Jakob arrived at Flossenbürg main camp one day after Jan did. On the 15th of February 1945 he left Flossenbürg main camp for the subcamp in Saal an der Donau in a passenger train. Continue reading Jakob Hajblum – A man with character
Many hours have also been spent in walking to and through the various locations I have been able to unearth in all the documents, spots where Jan had stayed during his Belgian sojourn. Continue reading Pilgrimage 4: Wallonia
I am going on a pilgrimage. A delving, unearthing and prospecting pilgrimage into history Continue reading Shadowy Pilgrimage
Facts remain the backbone of my story. This is a study of facts which needed to do to be able to understand any further research on this last phase in Jan van Boeckel’s life – and his death. Not the most inspiring of reading material, I wrote it because it might be useful for anyone else doing research on this place and time, and these events. Continue reading Slim Chances in Saal and Dachau
A sense of humour is one of the best survival tools, and the van Boeckels had loads of it. Talking to Jacqueline and Ineke, two of the youngest van Boeckels, they forever tell their painful childhood stories laced with the jokes that were prevalent in the family. It still makes them laugh out loud. Continue reading Processions in the Hunger Winter
Greetings in German and French rang out as they were introduced to an international maquis group, a group of Partisans Armés, armed resistance fighters. Continue reading Joining the Maquisards in the Ardennes
As I was watching a performance of the opera Don Carlos by Verdi this week I realised that Jan’s life has all the ingredients of a grand literary tragedy. Based on a story written in 1787 by Friedrich Schiller, Verdi’s Don Carlos relates an imposing mix of power abuse, politics, occupation, heroism, idealism, oppression and cruelty. And there is music. The deeper I delve into Jan’s story, the more I touch upon these very themes. Continue reading Singing in a monastery
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
In the past couple of days so much information is coming in about my uncle Jan van Boeckel that I can just about keep up with reading and making sense of it, but am not yet able to write it all down. Continue reading More than expected…
He sent it from a coded address to a friend who was also in hiding, but it never made its way to them until much later. It is a birthday letter for his two smallest siblings, my mother and her younger sister. But it is also a warning, a cryptic letter with a hidden message. My mother did not receive this letter until 1995, my grandma never saw it. Continue reading A dire warning…
And so when Jan does not show up in Haarlem, my grandpa writes to the Saint Leonard prison in Liege in June 1945, inquiring after his son. The Belgian authorities reply that the records have been destroyed and that they are unable to answer him. On the third of August 1945 a letter arrives on my grandmother’s doorstep. Continue reading Where is Jan?
Later on I learnt that my uncle was indeed listed as NN, a ‘Nacht und Nebel’, prisoner who would disappear into darkness and mist never to be heard of again. In the case of the resistance fighter Jan van Boeckel they greatly succeeded. He is still a missing person. This storyline is my attempt to sabotage their succes. Continue reading Confronting tough truths
The Flossenbürg concentration camp itself is now a monument, although a few decennia back it was partly used as an industrial site. Along the perimeter there are homes of citizens on a terraced hill, which was part of the camp. Continue reading The book of names at Flossenbürg
Initially I went to Dachau as a gesture of respect to my uncle, who died when he was 22 years old at the hands of the Nazis in Germany. And I left Dachau with an incredible urge to find out how much really was known about his fate. That is the quest I am on at the moment. Continue reading From Holland to Bavaria: The quest starts at Dachau
Southern Bavaria in September. The goal was to see Munich and meet family at the Tegernsee and then go into deepest Bavaria at the Austrian border, … Continue reading Beautiful nature. Ugly history
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