Rememberance
Today is May 4th. The day where The Netherlands will be silent and remember those who gave their lives for our freedom (Specifically during World War 2.)
My grandfather loved the phrase 'A picture tells you more then a thousand words'. I'm thinking he was right.
The following pictures can and will be shocking. Most of them are of The Netherlands and specifically the area where I live as it was during WW2.
There were 4 concentration camps in The Netherlands. Vught, Ommen, Amersfoort and Westerbork.
Westerbork is the most known. Between July 1942 and September 1944, 105 trains left this camp. Carrying with them about 97.776 victims.
54.930 people were deported to Auswitz. Most of them never returned and died in the gaschambers. 854 people, survived the Hell of Auschwitz/Birkenau.
34.313 people were deported to the destruction camp Sobibor. Those who arrived there, didn't realize that this station was the end of their lives as well. No train left Sobibor for another destination and only empty trains got back to Westerbork.
4.771 people were deported to Concentration Camp Theresienstadt in Czechoslovakia.
3.762 people were deported to Bergen-Belsen. Anne Frank and her family among them.
The last train left Westerbork on September 3rd 1944.
Approximately 6 Million jews were killed.
Approximately 3,5 million prisoners of war were killed.
Approximately a hundred thousand gypsies were killed.
Approximately 50.000 to 63.000 people were suspected of being gay. 15.000 of them died in the concentration camps. The only way to escape that was voluntary castration. Lesbians weren't seen as threatening. Lucky them.
An unknown number of resistance people, Jehova's witnesses, muslims, colored people and political prisoners were also killed.
In total it is thought that approximately 37.215.153 people have died. No doubt, there were more.
...And yet, there are those who say this never happened.
Remember....always.... This must never happen again.