered

With this piece of work, the Jules Schelvis Youth Prize becomes a symbol of the importance of remembering in a way that encourages thought and action. Oscar Visser’s approach has reinforced the mission of the Sobibor Foundation: to constantly remember and learn from history, so that it never repeats itself.

There were four entries this year.

1. Pien Gubbels (Drawing with poem)
2. Oscar L. Visser (Workpiece: My family and Sobibor)
3. Jop van Schaik, Morris Kuijk, Ivo van Anraad, Jens Bunt (Profile paper Sobibor)
4. Performing group of 20 young people within Stainless Theater (Shiwwe for Sobibor)

The jury decided unanimously to advise the board of the Sobibor Foundation to award the Jules Schelvis Scholierenprijs 2023 to Oscar Visser:

“Our considerations here were that Oscar’s piece reports on a process in which, by interviewing a survivor, he both gives that person the opportunity to tell his story and also becomes part of that process of passing on the story of Sobibor himself. It takes courage to do such a thing within the family and then, despite the personal connections, to keep a distance from the obviously highly charged and emotional subject. Oscar succeeded. His intention to travel to Poland with his grandfather, by the way, also indicates that the process is not yet complete.

We know from other stories, furthermore, that the point of completion is often not reached either. But that’s not a bad thing. We need each other to deal with this history. The narrator of the story – Oscar’s grandfather – steps in the footsteps of Jules Schelvis and the listener, by recording the story, also follows those footsteps.

Oscar was captivated by his family’s story and knew he had to interview his grandfather. It cannot fail to have deepened his relationship with his grandfather and – we noted – he also indicates that he still wants to visit the camps in former Nazi-occupied Poland with his grandfather. We find it very special that he wants to do that as a young man. If he succeeds, it will be a life-defining experience, perhaps healing for his grandfather, but it is certain that – should Oscar be given it – he will pass on and tell this story and visit to Sobibor to his own children and grandchildren in the future, in the spirit of Jules Schelvis.”.

A special mention by the jury is awarded to the acting group of 20 young people within Roestvrij Theater for the play Shiwwe for Sobibor. The jury: “sitting a shiwwe, that is observing the seven days of mourning when you have just lost a blood relative to death. Twenty young people, associated with Roestvrij Theater, have created unique performances in a series of over twenty performances that are different and tie in with specific stories of transports from Wersterbork to Sobibor. They did so in a way that made the audience feel – as befits a shiwwe – that the loss was recent and still felt in everything. An intensive project that must have made a great impression not only on the spectator, but also on the young people.”

The Sobibor Foundation established this prize in 2020 for young people, who in a special way bring attention to the former Nazi extermination camp Sobibor and feel involved in contributing to the lasting memory of Sobibor. The Jules Schelvis Youth Prize consists of a certificate and a sum of €250.

Jury members for the Jules Schelvis Scholierenprijs 2023 were:
Jeroen van den Eijnde, director of National Monument Camp Vught, Maarten Eddes, former chairman of the Sobibor Foundation and Doede Sijtsma, from the Province of Gelderland since 2002 officially involved in developments in Sobibor.

On October 14, 1943, 80 years ago, an act of courage and resistance took place that would go down in history as the Sobibor Uprising. This event, in which prisoners in the German Sobibor death camp revolted against their oppressors, is commemorated annually. This year there was not only an intimate commemoration on Oct. 14, but also an international commemoration on Oct. 12, with outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Rutte in attendance.

 A powerful message from outgoing Prime Minister Rutte of The NetherlandsA

During the international commemoration, spoke outgoing Prime Minister Rutte of The Netherlands with deep emotion about the importance of remembering and honoring those who revolted in 1943 and those who were murdered in Sobibor. He quoted Jewish tradition: “May their memory be a blessing. May they never be forgotten, as their murderers intended.” With these words, he emphasized the lasting memory of the victims and the strength of the resistance.

Prime Minister Rutte added that attendance at this commemoration sends a clear message: evil will not prevail. By coming together, mentioning the names of the victims and telling their stories, we remind ourselves how important it is to be vigilant, especially in the present. We must stand up against anti-Semitism and other forms of exclusion, against oppression and stand up for freedom, compassion and humanity.

The example of Jules Schelvis, Ursula Stern and Selma Engel-Wijnberg shows us the way. We must continue to tell, so that the horrors of Sobibor will never be forgotten.

A Major Development: Reconstruction of the Camp Site

Another momentous event in the commemoration of the Sobibor Uprising is the completion of the reconstruction of the camp site. Thanks to intensive archaeological research, it has been possible to reconstruct the floor plan of the camp, including the location of the gas chambers. This reconstruction sheds new light on the horrific history of Sobibor and helps to tell the story more completely.

Shiwwe for Sobibor

Simultaneously with the commemoration at Sobibor, a memorial service was also held at Memorial Camp Westerbork. Dutch research journalist Rosanne Kropman presented her new book about Sobibor and young people from Roestvrij Theater played the play Shiwwe for Sobibor. In collaboration with Theater Na de Dam and the Sobibor Foundation and the Westerbork Memorial, Roestvrij theater developed the performance series Shiwwe for Sobibor. This new way of commemorating was played at the former camp site and other locations starting in the spring of 2023. As part of the commemoration of the uprising, the performance was performed again.

The Darkest Dark: Stories of Human Destruction

Another important aspect of the 80th commemoration is the publication of the book “The Darkest Dark” by Rosanne Kropman. This book digs deep into the stories of human destruction at the German death camp Sobibor in occupied Poland. The book offers an indispensable insight into the personal experiences of some of the victims and survivors, allowing us to continue to tell and remember their stories.

An Intimate Commemoration on Oct. 14

On Oct. 14, exactly 80 years after the uprising, an intimate commemoration took place in Sobibor. Relatives of survivors and victims, together with the Sobibor Foundation, the Dutch ambassador to Poland, Bildungswerk Stanisław Hantz e.V., the Majdanek and Sobibor state museums and schoolchildren from the Netherlands, Poland, Germany and Austria gathered on the historic ground.

At the site where the uprising began, moving speeches were given by Tagan Engel, granddaughter of Sobibor survivors Selma Engel-Wijnberg and Chaim Engel, and Rena Smith-Blatt, daughter of Thomas Toivi Blatt.

Then the commemoration moved along the Memorial Lane to the site of the mass graves. Here a Kadish was said and the names of the victims of Sobibor were read aloud. The commemoration ended with a moving piece of music.

Participants also visited the lane with the memorial stones, where Jetje Manheim, former president of the Sobibor Foundation, and Steffen Hänschen, member of Bildungswerk Stanisław Hantz, spoke about the significance of these stones and the special history of their placement. Naomi Koster spoke about her uncle’s life at the stone for Manfred Levie.

Remembering the Sobibor uprising is not only a tribute to those who lived through the unthinkable, but also a commitment to pass on their stories to future generations. It is a reminder of the horrors of the past and a call for vigilance in the present, so that we never forget and always continue to stand up for freedom and humanity. Together we stand strong against evil.

The Dutch broadcaster NOS made a beautiful reportage of the commemoration of the uprising in both Sobibor and at Remembrance Center Camp Westerbork.

Watch the coverage here

Very impressive and it definitely stays with me throughout my life. It is something I carry with me a little bit every day.

The first youth conference took place prior to the Sobibor Commemoration in 2013, when we commemorated that the Sobibor uprising had taken place 70 years earlier. Now, 10 years later, the Sobibor Foundation is curious to what extent this trip has made a (lasting) impact on the lives of participants and their behavior and opinions regarding discrimination and exclusion.
Below are the main conclusions.

 

“I went on the trip as a girl and came back as a woman.”

On May 14, 2023, Sophia Engelsman-Huisman passed away quietly in Herzliya, Israel. She was 97 years old. Sophia Engelsman-Huisman was one of 18 Dutch survivors of the Sobibor extermination camp. And (presumably) the last survivor of the 34313 Jews deported from Westerbork to Sobibor.

On Feb. 26, 1943, Sophia was rounded up during the raid on the Jewish hospital “Megon Hatsedek” in Rotterdam and Sophia Huisman was forwarded to the Westerbork transit camp. Deportation to Sobibor followed on March 10, 1943. Thirteen women from this second transport survived the war.

Sophia was selected as an “Arbeitsjude” in Sobibor and was sent via the Majdanek and Lublin-Alter Flughafen camps as a forced laborer in the Milejow marmalade factory. Here she survived Aktion Erntefest, the November 3 and 4, 1943 mass murder of more than 43,000 Jews, following the Sobibor and Treblinka uprisings. The Germans forgot about the prisoners in Camp Milejow.

She was then transferred to Trawniki, where she was forced to clean the exterminated camp, pull gold teeth and molars from the shot Jews and burn the dead.

Because of the approaching Red Army, she went via Majdanek concentration camp on foot to Auschwitz, where she became number 13879. In Auschwitz, she worked in the Scheissekommando, which meant cleaning up all the poop in the camp. Then she was sent to Bergen-Belsen, where she met Anne Frank, according to a 1966 testimony at Yad Vashem.

On May 8, 1945, Sophia was liberated in Theresienstadt by the Red Army and quickly moved across the demarcation line to safety by the French. She was deathly ill with typhoid fever and weighed only 37 kilograms.

Through the Batafactories in Best, The Netherlands, she returned to Rotterdam, where she went to live with her uncle Jo, a brother of her father and his wife. In Rotterdam, she met the student Jaap Engelsman, who had survived the war in hiding. They had a relationship, which ended when Jaap suddenly disappeared because she had reported to the Haganah, a Zionist-Jewish paramilitary organization. This was disbanded in 1948, after which Jaap went to study in Jerusalem.

In August 1949, Sophia left for Israel via Marseilles on the ship the Galilah. On August 29, 1949, she arrived in Haifa. It was not much later in Jerusalem that Sophie and Jaap found each other again and married shortly thereafter. Sophie fulfilled her dream in Israel by becoming a midwife. In the 1950s Jaap and Sophia returned to The Netherlands because of Jaap’s work at the embassy and later at Unilever. Their four sons were born in the Netherlands. In 1959 the family returned permanently to Israel and she spent her remaining life working as an midwife. and attended the births of her 21 grandchildren and many great-grandchildren. In recent years she lived at the Beth Juliana care center.

May her memory be a blessing.

Namens Stichting Sobibor legde bestuurslid Bernolf Kramer en zijn dochter een bloemstuk.

Dit jaar was het 80 jaar geleden dat de Kindertransporten vanuit Kamp Vught via Westerbork naar Sobibor plaatsvonden. Hier vind je een terugblik in foto’s, het NOS Jeugdjournaal en enkele toespraken.

Lineke de Vries

Sara de Vries vertelde het verhaal van haar nichtje Lineke de Vries, die als 6-jarige met moeder Eva naar Sobibor moest. Sara de Vries is gastspreker bij het Landelijk Steunpunt WOII-Heden. Lees hier haar bijdrage.

Opperrabbijn Binyomin Jacobs hield een overdenking. Die kun je hier lezen.

De leerlingen vervulden ook dit jaar verschillende rollen: als ceremoniemeester, interviewer of Kids Reporter. Ook lazen de kinderen de namen voor van in 1943 weggevoerde Joodse kinderen, en hielpen zij bij het leggen van de bloemstukken.

Na de herdenking was de voorstelling ‘Sjiwwe voor Sobibor’ te zien. Ditmaal in een speciale versie met teksten die te maken hebben met de kindertransporten van juni 1943.

Sjiwwe is de zevendaagse rouwperiode in de Joodse traditie. Het woord betekent ook ‘zitten’ en is het woord voor het getal zeven in Hebreeuws. Jonge theatermakers onderzochten nieuwe manieren van herdenken, tachtig jaar na de negentien transporten vanuit Nederland naar Sobibor.

Sjiwwe voor Sobibor is een samenwerking van Herinneringscentrum Kamp Westerbork, Theater Na de Dam, Roestvrij theater en Stichting Sobibor.

Het NOS Jeugdjournaal maakte onderstaande reportage over de herdenking op 4 juni:

“Maar zeker ook het programma na afloop van de herdenking: een toneelstuk, uitgevoerd door jongeren: Sjiwwe, heette het. Imponerend en confronterend. Ik kan het niet beschrijven, omdat de opvoering van de weg die de kinderen van de Kindertransporten moeten afleggen, zo echt was dat woorden tekort zouden schieten. Alle Middelbare scholen zouden verplicht dit moeten zien, in de strijd tegen antisemitisme en ieder andere vorm van rassenhaat.”

Opperrabbijn Binyomin Jacobs

De Kids Reporters van BS De Schalm maakten een verslag van de herdenking.

Foto’s: Monique van den Brink, Lisette Broess, Bernolf Kramer en Jan van de Ven.  

Met dank aan de leerlingen en docenten Mart, Lieke en Natalie van BS De Schalm, Defensie, Kids Reporters (filmpje volgt nog), Landgoed Huize Bergen, Politie Oost-Brabant, het Revesz Trio, het Rode Kruis en Buurtpreventie Vught.