In 2021, I wrote an article about my father, Erik Holger Grome (Nielsen – the surname was dropped in 1961), his work in the resistance, his time in concentration camps and the period after the Second World War. This article was written for the reflections blog, I will therefore not repeat much here about the resistance … Read more
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 … Read more
What can happen when you write about your family history After you leave, I will count the silver. I often hear this joke at celebrations and parties. The jokers have read my book and know that two of my ancestors were leaders of a gang of burglars in The Hague. Fortunately, there are also positive … Read more
My mother was born in Munich in 1926, but neither she nor I learned Bavarian. At the age of three, she had to leave her hometown. Her parents were Jewish and also politically active in the International Socialist Combat League (ISK). The family was confronted with anti-Semitism at an early stage: in 1929, my grandfather … Read more
When she turned 18, Julia Gilfert dreamed of her grandfather Walter for the first time – a man she never met and who wasn’t talked about in her family. In the beginning of her 20s she starts asking questions and doing research. She learns that Walter is one of more than 300.000 victims of the … Read more
Balbina Rebollar, president of the Spanish Amical Neuengamme, tells the story of her father, Evaristo Rebollar. Evaristo was born on June 30, 1917, in the fishing village of Tazones in the district of Villaviciosa, Asturias. His parents were Eulogio Rebollar Estrada and Balbina Fernández Martínez. He was the second of four children – with Salvador, … Read more
My beautiful mother, Lily Ruttner, was born on 29 November 1925 to Berta and Avraham Ruttner. She had three older brothers, Julius, Josef and Markus, and one younger sister, Elza. The family lived at 35 Hustka Ulica, Ťačovo, Czechoslovakia. Ťačovo was a small town, idyllically situated on a fertile plain between the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains and … Read more
I have been researching my family history for years and in this context I have spent many hours in various archives and immersed myself in all kinds of documents and photos. Of course, my father Jules also became a topic. During the Second World War, my father worked at OIP (‘Société Belge d’Optique et d’Instruments … Read more
I could write a lot. I could recount the grey stories of the concentration camps and the post-war period, which are still incredibly distressing and painful today. I could mention the small cross pendant that was snatched from the camp and miraculously returned to my family many years later. A symbol of faith and hope … Read more
My name is Margit Grome, and I am the daughter of Erik Holger Grome. He was a member of the resistance movement in Denmark and a prisoner in the Neuengamme concentration camp. Over the years, I have made several trips to the memorial, both as a child with my parents, as an adult and now … Read more
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