Near the village of Westerbork, in the province of Drente, the Dutch Government owned a tract of heath and marsh land surrounded by dense woods. This isolated piece of real estate appeared to be the ideal place to build a camp for German Jewish refugees. It was far enough removed from the village proper of Westerbork that refugees would not interfere with the daily business concerns of the villagers provided supervision was in place. Hence, mr. D.A. Syswarda (no picture available), a former administrator of an organization for psychiatric patients in Amersfoort, was appointed as the Director of refugee camp Westerbork. A serious concern for most Dutch government officials and for politicians was the fact that the German Jewish refugees, who had fled Nazi Germany in large numbers, would integrate with the local villagers. Initially 50 barracks were built capable of housing about 1,800 people. When the German army invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940, 1,150 legal and 650 illegal refugees had received accommodation in camp Westerbork. Many others were housed in various refugee shelters, homes, and sub-camps, 25 in total, throughout the Netherlands. Now, once again, they were caught in the web the Nazis were weaving around the Jewish people who lived in Europe.

       The first 22 German Jewish refugees were interned in Centraal vluchtelingenkamp Westerbork - Central refugee camp Westerbork on 9 October 1939. Leo Blumensohn, who survived Westerbork, Auschwitz, Gleiwitz, Blechhammer and the death marches, was the first refugee officially registered at the Town Hall of the village of Westerbork. Reserve kapitein - Captain in the Reserves Jacques Schol of the demobilized Dutch Army Reserves and former commandant of yet another refugee facility called Hellevoetsluis, was appointed commandant of refugee camp Westerbork on 16 July 1940. He replaced mr. Syswarda who had held that position since the camp's inception.

       Captain Schol introduced new regulations for the German Jewish refugees in February 1941. Since the internees for the most part spoke German, new camp rules were written and introduced in the German language. Schol incorporated all refugees over the age of fourteen into work groups. Several of these work groups together were called a Dienstzweig - Service Branch. He appointed over each Dienstzweig a Dienstleiter -Branch Head. The Heads of Service were responsible for the proper and effective operation of the Service Branches. Since Schol was unaware of the intent of the Nazis to not only exterminate the Dutch Jews but also the German Jewish refugees, the measures he took unfortunately set the stage for a most regrettable situation later on. Namely, he appointed the Heads of Service for these work tasks from among the German Jews already interned at Westerbork.

       One of them was Kurt Schlesinger, who was made Oberdienstleiter - Chief over the Heads of Service. Dr. Fritz Spanier was appointed to the position of Chief Medical Officer, and Arthur Pisk was appointed to the position of Chief of the Ordnungsdienst - Head of the service for maintain order, a.k.a. OD. The OD was a service deemed necessary to function as camp fire brigade within camp perimeters. Later, following the transition from refugee camp to transit camp, the OD became known as the internal Jewish police force. It served to maintain order and discipline among the hapless detainees. Especially during the times of the dreaded transports 'to the East.' The OD consisted foremost of young German refugee Jews who earlier had served in the camp fire brigade. As a result, in comparison to the number of surviving Dutch Jews, quite a few German speaking Jews remained in Westerbork after the camp had been changed from refugee camp to Durchgangslager - transit camp for Dutch Jews. It must be acknowledged that most of the German speaking Jews did not belong to this elite group of Alte Lagerinsassen - senior camp inmates. They too were deported for Arbeitseinsatz im Ost - work detail in the East, whatever that stood for. At first the victims thought that they were relatively safe, but they would soon learn that deportation meant certain death in one of the Nazi operated extermination centers in Poland.

       Captain Schol remained in office until early January 1943, having served under two German SS commandants. The third commandant, Gemmeker, made sure he was removed from office. During the first two years of Nazi occupation, the German internees lived in a status quo. The camp as yet lacked barbed wire and refugees were not treated as prisoners. However, they had to obtain a travel permit every time they wished to leave camp for whatever reason. Toward the latter part of 1941 orders were issued from Berlin for the German occupation authorities to commence with the Entjudung - cleansing process of Jews in the Netherlands. The existing and almost completed refugee camp near Westerbork was the ideal place. Tailor-made, so to speak. Early 1942, 24 barracks - large, but made of poor quality wood - capable of housing 300 people each, were added for this purpose. With the internal camp organization already in place and the barracks built, the wheels of evil were set in motion and the deportation of Jews from the Netherlands could begin.

vltr: the barracks in cold anticipation in 1939 - Same barracks in 1942 - Deppner (2), the first commandant
Photo courtesy: USHMM Photo Archives and the collection Remembrance Center Camp Westerbork

       On 1 July 1942 Refugee camp Westerbork officially became Transit camp Westerbork sending 104,000 Dutch and German Jews and 250 Dutch Sinti and Roma making use of the regular rail service, mostly freightcars, to their death in extermination camps in Poland. The Nazi's had tightened the noose for the Dutch Jews issuing restricting orders on an almost daily basis. As of 1 July 1942, Transit camp Westerbork officially fell under the jurisdiction of the Befehlshaber der Sicherheitspolizei - Sipo - und Sicherheitdienst - SD - Commander in Chief of the Security Police and Security Service. The first German camp commandant was SS-Sturmbannführer - SS Major, dr. Erich Deppner. He was in charge from 1 July 1942 to 1 September 1942. Deppner was a cruel individual totally lacking compassion. It was Deppner who handled the first transport from Westerbork to Auschwitz/Birkenau causing a near riot when, in order to fill the required quota of 1,000 deportees, he added children to the transport without taking their parents. He also added several women who happened to be standing at the gate waiting to be admitted into the camp.

       Because of this incident, Deppner was replaced by SS-Sturmbannführer - SS Major, Josef Hugo Dischner (no picture available) on 1 September 1942. Dischner was an alcoholic who regularly beat inmates with his whip causing great panic among the detainees. Dischner lasted six weeks. In order to dupe the unsuspecting Jews passing through Westerbork into believing that the future really was not too bad, the Nazis quickly replaced him on 12 October 1942 with the gentleman/criminal SS-Obersturmführer - 1st Lieutenant in de SS, Albert Konrad Gemmeker. Gemmeker arranged that Schol was discharged in January 1943 by the Dutch Department of Justice. Obviously he did not want witnesses to the Nazi Entjudung plan. Gemmeker continued as commandant of Westerbork until 11 April 1945, one day before the arrival of the Canadian liberators.

       A second camp, smaller in size but more vicious in its treatment of prisoners, was Camp Vught close to den Bosch, the capital of the province of Noord Brabant. Located in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands it was foremost used to incarcerate political prisoners and hostages. Nevertheless, also this camp was used to house and process Jewish victims until they could be deported via Westerbork to Auschwitz or Sobibor.

       Between July 1942 and November 1944 more than 104,000 Dutch and German Jews and 245 Roma and Sinti passed through these two camps. Of these, 65 train loads with 60,330 victims were sent directly to Auschwitz II, a.k.a. Birkenau. Most victims never saw the cynical sign which read ARBEIT MACHT FREI - Work Liberates. The wrought iron sign was mounted above the entrance gate to Stammlager Auschwitz - Mother Camp Auschwitz. In stead, they were routed directly to Birkenau where, immediately upon arrival, the dreaded selection and for most extermination took place.

       Some able men and women were separated from the elderly and from women with children. Men and women, and certainly children not considered fit for labor went straightway to the gas chambers. The last train to reach Birkenau left Westerbork on 3 September 1944. Only 854 deportees, who left Westerbork, survived the hell of Birkenau. After the war it became only too clear what had happened to the rest. The full extent of genocide was exposed in 1945.

       In total 19 train loads with in total 34,313 Jews were sent directly from Westerbork to Sobibor. The clock at the railway station near camp Sobibor was a fake. The hands of the clock never moved. That, however, was not noticed by the unfortunate victims who were hurriedly forced off the train. Immediately upon arrival they were led toward the gas chambers for extermination. Just 18 Dutch Jews escaped death from this place of horror. A timetable showing arrivals and departures was fake also. No train ever left Sobibor for another destination. The emptied trains excepted, of course. It was sent back with closed doors only to return with more victims. The 34,313 Jews who arrived here from camp Westerbork never noticed that this station was the end of the road for them. Not until it was too late!

       In addition, 9 trains loads with 4,894 Jews left Westerbork for Terezin - Theresienstadt, an Internment camp and Transit camp north of Prague located in what is known today as the Czech Republic. Of these, about 2,000 survived the war. The remaining 4,413 victims were shipped to Bergen-Belsen, yet another notorious concentration camp which was located in the vicinity of Hanover, Germany.

       An estimated 104,000 Jews and a 250 Sinti and Roma passed through camp Westerbork. Among them were 22025 under the age of 21. After the last transport had left for Bergen-Belsen on 13 September 1944, approximately 600 Jews remained behind. Among them were Oberdienstleiter - Chief Administrator Kurt Schlesinger, dr. Spanier, the Chief medical officer and Arthur Pisk, the leader of the OD. Several other selected members of the German Jewish camp elite were also among the survivors as well. Before, their task had been to assemble and monitor the dreaded lists for the transports, now they were charged with the liquidation of the camp in anticipation of the inevitable arrival of the Allied forces. As far as the Nazis were concerned, the 'Jewish question' for the Netherlands was resolved. The SS office in Berlin, Bureau IV B4, under the authority of SS Obersturmbannführer - Lieutenant Colonel in the SS Adolf Eichmann, was more than satisfied with the efficiency by which deportation of the Dutch and German Jews to the extermination centers in Poland had been carried out and was completed.

       Liberation for the 876 remaining inmates finally came on the 12th of April 1945. In addition to the 600 Jews also non-Jewish people were incarcerated in Westerbork during the last months of the war. According to Hans Colpa, in 1993 deputy director of the Westerbork Remembrance Center, it was the 8th Canadian Reconnaissance Regiment (# 7 troop), also known as the Terrier platoon under the command of Lt. Sheppard that approached the camp first. They were soon followed by the South Saskatchewan regiment of the 2nd Army Division. Aad van As, the Dutch government employee who had been in charge of the camp's Distribution Center during the war years, temporarily took over responsibilities as camp manager since the departure of Gemmeker. He called a meeting at about three o'clock in the afternoon of the 12th to discuss the immediate future. However, during this meeting, at the shout 'the Tommy's are here,' almost everyone raced outside in the direction of the camp farm to meet the liberators. Several jumped on the armored cars and rode back victoriously toward the entrance of the camp. Aad van As met with Capt. Morris, an intelligence officer attached to the Canadian Scottish Regiment. Afterwards, Capt. Morris addressed the liberated prisoners. For a complete and more detailed description of that momentous day please read pages 91 - 98, the chapter "Meneer van As, telefoon voor u! - Mr. van As, you have a phone call" from his book, "In het hol van de leeuw - In the lion's den." This book was published in Dutch in 2004, ISBN 90 72486 29 3. I was informed that the book is expected to be translated into the English language. A second book which also covers this subject, the pages 105 - 111, "De thuiskomst - the Homecoming," is called "Westerbork, het verhaal van 1939 - 1945 - Westerbork, the story from 1939 - 1945." This book, avialable in the Dutch language only, was written by Harm van der Veen and co-sponsered by Guido Abuys, Dirk Mulder and Ben Prinsen. It was published in 2003, ISBN 90 72486 23-4. A third book, also in Dutch, on pages 85 - 91, "De Tommies zijn er! - The Tommies have arrived" details the liberation of camp Westerbork quite clearly. This book, under the editorship of Dirk Mulder and Ben Prinsen was published by van Gorcum & Co. B.V. in Assen. It is available under ISBN # 90-232-3924-8. All three books may be ordered from the Remembrance Center camp Westerbork.

The Westerbork Monument

Photo courtesy: LeerWiki.nl

       A memorial for the more than one 104.000 who perished at the hands of the Nazis was forged from the very tracks, and at the exact location, where the cursed railroad inside the camp once ended. Herdenkingscentrum Westerbork - Remembrance Center Westerbork is located at the entrance to the grounds. It keeps the memory alive of the Dutch Jews and Roma who once were part of and blended in with the general population in the Netherlands. In a gallery of pictures, paintings, and artifacts, this memorial accurately and truthfully presents the history of Durchgangslager Westerbork.

For contact with the Remembrance Centre at camp Westerbork, email here.

       Recognition: The information, including pictures, used in this document were primarily taken from the book written by Willy Landwer, "Kamp van Hoop en Wanhoop - Camp of Hope and Despair," copyright 1990, printed and published by Haasbeek, Alphen a/d Rijn. ISBN 905018-098-1 and the boek: "Westerbork: Voorportaal van Auschwitz - Porch of Auschwitz." This book is produced and distributed by Waanders Uitgevers in cooperation with NIOD.