Tag Archives: Sipora Groen
I have the wonderful blessing of hearing my mother’s views on world affairs, and whether I agree with all her sentiments or not, the one thing that is certain, is that I always learn something. My mother has asked me to put into writing her opinion on the recent events regarding the relationship between the United States and Cuba.
The phrase she uttered 3 times in the discussion was, “Hate for the sake of Hate”. She drew the comparison to the nation of Germany. Germany, the country responsible for the murder of 6 millions Jews and the evil protagonist in both WWI and WWII, is now a respected and civil democracy. It is a nation where people can live freely and peacefully. The Jewish people are able to live there happily and with a few exceptions no longer are exposed to anything resembling the hate once found there. Whatever hate they do have to deal with is not sanctioned by the government. On the contrary, it is condemned by the government.
It is my mother’s belief that if we can turn the page on Germany’s history, we can certainly do the same thing for Cuba. Her feeling is by no means that Cuba is a perfect country without issues needing resolution, but the reaction people have had to the normalization of relations is nothing more that “hate for the sake of hate”.
There is much evil in the world today. My mother recognizes that and often fears that we are headed for another global catastrophe. However, she also maintains that the world’s problems are not coming from Cuba, and that in reestablishing relations with the island only 90 miles from the United States, we have a lot more to gain than we have to lose.
Agree or disagree, it is hard to argue with the almost 93 years of experience of a clearheaded, intelligent and lucid woman.
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Leave a comment | tags: Cuba, Germany, Jewish, Nazis, Sipora Groen, United States, WWI, WWII | posted in Uncategorized
Anyone who reads my posts knows that at the bottom of all of them is a link on “How to Buy the Book”. I will not deny that although I do my writing for the love of the craft, I also use this opportunity as a means to subtly promote the book I wrote about the experiences of my parents. As the holidays approach I am throwing any subtlety out the window. Simply put, the book “Jew Face: A story of love and heroism in Nazi-occupied Holland”, is a great gift for both Hanukkah and Christmas. And here is why.
First of all and somewhat unfortunately, the book has a greater relevance today than it would have had in previous years. The importance of telling an inspirational story of Holocaust survivors has always been there, particularly with the existence of denial and hate all over the world, but with the significant growth of evil and anti-Seimitism in today’s world, being aware of what took place has never been more important.
That being said, this is not your typical Holocaust era book. This is very much a love story, despite the seriousness of the subject an easy read, and a book that acknowledges in style and substance the fact that my parents were, in many ways, 2 of the lucky ones. I always put it this way when I talk about it to others. No one should ever have to go through what my parents did over the 5 year period between 1940 and 1945, but compared to so many others, they were very fortunate. For the record, certainly by the time I was old enough to hear the story, they were very much aware of their good fortune.
My father, Rabbi Nardus Groen of Blessed Memory, was a great man. He was not a perfect man, but he was a great man. The courage and strength he exhibited during the Nazi terror was unlike that of most men. In the book I do my very best to tell the stories of his remarkable actions during this time as well as the astounding bravery and strength of my mother, Sipora Groen, who, less than a month from her 93rd birthday is still an inspiration and joy to all those who know her. I often say that it seemed to me that the only thing that ever scared my father was being without my mother.
In the book I make a clear distinction between the good guys and the bad guys. The bad guys were the Nazis and anyone who cooperated or worked with them. The good guys were everyone else. Therefore the character flaws and occasional strained relationships existing among normal decent people are not on display in this book. This is not a book about the good and bad qualities of decent people. It is a book about the good and bad in humanity, and how despite the awful price our people and our world had to pay, how good ultimately won.
If you want to learn more or purchase an inspirational and relatively inexpensive gift for someone this holiday season, CLICK HERE.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!!
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Leave a comment | tags: Jew Face, Nazi occupation, Rabbi Nardus Groen, Sipora Groen | posted in Uncategorized
For those of you looking for inspiration, hope, and valuable life lessons, the following is a radio interview with my mother, Sipora Groen discussing her experiences as a Dutch Jewish woman in Holland during the Nazi occupation together with my father, Rabbi Nardus Groen of Blessed Memory. I’m in the interview from time to time as well, but the show is worth listening to because of the stories and accounts given by my mother. I would like to thank my good friend Richard Solomon for putting us on his show “Taking Care of Business”, Click here to learn more about TCBRadioWCWP, with honorable mention and thanks to Richard’s brother and my friend Paul Solomon.
CLICK HERE TO HEAR THE INTERVIEW WITH SIPORA GROEN.
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Leave a comment | tags: David Groen, Holocaust survivor, Nardus Groen, Paul Solomon, Richard Solomon, Sipora Groen, Taking Care of Business, TCB Radio, WCWP | posted in Uncategorized
Earlier today I had a conversation with my mother regarding the violent behavior of football players in the National Football League. It is important that I clearly indicate that the football players I am referring to play in the NFL because my mother, Sipora Groen, a 92-year-old Holocaust survivor from Holland, takes umbrage in the fact that we call the sport football. I’ve heard her say countless times, ” That’s not football. They call it that but it’s not football.” For my mother, what Americans call soccer is the REAL football. It’s no secret how she feels about American football either. She hates it. And for her, the recent rash of violence from its players is vindication for her opinion.
The point she wants to make, and specifically asked me to relate to my readers, is that the nature of the sport creates an inevitability of this behavior. She believes that a sport with constant violent hits, and men jumping on top of each other to keep the other men down, sometimes in large piles, creates such a pent-up aggression that these men are left with a need to relieve this aggression in some manner or another. She is appalled by the domestic violence as any other normal person would be, but she also feels that the sport is not a normal sport and that as it exists in its current form will ultimately lead to more violence off the field.
She went on to say that she even believes that boxing is better because it only involves two people and the actions of these 2 people in the ring are carefully monitored. She dismissed out of hand my notion that football is carefully monitored as well because in football men just haphazardly pile on top of each other. She is very clear about her opinion. Unless the actual sport of football changes, more players will be involved in off the field violence. She feels so strongly about this that it is her opinion that Ray Rice would not have hit his fiance, now his wife, in the elevator if it were not for his involvement in football. I disagreed with this, but she insisted she was right, and at 92 and sharp as a tack, she very well could be.
Once my mother was done giving her opinion I promised I’d write this, but also told her I had to go. I wanted to watch the football game.
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Leave a comment | tags: American, Americans, Holland, Holocaust, Holocaust survivor, national football league, NFL, Ray Rice, Sipora Groen, soccer | posted in Uncategorized
Dear Mr. Netanyahu,
I am certain as I write this letter there will be at least one moment when tears will come to my eyes. The things I want to say to you are so heartfelt and I believe shared by so many other Jewish people like myself, that I have no doubt I will have moments of intense emotion while saying them.
I wish to start with two very simple words. Thank you. I am the son of Holocaust survivors from Holland and my entire life I have understood the importance of the State of Israel, not only in Biblical terms, but in its role as a national guardian and protector of the Jewish people. Everything you do, each word you so carefully speak, and every life you so clearly cherish does honor to the memory of the 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis. As I sit here in New York, I feel safer as a Jew knowing you are working as hard as one can work, and with as much competence as one individual can have, towards keeping Jews all over the word safe from today’s version of the Nazis.
I do not have the honor of knowing you personally, but as a Jew listening to you speak of your desire to bring peace and quiet to the people of Israel, and the importance you have always shown for Jewish life, you almost feel like family to me. It is natural and often justified for us to question the sincerity of politicians, but when you show anger or concern over harm done or threats made to the Jewish people, I never have the slightest doubt it is sincere.
I know you have critics. You are the Prime Minister of a country where people are allowed to disagree with you. I have no issue with those people because it is part of what makes Israel a great country. However, what it does do is give me an even better understanding of how difficult your job is. That coupled with pressure from the U.S. government and a world often working against you, the challenges you face on a regular basis are not to be envied. Yet through all of these issues you conduct yourself with a graceful and strong leadership we so desperately need to have not only in Israel but throughout the world today.
Mr. Netanyahu, you are a true leader of the Jewish people. You make so many of us feel safer during what is emerging as another dark time in our history. My mother who is 92 and lived in Holland during the Nazi occupation has told me this reminds her of 1938. I challenge her on that statement saying that today is different because we have the State of Israel. I would add that today is also different because of one other reason. We have Benjamin Netanyahu.
In case you’re wondering, my first tears started way back in the beginning when I said Thank You the first time, something none of us can do often enough.
May God continue to provide you with the strength, wisdom and courage you need to see our people through these troubled times.
With fondest regards,
David Groen
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Leave a comment | tags: 6 million Jews, Benjamin Netanyahu, Biblical, Holland, Holocaust, Jew, Jewish people, Nazis, Prime Minister, Sipora Groen, State of Israel, U.S. | posted in Uncategorized
Some of you already know the background, but for those of you that have only started reading my work recently I wanted to give you a brief explanation of why my blog is called “Holland’s Heroes”. In short, I am here today because of Dutch heroes. My parents, Rabbi Nardus Groen of blessed memory and my mother Sipora Groen, were both Holocaust survivors from Holland. As I cover in the book “Jew Face: A story of Love and Heroism in Nazi-Occupied Holland”, their actions during the Nazi-occupation of Holland were nothing short of heroic. Originally set up to promote the book, Holland’s Heroes has developed into something far more important, an avenue from which to promote the truth, defend Israel and the Jewish people, and a platform from which to join forces with all those of all faiths that want a safe and decent future.
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My mother showed incredible courage in some of the most dire situations including sleeping in an underground room for 16 months knowing at any time she could be discovered and killed. My father was instrumental in saving the lives of many, including my mother. He escaped the grasp of the Nazis four times including one remarkable escape from the Hollandse Schouwberg, Amsterdam’s equivalent at the time to Carnegie Hall in New York City. The people who provided my mother a home for 16 months, Lubertus & Geeske te Kiefte, did so knowing that if they were to be caught, their entire family would be killed. Despite the grave dangers, they not only gave my mother shelter, they gave her a warm and friendly home. It hardly gets more heroic than that. And there were so many others, Jew and non-Jew alike that showed such bravery in such difficult times it is almost impossible to comprehend.
So very simply put, I am here today and able to write for you because of heroes from the small nation of Holland. I’m aware of the problems facing the Jewish community of Holland today and knowing the rich history of Judaism in the country and my own personal connection it is even more heartbreaking for me than what is happening in other parts of Europe. None of that negates the fact that Holland’s Heroes are the reason I am here today, and for that I will always be grateful and proudly call my blog Holland’s Heroes.
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Leave a comment | tags: Carnegie Hall, Dutch, Europe, Holland, Holland's Heroes, Hollandse Schouwburg, Israel, Jew Face, Jewish people, Judaism, Lubertus & Geeske te Kiefte, Nazi, New York City, Rabbi Nardus Groen, Sipora Groen | posted in Uncategorized
One must ask themselves this question. Should Israel continue to fight fairly? Ever since the U.S. started fighting in Iraq we’ve heard a lot of talk about fighting a clean war, a moral war. War by definition is not moral. It is killing and destruction and no one decent is ever happy when it takes place. To quote my mother, “When there is a war, no one wins”. My mother Sipora Groen, is a 92-year-old Holocaust survivor from Holland, very pro-Israel, and very aware of the need to destroy the enemy. Her statement is based on the understanding that even the victorious suffer pain and loss no one should ever have to endure. Even with self-defense and survival forcing good people into war, war never becomes a good thing. With that being said, she understands, as so many do, that Israel is exercising its right to self-defense, which makes its mission a vital and moral one. What has made Israel’s behavior during this war so remarkable is that it has not sunk to the depths of the enemy, an enemy with no moral restrictions. This has ironically given the enemy some advantages on the battlefield and on the world stage. Seeing that the defeat of the enemy is crucial, should Israel sink to the level of Hamas?
Simple answer is, only if it is the difference between victory and defeat. The levels in which this war is being waged most unethically are primarily twofold. First and foremost is of course the manipulation and use of the civilians of Gaza, either through exploiting their injuries in the press or even worse, causing the casualties through the use of human shields. The second is through lying, either through transparent omission or blatant distortion of the facts. The fact that those unwilling to support Israel will not do so regardless of what the truth is, is clearly stated by the same facts they use to attack Israel in the media. Israel has allowed full disclosure to the press, has clearly stated its objectives, and has provided open information on all incidents that have taken place since the start of the operation. Other than providing blueprints for its attack strategy, Israel could not do any more than it has. Hamas on the other hand hides from the press, intimidates the press, and consistently makes statements contradictory to its actions. A very logical assumption would be, if what you are doing is right, you want the whole world to know about it. So from the media standpoint the answer is simple. If Israel is going to be attacked by those that hate it, there is no benefit in sinking to that level of lying the enemy has been using from the very beginning.
However, militarily speaking, if Hamas continues to attempt to draw Israel into a war of attrition, Israel may have no other choice but to change tactics. It comes down to one very simple point, one I have no doubt is in the heads of everyone in Israel’s cabinet. If protecting Palestinian civilians puts Israeli civilians in more serious and prolonged danger, Palestinian civilians will no longer be considered in the strategic assessment. As long as Israel can maintain its high moral ground it will, but ultimately unless something happens to stop Hamas, Israel will be left with no other choice but to inflict damage in Gaza that will make Hamas and the residents look back at the situation on the ground today as a relative picnic. It is a choice Hamas and the Palestinians need to make, and in my estimation one they need to make soon or suffer dire consequences.
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Leave a comment | tags: Bring Back our Boys, Gaza, Hamas, Holland, Holocaust, Iraq, Israel, Palestinians, Sipora Groen, survivor, U.S. | posted in Uncategorized
My 92 year old mother, Holocaust survivor from Holland, thinks today reminds her of 1938. But today in Times Square, with thousands of fellow supporters of Israel, and knowing the efforts and sacrifices Israel is making for all of us, I maintain it is very different from 1938. I say we all fight in whatever way we can. The greatest fighters fight for us in the IDF and in the military forces of the United States and all civilized nations, but you can also fight through social media, through comforting your fellow Jews, and through general acts of goodness and kindness in the name of combating the evil in the world. Do not put your head in the sand people. Realize what is going on. But instead of being scared, be strong. Realize that our faith is what brought us this far and why we survive when empires fall. That is why they hate us. Because they know they can hurt us, but not destroy us. So I encourage you all, replace your fear with determination, turn to the good people you know for support, and make this a battle unlike any the Jews have ever fought. AHL SOMAYCH AHL HANAYS is Hebrew for “Don’t rely on a miracle.” And that is exactly the approach we must have. Don’t wait for miracles. Make them happen.
Leave a comment | tags: 1938, Holland, Holocaust, IDF, Israel, Jews, Sipora Groen, Social media, Times Square, United States military | posted in Uncategorized
These things happened,
The publishing of Ulysses by James Joyce; The first swimmer crossed the English Channel; Calvin Coolidge became president; the first Winter Olympics took place; Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic Ocean; Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse; Herbert Hoover became president; the Stock Market crashed;Penicillin was discovered; the planet Pluto was discovered; Empire State Building was completed; Amelia Earhart crossed the Atlantic; Adolph Hitler’s Nazi Party became ruling party in Germany; Social security was established; Golden Gate Bridge was opened; Japan invaded China; Germany annexed Austria; World War II; Japan attacked Pearl Harbor; Atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki; 60 million people killed in World War II; 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust; Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier; the State of Israel was founded; United Nations was formed; NATO was formed; Korean War; Elvis Presley; Polio vaccine created; Disneyland Opened; JFK became President; I was born; Cuban Missile Crisis; JFK assassinated; The Beatles; Vietnam War; Star Trek series; first Super Bowl; Apollo 11 landed on the moon; Terrorists Killed Israeli Athletes at Munich Olympics; Watergate scandal forced President Richard Nixon’s resignation; the movie Star Wars; John Paul II became Pope; Iranian Muslim revolution; CNN was formed; AIDS discovered; Personal Computers were invented; Soviet Union collapsed; Apartheid ended; Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa; 2 different Bush’s became Presidents; Bill Clinton became president; the Euro currency was formed; 3,000 killed in 9/11 attack in New York; Iraq War; the Internet was created; Holland lost 3 World cup finals; Justin and Kim got married.
These things happened, in the 92 years between the birth of these 2 people, my mother Sipora Groen and my youngest family member and great-niece Jara.
If this doesn’t give you hope nothing does.
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When it comes to sports, destiny is a very biased concept. Had Brasil won yesterday without the services of their superstar Neymar and their captain Silva, the host nation of the FIFA 2014 World Cup would have been buzzing about how destiny favored this soccer powerhouse. Instead Brasil’s team laid the proverbial egg, didn’t show up for the game at all, and lost 7-1 to a very good German team. Undoubtedly all German fans are now talking about their destiny. I would like to put my own personal spin on the subject of destiny and show how it favors Holland.
Four years ago Holland, The Netherlands, lost in its 3rd World Cup Final appearance to Spain. They began this years campaign with a 5-1 whipping of the reigning champs. In about 4 hours they will face Argentina in the semi-final. Argentina who was the host team in 1978 and defeated Holland, then making their second final appearance. After Germany’s victory yesterday, if destiny keeps to form, Holland will face Germany on Sunday with an opportunity to finally lift up the World Cup as champions. 40 years ago in 1974, it was Germany, then the host country, that defeated the Netherlands in their first ever appearance in the World Cup. Like Holland or not, from the perspective of destiny it could not play out any better.
And then there is my favorite Dutch fan, my mother Sipora Groen. At 92 years old she is enjoying the games as much as anyone else and would love to see Holland finally call themselves World Cup Champions. So I say it again, and hopefully will be making this plea again after today and before Sunday, WIN IT FOR MY MOTHER.
HUP HOLLAND
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Holland's Heroes 