Tag Archives: Jews

Bevrijdingsdag-Dutch Liberation Day:The Liberation of Amsterdam and a personal Thanks

In what would seem to be the most appropriate post to end the weekend tribute to Bevrijdinsdag, Dutch Liberation Day, I offer this video of the Liberation of Amsterdam.  Although the harsh realities of what took place during these 5 years of Nazi occupation would soon come to light for those who had survived, on this day the good people of Holland had every right to celebrate.  And that they did.  As the Jews of Holland would learn of the devastation that had struck their world, those left in Holland, such as Sipora Groen, my mother and the woman on the cover of the book Jew Face, would at least be able to try to rebuild in what was now a free and always had been a friendly Holland.  It is for this reason I take this opportunity to say on a personal note that although I am very proud of my Jewish roots, I am also very proud of my Dutch ones.  Thank you Holland and thank you to all of the Dutch people for doing whatever you could to turn tragedy into hope.  No nation deserved freedom more on that day and it has been my honor to celebrate it.


Dutch Liberation Day:Audrey Hepburn’s connection to the Dutch resistance

As if her adorable beauty and charming acting skills weren’t enough, it turns out there are even greater reasons to be a fan of the late Audrey Hepburn.  Living in the Netherlands during the war, Hepburn would perform underground to raise money for the Dutch resistance and on occasion even help by being a courier .  And showing her understanding of the human condition, she would later in her life recall the horrors of what she saw and in retrospect remembered as a young girl with this statement: “I have memories. More than once I was at the station seeing trainloads of Jews being transported, seeing all these faces over the top of the wagon. I remember, very sharply, one little boy standing with his parents on the platform, very pale, very blond, wearing a coat that was much too big for him, and he stepped on to the train. I was a child observing a child.”


Israel: Sunrise for the Jewish people

 

 

 

In 1948, three years removed from the end of Nazi terror and the murder of 6 million Jews, the State of Israel was born.  Every year we  remember the souls who lost their lives in defense of the Jewish state.   But just as many days of sadness ended in 1945 with an eternal moment of celebration in 1948, so too every year we celebrate Israel’s independence the day after we remember those we lost.  So for me, nothing signifies the strength of the Jewish people more than an Israeli flag at sunrise.  For when the sun sets on the Jewish people and the world becomes dark, the sadness ultimately passes and the sun rises once again.  

Happy Birthday Israel!  Consider this my  message to you on your Facebook wall.


The Importance of Freedom

As Jews all over the world celebrate Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath), I think back once again to what we commemorated and remembered this week.  It strikes me how the Holocaust reached even further than the 6 million killed.  The basic freedom to practice the religion in any way was stripped from mostly every Jew in Europe.  The lesson to  us all, regardless of what we believe in or practice, is to never take for granted our freedom and to stand up and fight those who would oppress others merely for being what they are and for what they believe in.  We must recognize it happened before in order to prevent it from happening ever again.