holocaust, jewish, extermination, concentration camp, shoah, auschwitz, belzec, treblinka, monowitz, birkenau, night of the long knives,
deportations, judenrat, majdanek, westerbork, chelmno, vught, wannsee, theresienstadt, roma, sinti, night of the broken glass, extermination camps, nazi´s,
hitler, jews, diaspora, jewish council, judenrat, transportation, birkenau, ghetto, hans vanderwerff, sion soeters, aktion reinhard, terezin, himmler, david irving
holocaust denial, holocaust lest we forget, jews, synagogue, oswald pohl, odilo globocnik, deportations, judenrat, majdanek, westerbork, chelmno, vught,
wannsee, theresienstadt, roma, sinti, night of the broken glass, extermination camps, nazi´s, hitler, jews, diaspora, jewish council, judenrat, transportation,
birkenau, ghetto, hans vanderwerff, sion soeters, aktion reinhard, terezin, himmler, david irving, holocaust denial, holocaust lest we forget, jews, synagogue,
oswald pohl, siegfried seidl, protectorate, bohemia, moravia, murmelstein, karl rahm, anton burger, karl hermann frank,

 

Westerbork Liberation - Abraham Mol


Fltr: D Coy troops near the Oranje canal north bank - Maj. Geo Stiles, D Coy SSR
Pictures taken by Lt. Dan Guravuch, courtesy Sgt. Peter Maulé, Victoria, B.C., Canada
fltr: # 49860 (PA137469) (9) Archives Canada; # 49854-DG (PA198136) (2) Archives Canada


       The Dutch Newspaper the Telegraaf, dated 15 September 1993, featured the following story written by reporter Hens Schonewille in response to reactions received from, among others, Abraham Mol. The article in question, which appeared a day earlier, is shown below.

"That Canadian troops were prepared to shell concentration camp Westerbork with artillery fire has perplexed and shocked a number of former camp inmates. According to some of them the Canadians were ignorant of the fact that the camp even existed.

       As was reported yesterday in this Newspaper, the artillery bombardment was to have preceded the camp's occupation rather than its liberation. It would have led to a bloodbath, resulting in the loss of life for many inmates. According to newly released or discovered documents, the Canadians believed the camp to be a German military base. They did not know that the Germans had fled the camp on the 10th of April and apparently had no idea that some 900 inmates still were inside.

       The intervention of the Amsterdam born Samuel Schrijver supposedly prevented that shelling. The Jewish resistance fighter had escaped the camp during the night of April the 11th. He encountered the Canadians after swimming across the Oranjekanaal - Orange canal. Schrijver managed to reach the Canadian Brigadier General Allard. It cost him some effort to convince the general that only civilians were housed in the camp. He even stated that a Canadian reconnaissance patrol was dispatched, taken him along, to verify his story.

De Telegraaf, dated 14 September 1993

Title: ESCAPED PRISONER SAVED WESTERBORK FROM BEING BOMBARDED
Publication: DE TELEGRAAF
Date of the Publication: 14-09-1993

--------------------------------------Title------------------------------------------------

ESCAPED PRISONER SAVED WESTERBORK FROM BOMBARDMENT
------------------------------------Summary---------------------------------------------

As now is evident, the last 900 Jewish prisoners held captive by the Germans in concentration camp Westerbork
escaped near death on the 12th of April 1945.
---------------------------------------Text-----------------------------------------------

Escaped Jew saved Westerbork from being bombarded.
From our correspondent
WESTERBORK, Tuesday
As now is evident, the last 900 Jewish prisoners held captive by the Germans in concentration camp Westerbork escaped near death on the 12th of April 1945.
The Canadian Army, which liberated the camp that day, were about to destroy the camp by bombarding it. The Allies believed it to be a military camp housing German troops which were determined to fight to the end. A fatal error only averted in the very last moment through the intervention of a Jewish camp inmate from Amsterdam. He managed to escape in the night from the 11th to the 12th after the German SS guards secretly had fled on the 10th.
The man, who recently turned 70 years old (Ed.: in 1993) and now lives in Canada, told his perilous adventure last week for the first time to the Director D. Mulder of the herinneringscentrum - Remembrance Center Westerbork. "We keep his identity for the time being a secret because he still is quite undone by what happened to him during wartime." according director Mulder.

Oranjekanaal - the Orange canal

In the meantime, this sensational statement has been confirmed by the second principle player in this near-drama, Brigadier-General Allard of the 6th Brigade, 2nd Canadian Division. Allard was promoted to Chief of Staff of the Canadian Army.
The escapee, who hailed from Amsterdam, managed to swim across the Oranjekanaal, in the early hours of the morning of the 12th of April. Next he was apprehended by recently arrived troops under Allard. The Canadians dit not believe the escaped prisoner who told them that only civilians were in the camp and returned him to Westerbork together with a reconnaissance patrol in order to obtain certainty. Although the patrol encountered wandering Germans with whom they exchanged shots, the soldiers managed to bring out report that the man from Amsterdam had been correct. This convinced Allard, resulting in the cancellation of the planned bombardment.
According to Mulder, the statement of the people involved is of significant importance, because very little is known about the circumstances surrounding the events dealing with the liberation of camp Westerbork. "I have arranged with Allard that together we would conduct an investigation into this matter," according to the director.


It is unfortunate indeed that more that 60 years have gone by without having obtained a crystal clear picture as to what exactly happened on that momentous day, the 12th of April 1945. Various stories have emerged, several have been recorded on this Website. I believe all who were there and lived through the liberation period are sincere men. Each of them sheds a ray of light on an otherwise clouded over bit of history. Somewhere in between rests the truth.


       Schrijver's statement, which by the way is fully corroborated by General Allard, has among others, upset the then camp inmate Abraham Mol from Scheveningen. The former civil servant of the Ministry of Transport and Public Works and former male nurse of camp Westerbork tells a different liberation story of Transit Camp Westerbork. This camp was located in the moors of the province of Drente, from where Dutch Jews were deported to the extermination centers in Poland.

       Commandant Gemmeker, together with his SS guard unit, absconded on the 11th of April, 1945, when the Allied forces moved in northern direction. Mol: "They posted posters which said that the camp was turned over to the Red Cross. For the last Jewish prisoners still in the camp it said that we could remove our Jew stars. Furthermore, we were advised to remain in our barracks, seeing the camp had now become front-line."

Since I have accepted the position of leadership for this camp for the time being, I issue the following orders:

1e. The present "Dienstbereiche - Heads of Service" have been changed as follows:

                            Administration .......................  R. Friend
                            Field Service .........................  E. Zielke
                            Technical Service ................... E. Wachsmann
                            Guard Service .......................  A. Pisk
                            Medical Service ..................... Dr. F. Spanier
                            Clothing Repair Shop ............. G. Frank
                            Woodworking Shop ............... H. Beyer

2e. In order to maintain discipline in the camp, the above mentioned services will continue to operate.

3e. The representatives in whom I have placed my trust, and who have promised to work alongside with
      me in the interest of camp life are as follows:

                             M. de Jong
                             F. Schiff
                             K. Schlesinger
                             Dr. Speijer
                             A. van Witsen

These men will form together with me the leadership of this camp.

4e. Everyone is advised to carry out his or her task in his own best interest, and to maintain camp
      discipline.

5e. I will not hesitate to take corrective action against anyone who, one way or another, attempts to
      disturb order and discipline in the camp.

6e. Labor hours will be changed as follows:

      women: from 8 until 12 o'clock, or when required at other times.
      men: from 8 to 12 o'clock and from 14 to 16 hours (2 to 4 in the afternoon).

      No work will be required after Saturday at noon until Monday morning.
      Should it be in the best interest of camp life these hours may be adjusted to a longer work schedule.

The office for the directors of the camp is in Barrack No. 33 as of this afternoon.

                                                                                  Signed by Aad van As

         Westerbork, d. 12 April 1945.                            ( A. van As Jr.)
Translation of the Dutch order issued by Aad van As, dated 12 April 1945

       According to Mol, in this uncertain time period Schrijver as well as other former camp inmates feared the retreating Germans the most. "We were afraid that the Germans would level the camp with the ground. Others suspected it had to be an ambush, a reason for the Nazis to shoot anyone who dared to leave the camp," Mol remembered.

       To his relief Mol heard on the 12th of April that the Canadians had advanced to the Oranjekanaal which was approximately 3 KM south of the camp. Mol: "Together with a few other inmates I went to meet them. What caught our attention was the apparent fact that the soldiers we met were unaware of the existence of the camp. We had to show them the way." As far as Mol was concerned, Schrijver's story raised too many questions.