The Westerbork Memorial, a photo from Drenthe, North

Photographer's Note

During the Second World War, Camp Westerbork was a transit camp .Whilst people living here lead a fairly normal life, Camp Westerbork had a school, orchestra, hairdresser, and even restaurants designed by SS officials to give inmates a false sense of hope for survival and to aid in avoiding problems during transportation. No-one wanted their name to appear on the transportation list. Transport trains arrived at Westerbork every Tuesday from July 1942 to September 1944, and deported an estimated 97,776 Jews during the period to concentration camps like Auschwitz and Sobibor. rnProbably one of the most famous inhabitants of Westerbork during this time was Anne Frank. rnThe Memorial is a poignant reminder of the "Gateway to Hell"

ChrisJ, jhm, holmertz, ikeharel, Royaldevon, jean113, jemaflor, COSTANTINO, PaulVDV, worldcitizen ha puntuado esta nota como útil.

Critiques | Translate

ChrisJ (171822) 2021-04-10 8:13

Hello Elaine.

I also visited Auschwitz when I was in Poland, although I did not see Dachau near Munich or Bergen-Belsen where Anne was transferred to. Probably the most depressing place I have ever visited. The only other places that came close are the A bomb museums in Hiroshima / Nagasaki and the Kanchanaburi war cemeteries and Bridge on the River Kwai in west Thailand. God sharpness and framing. Tfs!

jhm (211736) 2021-04-10 8:24

Hello Elaine,

Perfect dat u deze beelden laat zien.
Zo weet onze jeugd ook wat er in deze verschrikkelijke jaren is gebeurt.
Want nog enkele jaren en er zou niet meer over gesproken worden.
Uw foto is heel goed gemaakt met diepte en perspectief.
De trainrails geven op deze wijze een goed beeld.
Goed gedaan, bedankt.

Groeten uit Vlaanderen,
John

holmertz (102708) 2021-04-10 9:20

Hello Elaine,
It's a discreet and tasteful monument which doesn't need much explanation. It speaks for itself. The photo has fine depth and is well taken on a diagonal.
Regards,
Gert

ikeharel (113353) 2021-04-10 9:49

Hello Elaine,
The bented rails symbolizes the victory over the Nazi planned horrors.
Well placed the main subject within the frame. View of the forest can give the idea of what you had written about, "a false sense of hope" as it is so serene and beautiful surrounding to the notorious camp.

My best regards,
ike

lousat (139286) 2021-04-10 10:00

HI Elaine,interesting post,the memorial is a good idea with the broken end of railway like a metaphore of life of who has been there,i know very well Anne Frank and her diary,a very sad page of our history,surely the most terrible. Have a nice evening and thanks,Luciano

Royaldevon (85932) 2021-04-10 11:20

Hello Elaine,

A very moving and quite distressing note, fits perfectly with your photograph of the memorial. The upturned rail tracks symbolise the end of the road for many Jewish people!
It's a simple but very strongly composed scene.

My warm regards,
Bev :-)

Tue (92370) 2021-04-10 11:32

Hallo Elaine,
Ik ben hier vroeger met school geweest en vorig jaar zomer opnieuw. Dit monument met de verbogen rails kon ik met nog goed herinneren van mijn eerste bezoek. Een goede foto in helder zonlicht.
Lars

jean113 (27879) 2021-04-10 11:49

Hello Elaine, the symbolism of the upturned rails says it all.
Taken from a good point of view, with the track leading our eyes into the far distance.
Your notes are very informative.
Thanks for sharing.
Kind regards, Jean.

ifege (48111) 2021-04-10 19:32

Hi Elaine
A good photo of this moving memorial of this Gateway to hell.
cheers
Ian

jemaflor (147156) 2021-04-10 23:27

Hi Elaine,
well photographed, good angle to give a photogenic perspective, good light and interesting note, tfs.

Silvio1953 (221627) 2021-04-10 23:45

Ciao Elaine, great view of sad testimoniance, excellent perspective, good clarity, wonderful colors, fine details and splendid light, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

COSTANTINO (116518) 2021-04-10 23:47

hello dear Elaine and have a nice day
and a happy evening
simple but interesting scenery
thanks for your useful notes
regards
costantino

PaulVDV (62920) 2021-04-13 11:40

Hallo Elaine,
Heel interessante nota over dit doorgangskamp.
De opgebroken sporen spreken boekdelen. Terugkeer was niet voorzien voor wie vertrokken was.
De foto heeft een heel goede compositie, is helder en scherp en heeft veel diepte. De achterliggende realiteit is schrijnend.
Vele groeten, Paul

worldcitizen (16072) 2021-04-14 16:56

Hello Elaine,
This is a simple, but very visually strong memorial. It shows us this "dead end", and then the rails start curving upwards, as if on a journey to a different world. There was so much suffering and so much death, and these rails evoke a lot of emotion. Take care...