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Medals handcrafted for Princess Beatrix whilst in hiding
From the Memoirs: A MEDAL FOR PRINCESS BEATRIX For 21 months, our family lived at 185, Galilaestraat, The Hague, all four of us cooped up in one room. We were hidden by trusted friends, whose vigilance postponed the day when we would be caught and sent off to concentration camps, and perhaps even to the gas chambers. In a way, our plight was similar to that of the family of Anne Frank and thousands of others who had no alternative but to stay under cover during the German invasion of Holland which began, without any provocation, on May 10, 1940. All of Holland was stunned by the ruthless acts of…
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Radio sets and BBC Broadcasts
SURRENDER OF RADIO SETS OF THE JEWS (1941) “The Mayor and Aldermen herewith give notice that Radio sets have to be surrendered by the Jews in the school of the Van Dijckstraat”.This was one of the headlines in the local papers, followed up by a long statement of date, hour, family name to start with letter A/ etc. including…as where to hand these radios in. Also it is mentioned in the papers that the surrendering of these sets is to be placed for safekeeping and that they will be returned later to the owners.For the umpteenth time it is mentioned those who have to be considered as a Jew…… The…
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Captain Otto Kretschmer
Maurice Frankenhuis’ letter to Captain Otto Kretschmer reacting to his remarks upon the launching of the first new submarine since the end of World War II. October 24, 1961Capt. Otto KretschmarCommander of the Federal Navy’s ForcesBonn, Germany Dear Captain Kretschmar: In the October 22, 1961, edition of The New York Times, I read an article, beginning, “The Germans, who developed the submarine into a major weapon of war, launched today the first submarine they had built since 1945.” There was also a photograph of this submarine and the comment, “She is said to be as fast underwater as Hitler’s wartime U-boats were on the surface.” The article also read: “U-Boat…
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Personal Effects
Two custom display cases created by Maurice Frankenhuis to house all of his personal effects that he managed to carry with him through the camps and left with. His descriptions on the left are his full explanation and expressive regard for its value to him in the environment of the concentration camps.
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Shawls
Nazi liquidation of Dutch institutions With the pilfering of the various institutions; well, in the old days it was called in German “klauen” (pilfer), now it is called in German “einnehmen” (take in). Let me use the old way, that is: With the pilfering of the various institutions, like: De Joodsche Invaliede (The Jewish Invalid) in the city of Amsterdam Het Joodsche Weeshuis (The Jewish Orphanage House) of The Hague Het Apeldoornsche Bosch (The Apeldoorn Forst) of Apeldoorn And various others in the country – including very many synagogues – their inhabitants left for an unknown destination somewhere in the East. Suddenly there was an oversupply of shawls, an abundance…
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Commander Gemmeker
Maurice Frankenhuis, an inmate at the deportation camp Westerbork in Holland, procured sketches and schematics and clandestine photographs. Commander Gemmecke, now commonly spelled Gemmeker, overseeing Jews being loaded into transport trains at Westerbork concentration camp. The identical scene was captured by two artists: Werner Lowenhardt, an artist, and a photographer – from a different perspective. Notice the identical tree, smoke, and wheelbarrow, and of course, Gemmecke standing with his hands clasped behind his back. Sketch and photograph of Gemmecke in Westerbork Artifacts from the Frankenhuis Collection
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Winston Churchill
No sooner than one week after returning to Holland from concentration camp, Maurice Frankenhuis sent the following letter to Prime Minister Winston Churchill requesting he hand-write a letter and sign with his autograph, to replace the one he previously collected some 25 years prior. 24, Van der Wijckstr. The Hague, 20th July 1945. (Holland) To the Right Honourable Winston Churchill, Prime Minister,London. Sir,The undersigned has been a collector of autographs of all personalities relating to the war 1914/1918 and you were good enough to send me your autograph about 25 years ago. I possess a large collection of autographs of all personalities relating to the war 1914/1918 and during the…
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Exhibit of Hitler Medals
Maurice Frankenhuis collected medallic tributes of Adolf Hitler as important evidence within the scope of the historical narrative. His coin show exhibits of ‘Arch-Enemy No.1’ in the 1960’s drew the attention of onlookers, and he eagerly spent his time and energy speaking about the evils of Nazi Germany and the lessons of the Holocaust, educating people about the dictator who plunged the world into war and orchestrated the systematic extermination of the Jewish people and other minorities. His exhibit banners declared: “One killed is murder – Millions killed is statistics.” ‘This was not War – This was Murder’.