The Genocide of the Sinti and Roma. Research, Recognition and Remembrance | Karola Fings and Bas Kortholt | The Memory of Kamp Westerbork exhibition project
Online Lecture Feb 8, 2023 — The moving image of a young girl with a white headscarf, minutes before being deported to an unknown destination. The short clip became iconographic for the persecution of Dutch Jews. Only in the 1990s, it was discovered that the girl’s name was Settela Steinbach. She was one of 247 Sinti and Roma deported to Auschwitz from Westerbork in May 1944.
The late clarification of the identity of the victim symbolises how little the public and research were interested in the genocide of the Sinti and Roma after 1945. Yet hundreds of thousands were persecuted and expelled in Europe, locked up in camps, deported, shot, forcibly sterilised or murdered in gas chambers. In the lecture, Dr Karola Fings also looks at the pre- and post-history of the genocide. The subsequent dialogue with Bas Kortholt focusses on coming to terms with and remembering this genocide in the Netherlands.
From November 2022 to September 2023, the Herinneringscentrum Kamp Westerbork presents a monthly online lecture as part of The Memory of Kamp Westerbork exhibition project. The online lecture series provides academic background on various parts of the exhibition and the topics concerned.
Dr. Karola Fings is a historian and Deputy Director of the NS-Documentation Center of the City of Cologne. Bas Kortholt is a researcher of the Camp Westerbork Memorial Centre
The former Höhere SS- und Polizeiführer in the Netherlands, H.A. Rauter, must stand trial in The Hague for his crimes, which he committed in World War II. Hanns A. Rauter, an Austrian, was the highest SS official in Nazi-occupied Holland and was tasked with setting up the camps in Westerbork and other dutch cities, and the arrests , internment and deportation of Dutch Jews , Roma, Sinti, resistance workers, and other groups of Dutch people. Dutch cinema news March (week 14) 1948 (company : Polygoon Hollands Nieuws) . The sessions will take place on 1, 2, 3 and 22 April in the former palace on the Kneuterdijk in The Hague. The court is chaired by mr. P.G.M. van Meeuwen; attorney-at-law is mr. J. Zaayer; defender (added) is mr. K. van Rijckevorsel. SHOTS: – exterior Special Court building; – a long line of interested people stands in the rain in front of the public entrance and rushes in when the door opens; Rauter arrives, with guards, in a crook’s car in the courtyard; thick file under the arm; goes in; – interior of courtroom packed with audience: Rauter (in uniform without insignia) enters and sits down between two guards; judges enter; – session starts; Rauter makes a statement standing.
The trial news continues in the previously published film : Westerbork Film in ‘Proces Rauter’ 1948 | 20190520 | Settela•Com
De vroegere Höhere SS- und Polizeiführer in Nederland, H.A. Rauter, moet in Den Haag terechtstaan voor zijn misdaden, die hij beging in de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Weekjournaal van Polygoon Hollands Nieuws van week 14 uit 1948. De zittingen hebben, op 1,2,3 en 22 april plaats in het voormalige paleis aan de Kneuterdijk. Het hof staat onder voorzitterschap van jhr. mr. P.G.M. van Meeuwen; als procureur-fiscaal treedt op mr. J. Zaayer; als (toegevoegd) verdediger mr. K. van Rijckevorsel. Beeld: – ext. gebouw Bijzonder Gerechtshof; – een lange rij belangstellenden staat in de regen voor de publieke ingang en haast zich naar binnen als de deur open gaat; – Rauter arriveert, met bewakers, in een boevenwagen op de binnenplaats; dik dossier onder de arm; gaat naar binnen; – int. van een met publiek volgepakte rechtszaal: Rauter (in uniform zonder distinctieven) komt binnen en gaat – tussen twee bewakers – zitten; rechters komen binnen; – zitting begint; Rauter legt – staande – een verklaring af.
Het proces nieuws wordt vervolgd in de eerder gepubliceerde film : Westerbork Film in ‘Proces Rauter’ 1948 | 20190520 | Settela•Com
Bron : Polygoon Hollands Nieuws / Sound & Vision (Open Beelden). License Info : SS Führer Rauter Trial Start 1948 | 20230127 | Settela•Com | TakeNode 3d48e3a5-2fc8-4d8d-ba8b-21c07d238570
Video report of the preview 19 Jan 2023 presented by photographer Jo Struyven of photo exhibition ‘236 — Land(es)capes from the 20th Convoy’. Photo exhibition of works by Jo Struyven and Luc Tuymans in the Jewish Museum of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium | January 20 – August 14, 2023. License info : 236 Land(es)capes 20th convoy | 20230126 | Michel van der Burg | Miracles•Media | TakeNode 428839bb-7165-4771-a490-27158928ec25
On April 19, 1943, the 20th transport left the Mechelen transit camp to deport 1,631 Jews to Auschwitz. Thanks to resistance actions, both inside and outside the wagons, 236 of these deportees managed to jump from the train that would lead them to destruction.
Photographer Jo Struyven revisits this unique act of resistance in Western Europe during the Nazi regime and shows us the landscapes in which this little-known story took place.
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From 20 January 2023, the Jewish Museum of Belgium, in partnership with the Auschwitz Foundation, presents the exhibition entitled ‘ 236, Land(es)capes from the 20th Convoy ‘. It is set up in the museum’s project space and offers an artistic look at an exceptional and forgotten event in the Second World War.
The 20th convoy
At 10 p.m. on April 19, 1943, the 20th convoy departed from the Kazerne Dossin transit camp in Mechelen with 1,631 Jewish deportees in cattle cars, heading for Auschwitz. Thanks to resistance actions, both inside the wagons and from outside, 236 of these deportees managed to jump from that train, that was leading them to extermination. An unique event in Europe under the Nazi administration.
Jo Struyven, photographer
The work of the Belgian photographer Jo Struyven (°Sint-Truiden, 1961) takes us back to these acts of resistance – commemorating the 80th anniversary in 2023 – and gives us a glimpse of the landscapes in which this striking story took place. Taking the perspective of those who jumped off that train, an act for which many of them paid with their lives, Struyven creates a contemporary ‘memorial’ with 19 large ‘nocturnal’ black and white images, and one colour print.
Jo Struyven :
The 20th convoy, heading for the unspeakable “Auschwitz”, crossed the area where I grew up, barely 50 meters from my childhood bedroom — I found out 2 years ago after meeting Simon Gronowski. Ever since, I imagine the distress of the deportees. The destination was unknown to them. Some, sensing the worst, tried to escape it. I wanted to give an account of this border between life and death, between resignation and the impossibility of choosing, and the freedom regained with resistance to the oppressor’s plans.
Works presented by Jo Struyven
Land(es)capes from the 20th Convoy, 2020-2022, 19 black and white prints, 1 color print, 90×60 cm (Private collection – Belgium)
Jo Struyven, Land(es)capes from the 20th convoy 2020-2022, black and white print, 90x 60 cm, Wijchmaal (Private Collection, Belgium)Jo Struyven, Land(es)capes from the 20th Convoy 2020-2022, black and white print, 90x 60 cm, Bierbeek (Private Collection, Belgium)Jo Struyven, Land(es)capes from the 20th Convoy, 2020-2022, black and white print, 90x 60 cm, Borgloon (Private Collection, Belgium)Jo Struyven, Land(es)capes from the 20th Convoy, 2020-2022, black and white print, 90x 60 cm, Piringen (Private Collection, Belgium)Jo Struyven, Land(es)capes from the 20th Convoy, 2020-2022, black and white print, 90x 60 cm, Botzelaer (Private Collection, Belgium)
Luc Tuymans, visual artist
In dialogue with Jo Struyven’s photographs, two works by Belgian visual artist Luc Tuymans (°Mortsel, 1958) evoke the destruction of the Jews and Roma of Europe. Die Wiedergutmachung (The Reparation) depicts body parts – left the eyes of gypsy children who had been experimented on by the Nazis. … images that in its incompleteness, reflect the inability to represent facts and memory .
Works presented by Luc Tuymans
Luc Tuymans, Our New Quarters, 1986, Oil on canvas, 80,5 x 120 cm (MMK – Germany) (Photo Ben Blackwell, courtesy David Zwirner, New York, London)Luc Tuymans, Die Wiedergutmachung, 1989, Oil on cardboard, mounted on plywood, Oil on canvas; diptych, 36,6 x 43 cm, 39,4 x 51,8 cm, courtesy: Private collection (Photo Studio Luc Tuymans)
Art after the Shoah
“Writing a poem after Auschwitz is barbaric”, wrote German philosopher Theodor W. Adorno in 1949. Through two contemporary perspectives from the visual arts, this exhibition seeks to address this question of the (im)possibility of art after the Shoah in a new way.
Testimonies & Catalogue
This exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue book edited by Daniel Weyssow and Jo Struyven and published by the Auschwitz Foundation entitled Land(es)capes from the 20th Convoy (press release on April 19, 2023), as well as an educational space presenting the testimonies from interviews and archives of convoy escapees.
Info+ ( & Français | Nederlands)
236 Land(es)capes from the 20th Convoy Jo Struyven / Luc Tuymans Exhibition at the Jewish Museum of Belgium, in Brussels, Belgium 20 January – 14 August 2023 Brussels Website https://www.mjb-jmb.org
Video report : Vernissage ‘236’ Land(es)capes 20th convoy
Thursday January 19th, 2023, the vernissage of the photo exhibition 236 — Land(es)capes from the 20th Convoy was opened with speeches by Philippe Blondin, President of the Jewish Museum, and by Pierre-Yves Jeholet , Minister-President of the Government of the Federation Wallonia-Brussels. Next, the Belgian photographer Jo Struyven presented his work — escape landscape photographs glowing in the dark — like being lit by moonlight — as well as paintings contributed by Luc Tuymans in the project space. The exhibition runs from January 20 – August 14, 2023 in the Jewish Museum of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium. Video report (20230120) Michel van der Burg | Miracles•Media .
Jan 20, 2023 – VRT | Kristien Bonneure (Belgian Flemish Broadcast) 20 jan 2023
Samudaripen – Genocide of the Gypsies – Claire Auzias
The French author, historian and libertarian, Claire Auzias researches social movements, women’s history and Roma’s history (1). She has written several works on the Roma’s history in the last 20 years. Samudaripen, the Genocide of the Gypsies, first appeared in 1999/2000 (2,3), and is now followed by the 3rd edition (4) published by L’Esprit Frappeur (Paris).
In her book Samudaripen, Claire Auzias sheds light on this poorly documented genocide in the III Reich , Eastern Europe, and Western Europe. This entirely revised 3rd edition now includes two new chapters — one on Switzerland by Claire Auzias, and one on The Netherlands by Erik Van Den Muijzenberg. Claire Auzias , in her foreword (5) : “…the patient discovery of the identity of an anonymous icon of the deportation, in the guise of a Dutch Sinti girl, made the chapter on the Netherlands obligatory, at least for those of the French gypsies who do not read foreign languages.”
2 – Claire Auzias interview (2009) “Samudaripen” – Un entretien avec Claire Auzias, auteure du livre “Samudaripen, le génocide des Tziganes” aux éditions L’Esprit frappeur. Réalisé fin octobre 2009 par Bruno Boudiguet pour Télé Liberté / Le Cobaye international . Dailymotion URL https://dai.ly/xb9lah
5 – Claire Auzias (2022) Samudaripen, le génocide des Tsiganes (Samudaripen, the Genocide of the Gypsies), Paris, L’Esprit Frappeur (3nd edition 2022) ISBN 978-2-85103-051-1 | Avant Propos : “…la découverte patiente de l’identité d’une icône anonyme de la déportation, sous les traits d’une fillette sinti hollandaise, rendait obligatoire le chapitre sur les Pays-Bas, a minima à l’attention de ceux des Tsiganes français qui ne lisent pas les langues étrangères.”
License info :
Samudaripen – Genocide of the Gypsies – Claire Auzias | 20221210 | Settela•Com
(Silent Film) The Amsterdam Jewish Quarter — Joodsche Wijk (dutch) | Juden Viertel (german) — was cordoned off by the Nazis and declared a Jewish ghetto, February 1941, during World War II. Source : Producer unknown | Sound & Vision (Open Images)
License : Amsterdam Ghetto 1941 | 20221209 | Settela•Com – CC BY SA 3.0 | TakeNode 00e86cb5-adf6-4b73-8de6-64627aa27bca
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