May 14, 1940, marks a significant day in the history of Rotterdam, as it was the day the city was bombed during World War II.
During the early stages of the German invasion of the Netherlands, the Dutch army attempted to defend Rotterdam, but they were ultimately unable to prevent the Germans from advancing. As a result, the city was subjected to a devastating bombing raid by the German Luftwaffe.
The bombing of Rotterdam on May 14, 1940, resulted in widespread destruction, with large parts of the city center being reduced to rubble. The attack caused thousands of casualties and left tens of thousands homeless.
The devastation inflicted upon Rotterdam was a key factor in the Dutch Army’s decision to surrender to the Germans just a day later, on May 15, 1940. This event had profound consequences for the Netherlands and, in the course of World War II, in Europe.
The Dutch military had no effective means of stopping the bombers (the Dutch Air Force had practically ceased to exist, and its anti-aircraft guns had been moved to The Hague), so when a similar ultimatum was given in which the Germans threatened to bomb the city of Utrecht, the Dutch supreme command decided to capitulate in the late afternoon, rather than risk the destruction of another city.
In a galaxy, far, far away where technology and the Force intertwine, a new era dawns. In the wake of the Galactic Empire’s fall, a different threat looms on the horizon: the rise of artificial intelligence. As machines evolve and minds merge with circuits, the balance of power shifts once more. Amidst the chaos, a band of unlikely heroes emerges, bound by destiny and fueled by the hope of a galaxy in turmoil. As ancient secrets resurface, alliances are tested, and the fate of the galaxy hangs in the balance.
The above photo is of the photographer Franz Stapf (Stapf Bilderdienst). Carrying a Leica camera in front of his stomach, in the Nieuwe Kerkstraat, Amsterdam where disturbances took place between WA people and Jews.
It is clear to see he is wearing a Nazi uniform, so how could he have been mistaken for a Jewish victim?
Franz Anton Stapf was not Jewish. He was German. He did not die in a gas chamber but fought on the Eastern Front from the end of 1941. He was a Nazi who took photos for newspapers and anti-Semitic pamphlets in Amsterdam. Stapf survived the war and died in 1977 in Frankfurt.
The photo above was taken by Franz Stapf of weapons used by a Jewish Fighting Squad. It was printed in the Deutsche Zeitung in den Niederlanden on February 18, 1941, with the following caption: The Jews in Amsterdam had equipped themselves with hatchets, hammers and similar objects. They also had firearms. Our picture shows a small selection of the confiscated murder tools.
The photos were published in the NSB newspaper Het Nationale Dagblad, under the title “Jews unmasked,” to wage a smear campaign against Amsterdam’s Jews.
Historians René Kok and Erik Somers of the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, discovered that Stapf’s name, that of his wife, two children and a sister, were incorrectly listed as Jewish war victims while doing research for the book, Stad in oorlog (City at war), which was published in 2017. The book is about Amsterdam in the period 1940 to 1945.
They believe that the error resulted from an incorrect interpretation of notes on a record card from the Amsterdam Council of Labor dating from 1950. The Council investigated financial matters affecting Jewish people murdered during the war. Stapf’s card reads, “Afgevoerd” in Dutch. According to Somers, that can be interpreted as “transported” to a concentration camp, or that he was discharged from the administration.
Stapf’s fate was long unclear after the war. In late 1941 he responded to a call for volunteers to fight on the Eastern Front. The rest of his life wasn’t tracked, which meant he was never prosecuted. His name fell under the “missing, don’t know where” category, along with the word “afgevoerd,” which could have certainly led to the wrong assumption that Stapf ended up in a concentration camp, according to Somers.
In 1981 NIOD received about five thousand negatives of photos taken by Stapf.
Stapf left for Germany after Mad Tuesday in 1944. In the municipal administration, it was noted, “Left for Germany.”
His name was listed on a memorial with the names of Jews murdered during the Holocaust. The Hollandsche Schouwburg, which houses the memorial, was told in February 20117 and immediately covered the name with a sticker.
“We are extremely shocked that such a bad man is among them. Terrible. That Nazi must be removed immediately,” said curator Annemiek Gringold.
Gringold contacted the company that created the wall of names in 1993. “It is a cumbersome procedure to remove the name. It has happened once before,” she said
The name, Stapf, also appeared in memory books and is on the list of the Holocaust Memorial Center Yad Vashem in Israel.
I know—to err is human—but this error could have easily been avoided if some research had taken place. Then again to finish the quote “To forgive is divine.”
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In skies beyond where mortal eyes may see, There dwells a love, unfettered, wild, and free. For there, amidst celestial light and grace, Besides my mother, in a sacred space.
Though parted by the veil that time decrees, Your spirit lingers in the whispering breeze. In every bloom that dances ‘neath the sun, I feel your presence, though our time is done.
Your laughter echoes in the songbirds’ trills, Your warmth imbues each golden daffodil. In dreams, we meet upon the starlit shore, Where love’s embrace holds us forevermore.
Though tears may flow like rivers to the sea, Your memory is my beacon, guiding me. Through shadowed valleys, to the mountaintop, Your love endures an everlasting crop.
So here’s to you, my dearest mother dear, In heaven’s arms, forever hold you near. Though parted by the veil, our souls entwine, Your love, immortal, in this heart of mine.
In the dark of history’s cruel abyss, A child’s innocence—lost in the mist. Amidst the horror, the anguish, the pain, A young soul’s light, forever slain.
In shadowed corners, where terror thrived, A child’s laughter, once so alive. But silenced now, by tyranny’s hand, In a world where humanity couldn’t stand.
No tender embrace, no gentle care, Just the echoes of sorrow, lingering in the air. In the grip of hatred’s ruthless hold, A child’s dreams—forever cold.
Their nameless faces haunt the past, In the chambers of death, their innocence is cast. Yet in our hearts, their memory lives, A testament to the love each child gives.
Though tears may fall for those we’ve lost, Their spirits endure, whatever the cost. In the song of remembrance, their voices soar, A tribute to the children of war.
So let us vow, with every breath, To never forget, to honor their death. For in their innocence, we find our plea, To build a world where all children are free.
Rest in peace Willem Alvares (Wimpie) Vega.
Born in Amsterdam on 5 August 1939 and murdered in Sobibor on 21 May 1943. He reached the age of three.
The book burning in Germany on May 10, 1933, was a significant event orchestrated by the Nazi regime. It took place largely in Berlin, but similar events occurred in other cities across Germany. The Nazis, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, organized the burning of books deemed “un-German,” including those written by Jewish, communist, socialist, and other dissenting authors.
The goal of the book burning was to suppress ideas that contradicted Nazi ideology and to exert control over culture and education. The burning of books symbolized the suppression of intellectual freedom and the persecution of those who opposed the Nazi regime. It was a chilling precursor to the broader censorship and oppression that characterized the Nazi era. This event remains a stark reminder of the dangers of censorship and the importance of safeguarding intellectual freedom.
On 10 May 1933, National Socialist students organised book burnings at universities all over Germany. These actions were symbolic, directed against everything that the Nazis felt did not belong in Germany. Books by Jewish, left-wing, or pacifist writers such as Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, and Erich Maria Remarque went up in flames. Students in 34 university towns across Germany burned over 25,000 books.
The students sought to purify German literature of “foreign,” especially Jewish, and other immoral influences.
As early as two weeks before, American organizations like the American Jewish Congress knew of the planned book burnings and launched protests. With her books slated for the bonfires, Helen Keller confronted German students in an open letter: “History has taught you nothing if you think you can kill ideas. Tyrants have tried to do that often before, and the ideas have risen up in their might and destroyed them. You can burn my books and the books of the best minds in Europe, but the ideas in them have seeped through a million channels and will continue to quicken other minds.” Similarly, novelist Sherwood Anderson, best-selling author Faith Baldwin, scriptwriter Erwin Cobb, and Nobel laureate Sinclair Lewis declared solidarity with the banned writers and publicly protested the book burnings. The next day, and in the weeks following, there was a massive reaction in the world press, especially since many other German university towns imitated this infamous act. German newspapers reported, in triumph, that Germany was beginning to purge itself of the alien and decadent corrupters of the German spirit, and newspapers and magazines abroad, from as far away as China and Japan, responded in surprise and shock. Even then, some knowledgeable journalists recalled the prediction of the poet Heinrich Heine, who had said a century earlier, “Where one burns books, one will soon burn people.”
In the effort to synchronize the literary community, Goebbels had a strong ally in the National Socialist German Students’ Association (Nationalsozialistischer Deutscher Studentenbund, or NSDStB). German university students were among the vanguard of the early Nazi movement, and in the late 1920s, many filled the ranks of various Nazi formations. The ultra-nationalism and antisemitism of middle-class, secular student organizations had been intense and vocal for decades. After World War I, many students opposed the Weimar Republic (1919–1933) and found National Socialism a suitable vehicle for their political discontent and hostility.
Not all book burnings were on May 10, as the German Student Association had planned. Some were postponed a few days because of rain, others, based on local chapter preference, took place on June 21, the summer solstice, a traditional date for bonfire celebrations in Germany.
I am passionate about my site and I know you all like reading my blogs. I have been doing this at no cost and will continue to do so. All I ask is for a voluntary donation of $2, however if you are not in a position to do so I can fully understand, maybe next time then. Thank you.
To donate click on the credit/debit card icon of the card you will use. If you want to donate more then $2 just add a higher number in the box left from the PayPal link. Many thanks.
Last Wednesday I was a guest on the ‘Creativity and Technology Solutions for Business and Life Show,’ presented by Joe Dans on WTBQ Radio. WTBQ is an independent radio station broadcasting from Warwick, New York. The last locally-owned radio station in Orange County, New York, WTBQ broadcasts on 1110 AM and 93.5 FM, throughout Orange County and Northern New Jersey.
We had a talk about my blog and how history repeats itself.
History of Sorts 
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