Werkdorp Wieringermeer
 
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Wieringermeer in North Holland |
The Werkdorp Nieuwesluis ( Werkdorp ) in Wieringermeer in the Dutch province of North Holland was an institution of the Hachschara that existed from 1934 to 1941 . It was administered by the Joodse Arbeid Foundation.
history
The Werkdorp , built by the residents - mostly refugees from Germany and Austria - was intended to enable its residents to learn practical skills that would enable them to work in agriculture in Palestine . The boys received a two-year manual or agricultural training course, the girls a short agricultural and domestic training course. In the village there was a carpenter, a blacksmith, a bakery and a carpenter's workshop. The Workdorp was Zionist oriented, which is why the preparation was on emigration to Palestine priority. However, a few residents also went to the United States or South America.
In the 1930s, because of its remote location, Werkdorp was a relatively safe place where the youngsters could spend a carefree time. There were evening courses and small parcels for families to cultivate themselves. During its existence, around 750 to 900 young people received training here. In 1939 the photographer Roman Vishniac made a series of photographs about life in Werkdorp on behalf of the Joint Distribution Committee .
On May 14, 1940, Henri Winkelman signed a surrender for the Dutch armed forces in Europe. From July 15, 1940 to January 1941, Henri Koot (1883–1959) headed the Opbouwdienst, an employment and qualification company for the Dutch armed forces in Europe, which also administered Werkdorp . The voluntary Opbouwdienst was replaced on May 23, 1941 by the obligation to the Nederlandse Arbeidsdienst , from which Jews were excluded.
Werkdorp was evacuated after a fire on March 20, 1941 . At that time, 291 residents of the original 400 were still present. Of the 291, 60 were allowed to stay in the village together with 10 employees in order to keep operations going until autumn. They stayed until August 1, 1941, and many of them subsequently found work with farmers in North Holland. The others were placed with families in Amsterdam.
On February 11, 1941, Hanns Albin Rauter decreed that Jews had to hand over their radio receivers from March 15 to April 11, 1941. On May 14, 1941, a bomb explosion occurred at a collection point, a club for German naval officers. Although no Jews could be associated with this explosion, it had serious consequences for them because it sparked a wave of arrests.
On the morning of June 11, 1941, Klaus Barbie called at the office of the Dutch Jewish Council in Amsterdam . After an unusually friendly greeting, he asked the President of the Council, Professor Cohen, who was present there, to help obtain the lists of names and addresses of the former Jewish trainees of the Werkdorps who had moved to Amsterdam , as they are allowed to return there and should therefore be notified volunteer to report. Cohen immediately turned to some of the heads of the Werkdorps , who were only too glad to see the youngsters again in the Wieringermeer, and Barbie immediately received the requested lists. On the afternoon of June 11, 1941, Cohen and another member of the Judenrat had to go to the office of the security service of the Reichsführer SS . They did not become suspicious as there were still a few open cases to discuss. However, the two were immediately isolated from all contact with the outside world and only found out that evening that three hundred young Jews had been arrested, among other things, of having been involved in the explosion in the officers' club. Among the 300 young people arrested on this pretext for retaliatory action were not only the boys from Werkdorp , but also young people who had been found in the houses in which the Werkdorp residents had stayed. 61 people from Werkdorp were arrested. They were taken to Schoorl , where four were released. The other 57 were taken to Mauthausen concentration camp , where they all died before the end of the year.
After these arrests, many host families found it too dangerous to continue to host Werkdorper . Most of them were therefore hidden in two buildings.
Place of remembrance
The main building of the Werkdorps continued to exist under the name "Oostwaardhoeve". After the closure, an agricultural research facility was housed here.
In 1989 a memorial was unveiled to commemorate the Jewish Werkdorp .
In 2009 there was a fierce controversy surrounding the existing Werkdorps buildings , which were now privately owned. 350 Polish seasonal workers who worked in the surrounding greenhouses were to be quartered there. This met with fierce resistance and led to the failure of the project, which the initiator commented, not without an anti-Semitic undertone: “The Camp Westerbork memorial , the Centraal Joods Overleg and a local historical society have run a successful lobby. Congratulations! Can you make an offer now for what is allowed in this memorial? "
Commemoration
The website Joods Monument , which commemorates the more than 104,000 people who were persecuted as Jews in the Netherlands and who did not survive the Holocaust, has its own subpage for the murdered former residents of the Werkdorps .
Web links
- Jewish Amsterdam: Werkdorp Wieringermeer (Dutch)
- Jewish monument: Werkdorp Wieringermeer (Dutch, English)
- Miriam Keesing: Wieringen, Werkdorp Memories of former Werkdorp residents are also published on this page.
Individual evidence
- ↑ The following illustration largely follows the Dutch website JÜDISCHES AMSTERDAM: Werkdorp Wieringermeer
- ↑ They can be seen on the website Werkdorp Nieuwesluis Agrarian Training Camp, Wieringermeer, The Netherlands, around 1938 . In the accompanying text, however, it is pointed out that the photos do not necessarily convey an authentic impression, but rather depict men and women as idealized, heroic Zionist pioneers.
- ^ Henri Koot
- ↑ a b c Miriam Keesing: Wieringen, Werkdorp
- ↑ Tijdlijn Jodenvervolging
- ↑ The following illustration is based on the Dr. J. Presser: ONDERGANG. De Vervolgung en Verdelging van het Nederlandse Jodendom 1940-1945
- ↑ Loading discussie over Joods Werkdorp . The Centraal Joods Overleg (CJO) mentioned in the quote is the association of Jewish organizations in the Netherlands, which represents the interests of the Jewish communities vis-à-vis the Dutch government and within Dutch society. The CJO is based in Amsterdam.
- ↑ Jewish monument: Werkdorp Wieringermeer