• 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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

  • New Film based on Frankenhuis Interview with Gemmeker at Westerbork

    Film Clips from ‘Gemmeker’ A half hour docudrama film based on the self-published story of Maurice Frankenhuis’ interview with the Westerbork Commander Gemmeker. Premier screening at the Westerbork Camp Remembrance Center on September 13, 2019. This date is exactly 75 years after the last transport from the camp. Frankenhuis Interview with Gemmeker Film Description Excerpt Portions of the original footage filmed at Westerbork of the deportations were restored and colored using the latest technologies. The result is a realistic depiction that audiences today can visualize the imagery is not dated as in black and white film from long ago and is more relatable. See video below some footage of the…

  • Interview with Gemmeker at Westerbork

    Maurice Frankenhuis spent the post-war years after the liberation researching and documenting the war. In 1948, he obtained permission to go back to the Westerbork camp in the Netherlands, and to interview its Commander, Albert Gemmeker, still being detained in prison prior to sentencing. Frankenhuis published notes from his five-hour interview together with many photographs taken while the camp was operating, and upon his return. It was published in English and Dutch.

  • Catalog of World War I Medals

    At the age of 25, Maurice Frankenhuis published his Catalog of Medals relative to World War I, describing with photographs the largest private collection in the world which he assembled and then subsequently donated to the British Museum and the Kadman Museum. It was published in English and in Dutch. It is considered to be the most comprehensive reference work of medallic issues related to World War I. Catalog of Medals Relative to the World War 1914 – 1919 by M. Frankenhuis Some of the World War I Medals donated by M. Frankenhuis to the British Museum are found on the museum’s website. World War I Medals referenced in the…

  • Published Photographs

    Photographs and narratives from the Frankenhuis Collection contributed to The Holocaust, The destruction of European Jewry 1933 – 1945, published in 1968.