Loods 24, 102,000 names Photo

Photographer’s Note

This week it's sixty years ago that the Nazi extermination camp Auschwitz was liberated, today is the Dutch commemoration.
102,000 Dutch people did not come back from Auschwitz, and this week their names were mentioned during an ininterrupted period, day and night, two times in a row. The names were spoken by survivors, schoolchildren, etc., and could be followed via Internet. It made an extremely deep impression on me.

This wall is close to my home in Rotterdam, and I decided to take a picture of it today in honour of all those people.

Translation of the plaquette:
Behind this wall of the former Municipal Trade Organisation, barracks # 24 was situated.
From July 30 1942, barracks # 24 served as the first gathering place for the Jewish people who were arrested in Rotterdam and on the islands of South-Holland.
In the years 1942-1943 thousands of people simply disappeared from the Dutch society via these barracks...
....because these people were Jews.
They were transported to the transit camp Westerbork in the province of Drente, and from there to Auschwitz, Sobibor, Bergen-Belsen, Theresienstadt and other extermination camps in Middle and Eastern Europe.
Only a few returned.

Be silent for a while, and commemorate the innocent, who died because of madness and hatred.

bantonbuju, Isabelle, Galeota, kLe, robiuk, eleparc, jhm, Porteplume, avigur_11, ishai, Tue, pamastro, bertolucci, spence, Michael_Gan, bebel has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

bantonbuju (47448) 2005-01-30 11:23

hi rinie, unfortunatelly i did not participate in th main world celebrations in auschwitz which took place thos week but i saw the live transmission on tv; its very sad yet important anniversary, indeed;
respect to those people who died (not only jews, but gypsies, poles, russians, czechs, and more than 20 other nations altohether were reported to be imprisoned in auschwitz), thanx for posting this important pic!
peace!

Isabelle (8552) 2005-01-30 11:38

sober composition and a deep moving note, Rinie.

Galeota (10325) 2005-01-30 11:40

Yes, agree with Jerzy's comment. Respect to all of those who died, and all of those who suffered from human madness. Thank you Rinie for the remindal.

kLe (1926) 2005-01-30 12:06

Austere pic for this strong and sad note.
I would try a different crop to avoid the buildings in the background.

robiuk (10761) 2005-01-30 12:30

Good to be remembered not only this year but every day, until the mankind gets rid of too powerful governments and individuals... unfortunately, some of them are still alive and the past can be easily repeated - if we stop remembering those days...
Thanks for keeping reminding us once again with your pic!
Robi

eleparc (24059) 2005-01-30 12:45

it is a well deserved memoria indeed... History and younger generations should be reminded of the past ...well done Rinie!

Porteplume (3239) 2005-01-30 16:10 [Comment]

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avigur_11 (21247) 2005-01-30 16:21

102,000 only from Netherlands, and 6,000,000 in total. Thanks for posting this one, Rinie.

ishai (4089) 2005-01-30 16:39

!!! Never forget !!!

Kenny10pin (19301) 2005-01-31 9:15

very good image and it gives off a strong message too, very good composition and also the note is very good

pamastro (7211) 2005-02-01 1:09

It's a quiet reminder and nicely and quietly taken. The technical issues can be put aside here for what it is. It's a good reminder and one from which we have not learned, sadly. Hopefully we will change in this century. It may have started off badly but it's only a few years. And hopefully we never forget this kind of monument and really, honestly, learn from them.

bertolucci (11960) 2005-02-01 12:10

Hi Rinie, this is a very well composed and defined capture of the monument for this faithfull building. The wall looks very stark and the angle of taking is well chosen. The buildings are indeed a bit disturbing but the end of the wall is indeed vital for this composition and its meaning. Maybe desaturating would work. Thanx for sharing this along with y'r text with nformation and a message which never may forgotten!

RGatward (19645) 2005-02-01 16:01

Very appropriate shot for the occassion, and nicely done. I think one of the most depressing aspects about the whole thing is when I hear people say, 'we must remember to be sure that it never happens again', apparantly unaware of Rwanda, Srebrenice, Sudan, and so on.

spence (1677) 2005-02-02 4:05

A sobering image Rinie, and though technicalities are a side issue here, the wonderful texture you've achieved increases the impact. I visited Dachau once - one of the most powerfully moving experiences of my life. Thanks for this posting.

Michael_Gan (2768) 2005-02-02 15:51

Hi Rinie. I think the dark atmosphere in this picture is very appropriate for the message of this plaquette. Bert's suggestion to desaturate the buildings in the background seems a good one to me!