Vucht - A German Extermination Camp

On a quiet afternoon at JoVo Camp, when the young people had gone to the swimming pool, the senior couples drove over to Vught - a small town where the Germans built a Jewish extermination camp during World War II.  I didn't realize there were extermination camps in Holland - I learned that there were several here.

These are the uniforms that the Jewish prisoners were forced to wear while at the camp.

Elder Beckstrand studies some of the documents on display in which the German officers were ordered to establish the camps in this country by their superior officers in the SS. 

Sister Van Komen stands in front of a miniature facsimile of the original layout of the camp.  There were rows and rows of baracks in which the Jews were housed.  The children were kept in a separate area from their parents.  Any child over the age of 2 was taken into the children's baracks.  The older children were required to watch the younger children.

Guard towers surrounded the compound to ensure that no prisoner could escape.

The baracks were long, one story buildings in which the prisoners ate and slept.

Washing facilities both for the prisoners and their clothing.

The tables and benches would have been used at mealtimes, but the food was extremely poor and very scarce.  Most of the prisoners were little more than sketetons.

I am standing at the entrance to one of the sleeping rooms.  Rows and rows of  triple layer bunkbeds were used by the Jewish prisoners.  The mattresses were filled with straw which soon became full of ticks and other vermin.

I can't imagine that anyone slept much in a place like this.  The men and the women were separated, but privacy and any degree of comfort would be non-existent. 

A picture of the outside of one of the baracks.

The next building we visited was the Crematorium.  It was in the very center of the compound.

Prisoners were  taken here when they died of disease or malnutrition and were cremated to avoid the necessity of being buried.

The crematorium was large enough to house other grim purposes.

The prisoners were forced to sit on these wooden benches, awaiting their turn for whatever the Germans had in store for them that day.  Some of the rooms were for experimenting and surgical procedures.  These signs were on the doors.   The Laboratorium would be a place where scientists conducted their experiments.  The word "Snijkamer" literally translates to 'Cutting room".

Elder Beckstrand is standing by one of the furnaces that cremated the bodies.  There were several in the building.

This wheeled cart was used for disposal of the bodies.

Another furnace.

This place had an evil, dark feeling about it.  It was obvious that terrible things had taken place here.  It is unfathomable to me that human beings could do such despicable things to other human beings.

Over 1800 children up to age 16 were incarcerated here.  When they became so disease-ridden that they were causing too much trouble for their German captors they were loaded onto a train and sent to Germany to be exterminated.  If one parent wanted to go with them, they were allowed to go.  No one realized that they were going to their deaths. 

There were several metal columns listing the children's names and ages.  Many of them were infants under a year old. 

This headstone explains in Dutch about the children being sent to Germany.  Their parents were told that they were being sent into Germany for better medical facilities so that they could get well.  The truth was, of course, completely the opposite.

Inside the museum was a wall with actual photos of some of the children. 

Writings from the journals of some of the prisoners were displayed next to the children's photos.

I couldn't imagine hurting beautiful children like these.  I wouldn't want to trade places with the men who did these vile acts when judgment day arrives.

Another journal entry.  They knew they were going into Germany, but they had no idea of the awful finality of their trip.

I can't say this is a place I would want to visit again, but it was a very touching experience to be here. 

I sincerely hope that Hitler pays for his crimes throughout eternity.

Young Single Adult Camp

We arrived on Monday at 12:30 pm for the Young Single Adult Camp at Zonne Wende - about one and a-half hours south of Amsterdam.  It was a pretty wooded area near S'Hertogenbosch.

Elder and Sister Anderson were there to meet everyone as they came into the compound.

Now this is how I like to rough it!  There were 8 single beds in our unit, and we had them all to ourselves!  The showers and WC's were just outside our door a few feet.  The lights were motion sensitive, so if you stayed too long in the WC you were pretty much in the dark (unless you wanted to sit there and wave your arms in the air like a demented person!)  

Our JoVo President - Ramon Kaspers - is visiting with other camp attendees.  Ivo de Graaf from Lelystad is on his right.  The short one in front is Tim, and Willem Paul (Deventer's President) on the right.

These incredibly intelligent-looking fellows are part of the human slot machine that was part of the "Life" games.  You should have seen them when they were all rolling their arms together, imitating a slot machine.  Hilarious!

Three of our Amsterdam students:  Kim van Dyke, Vanessa Wijders, and Kim Stigter.  And look!  The sun is shining!

Everybody chills while they're waiting for the masses to arrive.  There are over 130 young people registered.

Mitchell Shwaart is the Camp President this year.  He has done a fantastic job!

I was asked to oversee the table where the young people could write a letter to one of their friends who was serving a mission.  There were around twenty Dutch missionaries on the list.

 Sister Van Komen was the Gypsy fortune-teller.  The young people made life choices that were either good or poor choices.  Of course, gambling at the human slot machine or going to a fortune teller were considered very poor choices!

The kitchen was set up with the object of cooking for a crowd, and a crowd was what we had.  A very large, hungry crowd.  

Sister La Frandt was in charge of the kitchen.  This electric kettle could boil about 50 pounds of potatoes at one time.

The young people scarfed up the meal in no time flat.  They were high-spirited and very noisy.  It was impossible to talk to your neighbor sitting right next to you.  Tomorrow let's sit in the other room, K?

Family Home Evening was very entertaining!   I hadn't seen a two-headed man before.

Be careful with that razor, Elder Beckstrand. 

The night games lasted until nearly midnight but that wasn't the end of the evening for these night-hawks.  Many of them were still up at 3:00 am.  Oh the resilience of youth....

On Tuesday I was put in charge of the volleyball tournament.  I was so impressed that this young man, who is a midget, was still willing (and excited) to be included in the volleyball game.

The other YSA's were so great with Tim.  They never criticized or belittled him if he missed hitting the ball over the net.  And they always cheered him on when he made a good play.  Such great sports!

Everybody ready for the serve?  Ready or not - here it comes!

In addition to fun games, there were workshops every morning which covered a variety of gospel subjects.  The young people were good about attending them - they weren't just there for a good time.  They also came to learn.

One of the more intriguing workshops was the making of ice cream in these itty-bitty machines.  The amount that would fit in the machine wasn't very large but the finished product was pretty darn good.

In the next room the girls were decorating cup cakes.

They shared the finished products at dinner that evening.

On Friday the Van Komens were in charge of the evening barbeque.  Here they are boiling the potatoes for potato salad.  We cut up 50 kilos of potatoes and 8 dozen eggs!

Everyone got drafted to help.  I thought I wouldn't have to cook this entire week.  Oh well....

Friday night was the "Cowboys and Indians" dance.  Mark Von der Donk was in charge and went all out to create an Old West saloon for the dance.

The young people really got into the mood of the evening by dressing up in Western attire.  Vanessa made a pretty good cowgirl, don't you think?

Micah and Kim are "Rootin' and Tootin' those six-guns and ready to get their man.

No amount of coaxing can get us out of these chairs.  We've been in the kitchen all day, and after the barbeque we scrubbed the dirty barbeque grills for an hour and a half.  We're BUSHED - no dancing for us tonight!

These lovely people are the Oddens - The Hague Center's senior couple.  They live in Haarlem and serve in the YSA Center as a church calling, rather than a mission.  Their elder son is our Stake President and their younger son is our high council representative over the Amsterdam Center.

These handsome people are the Boegarts.  They are the couple who have been called to run the Antwerp, Belgium center.

These western honchos are the camp "Mom and Pop".  They are the Gouts from Groningen, and did a super job keeping everything running smoothly.

The Van Komens, taking a much deserved break.

The last thing Saturday morning was a testimony meeting.  The young people expressed their feelings about the camp, each other, and the gospel.  The spirit was beautiful, and everyone expressed their love of being together with other LDS young people in The Netherlands and Belgium.  They need this camp - it gets lonely being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in The Netherlands.  They are often ridiculed for their beliefs.

All good things have to come to an end, however.  Kim puts her things in the car for the return trip to Amsterdam.  Jan and David Reijnders were also with us.  We didn't think all the luggage and paraphenalia would fit, but we did it!  We're looking forward to sleeping in our own bed tonight.

AND A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL!