The following 2 videos showing the Liberation of Zutphen, in the Dutch province of Gelderland, in 1945, were put together by Harm Kuijper, who happens to be the son-in-law of Lubertus and Geeske te Kiefte, two of the main characters and heroes in the book Jew Face.
In commemorating Bevrijdingsdag, Dutch Liberation Day, we do so in 2 ways. We do so on a large scale, realizing that today is the day set out to celebrate the freedom from the occupation of the Nazi regime, and we do so on a smaller scale, remembering those and the family of those that helped give freedom on a more specific, but no less significant scale. With that in mind I focus in this post on the family te Kiefte. In the book “Jew Face” much is told of the heroics of Lubertus & Geeske te Kiefte. When we first meet them in the book they had a young son Gerrit, and by the time the story is told they have a baby daughter named Aantje. Regretfully all four have passed from this earth. Gerrit, who was just a young boy during the second World War, died suddenly and tragically in 1968. Antje was taken by cancer early in 2010. Bertus te Kiefte lived to be 81 and left this earth in 1990, and Geeske te Kiefte died in 2003 at the age of 90. (Pictures:Left-Bertus and Geeske te Kiefte with son Gerrit in 1943: Right:Sipora Groen holding Aantje in 1945)
As stated so often, in so many ways and in so many places, the te Keiftes and their descendants have stayed close to the Groen family and their descendants. Both Gerrit and Aantje are survived by their spouses and offspring, and Bertus and Geeske have their one surviving daughter Nina with her husband Harm and their children. Harm honors the Normandy Veterans’ Association on his website http://nvafriends.nl/index.php?cid=11
Understanding the more personal stories of heroics helps us to relate to the enormity of the liberation. We thank all of those who made is possible.
The small Dutch town of Lemerlerveld was an important location for the Dutch resistance during the second World War. The courage and kindness of the citizens of this town is a symbol of what made the people of Holland great in the midst of some of the greatest evil the world has ever known. On this Bevrijdingsdag, Dutch Liberation Day, we honor this small town and all the good it did for so many people, including my parents, Nardus and Sipora Groen as chronicled in the book Jew Face.
In this post, for those who are not more directly connected, I am going to explain why things are as they are on this blog. For example, how does Yom Hazikaron, Day of Remembrance, a day to remember those who sacrificed their lives for the State of Israel, tie in to the book Jew Face. No post on this site is random. The origin of it all goes deeper than the book itself.
Jew Face, as the cover says, is a story of love and heroism in Nazi-occupied Holland. The love story between my parents and their heroic acts and behavior, Nardus and Sipora Groen is the main subject matter of the book and naturally will lead to many posts surrounding them and the life they lead. Expanding it further the book discusses the heroism of various people, Jewish and non-Jewish throughout the 5 years of occupation. Those active in the Dutch resistance will be discussed frequently and as in as much depth as possible with the main focus being on the righteousness of Lubertus and Geeske te Kiefte.
When you peel away another layer however the function of the blog goes much deeper and maybe requires explanation. Three years after the Jewish people experienced the devastating horrors of the Holocaust, the Jewish State of Israel was formed. Jews all over the world declared “Never Again” and have felt a sense of security knowing that there is a Jewish state willing to defend the lives of Jewish people all over the world regardless of their practical support for the nation. The mere existence of this state gives an added strength to that cry of “Never Again”, and every life that is lost in defense of this state is a life that was sacrificed to protect the Jewish people.
When writing a book like Jew Face, a book about what 2 people experienced, as a Jew myself it is impossible to ignore the deeper importance of the story. The origin is the history and future of the Jewish people together with a hopeful betterment of mankind. May God always bless those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
The following piece written by my father of blessed memory is the Foreword for the book “Jew Face: A story of love and heroism in Nazi-occupied Holland.” It is extremely appropriate for Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day).
FOREWORD
by Rabbi Nardus Groen, of blessed memory
The life that was not lived:
This is the story of two people whose experiences cannot be seen as
separated from one another. At the same time, it includes a multitude of people
whose story will never be told. We therefore consider it a privilege as well as a
duty to share with you some of the 4,380 days of our being on this earth.
Existence is more or less a state of exposure. Life, on the other hand,
is a matter of faith. If there was such a thing, my choice would be for
something in between. Some attributes may be applied to it, and others
may not fit the shoe.
We may in the course of it meet people who, for whatever it’s worth,
may be portrayed as heroes, while others are cowards, pacifists, or activists.
They are all the products of mankind. For them, there will always be a
place under the sun (with the exception of the traitor). But being as we are
a homogenous society, no one can ever be left out. And as it is by the very
inclination of the human race, the dark shadow of the wicked will play an
overpowering role in leaving behind the marks in the way of scars brought
upon them by society.
If the worst could ever be turned into good, the only lesson to be learned
of that is, never ever forget. For in the past lay the present, and in the present
the future. Without that, we will be repeating our mistakes and shortcomings,
and as a result the world will not be the place it was created to be.
In order to live, you still have to be able to somehow believe in the
goodness of mankind. In that light, we will start with our first words to
describe that which has been and never should have been.
Now you can find a complete listing of every name mentioned in the book “Jew Face: A story of love and heroism in Nazi-occupied Holland”. Check back regularly as links will be added to provide more information about the most relevant characters in the book.
To go to the Page CLICK HERE or click the header on the Home Page of the site.
How does one write a book about one of the most horrific times in history? How does one write a book about his or her parents especially when one has been gone for close to five years? And how does someone write about various people who exemplified courage, righteousness, kindness, and self sacrifice?
On so many levels writing the book “Jew Face” has been one of the most humbling experiences of my life. As much as I might try to feel what people who lived through the Nazi occupation and Holocaust in Europe felt, there is no way anyone who did not go through this time could actually capture this feeling. On an intellectual and compassionate level, anyone who is decent and thoughtful can understand how awful it was, but to write about it and to attempt to immerse oneself in it, is at the very least difficult, at most impossible. I made every attempt to do this while realizing all I could really do was convey my respect and honor to the memories of those lost and the pain and suffering of those who survived.
In writing about my parents I was confronted with a challenge. Do I search out their flaws and develop those areas of their character, or do I eliminate that dimension and focus on the qualities that made them special in this story? I chose the second option for two reasons. First of all my stories were based on their personal accounts and therefore I chose to portray those accounts the way that they were conveyed to me. I as someone who heard these stories my entire life, still find them fascinating. This is because of the positive content, not because of an unnecessary objectivity of the character of those who told the stories. The book is about their stories, not about the complexities of their respective characters. As a son I remembered only the greatness of my father and recognize the greatness of my mother with the same passion.
The second reason I went this direction is because the evil in this book is so clearly defined by being either a Nazi or a Nazi sympathizer that I chose not to focus on the imperfections of the decent individual. In this book there is a clearly defined good and evil. There are very few shades of grey.
And finally, how did I manage to write about people who exemplified such incredible behavior? By constantly feeling humble, feeling honored to write about them, and by trying to learn to be a better man while writing about better men and women than I could ever be. They are already immortalized by the worlds that have come from them. All I did was attempt to make it possible for as many people as possible to learn about this small handful of very special people.
There is an absolute good and there is an absolute evil. Everything in between is open for interpretation. And sometimes it is not even relevant.
“Jew Face:A story of Love and Heroism in Nazi-Occupied Holland”
Now available on barnesandnoble.com and Amazon.com
There is an absolute good and there is an absolute evil. Everything in between is open for interpretation. And sometimes it is not even relevant.
“JEW FACE: A Story of Love and Heroism in Nazi-Occupied Holland”
Now available on barnesandnoble.com
Holland's Heroes 