Martine Letterie is currently the President of the Amicale Internationale KZ Neuengamme. The AIN is an international association of the national organizations of survivors of the Neuengamme concentration camp as well as the families and friends of former prisoners of the Neuengamme concentration camp. It consists of different member organizations, spread out over various European countries. We talked to Martine about her engagement:
How did you come to be involved with AIN?
It has to do with my family history: My grandfather was Martinus Letterie, before the war, he was a member of a left-wing political organisation for a while. A year after the Netherlands was occupied, the German invasion of the Soviet Union took place. That was in June 1941. At the same time, members of left-wing political organisations in the occupied countries were arrested and deported to concentration camps. My grandfather was one of these prisoners, even though he had already ended his membership back in 1938. But his name was still on a list held by the Dutch secret service. This list was handed over to the security service.
My grandad was first sent to two Dutch camps: Schoorl and Amersfoort. On 13 December 1941, he was deported to Neuengamme. He died there on 25 January 1942, presumably of typhus. He was 33 years old and left behind a wife and three children. My father was the eldest and was 10 years old at the time.
I grew up with this story. My grandfather was absent, and I was aware that his life after his arrest had been terrible. Furthermore, as a child and later on, I witnessed how this experience had affected our family. That is why I joined the Dutch Vriendenkring Neuengamme.
I was chair of this Vriendenkring for ten years and, as such, represented the Dutch association within the AIN. It is now 17 years since I first attended the congress in November. At that time, the former prisoner Robert Pinçon was still president of the AIN, and other former prisoners were also still active: Janusz Kahl from Poland and Victor Malbecq from Belgium. Victor later went on to become president as well. These men were very impressive.
What motivated you to become president of the AIN?
It was, and remains, important to pass on this history. As a descendant, I feel this is as responsibility. Above all, because there are fewer and fewer survivors left who can tell their own stories.
What are your duties as President?
Together with the Secretary-General, I organize the annual congress and chair it. I also chair the annual advisory board foundation „Hamburger Gedenkstätten und Lernorte“ and am a member of the foundation’s board of trustees as well as its expert committee. And I am also a member of the Bergen-Belsen advisory board.
Together with the town of Neustadt in Holstein, I organize the annual commemoration event on 3 May in Neustadt in Holstein and also chair it. For several years now, together with the Schleswig-Holstein Children’s and Youth Network, we have been organizing a second day’s event on Neustadt’s market square afterwards, to involve the people of Neustadt more closely in the commemoration. This has increasingly become a day for the children and young people of Neustadt. I am also a member of the advisory committee for the new Cap Arcona Documentation Centre, which is currently being set up.
In addition, I try to visit memorial sites at various satellite camps every year, and I speak at various commemorative events when invited. As AIN, we are also occasionally invited to contribute our input when monuments, exhibitions or memorial sites are being established. We also support, for example, working groups or other active groups when memorial sites or important locations are under threat.
What do you particularly enjoy about this role?
Experiencing working with others and having a common goal. This applies to our small executive committee, but also, for example, to Neustadt, where the teamwork really runs like clockwork – we’ve also become genuine friends.
What challenges do you see for remembrance work in the future?
It’s not easy to get new people interested in our work, but today it’s just as important – perhaps more important than ever before. All across Europe, there are political parties that would rather forget the past and are undermining the rule of law and democracy. We must unite to protect remembrance and, with it, the future.
