Westerbork camp, Netherlands

Westerbork was a Nazi transit camp located in the Netherlands during World War II. Originally established in 1939 as a refugee camp for Jews fleeing Nazi persecution in Germany and Austria, it was repurposed in 1942 as a transit camp for the deportation of Jews, Sinti, and Roma to concentration camps.
 

The Commandant's house

The camp served as a staging ground for deportations, with transport trains arriving every Tuesday from July 1942 to September 1944. Approximately 97,776 Jews, Sinti, and Roma were deported from Westerbork to camps like Auschwitz, Sobibór, Theresienstadt, and Bergen-Belsen. The camp was known for its relatively "hu-mane" conditions compared to extermination camps, with inmates housed in cottages or barracks.

Westerbork was liberated by the Canadian 2nd Infantry Division on April 12, 1945. Today, it serves as a memorial and museum, preserving the history and honoring the victims of the Holocaust.

LINK TO -->> THE NAZI TRAIL OF TERROR

Education

The Herinneringscentrum Kamp Westerbork (Westerbork Memorial Centre) is dedicated to preserving the history of the camp and honoring the victims. The museum offers exhibits, eyewitness lectures, theater performances, and special activities for children. It provides a comprehensive overview of life in the camp and the deportation process.

A few people who were at Westerbork

Anne Frank - The famous diarist and Holocaust victim.

Etty Hillesum - A Dutch writer and Holocaust victim whose diaries were published posthumously.

Edith Stein - A German philosopher and Catholic nun who was canonized as a martyr and saint.

Selma Wijnberg-Engel - A Dutch Holocaust survivor who later became a prominent figure in Holocaust remembrance.

Resources

Here are some well-known books about Westerbork:

One-Way Ticket from Westerbork by Jonathan Gardiner (2021)

The Diary Keepers: World War II in the Netherlands, as Written by the People Who Lived Through It by Nina Siegal (2023)

Beyond the Tracks by Michael Reit (2020)

Escape from Westerbork by Cambridge University Press (2022)

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Geoffrey W. Sutton has a PhD in psychology and writes about psychology and culture.

Website: https://www.suttong.com/

Amazon Author: https://author.amazon.com/home

ResearchGate page: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Geoffrey-Sutton-2

Academia Page: https://evangel.academia.edu/GeoffSutton

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