Amsterdam couple found in Westerbork film • 20241223

The Dutch national broadcaster NOS (1) and the local RTV Drenthe (2) reported this morning (23 Dec 2024) that 2 more people have been recognized in the Westerbork film.

It is the Amsterdam couple Marcus Pels and Hendrika Brandon. They were identified by the image researcher Koen Hulsbos – volunteer worker at the Behind the Star project of the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies .

The Jewish photographer and filmmaker Rudolf Breslauer, while a prisoner in the Westerbork transit camp in the Netherlands, was commissioned by camp commander Albert Gemmeker to make film recordings for the Westerbork film in the spring of 1944, featuring images of a deportation train.

The NOS broadcast referred to images in the first published Westerbork film (3) :

The film can be viewed in its entirety on YouTube. After just under 5 minutes 🔗 a man with a hat can be seen looking into the camera with a smile, and next to him a woman with black, slightly wavy hair can be seen from behind. The same couple appears again at 6 minutes 🔗. It turned out to be the Amsterdam couple Marcus Pels and Hendrika Brandon.

Pels & Brandon Clip 1 & 2

Also available on YouTube is the more recent second Westerborkfilm (4). This 2021 edition has the recently found original camera rolls of the deportation transport (Reel E198), with higher quality images of the couple.

20241223_1 | Settela•Com | Pels & Brandon Clip 1 after 20 min 🔗


20241223_2 | Settela•Com | Pels & Brandon Clip 2 after 21 min 🔗

That’s it

Hulsbos had already had photos of Marcus Pels and Hendrika Brandon in his collection of images of prisoners who were transported on that day – May 19, 1944 – when Breslauer films the deportation of Jews, Roma and Sinti to Bergen-Belsen and Auschwitz.

“I’ve seen the film many times, but at one point I thought, ‘Hey, this couple is on screen twice.’ I had never really noticed that before,” says Hulsbos.

Hulsbos then compared the film footage with his photos. “And then I thought: that’s it,” says the amateur film historian.

Marcus Pels was murdered immediately after arriving in Auschwitz. Hendrika Brandon survived the war, as did their daughter and son, who were in hiding with a foster family. Katy (Keetje, 86 years old) and Philip (83) are still alive and live in Canada. They were shown the film footage and confirmed that they were their parents.

“They don’t remember their father. So to actually see images of him, to see him just walking around alive, there are no words to describe it,” granddaughter Lisa Kaufman said as a family spokesperson. “It was very special to see my grandmother, who I grew up with.”

Anonym | Girl with the headscarf …

In the Westerbork film, Hendrika looks at the woman on the stretcher, who was recognized in the 1990s through her suitcase as Frouwke Kroon, and thus was the key to identifying this transport and thus also to the name of the anonymous girl with the headscarf between the wagon doors – Settela (5,6).

Deportation Breslauer family

Earlier this year it was reported that filmmaker Rudolf Breslauer had also filmed two of his children , Stefan , and Ursula Breslauer in the Westerborkfilm at the farm (7).

Werner Rudolf Breslauer , his wife Bella Weihsmann, sons Stefan and Max Michael (Mischa), and daughter Ursula were deported later in 1944 from Westerbork to Theresienstadt and Auschwitz. Only Ursula survived.

Notes

1) Twee mensen herkend in Westerborkfilm: ‘Kan niet missen’ | NOS Nieuws • Dec 23, 2024 09:45 | URL https://nos.nl/artikel/2549390-twee-mensen-herkend-in-westerborkfilm-kan-niet-missen

2) Nieuwe ontdekking in Westerbork-film: Amsterdams echtpaar krijgt gezicht | RTV Drenthe • Dec 23, 2024 07:10 | URL https://www.rtvdrenthe.nl/nieuws/17091818/nieuwe-ontdekking-in-westerbork-film-amsterdams-echtpaar-krijgt-gezicht

3) Westerbork Film | Full version RVD 1986 | 20190605 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | URL https://settela.com/2019/06/05/westerbork-film-full-version-rvd/

4) Westerbork Film 🎦 2021 | 20220302 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | URL https://settela.com/2022/03/02/westerbork-film-🎦-2021-complete-remastered-edition-20220302/

5) ANONYM | Girl with the headscarf … | 20210416 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | URL https://settela.com/2021/04/16/anonym-girl-with-the-headscarf-20210416/

6) ANONIEM | Meisje met hoofddoekje … | 20210417 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | URL https://settela.com/2021/04/17/anoniem-meisje-met-hoofddoekje-20210417/

7) Stefan & Ursula Breslauer in Westerborkfilm | 20240305 | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | URL https://settela.com/2024/03/05

Citation info : Amsterdam couple found in Westerbork film • 20241223 | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | URL https://settela.com/2024/12/23

Review RESCUE RUN • 20240927

RESCUE RUN : Capt. Jake Rogers’ Daring Return to Occupied Europe • John Winn Miller

After escaping the treacherous waters of WWII, Captain Jake Rogers leads his crew on a daring mission across Nazi-occupied Europe to rescue the father of his beloved, entangled in a web of espionage, betrayal, and relentless pursuit.

Review of John Winn Miller’s novel ‘Rescue Run’

John Winn Miller, a veteran of investigative journalism for decades, masterfully weaves historical detail into his World War II novel Rescue Run. The story follows American ship’s captain Jake Rogers, who, after his U.S. Liberty ship carrying war supplies is wrecked in the North Atlantic, first lands in Ireland. He then sets out with a few of his loyal men on a perilous mission to rescue the father of Miriam Maduro, the love of his life, from the Westerbork transit camp in Nazi-occupied Holland.

A gruelling journey follows from Amsterdam across Nazi-occupied Europe to Spain – on foot, by train, and by boat – via a long series of hiding places, historical locations and events, aided by well-known and lesser-known resistance organisations and historical figures, besieged by con men, double agents, gangsters and pursued by a ruthless Dutch bounty hunter.

As a non-native English speaker, I initially struggled a bit with the first few chapters, particularly the maritime terms and rich language used in the sea adventure with the Liberty ship, besides the introduction of the many characters. However, once past those pages, the novel became a true page-turner. The gripping, almost cinematic narrative had me finishing the book in just two or three days, despite also spending some time online searching for even more historical context, for example when Rogers is helped by the Dutch resistance group ‘Groep 2000’ led by Jacoba van Tongeren, and when characters like Etty Hillesum and Audrey Hepburn appear in the story.

Blending Fiction and Nonfiction

I rarely read fiction these days — almost exclusively occupied with non-fiction — but John Miller’s work intrigued me. I was curious to see how he managed to incorporate the reality of Nazi-occupied Europe, and in particular the Westerbork transit camp, into fiction. The result is exceptional. The blend of fiction and nonfiction strengthens the narrative, bringing the past vividly to life. Miller also provides an extensive set of notes at the end of the book, offering in-depth background information on the events and historical figures featured in the story, detailing also what happened to them after the events of the novel.

I especially appreciate how John Winn Miller brings the wartime past to life in Rescue Run, with accuracy and rich detail, from multiple perspectives. His cinematic storytelling draws readers into a narrative that inspires further exploration of this history.

Michel van der Burg, filmmaker, editor of Settela•Com


Notes

Additional Information:

  • Title: Rescue Run: Capt. Jake Rogers’ Daring Return to Occupied Europe
  • Author: John Winn Miller
  • Publisher: Bancroft Press
  • ISBN: 9781610886437 (HC), 9781610886451 (Ebook), 9781610886475 (Audiobook)
  • Release Date: Expected March 4, 2025
  • URL: Bancroft Press – Rescue Run

John Winn Miller is an award-winning investigative reporter, foreign correspondent, editor, publisher, screenwriter, indie movie producer and novelist. | Photo Bancroft Press. | More info at Miller’s website URL https://www.johnwinnmiller.com


John Winn Miller

Though Rescue Run is a sequel to Miller’s first novel, The Hunt for the Peggy C, no prior knowledge of the first book is required. A summary of the prequel is included for new readers or those needing a refresher.

Westerbork Film Frame

This review was prompted by my contribution of a still (image below) from the Westerbork film for Rescue Run’s book jacket , in collaboration with designer Christine Van Bree and author John Winn Miller.
John kindly provided me with a link for a free download of the Advance Reader Copy on the BookSirens’ platform. Since I’m documenting the Westerbork film through the online magazine Settela•Com, I happily accepted BookSiren’s invitation to join the review team.

Deportation | 20240225 | Settela•Com | Commander Albert Gemmeker oversees the deportation of Jews, Sinti, and Roma from the Westerbork transit camp May 19, 1944 | Frame 7426 from Deportation Westerbork Film | 20210719 | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949 9313

News

A gripping, almost cinematic narrative that blends fiction and non-fiction . By Michel van der Burg, filmmaker, editor of Settela•Com • RESCUE RUN Reviews. By John Winn Miller (Retrieved 20250606) URL https://www.johnwinnmiller.com/copy-of-readers-favorite

Shop : Via johnwinnmiller.com URL https://www.johnwinnmiller.com/copy-of-peggy-c-1


Citation info : Review RESCUE RUN • 20240927 • Michel van der Burg • Settela•Com • ISSN 2949-9313

Stefan & Ursula Breslauer in Westerborkfilm | 20240305

Stefan & Ursula Breslauer in Westerborkfilm | 20240305 – Clip from : Westerbork Film 🎦 2021 | 20220302 | Settela•Com | URL https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxdcMjzZQcH8jOtp1j2xFwrPxyAoHMcdFr

Filmmaker Rudolf Breslauer also filmed two of his children in the Westerborkfilm…

Stefan (left) & Ursula Breslauer, children of Rudolf Breslauer, the filmmaker of the Westerbork film at the farm of Camp Westerbork in 1944 – identified by the dutch photographer Sake Elzinga, who received Breslauer’s family photo albums last year when the family of Ursula – the only survivor – visited an expo on Breslauer in the Westerbork museum in the Netherlands.

Camp commander (SS-Obersturmführer) Albert Gemmeker ordered the Westerbork film , made by the German Jewish prisoner, photographer, Rudolf Breslauer in the spring of 1944.

Today 80 years ago – March 5, 1944 – the camp is an ‘Arbeitslager’ – a work camp – when Rudolf Breslauer starts filming the daily life of the Westerbork prisoners — inside : in the barracks, for example a religious service, cabaret, workshops, factories, aircraft and battery recycling, medical care, and outside the barracks : construction of a greenhouse, a football match, women working out, chopping wood, incoming transports, and eventually also the departure of a deportation train. After Breslauer films the deportation of Jews, Roma and Sinti to Bergen-Belsen and Auschwitz on May 19, 1944 the filming stops.
The haunting image of the 9-year-old dutch Sinti-girl Settela, standing in the closing doors of the goods train, and the unique footage of that deportation train that leaves the Westerbork camp, became iconic after the war.

Deportation Breslauer family

Werner Rudolf Breslauer , his wife Bella Weihsmann, sons Stefan and Max Michael (Mischa), and daughter Ursula were deported autumn 1944 from Westerbork to Theresienstadt and Auschwitz. Only Ursula survived.

Stefan & Ursula Breslauer in Westerborkfilm | 20240305 | Settela•Com | Frame 127475 from Westerbork Film 🎦 2021 | 20220302 | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | Footage filmed by Rudolf Breslauer in 1944, courtesy of NIOD | Sound and Vision

Notes

Clip from : Westerbork Film 🎦 2021 | Complete Remastered Edition | YouTube https://youtu.be/ZiLNDziwEtc

Westerbork Film 🎦 2021 | 20220302 | Settela•Com | URL https://settela.com/2022/03/02/westerbork-film-🎦-2021-complete-remastered-edition-20220302/

Kinderen van filmmaker Breslauer herkend in historische Westerborkfilm. Dutch national news broadcaster NOS Nieuws, in cooperation with RTV Drenthe, 13:18 Monday 4 March 2024 | URL https://nos.nl/artikel/2511414-kinderen-van-filmmaker-breslauer-herkend-in-historische-westerborkfilm

Scene with Stefan & Ursula Breslauer, starting at 56:13 in the 1986 RVD edition of the Westerborkfilm:
Stefan & Ursula Breslauer in Westerbork Film RVD | 20240305 | Settela•Com | URL https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxfNzA72JeGgVoOFp_VTI4EQQr3yTwXu6_

Settela Film | 20220630 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com

Deportation Westerbork Film | 20210719 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com

English introduction to Westerborkfilm :
Westerborkfilm Introduction | 20220507 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | URL https://settela.com/2022/05/07/westerborkfilm-introduction-20220507/

Citation info : Stefan & Ursula Breslauer in Westerborkfilm | 20240305 | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | URL https://settela.com/2024/03/05

News

March 5, 2024 : Updated 21:21

Missing Image Westerbork Film 2021 | 20230519

Missing Image Westerbork Film 2021

The new 2021 Westerbork Film is missing part of the image in every frame …

The new high quality restored Westerbork film, presented first May 2021 by the Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision and the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, has numerous advantages over the previous well known first edition of the Westerborkfilm made in 1986 in 4 acts by the dutch Rijksvoorlichtingsdienst (RVD ; the Dutch National Centre for Information) .
The full 1986 film including all 4 acts , was first published in 2019 at Settela•Com (Ref 1), with annotations for the various scenes. That 1986 Westerborkfilm however does not include all of the footage shot by Rudolf Breslauer, Spring 1944 in Camp Westerbork, in the Netherlands.

Footage not used in the 1986 Westerbork film compilation was presented in a series of posts published later in 2019 at Settela•Com.
Next, a film compilation of all that known footage was posted online as the WESTERBORK FILMS COLLECTION – UNESCO ALBUM (Ref 2). That film compilation was also made available for download 20 January 2020 by Michel van der Burg | Miracles.Media via the Open Images bank of Sound & Vision (Ref 3). That compilation was prepared without checking / deleting duplicate copies of footage, and thus contains redundant footage.

The 2021 restored Westerbork film is a major upgrade from the 1986 Westerborkfilm edition. Important advantages of the 2021 Westerbork film are , (i) new high quality 4K scans were made of the footage, (ii) containing a complete selection of all known footage, (iii) using only the best copies of all footage found in the archives, (iv) based on an extensive new inventory of all known archives, with the discovery of 2 canisters with ‘camera-original’ footage, and a hitherto unknown clip, and (v) with conservative, digital, restoration applied. Details on that new restored Westerbork film were discussed July 2021 with the co-publication of an important part of the 2021 Westerbork film : the new high quality deportation footage — a film compilation of scans of the newly discovered original camera negative film used by Rudolf Breslauer 19 May 1944 in Camp Westerbork, in the Netherlands (Ref 4).

The complete Westerbork Film 2021 was published too at Settela•Com on May 7, 2022 with all scenes annotated (Ref 5), together with a short introductory film : Westerborkfilm Introduction (Ref 6).

Note that additional digital restoration has been applied by Sound & Vision for the publicly made available so-called ‘display edition’ of this new 2021 Westerbork film according to Conservator Valentine Kuypers | Sound and Vision (Ref 7) – as discussed previously at Settela•Com (Ref 4).

Missing Part Images

It should be noted that the released 2021 ‘display edition’ of the Westerbork film – due to the applied image stabilization – does show less of the actual image in each frame as compared to the 1986 edition.

Below some examples illustrating the crop in the display edition.

Out of frame : Nazi with bike

1986 edition | showing ‘nazi with bike’ | 20230519 | Settela•Com

1986 edition – showing ‘nazi with bike’ watching the deportation train leaving – https://youtu.be/8E-IWGjbGZM?t=468

2021 edition | not showing ‘nazi with bike’ | 20230519 | Settela•Com

2021 edition – not showing ‘nazi with bike’ in same scene, near identical frame — though he shows up in later frames a few seconds later, walking away ) – https://youtu.be/ZiLNDziwEtc?t=882

Settela’s car (not) showing 74p•

Next a comparison of the frame displaying “74 p.” (chalked on the car with Settela). The dot is shown in the 1986 film. That dot is missing in the 2021 film due to the cropped image resulting from the image stabilization.

1986 edition | dot showing in 74p• | 20230519 | Settela•Com

1986 edition – dot showing in 74p• on Settela’s car ; URL https://youtu.be/8E-IWGjbGZM?t=386

2021 edition | dot not showing in 74p | 20230519 | Settela•Com

2021 edition – dot NOT showing in 74p on Settela’s car ; URL https://youtu.be/ZiLNDziwEtc?t=1015

No crop in early news coverage

Of note : first news clips presented by Sound & Vision announcing the new restored film , are apparently not based on the ‘display edition’, and do show that dot in the original 4K scan.

The full image — including the dot ’74 p.” — was shown in a first news item Sep 12, 2019 on the daily dutch ‘Nieuwsuur’ national news show , on colorized high quality deportation footage, that mentioning the new original footage. Item “Iconische beelden Tweede Wereldoorlog na 75 jaar in kleur” ; URL https://nos.nl/nieuwsuur/artikel/2301340-iconische-beelden-tweede-wereldoorlog-na-75-jaar-in-kleur

Jan 2020 Sound & Vision publicly showed and announced the newly discovered camera original footage via the daily dutch news show NOS (Ref 8) showing the images with no crop — including the dot ’74 p.” and presented an 8 min film compilation a few days later via their Vimeo channel also (at 0021) shwoing 74 Pers • (with dot) . URL https://vimeo.com/386667241

74 Pers • | Vimeo edition 20200123 Sound & Vision | 20230519 | Settela•Com

Display edition presentation – with crop

74 Pers | YouTube edition 20210408 Sound & Vision | 20230519 | Settela•Com

In 2021 Sound & Vision apparently started using the ‘display edition’ for publications on the new found original Westerbork deportation footage ; such as the YouTube uploads “De Westerborkfilm 📽️🎞️” (uploaded Apr 8, 2021) – https://youtu.be/8Y-A4BkWY18?t=2 , a video presented first I believe April 18, 2021 in an online Media Café event by Sound & Vision , and May 18, 2021 on the occasion of the public release of the restored film (Ref 9), in the 20 min presentation “Gerestaureerde filmbeelden Westerbork (1944)” of a compilation of selected images from the restored film – missing again the dot at 0:47 – https://youtu.be/-zCmr6PSNcI?t=47

Missing Image Westerbork Film 2021 | 20230519 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313

References

1. Westerbork Film | Full version RVD 1986 | 20190605 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313

2. WESTERBORK FILMS COLLECTION – UNESCO ALBUM | 20200120 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313

3. WESTERBORK FILMS COLLECTION – UNESCO ALBUM (20200120) Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | CC BY 4.0 | Open Images – URL https://www.openimages.eu/media/1223905

4. Deportation Westerbork Film | 20210719 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | URL https://settela.com/2021/07/19/deportation-westerbork-film-20210719/

5. Westerbork Film 🎦 2021 | 20220302 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | Display edition film annotated online in CC

6. Westerborkfilm Introduction | 20220507 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | Introduction by Michel van der Burg on the Westerborkfilm screening in METRO Kinokulturhaus , Vienna , Austria at the DOCUMENTS OF DESTRUCTION | DOKUMENTE DER VERNICHTUNG Symposium 6-7 May, 2022 curated by Florian Widegger. Presented by Filmarchiv Austria in cooperation with the Vienna Jewish Film Festival and the Mauthausen Memorial.

7. Restauratie Westerborkfilm (May 12, 2021) Valentine Kuypers | Beeld en Geluid (accessed 2021 Jul 19) URL: https://bit.ly/3kGteVs

8. Nieuwe beelden van iconische Westerborkfilm gevonden (Jan 20, 2020) | NOS (accessed 2021 Jul 19) URL: https://bit.ly/3isIqTp

9. Gerestaureerde filmbeelden Westerbork (1944) (May 18, 2021) Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid | Youtube (accessed 2021 Jul 19) URL: https://youtu.be/-zCmr6PSNcI

TAGs #missing #detail #Westerborkfilm #film #scan #restoration #original #footage #crop #edit #Beeld #Geluid #vertoningskopie #display #edition #image #analysis #Sound #Vision #NIOD #Rudolf #Breslauer #Settela #Gemmeker #Holland #Netherlands #Belgium #camp #Westerbork #Mechelen #Auschwitz #BergenBelsen #holocaust #deportation #train #Jew #Roma #Sinti #documentary #station #camp #uniform #UNESCO #diversity #freight #cattle #car #TakeNode #1Memo #MiraclesMedia #SettelaCom #michelvanderburg #ISSN29499313

Westerbork Film Shots Order

Breslauer films Settela after Degen kids | Excerpt (20220510) from Westerbork Film 🎦 2021 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 – Click image for video clip (Link in REF 10).

The original deportation footage of the annotated 2021 Westerbork film (REF 1) provides insight into Breslauer’s way of filming.

Focussing on film roll 2 of the deportation reel it is evident that Breslauer — right after filming the toddlers Marc and Stella Degen (REF 11) in 3rd class carriage I at the front of the train ( 00:16:49 ) — for his next shot ( 00:16:52 ) went all the way to the rear of the train for a close-up of the 9-year-old Settela Steinbach in cattle car number 16 — with Romani and Sinti people bound for Auschwitz (REF 6,12).
Further note that the first shot that day also focusses on a child, here in cattle car #7 with Jewish people (REF 6) bound for Auschwitz (00:20:18 start of roll 4/4 of reel E198).

The 2021 Westerbork film as mentioned in the recently presented Westerborkfilm Introduction (REF 2) is the outcome of a thorough search that started Spring 2019 for all available film cans in the Dutch media archives of Sound & Vision and the EYE Filmmuseum. All restored unique shots using both the camera original film and film copies (duplicates – when no original is known) were used for the new restored Westerbork film compilation made available as ‘display edition’.

Sound & Vision curator Valentine Kuypers reported in her dutch blog 12 May 2021 (REF 3) that a total of 23 film cans were found, including 2 cans with camera-original negative film – a discovery , because before only reels with film duplicates (copies) were known with only a few minutes section of original footage (see below). For the new 2021 Westerbork film “a compilation of unique scenes in the highest quality was made. Eight films from the archives of Sound & Vision and Eye were used for the compilation, consisting of: 16 mm original negative, duplicate negative, duplicate positive and original reversal film. ” [my translation].
Digital restoration with a conservative approach was used to stabilize and reframe the images , deflicker , and remove dust, scratches, and visible splices (REF 4). The display copy for distribution was color graded and adjusted for the correct playback speed.

Examination of the Westerbork Film for annotation showed the film starts with the two newly discovered camera-original reels E325 and E198, resp.
The first reel (E325) has sections of footage shot at various work sites of the Westerbork camp — starting 00:00:29 and ending at 00:14:22 — that can be traced back in the 1986 RVD Westerbork Film duplicates Act 2 and Act 3 , listed with numbers 5 , 17 , 12 , 5, 18, 9, 10, 9, 10, 19, 20 resp. in the post (REF 5) Westerbork Film – full version (RVD). The last scene on this reel E325 – a newly discovered clip of a few seconds – is showing a soldier standing guard at the camp entrance.
Dutch researchers Koert Broersma and Gerard Rossing reported in their new book on the film (REF 6) that the footage on both reels – although original – has been cut — with reel E325 showing 7 splices. I wasn’t able to discover splices, probably because of the digital restoration. The next reel E198, however, with the deportation footage, clearly does show 2 of the 3 spices reported by Broersma and Rossing — these show up as white transitions in this digital display edition around 0:16:22  and 0:18:14  resp. The location of that 3rd splice that is no longer showing in this restored film could be traced with help of the image of that splice published in Broersma and Rossing ‘s book , page 110 (REF 6) – right after Gemmeker looking up , starting 00:20:18  .
Since the splices between the film rolls on this reel could be identified here , the film roll numbers 1 to 4 are specified in the annotations.

The display edition of this deportation footage shows the order of the rolls found on reel E198. For the correct chronological order clearly rolls 1 and 4 have to change places, as shown before in the reconstruction Deportation Westerbork Film | 20210719 (REF 7).

The reels E325 and E198 with original film are followed by reels with restored duplicate films – omitting scenes already shown as original footage :

i) first, the 4 reels (acts) of the restored RVD film (REF 5);

ii) next, the so-called Unknown Westerbork Film Reel…F1014 (REF 8) starting with the Transport data animation at 02:03:31 ;

iii) and finally, the so-called Forgotten Westerbork Film Reel…F1015 (REF 9) starting at 02:11:53 with the Gevaert logo. Footage of the Religuous service on this F1015 reel was reported by Broersma and Rossing (REF 6) to be original film also .

CREDITS

Special thanks to researchers, authors, Koert Broersma, Gerard Rossing, and Aad Wagenaar, to curator Valentine Kuypers and her Sound & Vision colleagues Gerard Nijssen and others. The new Westerbork film project is a joint effort of four dutch organizations : the Dutch media archive Sound & Vision, Camp Westerbork Memorial Centre , the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, and the Jewish Cultural Quarter in Amsterdam.

Westerbork Film Shots Order | 20220511 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | CC BY 4.0

REFERENCES

1 – Westerbork Film 🎦 2021 | 20220302 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | URL https://settela.com/2022/03/02/westerbork-film-🎦-2021-complete-remastered-edition-20220302/

2 – Westerborkfilm Introduction | 20220507 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | URL https://settela.com/2022/05/07/westerborkfilm-introduction-20220507/

3 – Restauratie Westerborkfilm (May 12, 2021) Valentine Kuypers | Sound & Vision (accessed 2021 Jul 19) URL: https://bit.ly/3kGteVs

4 – Restauratie De Westerborkfilm (Oct 2020) Paulo Veiga da Fonseca and Valentine Kuypers | Sound & Vision | Presentation AVA_Net Kennissessie. (accessed 2022 May 10) URL https://library.avanet.nl/ava_net-kenissessie-restauratie-van-de-westerborkfilm/

5 – Westerbork Film | Full version RVD 1986 | 20190605 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 (accessed 2022 May 10) URL: https://wp.me/p91enH-1x

6 – Kamp Westerbork gefilmd (May 2021) Koert Broersma, Gerard Rossing (editor Gorcum B.V., Koninklijke van) ISBN 9789023257622. URL https://www.vangorcum.nl/product/100-392_Kamp-Westerbork-gefilmd

7 – Deportation Westerbork Film | 20210719 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 (accessed 2022 May 10) URL https://settela.com/2021/07/19/deportation-westerbork-film-20210719/

8 – Unknown Westerbork Film Reel…F1014 | 20190616 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | CC BY 4.0

9 – Forgotten Westerbork Film Reel…F1015 | 20190615 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | CC BY 4.0

10 – Breslauer films Settela after Degen kids | Excerpt (20220510) from Westerbork Film 🎦 2021 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | URL https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxedHAwh0UTAsa1iLmhvFtAxNNegNxAJ20

11 – Children of the Holocaust Who Are Anonymous No More | May 18, 2021 by Nina Siegal | The New York Times |
URL https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/18/arts/children-of-the-holocaust-who-are-anonymous-no-more.html

12 – Settela, het meisje heeft haar naam terug (1995-2007) by Aad Wagenaar ISBN 9789089751898 / English translation by Janna Eliot ‘Settela’ (2005-2016) ISBN 978-0-9933898-2-5 .

TAGS #chronological #order #Westerborkfilm #documentary #book #analysis #Westerbork #film #arbeitslager #transitcamp #Lagerfilm #industry #activity #scenario #Rudolf #Breslauer #Degen #toddler #original #footage #restauration #discussion #inventory #shot #scene #review #holocaust #barracks #children #concentration #camp #deportation #guard #Jew #DiamondJew #labor #machinery #Netherlands #railcar #Roma #Sinti #StarsofDavid #train #station #transitcamp #uniform #Westerbork #UNESCO #Settela #Gemmeker #Auschwitz #BergenBelsen #resistance #SoundVision #ValentineKuypers #GerardNijssen #KoertBroersma #GerardRossing #AadWagenaar #1Memo #SettelaCom #MiraclesMedia #michelvanderburg

Updates

20220604 – Minor changes references

20230518 – Credits and references updated with ISSN

Westerbork Film Correspondence


SILENT FILM

Westerbork Camp

Spring 1944 a film is being made in the Westerbork camp, ordered and produced by camp commander SS-Obersturmführer Albert Gemmeker. Cameraman is the German Jewish prisoner Rudolf Breslauer – the camp photographer. In addition film scripts were made, but the film was never really finished or edited.

Westerbork Film Dossier

In 2017 the film dossier – with the film footage and production documents – enters the UNESCO Memory of the World Register (REF 1) . The final part of the UNESCO registry (Le film de Westerbork – édité le 8 mai 2017 – ID code 2016-118 ) lists all the documents on the Westerbork Film at the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies (REF 2).
That NIOD archive file — called (translated) : Directing, texts and correspondence of the film “Westerbork” has been scanned and made available online. The file contains film scripts, title cards, and the correspondence on the film.

Westerbork Film

May 7, 2022 the latest edition of the Westerbork Film – a compilation of digitally restored footage – was posted with annotations as optional closed captions – CC (REF 3). In addition a short film ‘Westerborkfilm Introduction’ was posted (REF 4) that addresses briefly the history, context, and contents of the film dossier, camp and film crew, postwar route of the film footage, including a glimpse of the film plan, title cards and correspondence.

Production documents

Before , the title cards (REF 5) and the film scripts (REF 6) were posted.
All other production documents – a file with correspondence between the camp and the outside world on obtaining camera’s , film and film processing – are detailed chronologically here in this short silent film “Westerbork Film Correspondence | 20220509” .

CREDITS

Source : NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies | 250i Westerbork, Judendurchgangslager | 854 Stukken over de Westerbork-film, 7 maart – 20 april 1944 en z.d. | File retrieved May 23, 2019 from Nationaal Archief (REF 10).

Westerbork Film Correspondence | 20220509 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | CC BY 4.0

TAGS #correspondence #filmplan #script #scenario #plan #NIOD #Westerborkfilm #documentary #Westerborkfilm #Westerbork #film #arbeitslager #Lagerfilm #industry #Rudolf #Breslauer #holocaust #barracks #concentration #camp #deportation #Jew #labor #machinery #Hollland #Netherlands #railcar #Roma #Sinti #tool #train #station #transitcamp #uniform #Westerbork #UNESCO #film #Settela #Gemmeker #Auschwitz #BergenBelsen #documentary #resistance #1Memo #SettelaCom #MiraclesMedia #michelvanderburg

REFERENCES

1 – UNESCO Memory of the World Register – Unesco.org – Mémoire du monde – Le film de Westerbork (accessed 20190605) URL http://www.unesco.org/new/fr/communication-and-information/memory-of-the-world/register/full-list-of-registered-heritage/registered-heritage-page-9/westerbork-films/

2 – NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies | 250i Westerbork, Judendurchgangslager | 854 Stukken over de Westerbork-film, 7 maart – 20 april 1944 en z.d. | File retrieved May 23, 2019 from Nationaal Archief (last accessed 2021 Apr 17)
URL https://www.archieven.nl/nl/search-modonly?mivast=298&mizig=210&miadt=298&micode=250i&milang=nl&mizk_alle=westerbork%20film&miview=inv2#inv3t2

3 – Westerbork Film 🎦 2021 | 20220302 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | URL https://settela.com/2022/03/02/westerbork-film-🎦-2021-complete-remastered-edition-20220302/

4 – Westerborkfilm Introduction | 20220507 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | URL https://settela.com/2022/05/07/westerborkfilm-introduction-20220507/

5 – Westerbork Film Intertitles | 20210515 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | URL https://settela.com/2021/05/15/westerbork-film-intertitles/

6 – Westerbork Film Scripts | 20220508 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313

7 – Kamp Westerbork gefilmd (May 2021) Koert Broersma, Gerard Rossing (editor Gorcum B.V., Koninklijke van) ISBN 9789023257622.

8 – Refugee Camp. Camp Westerbork Memorial Center. URL https://kampwesterbork.nl/en/history/second-world-war/refugee-camp

9 – Settela, het meisje heeft haar naam terug (1995-2007) by Aad Wagenaar ISBN 9789089751898 / English translation by Janna Eliot ‘Settela’ (2005-2016) ISBN 978-0-9933898-2-5 .

10 – NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies | 250i Westerbork, Judendurchgangslager | 854 Stukken over de Westerbork-film, 7 maart – 20 april 1944 en z.d. | File retrieved May 23, 2019 from Nationaal Archief (last accessed 2021 Apr 17) URL https://www.archieven.nl/nl/search-modonly?mivast=298&mizig=210&miadt=298&micode=250i&milang=nl&mizk_alle=westerbork%20film&miview=inv2#inv3t2

Updates

20220604 – Format changes references

20230518 – Credits and references updated with ISSN

Westerbork Film Scripts


SILENT FILM

Westerbork Film Plan
Spring 1944 a film is being made in the Westerbork camp, ordered and produced by camp commander SS-Obersturmführer Albert Gemmeker. A Film Plan propasal – 1.5 page – is written by his personal assistant the German prisoner Dienstleiter Heinz Todtmann – a journalist before WW2. Cameraman is the German Jewish prisoner Rudolf Breslauer – the camp photographer – who may have contributed to this filmplan too. In addition to the film plan , more detailed scripts were made with camera instructions and edit instructions. The film was never really finished or edited.

Westerbork Films Dossier

In 2017 the complete film dossier enters the UNESCO Memory of the World Register — including the film footage, the scripts, the drawn title cards, and the camp correspondence on the film (REF 1) . The final part of the UNESCO registry (Le film de Westerbork – édité le 8 mai 2017 – ID code 2016-118 ) lists all the documents on the Westerbork Film at the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies.
That NIOD archive file — called (translated) : Directing, texts and correspondence of the film “Westerbork” consists of a file containing the original screenplay or script for the film, title cards, notes, correspondence and administration . That entire file has been scanned (total of 60 black and white scans) and is available online.

Westerbork Film

May 7, 2022 the complete remastered 2021 edition of the Westerbork Film – a compilation of digitally restored footage – was posted with annotations as optional closed captions – CC (REF 2) .

Westerborkfilm Introduction

May 7, 2022 also a short film ‘Westerborkfilm Introduction’ was posted (REF 3) that addresses briefly the history, context, and contents of the film dossier, camp and film crew, postwar route of the film footage, including a glimpse of the film plan, title cards and correspondence.

Title Cards

The title cards were posted in detail May 2021 (REF 4).

Film Scripts

Likewise now the film scripts (REF 5) are detailed in this short silent film Westerbork Film Scripts | 20220508 .

More

The correspondence will follow ( REF 6)

REFERENCES

1 – UNESCO Memory of the World Register – Unesco.org – Mémoire du monde – Le film de Westerbork (accessed 20190605) URL http://www.unesco.org/new/fr/communication-and-information/memory-of-the-world/register/full-list-of-registered-heritage/registered-heritage-page-9/westerbork-films/

2 – Westerbork Film 🎦 2021 | 20220302 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | CC BY 4.0 | URL https://settela.com/2022/03/02/westerbork-film-🎦-2021-complete-remastered-edition-20220302/

3 – Westerborkfilm Introduction | 20220507 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | URL https://settela.com/2022/05/07/westerborkfilm-introduction-20220507/

4 – Westerbork Film Intertitles | 20210515 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | URL https://settela.com/2021/05/15/westerbork-film-intertitles/

5 – NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies | 250i Westerbork, Judendurchgangslager | 854 Stukken over de Westerbork-film, 7 maart – 20 april 1944 en z.d. | File retrieved May 23, 2019 from Nationaal Archief (last accessed 2021 Apr 17)
URL https://www.archieven.nl/nl/search-modonly?mivast=298&mizig=210&miadt=298&micode=250i&milang=nl&mizk_alle=westerbork%20film&miview=inv2#inv3t2

6 – Westerbork Film Correspondence | 20220509 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313

7 – Kamp Westerbork gefilmd (May 2021) Koert Broersma, Gerard Rossing (editor Gorcum B.V., Koninklijke van) ISBN 9789023257622.

8 – Refugee Camp. Camp Westerbork Memorial Center. URL https://kampwesterbork.nl/en/history/second-world-war/refugee-camp

9 – Settela, het meisje heeft haar naam terug (1995-2007) by Aad Wagenaar ISBN 9789089751898 / English translation by Janna Eliot ‘Settela’ (2005-2016) ISBN 978-0-9933898-2-5 .

CREDITS

Source : NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies | 250i Westerbork, Judendurchgangslager | 854 Stukken over de Westerbork-film, 7 maart – 20 april 1944 en z.d. | File retrieved May 23, 2019 from Nationaal Archief (last accessed 2021 Apr 17) URL https://www.archieven.nl/nl/search-modonly?mivast=298&mizig=210&miadt=298&micode=250i&milang=nl&mizk_alle=westerbork%20film&miview=inv2#inv3t2

Westerbork Film Scripts | 20220508 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 – CC BY 4.0

TAGS #filmplan #script #scenario #plan #NIOD #Westerborkfilm #documentary #Westerborkfilm #Westerbork #film #arbeitslager #Lagerfilm #industry #Rudolf #Breslauer #holocaust #barracks #concentration #camp #deportation #Jew #labor #machinery #Hollland #Netherlands #railcar #Roma #Sinti #tool #train #station #transitcamp #uniform #Westerbork #UNESCO #film #Settela #Gemmeker #Auschwitz #BergenBelsen #documentary #resistance #1Memo #SettelaCom #MiraclesMedia #michelvanderburg

Updates

20220604 – Format changes and update (in press) references

20230518 – Credits and references updated with ISSN