I wrote this episode of the quest for Jan van Boeckel when I was still at the very beginning of my quest for my uncle, who left Haarlem at the beginning of 1944 for a journey into the unknown. Ever … Continue reading Reweaving the tapestry of a lost life
It makes me wonder how much information about the fate of Nazi victims and occurrences during this era is as yet unavailable as the information is locked within a language. Continue reading Unlocking language -Second World War Research
Sporen van zijn reis zijn echter gedurende de afgelopen decennia teruggevonden door verschillende familieleden. Op dit moment vervolg ik hun zoektocht en weef alle beschikbare informatie samen tot een zo gedetailleerd mogelijk verhaal. Continue reading De zoektocht naar Jan van Boeckel (in Dutch for a change)
After defeating the Dutch army in 1940, and bombing Rotterdam to cinders, Holland was occupied by the Germans. If living under these circumstances was hard for the average Dutch man or woman in the early years of the war, 1942 was a hellish year Dutch Jews and anyone suspected of working against Hitler. Continue reading 1942: Devilish dilemmas
His dream is to fight the Nazis from the skies, and he is planning to run off to England. How did Jan spend those months preparing for his flight to Belgium? Luckily we have some of his diaries and oral family history to rely on. Continue reading Off to England and the great unknown
Where should I begin this tale of adventure, idealism, survival, death and suffering? Maybe there is no beginning or end. There are snippets of information contained in registers, photographs, oral history, correspondence, maps, scientific research, testimonials, newspaper articles and interviews. Continue reading Reweaving the tapestry of a lost life
