Last month, twenty bronze monuments were installed in my home town of Oldenzaal. They are Stolpersteine, "stumbling blocks," about 10x10 cm (4x4") large bronze stones inscribed with the name of a Jewish resident who was murdered during the Holocaust. They are placed in the pavement in front of the house where they last lived. These Stolpersteine are a project of German artist Gunter Demnig, created to commemorate the victims of Nazi persecution in the place where they once lived. To bow over … [Read more...]
Quick tip – Deaths are recorded in the place of residence
18 November 2015 by 3 Comments
If a person died in a different location than where he lived, the civil registration of his place of residence would also record his death. Often, they would receive a copy of the death record that was created in the place of death, and would then record that copy in their own death registers. This was also done after World War II, to record all the Dutch Jews who were murdered in Eastern Europe. Sometimes it took many years to find out where and when a person died, so many towns have death … [Read more...]
Ask Yvette – Resources for Jewish genealogy in the Netherlands
3 July 2015 by 5 Comments
Several people have asked me how to find their Jewish ancestors in the Netherlands. I have researched several Jewish families, but don't read Hebrew so I cannot access all records. Here are some resources that have been useful in my research. Please share your own tips in the comments. Regular records Since the introduction of the civil registration (in 1811 in most parts of the country), Jews were recorded in the regular administrations of births, marriages and deaths and the population … [Read more...]
