Photographer Jo Struyven presents a preview of his work last night , Thursday January 19th, 2023 at the vernissage of 236 — Land(es)capes from the 20th Convoy , an exhibition of works by Jo Struyven and Luc Tuymans in the Jewish Museum of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium, open from today for the public January 20 – August 14, 2023.
On April 19, 1943, the 20th transport left the Mechelen transit camp to deport 1,631 Jews to Auschwitz. Thanks to resistance actions, both inside and outside the wagons, 236 of these deportees managed to jump from the train that would lead them to destruction.
Photographer Jo Struyven revisits this unique act of resistance in Western Europe during the Nazi regime and shows us the landscapes in which this little-known story took place.
The vernissage was opened by Philippe Blondin, President of the Jewish Museum, and by Pierre-Yves Jeholet , Minister-President of the Government of the Federation Wallonia-Brussels.
Follow-up post tomorrow 20230121.
License info : Vernissage ‘236’ Land(es)capes 20th convoy | 20230120 | Michel van der Burg | Miracles•Media | TakeNode 5e71633a-0ff2-44bf-99dc-34f3db25bb26
Mastodon | 20230103 | @michelvanderburg | 1-memo•com | 1965 starting photography at the age of 13 … with a Voigtländer Vito C compact camera (fixed lens / viewfinder / no light meter / no rangefinder) – 35 mm black and white film. Elephants in the ‘Blijdorp’ Rotterdam Zoo in Holland. | TakeNode dad74825-78eb-4e0e-a3b9-1896ac6d5b1b
Simon Stompin’ at the Saint Sépulcre | 20221119 | Miracles•Media | Rushes with a rough cut for Miracles film – vibrant memories – not forgotten – that vibrant testimony , swinging jazz of Simon Gronowski Stompin’ at the Saint-Sépulcre school in Liège (BE).
Thanks to friends Philippe Renette, Simon Gronowski, Koenraad Tinel (Photo Dieter Telemans featured in Der Welt , Saturday 16th Nov 2013 – Feinde wie wir, by Felix Stephan) and help by Patrick (sound), staff Marc Belleflamme, André Hérin, teachers Christine Marchal, Ingrid Lothe, others, and the Saint-Sépulcre students participating that 19 november 2013 , today 9 years ago, during this unique human adventure. They hosted 3 sessions that day. Time to share … waiting for the film is taking long … here rushes with a rough cut ..enjoy! Filmed by Michel van der Burg at the Station Luik-Guillemins – Liège-Guillemins, in Luik, and Institut Saint-Sépulcre , Liège (BE), 19 november 2013. License info: Simon Stompin’ at the Saint Sépulcre | 20221119 | Michel van der Burg | Miracles•Media | @michelvanderburg | TakeNode ID: 94510c1e-1ae4-42a3-9467-251dafd4c9ad
Consurella Show | 20220703 | Michel van der Burg | 1-memo.com | Brochure of the 1973 visual report I made in Dordrecht, Holland – my first assignment as a photographer – of the Consurella Show’s touring in Holland in 1973-1974.
My next assignment was the autonomous creation of images for a new show design with projection of the images as the decor in these live shows made up of real commercials supplemented with fake commercials. First 10 test shows (early 1973) had attracted ca 5000 visitors from Dutch housewives’ organizations. Another 50 shows were planned to tour in cities all over Holland Sep’73-May’74.
Early Nov ’73 I visited the new show using the slideshow decor of images I had made.
I was a Leiden University student Biochemistry at the time, and invested a new camera for this job – Asahi Pentax SLR camera.
In 1935 the nomadic Sinti families Steinbach were photographed by Dutch photographer Jan de Jong in their caravan camp on the heath around the Heksenberg hill in the southern Netherlands. Jan de Jong was working for De Spaarnestad publishing house of the dutch weekly, catholic, illustrated magazine “Katholieke Illustratie” , that used his high quality pictures in this May 1936 spread (REF 1), with a somewhat simple romanticized short story on their origin and culture – entitled ‘Zwervers van geboorte’ or ‘Born nomad’ (my translation).
Members of other Steinbach families, I recognized in this magazine spread in the caravan window image with caption ‘Buurpraatje’ (my tr. ‘Neighbor chat’), are Anna Steinbach in the window (born 24 March 1916 – killed 31 July 1944 in Auschwitz) talking with Maria Steinbach (born 6 Nov 1912 – killed 31 July 1944 in Auschwitz) .
The 15 year old Willy (Celestinus) Steinbach (born 13 Feb 1929 in Heerlen) was deported together with his 9-year old sister Settela ((Anna Maria) Steinbach (born 23 Dec 1934 in Buchten), their brothers, sisters (Willem, Elisabeth, Johanna, Philibert, Florentina, Willem, Anna), and mother Toetela (Emilia) Steinbach (born 23 March 1902 in Antwerp, Belgium), with other Steinbach and other nomad families – all together ca 245 Sinti and Roma and ca 450 Jews – on May 19th 1944 from the dutch Camp Westerbork to Auschwitz — and some, like Willy, later to other camps.
Toetela’s eldest child Moekela (Magdalena; born 14 Sep 1922) had gone to Belgium and had been deported earlier – 15 Jan 1944 – with her 6 months old baby Jeanette – Toetela’s granddaughter – on the Z-Transport from Mechelen to Auschwitz, were they were murdered on arrival.
Note : I found Jeanette on the Transport lists in the image bank of Kazerne Dossin, Mechelen – but not yet her mother Magdalena.
Settela’s father Moeselman (Heinrich) Steinbach (born Nov 11, 1901 in Gründorf in Germany) died alone of grief June 6, 1946 in Maastricht in the Netherlands – his wife and 10 children had not survived the camps.
Their deporatation was filmed for the Westerbork Film by Rudolf Breslauer (REF 2).
This post is based on the story of the Steinbach families as researched in detail and published in book (REF 3) and film (REF 4) by Rob Hendrikx and Marouska Steinbach.
Update May 20, 2021 – Minor corrections in text , plus more detailed family information added. Poster image film replaced with clearer portrait image of Willy.
Below – because of space and linking constraints on social media – the references, source and full credits on websites only – eg. of Settela•Com
CREDITS & REFERENCES
1 – Source – photography Jan de Jong – in ‘Zwervers van Geboorte’ | Katholieke Illustratie 7 mei 1936 No 32 (Haarlem, Spaarnestad) via Delpher archive URL https://bit.ly/3f1jv90
2 – Westerbork Film | Full version RVD 1986 | 20190605 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com (accessed 2021 May 19) URL: https://wp.me/p91enH-1x
3 – Story based on book : Settela en Willy en Het geheim van de Heksenberg (2e druk) by Rob Hendrikx and Marouska Steinbach (Heerlen : Historisch Goud – Rijckheyt, centrum voor regionale geschiedenis en Stichting Historische Kring “Het Land van Herle”, April 2017) ISBN 9789082241686. URL https://www.landvanherle.nl/product/settela-en-willy-en-het-geheim-van-de-heksenberg-2e-druk/
4 – Story based on Films : ‘Settela en Willy’ by Rob Hendrikx & Marouska Steinbach | lifepowervideo YouTube user | (accessed 2021 May 19) Deel 1 Historische Gebeurtenissen link https://youtu.be/1wI9_vt9RlY | Deel 4 Holocaust Slachtoffers https://youtu.be/wVta6g6Mo1o
Willy & Settela | Born Nomad | 20210519 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com
Updates
20220604 – Format changes credit line , references
Righteous Medal ~ Medal of the Righteous Among the Nations – from the Yad Vashem holocaust center in Israel for the Righteous helping Jews during the Holocaust – with the inscription in French ” The grateful Jewish people” and the French translation of the Jewish saying “Whoever saves a single life, saves an entire universe”.
This medal was minted for Nelly Quintard, a widow in her fifties during the war, who hid the Frankenthal family (Abraham, Esther, and daughter Scheindel) in her home in Brussels, Belgium, from September ’42 until the end of the occupation.
Interview with Janiv Stamberger (researcher Kazerne Dossin / University of Antwerp) filmed by Michel van der Burg (michelvanderburg.com) on August 18, 2016 at the Wiki Loves Art event in Kazerne Dossin , Mechelen , Belgium.
Robert Maistriau’s memorabilia – Yad Vashem medal, pistol, small version lantern of Robert Maistriau in Kazerne Dossin , Mechelen , Belgium , August 18, 2016. Image Ref.: mvdb20160818_204617 by Michel van der Burg | michelvanderburg.com | Wikimedia CC BY-SA 4.0
A very special image (Image Ref.: mvdb20160818_204617) is that of Robert Maistriau’s medal together with his other memorabilia in the Kazerne Dossin Museum – a pistol, and a small replica version (gift from a friend) of the lantern used with the attack on the 20th death train (Transport XX) from Kazerne Dossin in Mechelen to Auschwitz .
Righteous Medal | 20200820 | Michel van der Burg | michelvanderburg.com | Miracles•Media
Camp Prisoner Badge W-46 Kazerne Dossin ~
A prisoner’s cardboard badge number W/46 from the SS administration of Kazerne Dossin. Jews earmarked for forced labour as prisoners in the SS Mechelen transit camp, the Dossin Barracks (Kazerne Dossin) carried a cardboard neck badge with “W” (Werk) followed by a number.
Interview with Janiv Stamberger (researcher Kazerne Dossin / University of Antwerp) filmed by Michel van der Burg (michelvanderburg.com) on August 18, 2016 at the Wiki Loves Art event in Kazerne Dossin , Mechelen , Belgium.
A still from this video (Image Ref.: mvdb20160818_182230) is available via Wikimedia .
Note : I corrected the number (from 64 to 46) in the Wiki description today , but I am not able to change the number in the file name (and the listed camera metadata) on Wikimedia.
Camp Prisoner Badge W-46 Kazerne Dossin | 20200819 | Michel van der Burg | michelvanderburg.com | miracles.media
