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Teaching the Holocaust and other Genocides

Westerbork Transit Camp

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Westerbork

Westerbork was a transit camp located in the Dutch countryside in the northeastern part of the Netherlands. This location was noteworthy because it was near the German-Dutch border and far from the major cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague. It played a significant role in the deportation of Jews to extermination camps. 

Key Points

Establishment
Westerbork was established in 1939 as a camp for Jewish refugees, mostly from Germany, fleeing Nazi persecution. In April 1940, among the 750 Jews housed in the camp were German Jews who had been passengers on the St. Louis. After the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands beginning in May 1940, it was gradually repurposed as a transit camp for Jews as the camp administration transferred from the Dutch to the Germans.   

Imprisoned Population
Between 1942 and 1944, approximately 100,000 Jews were deported from Westerbork to various concentration and extermination camps.. The camp housed Jewish families, including many children, as well as Roma and Sinti and other groups targeted by the Nazis. 

Conditions
Conditions in Westerbork were harsh. The imprisoned lived in barracks with limited resources, and while they were subjected to forced labor, the camp's primary function was as a transit point rather than a permanent detention facility. 

Cultural Life
Despite the dire circumstances, people imprisoned at Westerbork created a vibrant cultural life. They organized concerts, theater performances, and art exhibitions, reflecting their resilience and desire to maintain some semblance of normalcy in the face of persecution. 

Deportations
Deportations from Westerbork began in July 1942, with trains leaving for extermination camps on a regular basis. The first train took 1,014 deportees to Auschwitz, where most were murdered. From July 15, 1942, until September 13, 1944, the Germans deported approximately 100,000 Jews from the Netherlands via Westerbork. More than 55,000 Jews and 245 Roma and Sinti were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau; 34,313 Jews were deported to the Sobibor killing center; 4,000–5,000 Jews were deported to Theresienstadt; and more than 3,500 Jews were deported to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. By September 1944, Westerbork was used as a transit point for the last deportations from the Netherlands. 

Liberation
In early April 1945, as Allied troops approached the camp, the Germans abandoned Westerbork. The camp was liberated on April 12, 1945, by Canadian forces who found 876 people there.