The Gates of Hell - A Jewish War Memoir - A first publication about the Holocaust of Dutch Jews and the Nazi ...

The Gates of Hell - A Jewish War Memoir - A first publication about the Holocaust of Dutch Jews and the Nazi atrocities at Vught camp. Netherlands, 1945 - First edition

Vught, Poort van de Hel: Oorlogsherinneringen van 'n Jood - Vught (The Gates of Hell: War Memoirs of a Jew). Published by "Aldus, " Hilversum, Netherlands, 1945 - First Edition. Dutch. "This is how the extermination of our Dutch Jews began..." - An early publication written and edited close to the end of the war, documenting the Holocaust of Dutch Jews and the atrocities committed by the Nazis in Vught camp. Among the first testimonies published after the war.

An early publication by a Dutch Jewish author, a survivor of Vught camp, published anonymously at the end of the war about the Holocaust of Dutch Jewry. From the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in May 1940, it features an impressive cover design showing a Nazi soldier gripping hundreds of Jews in his hands, with the book title dripping in blood and the word "JOOD" (Jew) styled as a Dutch Jewish yellow badge. The testimony is divided into two parts: the first part describes the Nazi occupation in the Netherlands and the fate of the Jews; the second part narrates the author’s experiences as a prisoner after being captured and sent to Vught (one of the five concentration camps that operated in the Netherlands during World War II).

The author describes the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands: "On that historic night in the capital, we were awakened by deafening engines... Europe's bloodhounds tearing apart and looting our poor country..." He details the systematic destruction of Jewish businesses, the famous arrest of 1,200 young Amsterdam Jews (separated from their families and wives and sent to Mauthausen), the imposition of the yellow badge, and the Jews' humoristic nickname for the streets on the first Sabbath of the regulation, "Parade of the Stars, " due to the abundance of yellow stars visible as they went to synagogues. He also recounts the attempts of Dutch Jews to maintain a semblance of normalcy, such as forming a Jewish orchestra that performed across Amsterdam, with one central question occupying their minds: "How do I and my family stay out of the claws of the German murderers?" The narrative includes escape attempts using forged passports and bribes, and the daily risks Jews took to flee.

The author vividly portrays his personal suffering and the plight of Jews under Nazi occupation: "If one wants to clearly grasp the suffering of the Jews, a short walk in the once-bustling Jewish neighborhoods would suffice. Countless stores were shuttered or had their owners dragged away; houses, their windows staring blankly like dead eyes, completely looted; the faces of people displaying sheer sorrow; every snippet of conversation reveals infinite suffering. The chosen people are utterly desperate... Large warehouses are loaded daily with furniture and goods looted from Jewish homes. Between April 1942 and April 1944, 629 ships carrying Jewish property were sent to Germany! The damage caused by Allied bombers in Germany was largely compensated by Jewish belongings and blood. I myself experience the nerve-wracking fear regarding my family and friends. My only son, from my first marriage, a fully Jewish one, lives in my first workspace every morning... I grapple with a thousand fears that perhaps he was taken last night, and thus my call will go unanswered. The rare occasions when he risks visiting me are no less torturous for me. Will he not be caught on the way? If he arrives five minutes later than agreed, I am on hot coals. And after his departure, I am once again in constant anxiety until the next morning. Around me, family members, friends, acquaintances, and business partners are being taken; I feel my turn approaching irreversibly, the noose tightening every day...".

The author later describes how he was captured by the Nazis and transported to Vught camp. He meticulously details the daily routine in the camp, the forced labor, the abuse of the Jews ("I saw young, strong boys trampled to death by the German executioners!"), the mistreatment of women and children, the grueling excavation work carried out by hundreds of Jewish inmates, and the code words used by Jewish prisoners to warn each other of an approaching Nazi soldier. He also describes the horrific diseases that spread through the camp, the constant hunger, attempts by Jews to escape, the secret celebration of Passover within the camp, and the sadistic Nazi practice of sterilizing Jews during the camp's disbandment to prevent their marriages to Aryans after leaving the camp (a horrific act the author himself endured).

The account concludes with his liberation during the camp's dissolution and his return to his home in the Netherlands. In total, approximately 31,000 prisoners were held in Vught, of whom about 15,000 were Jews. Around 12,000 Jewish prisoners passed through the camp on their way to extermination camps in Poland, while others were transferred to other camps shortly before the camp was liberated by Allied forces in 1944. Most of the camp's inmates were Dutch.

Testimonies about the atrocities committed by the Nazis at Vught camp are relatively few. This publication stands out as one of the most detailed accounts of Nazi crimes at Vught and the Holocaust of Dutch Jews overall. It is speculated that the author might have been Abraham Ashkenazi based on details mentioned in the book, but the author's name is not explicitly stated. The National Library and WorldCat catalog list the book anonymously, with an open call for anyone with information about the author’s identity to come forward.

77, [3] pages. Light stains on the cover. Condition: Good - very good.