Discoveries Deportation Westerbork Film • 20250224

Utrecht family identification , almost complete…

Almost certainly, three Jewish people have been recognized in the unique Westerbork film from 1944 (1). This time it concerns the 9-year-old boy Israël Wijnschenk, his father Max Wijnschenk, and his grandmother Betje Kokernoot-van Furth, who all lived in Utrecht (Holland).

Last week, the Dutch public broadcaster NOS (2) reported the news from the Utrecht (Dutch) news site Nieuws030 (3) that it is very likely that three people were recognized again in this film made by the Jewish prisoner and filmmaker Rudolf Breslauer showing the deportation of Jews, Roma and Sinti by train in Camp Westerbork on May 19, 1944.

Image researcher Koen Hulsbos — who previously identified an Amsterdam couple in this deportation train (4) — thought he recognized the young Israël Wijnschenk, a pupil at the time of the Joodse (Jewish) School Utrecht, and presented this to Victor Frederik, researcher of the Joodse School (5,6). The boy, the man, and the woman seem to belong together, and were recognized from family photos, also by family members.

It is certain that Max and his wife Chel (not in the images) returned to Utrecht after the war, their children Israël and his sister Kitty were murdered. Grandma Betje was also gassed in Auschwitz.

A portrait of Israël Wijnschenk is shown at the site of Joods Monument (7).

According to the transport list, there were two other children in that wagon, Joseph Beugeltas (11 years old) and Manfred Studzinsky (7 years old). Joseph Beugeltas appeared to have blond hair, and could not have been it (6). To be completely sure, the researchers are still looking for a photo of Manfred Studzinsky, for comparison…

Notes

2) Utrechters ‘vrijwel zeker’ herkend op Westerborkfilm uit 1944. NOS Nieuws Feb 22, 2025. URL https://nos.nl/l/2556858

3) Nieuwe herkenningen in Westerborkfilm ‘bijna zeker’. Jim Terlingen | Nieuws030 . URL https://www.nieuws030.nl/hist030rie/drie-nieuwe-herkenningen-in-westerborkfilm-zo-goed-als-zeker/

4) Amsterdam couple found in Westerbork film • 20241223 | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | URL https://settela.com/2024/12/23

5) Joodse school Utrecht. Website. URL https://joodseschoolutrecht.nl

6) Israël op Westerborkfilm? Victor Frederik- Web site Joodse school Utrecht. (Accessed 20250224). URL https://joodseschoolutrecht.nl/nl/Verhalen-over-leerlingen/Kitty-en-Israel-Wijnschenk/Israel-op-Westerborkfilm/

7) Portrait of Israël Wijnschenk. Site Joods Monument. URL https://www.joodsmonument.nl/nl/page/122045/israël-wijnschenk

Citation info : Discoveries Deportation Westerbork Film • 20250224 | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | URL https://settela.com/2025/02/24/

Amsterdam couple found in Westerbork film • 20241223

The Dutch national broadcaster NOS (1) and the local RTV Drenthe (2) reported this morning (23 Dec 2024) that 2 more people have been recognized in the Westerbork film.

It is the Amsterdam couple Marcus Pels and Hendrika Brandon. They were identified by the image researcher Koen Hulsbos – volunteer working at the Behind the Star project of the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies .

The Jewish photographer and filmmaker Rudolf Breslauer, while a prisoner in the Westerbork transit camp in the Netherlands, was commissioned by camp commander Albert Gemmeker to make film recordings for the Westerbork film in the spring of 1944, featuring images of a deportation train.

The NOS broadcast referred to images in the first published Westerbork film (3)The film can be viewed in its entirety on YouTube. After just under 5 minutes 🔗
a man with a hat can be seen looking into the camera with a smile, and next to him a woman with black, slightly wavy hair can be seen from behind. The same couple appears again at 6 minutes 🔗 . It turned out to be the Amsterdam couple Marcus Pels and Hendrika Brandon.

Pels & Brandon Clip 1 & 2

Also available on YouTube is the more recent second Westerborkfilm (4). This 2021 edition has the recently found original camera rolls of the deportation transport (Reel E198), with higher quality images of the couple.

20241223_1 | Settela•Com | Pels & Brandon Clip 1 after 20 min 🔗

20241223_2 | Settela•Com | Pels & Brandon Clip 2 after 21 min 🔗

That’s it

Hulsbos had already had photos of Marcus Pels and Hendrika Brandon in his collection of images of prisoners who were transported on that day – May 19, 1944 – when Breslauer films the deportation of Jews, Roma and Sinti to Bergen-Belsen and Auschwitz.

“I’ve seen the film many times, but at one point I thought, ‘Hey, this couple is on screen twice.’ I had never really noticed that before,” says Hulsbos.

Hulsbos then compared the film footage with his photos. “And then I thought: that’s it,” says the amateur film historian.

Marcus Pels was murdered immediately after arriving in Auschwitz. Hendrika Brandon survived the war, as did their daughter and son, who were in hiding with a foster family. Katy (Keetje, 86 years old) and Philip (83) are still alive and live in Canada. They were shown the film footage and confirmed that they were their parents.

“They don’t remember their father. So to actually see images of him, to see him just walking around alive, there are no words to describe it,” granddaughter Lisa Kaufman said as a family spokesperson. “It was very special to see my grandmother, who I grew up with.”

Anonym | Girl with the headscarf …

In the Westerbork film, Hendrika looks at the woman on the stretcher, who was recognized in the 1990s through her suitcase as Frouwke Kroon, and thus was the key to identifying this transport and thus also to the name of the anonymous girl with the headscarf between the wagon doors – Settela (5,6).

Deportation Breslauer family

Earlier this year it was reported that filmmaker Rudolf Breslauer had also filmed two of his children , Stefan , and Ursula Breslauer in the Westerborkfilm at the farm (7).

Werner Rudolf Breslauer , his wife Bella Weihsmann, sons Stefan and Max Michael (Mischa), and daughter Ursula were deported later in 1944 from Westerbork to Theresienstadt and Auschwitz. Only Ursula survived.

Notes

1) Twee mensen herkend in Westerborkfilm: ‘Kan niet missen’ | NOS Nieuws • Dec 23, 2024 09:45 | URL https://nos.nl/artikel/2549390-twee-mensen-herkend-in-westerborkfilm-kan-niet-missen

2) Nieuwe ontdekking in Westerbork-film: Amsterdams echtpaar krijgt gezicht | RTV Drenthe • Dec 23, 2024 07:10 | URL https://www.rtvdrenthe.nl/nieuws/17091818/nieuwe-ontdekking-in-westerbork-film-amsterdams-echtpaar-krijgt-gezicht

7) Stefan & Ursula Breslauer in Westerborkfilm | 20240305 | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | URL https://settela.com/2024/03/05

Citation info : Amsterdam couple found in Westerbork film • 20241223 | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | URL https://settela.com/2024/12/23

Archive | @1MEMO 20240525

…. UNRWA…(archive) . Source : NOS News • today, 10:28 Link https://nos.nl/l/2521162#UPDATE-container-77742633

NOS Upgrade

Just noticed today, this NOS design upgrade both at the website and in the iOS app.
Images now have a caption visible – at first glance – right in the post, showing whether the image is news or an archive image for illustration. The caption here (dutch) reads “Bags with food aid from UNRWA in Gaza (archive)
You now no longer need to click and ‘open’ images to get to the included caption with the info whether an image is a news photo or an archive illustration.

Notes

NOS News Photo | @1MEMO 20240517 | URL https://1-memo.com/2024/05/17/nos-news-photo-1memo-20240517/

Citation info : NOS Upgrade | @1MEMO 20240525 | URL https://1-memo.com/2024/05/25

NOS News Photo | @1MEMO 20240517

NOS News • today, 10:09
French police shot dead man who wanted to set fire to Rouen synagogue…

The visible caption on this photo here is ‘ANP’, the in Holland well known almost 100 year old press agency (similar to eg Reuters) distributing news to other professional media like newspapers and our national tv broadcaster .

Annoying … (knowing) you now need to check every news item image (photo/still) of the Dutch national news broadcaster NOS to find out whether that image really is a news photo or actually fake … just an illustration from some archive.

Archive image – ANP | https://www.anp.nl | NOS News Photo | @1MEMO 20240517_2

You need to click this image in the post to be able to read the small print additional caption, this is just an archive image (dutch: archiefbeeld) … no news.

I appreciate the excellent NOS public national news broadcaster in the Netherlands. And, using archive footage may help storytelling in documentary work. However, here, watching the NOS site on an iPad or desktop PC, it’s obvious the design of the site creates a problem , since posting a news item requires using at least one image. With no news photo available , the best alternative here appears to be using text for the featured image.

Else, best, show the notice ‘Archive image’ clearly visible at first glance in the post’s image… (?)

Citation info : NOS News Photo | @1MEMO 20240517

Update

Update 20240517 – 1546 CET minor text changes

Update 20240517 – 2224 CET : Noticed that (i) NOS site post has been updated last at 16:18 CET ; and image has been replaced with actual news image (caption : Police investigations at the Rouen synagogue | dutch : Politie doet onderzoek bij de synagoge in Rouen )

Update 20240517 _ 2237 CET : screenshot new image

Stefan & Ursula Breslauer in Westerborkfilm | 20240305

Filmmaker Rudolf Breslauer also filmed two of his children in the Westerborkfilm…

Stefan (left) & Ursula Breslauer, children of Rudolf Breslauer, the filmmaker of the Westerbork film at the farm of Camp Westerbork in 1944 – identified by the dutch photographer Sake Elzinga, who received Breslauer’s family photo albums last year when the family of Ursula – the only survivor – visited an expo on Breslauer in the Westerbork museum in the Netherlands.

Camp commander (SS-Obersturmführer) Albert Gemmeker ordered the Westerbork film , made by the German Jewish prisoner, photographer, Rudolf Breslauer in the spring of 1944.

Today 80 years ago – March 5, 1944 – the camp is an ‘Arbeitslager’ – a work camp – when Rudolf Breslauer starts filming the daily life of the Westerbork prisoners — inside : in the barracks, for example a religious service, cabaret, workshops, factories, aircraft and battery recycling, medical care, and outside the barracks : construction of a greenhouse, a football match, women working out, chopping wood, incoming transports, and eventually also the departure of a deportation train. After Breslauer films the deportation of Jews, Roma and Sinti to Bergen-Belsen and Auschwitz on May 19, 1944 the filming stops.
The haunting image of the 9-year-old dutch Sinti-girl Settela, standing in the closing doors of the goods train, and the unique footage of that deportation train that leaves the Westerbork camp, became iconic after the war.

Deportation Breslauer family

Werner Rudolf Breslauer , his wife Bella Weihsmann, sons Stefan and Max Michael (Mischa), and daughter Ursula were deported autumn 1944 from Westerbork to Theresienstadt and Auschwitz. Only Ursula survived.

Stefan & Ursula Breslauer in Westerborkfilm | 20240305 | Settela•Com | Frame 127475 from Westerbork Film 🎦 2021 | 20220302 | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949 9313 | Footage filmed by Rudolf Breslauer in 1944, courtesy of NIOD | Sound and Vision

Notes

Clip from : Westerbork Film 🎦 2021 | Complete Remastered Edition | YouTube https://youtu.be/ZiLNDziwEtc

Westerbork Film 🎦 2021 | 20220302 | Settela•Com | URL https://settela.com/2022/03/02/westerbork-film-🎦-2021-complete-remastered-edition-20220302/

Kinderen van filmmaker Breslauer herkend in historische Westerborkfilm. Dutch national news broadcaster NOS Nieuws, in cooperation with RTV Drenthe, 13:18 Monday 4 March 2024 | URL https://nos.nl/artikel/2511414-kinderen-van-filmmaker-breslauer-herkend-in-historische-westerborkfilm

Scene with Stefan & Ursula Breslauer, starting at 56:13 in the 1986 RVD edition of the Westerborkfilm:
Stefan & Ursula Breslauer in Westerbork Film RVD | 20240305 | Settela•Com | URL https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxfNzA72JeGgVoOFp_VTI4EQQr3yTwXu6_

Settela Film | 20220630 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com

Deportation Westerbork Film | 20210719 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com

English introduction to Westerborkfilm :
Westerborkfilm Introduction | 20220507 | Michel van der Burg | Settela•Com | URL https://settela.com/2022/05/07/westerborkfilm-introduction-20220507/

Citation info : Stefan & Ursula Breslauer in Westerborkfilm | 20240305 | Settela•Com | ISSN 2949-9313 | URL https://settela.com/2024/03/05