During World War II thousands of ordinary, hard working people were snatched from their homes in Amsterdam to be deported to the Nazi concentration camps. Of the 107,000 dutch Jews deported as part of the Holocaust in Amsterdam, barely 2000 survived. This is the story of one such ordinary man, Abraham Reiss who was sent to Sobibor, immortalised  by his grandson, actor and artist Jeroen Krabbé; in a series of paintings, using the memoirs of Jules Schelvis'  'Sobibor: A History of a Nazi Death Camp' this is the story of 'The Demise of Abraham Reiss'.

Abraham Reiss was born in Amsterdam on November 2 1873. Clever and talented he worked hard to make his fortune in the diamond trade. He married, had 2 daughters and in 1920 moved to a large house in upscale Oosterpark. His family lived a comfortable life, looked after by servants enjoying several holidays a year, until 1929 when Abraham lost everything in the world economic crisis. The family were forced to move to Amsterdam's Jekerstraat district which on the eve of WWII was home to about 17,000 Jews.

On June 20 1943, during the Holocaust in Amsterdam, the Nazis carried out an unexpected raid on Jewish homes in Amsterdam, Abraham was snatched from his home and sent to Westerbork, the holding camp for people about to be deported.

On 6 July 1943 Abraham, along with hundreds of others, bordered a train bound for Sobibor on Poland's far Eastern border with Ukraine. Sobibor was an extermination camp, where from April 1942 to October 1943 over 170,000 Jews were murdered, normally within just three hours of their arrival.

On the train people were crammed together in conditions not fit for animals. Desperate and terrified, Abraham suffered this horrific journey for three, impossibly long, grueling days.

Finally Abraham's train arrived at Sobibor. On disembarking, after three torturous days in near darkness, Abraham shielded his eyes from the sudden bright daylight twisting his body away from the reception committee, wild, scavenging dogs who often attacked and killed the prisoners as they staggered off the train.

Within about an hour of his arrival Abraham was forced to strip naked, humiliated and ashamed, never before having been naked in front of others. Depicted in this painting with his arms outspread, almost like Jesus on the Cross, with his hands larger than they really were to emphasize his total surrender, the absolute acknowledgement that there was no escape, that death was inevitable. In the background people are just about visible watching from behind the fence. The watch tower is shown to illustrate that there were those who knew what was about to occur, the mass murder in a gas chamber, the building shown to the right. In the bottom right corner, not visible on this copy, a gaggle of geese were painted, also of grim significance.

Jeroen knows that geese were kept at Sobibor from studying Jules Schelvis' book 'Sobibor: A History of a Nazi Death Camp' 'Shortly after starting work on the first day, the prisoner Petsjerski heard the sound of honking geese... A transport had come in and the animals were used to drown out the screaming of the victims in the gas chambers'.  Jules Schelvis

In this final painting the geese depict the guilt of the horrendous crime just committed, painted red to represent the blood of the perished. The markings on the trees are hundreds of watching eyes. The smoke from the burning furnaces are the hopeless wails of those who have just died. Although not clear here, to the left is a fence built like a 'S' which the prisoners had to stumble through, curved so that the actual door to the gas chamber was not visible until there were upon it.....

All nine of Jeroen Krabbé's paintings 'The Demise of Abraham Reiss' can be seen at Amsterdam's National Holocaust Museum. They are barely done justice here, the clever use of mixed styles, of different textures and use of materials such as straw and gravel to mirror the real conditions.

This story, part of theHolocaust in Amsterdam, must never be forgotten, not ever, for we can never allow such evil to happen again.

The post 'My crime? I'm a Jew'~ The story of Abraham Reiss, Amsterdam, 1943 appeared first on Shutters & Sunflowers.

Wandering the bustling streets of Amsterdam, jostled by a never-ending ribbon of bicycles, I gaze up in wonder at the distinctive architecture, soaking up the story of this great city; its museums and historic sights. I visit one which stirs my soul; the Anne Frank Huis. It leads me to follow a trail of terror during the Holocaust in Amsterdam, a time when a thick cloud of ignorance and unspeakable cruelty gripped this beautiful city, when aeroplanes droned overhead and the goose step of stomping Nazi soldiers filled peoples hearts with dread, especially if you were ‘guilty’ ‘guilty’ of being a Jew.

Strolling beside Amsterdam's unique buildings, its meandering canals, watching the boats disappear under bridges, bursting with the brightly blooming flower baskets.

I pass other buildings; such as the one during the Holocaust in Amsterdam where Jewish identify papers were created by the former Van Gelder Firm.

Buildings like the Royal Palace, where during the Holocaust in Amsterdam brave, defiant people hid these ‘guilty people’. Others were hidden away inside the home of a former Tobacco Company building, and in the bank from where the country's gold was secreted to England. During the Holocaust in Amsterdam it was from here that two brave young bankers created and exchanged forged treasury bills to supply the Resistance movement
with more than 50 million gilders.

I pass the Statue of Rembrandt and imagine the menacing screaming wail of 101 sirens, which sounded from this square when danger threatened.

And then I stop outside a building built in 1892, Hollandsche Schouwburg, once a popular theater, now a monument commemorating the Holocaust in Amsterdam, remembering the 60,000 to 80,000 Jews who, from 1942, were kept here and then deported to concentration and extermination camps.

Directly opposite it is a former Protestant Teachers College, the Hervormde Kweekschool, established in 1907. In April 1943 it became the escape route for the Jewish children held across the street awaiting the journey to their death. The brave staff, led by the Kweekschool’s director Johan Van Hulst, from 1942, he illegally bought children into the Kweekschool for an afternoon nap, from 1943 he arranged for the escape of these children to escape through the Kweekschool during the Holocaust in Amsterdam.

They saved the lives of over 600 children.Today the Kweekschool houses The National Holocaust Memorial commemorating the memory of the thousands of children from Amsterdam who died under the Nazi terror of World War II. Staring at the artifacts, a little boy's pair of boots, a child’s clogs, the yellow fabric star which all Jews from the age of 6 were forced to wear and the photos of unspeakable fear and suffering, I was shamed and humbled.

What possesses human kind to treat others so, to have no regard for another’s life, to participate or stand by and watch; cruelty, brutality, humiliation, degradation and annihilation?

My grandparents fought to rid the world of such evil. Brave, courageous people who risked their all for what they thought was right and honorable. I often wonder, could I have been as brave had I been called upon to do the same? And although prejudice, intimidation and savage cruelty still exists, we must never forget what our grandparents fought for and why.

Inside the museum I was captivated by a story told in paintings of one such grandfather. A Jewish man I had never heard of but who now I will now never forget; next time ……

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Imagine living in a world shrouded in darkness, black out. Not being able to smell the fresh air or feel the sun, the rain or the wind. To always have to be quiet, “no running water, no flushing toilets, no walking around no noise whatsoever” Anne Frank, 23 August 1943

Imagine existing in a world with the constant terror of being discovered and without the everyday things we take for granted. “I long to ride a bike, dance, whistle, look at the world and know that I am free” Anne Frank, 25 December 1943

And imagine a world which created this situation, making it necessary for people to be forced to hide and lock themselves away. And despite your degradation and fear, still being able to preserve your sanity and belief that good would triumph over evil. “I simply can't build my hopes on a foundation of confusion, misery and death... I think... peace and tranquility will return again.”Anne Frank.

Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt on 12 June 1929, she was an innocent 12 year old girl who along with her family and four others lived in such a world for over two years Their only 'crime' being they were Jews. Believing that all hope of escaping the Nazis had vanished, Anne’s father, secreted them away into the upper floors of an annex, concealed by a movable bookcase, in the building his companies’ occupied, opposite a canal in the middle of Amsterdam.

They were there for just over two years, 6 July 1942 to 4 August 1944, nearly two months after but not
in time for Anne. They were assisted by some of Otto's brave employees, Victor Kugler, Miep Gies, Johannes Kleiman and Bep Voskuijl, despite the enormous risk to their own lives, they illegally smuggled in food. As the war intensified this became increasingly difficult, “as of tomorrow we won’t have a scrap of fat, butter or margarine. Lunch today consists of mashed potatoes and pickled kale. You wouldn’t believe how much kale can stink when it's a few years old!” 14 March 1944

Listening to the BBC on their small radio, Anne and the others followed the progress of the war, clinging to the hope of an Allied Victory. It is not known known who ultimately betrayed them to the Nazis, the S.S. raided their hiding place on 4 August 1944.

They were taken to the holding camp Westerbork and on 3 September 1944 were sent to Auschwitz-Bikenau. On 1 November 1944 the family were separated forever when the girls were sent to work at Bergen-Belsen. Only Otto, survived. He returned to Amsterdam on 3 June1945 knowing his wife was lost but hoping his 2 girls had endured. When Otto was reunited with Miep Gies she gave him all that was left of his daughters, the diary and letters written by Anne. 'I'll make my voice heard I'll go out in the world and work for mankind' Anne Frank, 11 April 1944

When Otto read his daughter's words he was captivated and despite the painful memories they evoked he was amazed by her accurate, thoughtful descriptions. Otto dedicated the rest of his life to combating discrimination and prejudice and became instrumental in creating the Anne Frank Huis to preserve her story for ever. "We cannot change what happened. The only thing we can do is to learn from the past and to realize what discrimination and persecution of innocent people means. I believe that it is everyone’s responsibility to fight prejudice" Otto Frank 1970

On 25 June 1947 Anne’s diary was published for the first time, it was printed in Dutch in the Netherlands. It has become one of the most widely read books in the world, realising Anne’s dreams of being a writer and making a difference "I want to be useful or bring enjoyment to all people, even those I've never met. I want to go on living even after my death!"

You can learn more about Anne Frank's incredible story here
To visit the Anne Huis, book your tickets in advance. ALL visits before 3.30pm require a pre booked online ticket. After 3.30pm you take your chances in the long lines, pre-booking advised!

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