Karel Nihom

Karel Nihom was arrested in Winterswijk, his town of residence, on 6 October 1939 by order of the Ministry of Justice. He was interrogated for two days and then prohibited from living near the German border. After that, he moved to The Hague. Years later, it became clear why the Ministry had acted in this way: Karel Nihom was engaged in espionage for the British intelligence service. By the standa…

Winterswijk; 20-03-‘05

Mijnheer de Voorzitter, dames en heren,

In deze tentoonstelling over “Verzet, bevrijding, vrijheid” wordt enige aandacht geschonken aan de lotgevallen rondom mijn vader.
Uw voorzitter heeft me gevraagd of ik daarover iets wil vertellen. En uit het feit dat ik hier sta, kunt u afleiden dat ik die vraag niet met ‘neen’ heb beantwoord.
Ik vertel u iets over vader, ik vert…

It is still an extremely sensitive topic: suicide during the Second World War. Historians have not known what to do with it for a long time. What is the place of suicide in war history?

Remarkably little has been written on this subject and there seems to be no list of names or memorial books at all. The Digital Monument (www.joodsmonument.nl) offers a place where relatives, sometimes for the firs…