May 5th, 2015

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Monday May 4th. “Names instead of Numbers”, the 70th anniversary of the Dachau liberation.

Tuesday, May 5th, 2015

This was literally and figuratively la pièce de “Résistance”, the main reason for my three week visit here in Holland. Eleven High School seniors, 8 girls and 3 boys formed the cast for the stage show in the “Bellevue” Theater in Amsterdam. http://www.gedaechtnisbuch.de/namen-statt-nummern/english/index-engl.html They shared, with the sold out house, their experiences in putting names with the Dachau prisoner, mostly Resistance members, numbers. How they became involved and affected through their discoveries. Their visits to Dachau and the preceding camps most of the prisoners had been through before Dachau.

The presentation started at 9 p.m. due to the fact that every year on May 4th a two minute silence is observed from 8 p.m. I went with two of my cousins to the Noorder Markt to observe the event. A brass band played just before the silence. They played “Abide with me”. This brings back strong emotions because this was the hymn the women, our mother was with, sang when they were stuffed in the box cars, on their way from the camp Vught in Holland to the hell of Ravensbrück on the 5th of September 1944. : (Blijf bij mij, Heer, want d’ avond is nabij)

Abide with me, fast falls the even tide.

The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.

 Henriette Schulze, a German student, wrote the biography of our mother in the “Names instead of Numbers”. My twin brother who lives in Germany  assisted her with the information she used. I had the pleasure of getting acquainted with her last Saturday, together with the only other German student in the eleven students cast, Anne Krombacher. Henriette did an outstanding biography. And I am sure that our mother will be very pleased, when she gets to read her copy. This was well worth the long journey. I feel proud, grateful and honored to have had a mother and father who stood their ground and acknowledged their strength and survival to have come from God.

Nineteen numbers have been changed in to names in the book that Jos Sinnema put together with these students stories, including the one of our mother. In addition it is also a very good history of concentration camp Dachau by the details and historical photos that were added to these nineteen biographies. It is available at: http://www.verzetsmuseum.org/museum/nl/exposities/expositie-geen-nummers-maar-namen/publicatie

Projected Rennie de Vries-van Ommen

Projected Rennie de Vries-van Ommen

the cast

the cast

Henriette receives her rose from Jos Sinnema

Henriette receives her rose from Jos Sinnema

Willemijn van Gurp-Petroff

Willemijn van Gurp-Petroff

Willemijn, the 96 year old, the last ambulant AGFA Commando Dachau survivor tells her story and shares her advice to all of us but particularly the students.

Sunday May 3rd and Monday Morning. Whirlwind winding down.

Tuesday, May 5th, 2015

On Saturday one of the choir members told me that she had seen me in the Amsterdam Central Station. That was no accident, because I have gone through the station so often since my arrival that I have lost track.

Yesterday, Saturday, I met the German student, Henriette Schulze, who did the biography in “Names instead of Numbers” of our Mother. She and her German friend Anna Krombacher, who has done the “Name” on Kiky Heinsius (one of my sources for the story in “The Mastmakers’ Daughters”) are here a few days ahead of the Monday evening presentation to rehearse their roles in the performance. In the afternoon I attended the general rehearsal of the choir I sang with in 2012/2013. They are giving another concert on Memorial Day, May 4th. They are once again singing parts of Fauré’s Requiem,  parts of it and the soprano solo brought goose bumps and emotions once again. It was a real treat to see my friends again and have a drink afterwards.

Sunday morning I attended church in the English Reformed Church in the Bequinage. My new friend Christa from the consulate teaches Sunday School and she brought her uncle Bert van Ingen Schenau, who was one class below me in my elementary school. We had lots of memories to share and to exchange our ways since grade school.

Rev. Dr. Lance Stone and another USA flag, like previous blog, away from home.

Rev. Dr. Lance Stone and another USA flag, like previous blog, away from home.

In the afternoon I took the train to Culemborg to visit my cousin Karel and his wife Ankie in Eck en Wiel. You might recall my previous visits to their farm house where I house sat, the chickens and cats. The Storks are expecting in a week or so.

Ankie and the other chicks.

Ankie and the other chicks.

 

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The tulips and even the daffodils are still in bloom. The Skagit Valley is over a month ahead of the Dutch bulb growers.

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If you are a smoker on a Dutch railroad station look for your designated area. It apparently works judging by the popularity. Maybe we need similar designated areas for the food and smart phone addicted.