75 years of liberation
Exactly a year ago l had the honour of travelling through the country and meeting some incredible people. What connects them is that they all experienced World War Il. Their stories range from being a prisoner in concentration camp Auschwitz to being forced to join the Waffen-SS.
Former editor-in-chief of Het Parool, Sytze van der Zee, interviewed them for his book Wij Overleefden (which translates to 'we survived'). He was kind enough to connect me to these people so l could take their portraits.
I spent half a day talking to each of them, listening to their stories about war, what happened when the war was over but also about the current state of the world.
Although each of them went through acts of hate and agression in their life, they were all full of love and compassion for the world around them.
Published in Het Parool on May 2nd 2020
Myriam Mater
June 17, 1931
Rietje Hemelrijk
October 17, 1927
Frans Lavell
February 23, 1935
Marie Verbraeken-Blommaart
August 18, 1921
Janke Blommers
August 10, 1934
Wolfgang Kotek
November 11, 1930
Bep Malipaard-Vroon
January 16, 1931
Virry de Vries Robles
July 2, 1932
Govert Janse
January 12, 1937