Westerbork Girl • 20250916

Westerbork Girls – From left to right: Catharina Frank, Hannelore Cahn, Beatrice Lissauer, Ulla Gross, Lotte Heider-Lehmann and Ruth Pagener. (Source : Westerbork Memorial)

The documentary ‘Westerbork Girl’ (2007), directed by Steffie van den Oord, tells the story of Hannelore Cahn (later Eisinger-Cahn), a Jewish woman imprisoned in Camp Westerbork for more than two years during World War II. She performed as a dancer in the camp revue, attracting the attention of many, including camp commander Gemmeker and Jewish camp policeman Hans Eisinger, member of the Jewish Order Service—also known as “the Jewish SS”.

Westerbork Girl (VPRO 2007)

Hannelore had earlier met actor and resistance fighter Rob de Vries, with whom she was close. Rob smuggled her out of Westerbork by disguising himself as a train stoker and taking her to Amsterdam, where she briefly went into hiding. Hans Eisinger manages to track her down and one week after her escape Hannelore voluntarily accompanies him back to the camp…possibly due to loneliness, Rob’s existing relationship, or pressure from the Order Service to prevent others being deported to Auschwitz. Shortly thereafter, Hannelore and Hans get married in Westerbork.

Hannelore survived the war and avoided punishment after her return. The film reconstructs her story through interviews, archival footage, and music, presenting it as one of survival, love, and the difficult choices faced under Nazi persecution.

Hannelore sings and is still intensely sung about by Louis de Wijze, who witnessed her escape and remembered the revue songs from Westerbork: Ich hab es bei Nacht den Sternen erzählt, Ich liebe Dich.

Powerful documentary—this story, with close-ups of this Westerbork Girl, that resonate with me. Beautiful surprise while researching the use of the Westerborkfilm. Review by Michel van der Burg , editor Settela.Com

Citation info : Westerbork Girl • 20250916 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | URL https://settela.com/2025/09/16

Sally • 20250411

Stumbling stone placed Friday , April 11, 2025. Stolperstein street art monument by Gunter Demnig. Rue Marie-Therese 13 , Brussels, Belgium .

Background:
Story of Righteous Nelly • Quintart aka Quintard • URL https://settela.com/2023/05/26/story-of-righteous-nelly-quintart-aka-quintard/

Notes
Reportage following next week

Citation info : Sally • 20250411 | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313

First Stolperstein | 20240520

First Stolperstein. Installed on 16 Dec 1992 in front of the City Hall in Cologne , Germany.

Over the past 30 years the team of German artist Gunter Demnig installed over 100,000 Stumbling Stones – ‘Stolpersteine’ – across 26 countries in Europe – the world’s largest memorial.

Demnig’s Stolpersteine are small, cobblestone-sized brass memorials for the victims of National Socialism. Set into the pavement of sidewalks in front of the buildings where Nazi victims once lived or worked, they call attention both to the individual victim and the scope of the Nazi war crimes.

The very first Stolperstein, was installed on 16 December 1992 in front of Cologne City Hall , with Heinrich Himmler’s order for the initiation of deportations of all Roma (Gypsies) :

„Auf Befehl des Reichsführers SS vom 16.12.42 – Tgb. Nr. I 2652/42 Ad./RF/V. – sind Zigeunermischlinge, Rom-Zigeuner und nicht deutschblütige Angehörige zigeunerischer Sippen balkanischer Herkunft nach bestimmten Richtlinien auszuwählen und in einer Aktion von wenigen Wochen in ein Konzentrationslager einzuweisen. Dieser Personenkreis wird im nachstehenden kurz als ‚zigeunerische Personen‘ bezeichnet. Die Einweisung erfolgt ohne Rücksicht auf den Mischlingsgrad familienweise in das Konzentrationslager (Zigeunerlager) Auschwitz.“

Notes

Photo : First Stolperstein at the Cologne City Hall, Germany. Photo Jan. 1, 2008, by Willy Horsch, CC-BY .

Citation info : First Stolperstein | 20240520 | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | URL https://settela.com/2024/05/20

‘Entartete Art’ 1935 – Coleman Hawkins & Leo de la Fuente in Holland | 20231123

‘Entartete Art’ 1935 – Coleman Hawkins & Leo de la Fuente in Holland

American saxophonist Coleman Hawkins announces and plays – accompanied by Leo de la Fuente on piano – on his tenor saxophone ‘I wished that I were twins’.

In 1934, Coleman Hawkins left the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra and Amerika, moved to Europe, and joined the Jack Hylton Orchestra in England. Hylton and his band made regular ‘continental’ tours, and started another European tour January 1935 accompanied by Coleman Hawkins in Holland. At the end of January 1935 Hawkins joins the dutch band The Rambers … for 8 days … because Hawkins was denied entry to Germany because of his race, while Hylton and his band continued their tour without him and play for eight days at the Berlin Philharmonic Hall.

To end this special week with Hawkins well, the bandleader of The Ramblers – Theo Uden Masman – arranged with Decca for recordings 4 february 1935 in Pulchri Studio in The Hague, Holland, including this : I wish I were twins…that was also recorded on film by Polygoon (Polygoontoon) for the dutch cinema news for next week .

Coleman Hawkins is accomponied here on film by the dutch jazz pioneer Leo de la Fuente on piano , playing ‘I wished that I were twins’ . After the recordings, Hawkins moves further into Europe.

Leo – Leonard Henriques – de la Fuente, who was born Jewish in Amsterdam 28 March 1902, was deported by the nazi’s to Auschwitz on 2 November 1942, and died 30 April 1944 ‘somewhere in Mid Europe’.

References

About Leonard Henriques de la Fuente, his wife Hendrika de Vries and his daughters Benvenida and Mietje. Joods Monument. URL https://www.joodsmonument.nl/en/page/680262/about-leonard-henriques-de-la-fuente-his-wife-hendrika-de-vries-and

Biografie Leo de la Fuente. Muziekencyclopedie.nl | Beeld & Geluid. URL https://www.muziekencyclopedie.nl/action/entry/Leo+de+la+Fuente

The Hawk in Holland. Jacky de Vries. Theater Sentiment – De verhalen over de artiesten van weleer – Jaargang 3 Nummer 4. URL https://theatersentiment.nl/the-hawk-in-holland/

Jack Hylton 1892-1965. Abaigh McKee. Politics & Propaganda | Music and the Holocaust | URL https://holocaustmusic.ort.org/politics-and-propaganda/jack-hylton/

Film edited from source (video footage) : Polygoon Hollands Nieuws (Polygoontoon, producer) dutch cinema news reel week 7 , 1935 | Sound & Vision (Open Images)

Citation : ‘Entartete Art’ 1935 – Coleman Hawkins & Leo de la Fuente in Holland | 20231123 | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | TakeNode 4f388407-5ccc-4816-aef6-6064fcee35b2

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PUSH Opera Epilogue 2020 | Westerborkfilm Images #2 | 20230728

Images from the Westerborkfilm have been used countless times in documentaries and films about the Second World War. Here images screening in the virtual opera PUSH – based on the story of Simon Gronowski – an 11 year old Jewish boy who was pushed from the train – Transport XX – by his mother on the way to Auschwitz — Video clip https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxsM6Rj_HB0xEh4TksbjhIm4EzY81dc4H0

A virtual performance, during the April 2020 Corona virus lockdown, of the epilogue of the community opera PUSH , entitled : Ma Vie N’est Que Miracles | My life is only miracles – hosted by composer Howard Moody. It premiered on the night of the 19th April 2020, exactly 77 years after three Brussels resistance heroes stopped the Nazi train Transport XX, transporting 1600 Jewish deportees to Auschwitz, and more than 200 prisoners escaped from the train before the German border. Info : michelvanderburg.com/2020/04/19 .

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Kazerne Dossin | Westerborkfilm Images #1 | 20230727

Images from the Westerborkfilm have been used countless times in documentaries and films about the Second World War.
Here Westerborkfilm images – clips – screening semi-permanent ten years ago (Feb. 2013) in a museum introduction film (on holocaust, genocides, discrimination, diversity, rights) on one of the huge columns in the entrance hall of the Kazerne Dossin museum in Mechelen, Belgium (a few months after opening of the new Kazerne Dossin building). Note, shortly after this outbound deportation transport to Bergen-Belsen and Auschwitz, had left the Westerbork transit camp on May 19, 1944, the train paused at the nearby railway station of the dutch town Assen, where train cars were added from Belgian Transport XXV (25) with 508 deportees, Jews and the Roma deportee Stevo Caroli, from transit camp Kazerne Dossin (Dossin barracks) in Mechelen, and this combined transport with Jews, Sinti and Roma, including Settela Steinbach, continues to the east…to the Bergen-Belsen and Auschwitz concentration camps. Stevo Caroli survives Auschwitz-Birkenau. After returning to Belgium, Stevo Caroli’s request for a certificate, necessary for the compensation for political deportees or work refusers, is refused by the Belgian Aliens Police for racial reasons ( kazernedossin.memorial/biografie/stevo-karoli/ ).

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Sally’s Invasion Star

June 25, 2023 — Contact between the families of Sally and Nelly is re-established !

Sally Frankenthal – Kalwary was living in Antwerp in the 90s when she requested Yad Vashem a Righteous medal posthumous for “Nelly Quintard” .. the lady that had been hiding Sally Frankenthal and her parents during World War II. However, Mrs. Sally Kalwary – Frankenthal was not able to find Nelly’s family …. and the medal went to the Kazerne Dossin museum in Mechelen.

This month contact was re-established with Sally’s family. Unfortunately, too late to meet Sally Frankenthal – Kalwary, who died three years ago.
Sally’s family shared photo’s taken of Sally before and after her hiding — both with stars…posted in today’s update of the Story of Righteous Nelly • Quintart aka Quintard .

References

Sally’s Invasion Star | 20230625 | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | URL https://settela.com/2023/06/25