Camp Westerbork (, , Drents: Börker Kamp; Kamp Westerbörk), also known as Westerbork transit camp, was a Nazi transit camp in the province of Drenthe in the Northeastern Netherlands, during World War II. It was located in the municipality of Westerbork, current-day Midden-Drenthe. Camp Westerbork was used as a staging location for sending Jews, Sinti and Roma to concentration camps elsewhere.
thumb|left|Map of Camp Westerbork
thumb|left|Reconstructed watchtower at Westerbork
However, after the German invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940, that original purpose no longer existed. By 1942, Camp Westerbork was repurposed as a staging ground for the deportation of Jews. Only in area, the camp was not built for the purpose of industrial murder as were Nazi extermination camps. Westerbork was considered by Nazi standards as "humane". as well as Etty Hillesum, each of whom wrote of their experiences in diaries discovered after the war. Frank remained at the camp in a small hut until 3 September, when she was deported to Auschwitz. Even after being labeled a Jew, she began to report on antisemitic policies. She took a job with Judenrat for two weeks and then volunteered to accompany the first group of Jews sent to Westerbork. The film features colorization of original video of transports from Westerbork by photographer Rudolf Breslauer.
Another prisoner at Camp Westerbork from 9 March 1944 to 23 March 1944 was Hans Mossel (1905–1944), a Jewish-Dutch clarinetist and saxophonist, before he was sent to the Auschwitz III camp.
On 16 May 2024, a memorial was erected to remember the famous Sinti families Weiss (Tata Mirando) and Meinhardt, who lost some 200 members of their families to the Holocaust, transported from Westerbork camp to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Leadership within the Camp
Jacques Schol, a Dutchman, was commander of the camp from 16 July 1940 and until January 1943. Certain accounts report he was known for his brutality against Jewish inmates, allegedly kicking inmates to death. Other accounts state on the contrary that "although strict and organised, Schol was never cruel or violent". Furthermore, "Schol, who was anti-German, understood that a strict organisation of the camp was the best way to keep the Germans from taking over the camp". In 1941, German authorities understood that "Schol was too lenient and because of this attitude, the Jews felt too comfortable in the camp".
German authorities took control of Westerbork from the Government of the Netherlands on 1 July 1942 when Schol was replaced by a German commander. After the war, Gemmeker was sentenced to just ten years in prison. His light sentence was apparently due to his defense claim that he had no idea what would happen to the Jews after they were transported out of Westerbork. Within the confines of the camp, German SS members were in charge of inmates, but squads of Jewish police and security under Kurt Schlesinger were used to keep order and aid in transport.
Liberation
Transports came to a halt at Camp Westerbork in September 1944.
Post World War II
Following the war, Westerbork was first used as a remand prison for alleged and accused Nazi collaborators. It housed later Dutch nationals who fled the former Dutch East Indies (Indonesia).
Westerbork was completely disassembled in the 1960s by the Government of the Netherlands.
Memorials
thumb|"" monument at Westerbork. Each individual stone represents a single person that stayed at Westerbork and was killed in [[Nazi concentration camp|Nazi concentration and extermination camps.]]
A museum was created two miles from Westerbork to keep the memories of those imprisoned in the camp alive. Also, a monument of a broken railroad track torn from the ground is displayed near the camp to symbolize the destruction the camp, as well as others, wrought on the European Jewish population, and the determination that the tracks would never again carry people to their deaths.
See also
- Herzogenbusch concentration camp
- Amersfoort concentration camp
- Camp Barneveld