Tag Archives: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

July 26, 2019

Nothing left to say but Thank You..to a whole lot of people

By davidgroen1
Ancestry_00004A

My Uncle Bram Rodrugues, killed at the age of 18 in Auschwitz in 1943

How do I sum up an incredible trip in which my family and I were presented with the violin of our lost uncle ( https://www.timesofisrael.com/ )    better than saying thank you to everyone around me that helped make it the trip of a lifetime.  So here it goes.

Thank you…

Eli Baran, for not only giving me a place to stay in London but for being a great friend for over 40 years.

Thank you to David, Giel and all the crew of the production company filming the documentary for helping to make this feel like even a bigger deal and for making me feel like a celebrity from the moment I got off the plane in Amsterdam.

Thank you to my cousins Eli, Aanya and Bettie for making this part of your life for a few very special days, and an additional special thank you to Eli and Aanya for their hospitality.

Thank you to Bar, the young Jewish man who gave a special private tour and review of documents from the Spanish Portuguese Syanagogue to me and my sister and her kids.

Thank you to Els, the woman who, 5 minutes after I met her,  showed me around the last neighborhood my mother worked in before fleeing Amsterdam.

Thank you to Rabbi Amiel and Susan Novoseller for coming from Philadelphia just to be at the ceremony. You are true friends.

Thank you to the magic 12 representing the te Kieftes. A special thank you to Harm Kuiper for his help in the process.

Thank you to Nico de Haan, an unsung hero in the entire process.

Thank you to my nephew Jackson for being the artwork hero.

Thank you to Nina Staretz of the Israeli Embassy, David Simon of Friends of Yad Vashem in Holland and Peggy Frankston of the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC for not only attending but for sharing their beautiful and meaningful thoughts.

Thank you to Huize Frankendael for hosting a tremendous event in a professional and friendly manner.

Thank you to various friends and family who came from far and wide to witness this special occasion.

Thank you to Jennifer, Ami, Matan, Becca, Jack and Josh for representing the grandchildren and great grandchildren of Mom and Dad, their Oma and Opa (and Uber Opa).

Jantien van de Berg and her family for opening up the home where my mother and Bram grew up to me and my family.

Thank you to all my siblings, blood or otherwise for being on the same page from day one.  I’m proud to be the brother of such good people.

Thank you Wim de Haan. Of all the things you did to make this happen and all you accomplished, I think the one thing that exceeded everything else and what you may be happiest about is that you would have made your father proud.  Your decency and character is not only a tribute to you but a tribute to where you come from.

Thank you Oom Bram.  To relate to this thank you may need to believe in souls and the power they have, potentially forever.  Thank you Oom Bram for being a presence that stayed in our lives even before something so tangible presented itself, and thank you for having such character that your short life ultimately presented an opportunity to see the best that life has to offer.

Thank you Mom…..Just thank you.

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May 7, 2012

Publisher’s review of “Jew Face”

By davidgroen1

The following is a review of the book Jew Face written by the publisher of the book around the time of Holocaust Remembrance Day.  Although the day has passed, since it is appropriate to remember the Holocaust on any day, I am posting this now.  This review gives another account of the book.  I look forward to hearing more reviews and opinions on the book.

 

The Physical Appearance of a Jew was Often Obvious and Very Distinctive: David Groen

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum will lead the country in commemorating Days of Remembrance this week. This year’s theme is Choosing to Act: Stories of Rescue. AuthorHouse has chosen to act by recording and preserving survivor legacies for future generations so nothing like the Holocaust ever happens again. AuthorHouse features a survivor’s story every day this week.

David Groen is the fourth of our featured AuthorHouse authors during National Holocaust Remembrance Week. He has lovingly recorded his parents’, Nardus and Sipora Groen’s, story as a legacy for future generations in his book, Jew Face.

David Groen is Nardus and Sipora’s youngest child. He has finally realized his passion of sharing and immortalizing his parents’ love story; a love story that survived seemingly insurmountable odds. He combines this passion with his extensive knowledge of Jewish history, his parents’ stories and facts and information gathered from interviews with numerous subjects included in the book. Add his own, unique storytelling style and Groen has created an “important documentation of critical historical events.”

Groen’s parents’ story takes place in Nazi occupied Holland, where “only a small percentage of Dutch Jews survived the systematic annihilation.” His father rebelled against his country’s invaders as a part of the resistance while his mother was forced to “exhibit an almost unimaginable courage” in escaping detection by the Nazis due to her “innocent beauty and Jewish-looking face.”

“Together, and with the help of many special people, including a couple whose righteousness reached the highest level one can imagine, they have lived to tell their story.” And AuthorHouse thanks David Groen for recording that story as his parents’ testimony and lesson to future generations to never let anything like the Holocaust ever happen again.

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