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Collage in gray-blue on an orange background with a blue zigzag line: the head of a man in a diving bell, his hand holding a hose, next to it a manometer.

Hidden in Enschede

Conversation with Contemporary Witness Herbert Zwartz: Part of the program accompanying the exhibition “My Verses Are Like Dynamite” Curt Bloch’s Underwater Cabaret (video redording available, in German)

Herbert Zwartz was born in Enschede in the Nether­lands in 1928, just five kilo­meters from the German border. His ancestor, Izak Salomon Zwartz from Guntersblum settled in Olden­zaal in 1801. His son founded a weaving mill there in 1835, which remains in operation as a family business to this day. After the German invasion on 10 May 1940 and the subsequent occu­pation of the Nether­lands, Herbert Zwartz had to move to a Jewish school on 1 August 1941, and a short time later, along with all Jews in the Nether­lands, was forced to wear a yellow star with the word “Jood” on it.

recording available

Map with all buildings that belong to the Jewish Museum Berlin. The W. M. Blumenthal Academy is marked in green

Where

W. M. Blumenthal Academy,
Klaus Mangold Auditorium
Fromet-und-Moses-Mendelssohn-Platz 1, 10969 Berlin
(Opposite the Museum)

With the support of a resis­tance group led by Pastor Leendert Overduin in Enschede, the Zwartz family were able to go under­ground on 8 April 1943. Herbert and his father found refuge on Everhard van der Marck­straat – only two kilo­meters from where Curt Bloch was in hiding – and his mother and sister were given sanc­tuary in another house on G.J. van Heek­straat, a nearby street. All four of them were liberated on 1 April 1945.

Herbert Zwartz shares his memo­ries with Aubrey Pomerance, Head of Archives at the Jewish Museum Berlin. 
 

Video recording from 16 April 2024 in German; Jewish Museum Berlin 2024

Collage in gray-blue on an orange background with a blue zigzag line: the head of a man in a diving bell, his hand holding a hose, next to it a manometer.

Exhibition “My Verses are Like Dynamite” Curt Bloch’s Het Onderwater Cabaret: Features & Programs

Exhibition Webpage
“My Verses are Like Dynamite” Curt Bloch’s Het Onderwater Cabaret: 9 Feb to 23 Jun 2024
Accompanying Events
Tour of the Exhibition “My Verses are Like Dynamite” Curt Bloch’s Het Onderwater Cabaret: Dates by arrangement (from 9 Feb to 26 May 2024)
Exhibition Opening: 8 Feb 2024
Curator Tour for FRIENDS OF THE JMB: 8 Apr 2024, in German
Joodse Vluchtelingen: The Fate of German-Jewish Émigrés in the Netherlands: 3 Mar 2024, in German
Archival Objects of German Jews in the Netherlands: Show & tell for FRIENDS OF THE JMB, 7 Mar 2024, in German
Het Onderwater Cabaret Live. An evening of music and poetry: 11 Apr 2024, in German
Publications
JMB Journal 26: Het Onderwater Cabaret: Special edition on the occasion of the exhibition
Digital Content
OWC Online Feature: A Glimpse Behind the Scenes of the Exhibition
Life and Work of Curt Bloch: Essay with biographical insights, JMB Journal 26
Current page: Hidden in Enschede: Conversation with Contemporary Witness Herbert Zwartz: – Video recording, 16 April 2024, Jewish Museum Berlin, in German
On the Piano of My Fantasy – Video with Marina Frenk, Richard Gonlag, and Mathias Schäfer, in German, Dutch and German Sign Language
“It’s Complicated”: A text by Simone Bloch, daughter of Curt Bloch
“Ik neurie mee ’t propellerlied…”: Essay on Het Onderwater-Cabaret: A Testament to Political Resistance in the Occupied Netherlands, 1943–45
Clandestine Literature in the Netherlands 1940–1945: Essay, JMB Journal 26
All Audio Pieces of the Exhibition with Transcriptions and Translations
All issues of Het Onderwarter-Cabaret: All 95 issues to browse
See also
Survivors in Hiding (National Socialism)
To the Web Project www.curt-bloch.com

Where, when, what?

  • WhenTue 16 Apr 2024, 7 pm
  • Where W. M. Blumenthal Academy,
    Klaus Mangold Auditorium
    Fromet-und-Moses-Mendelssohn-Platz 1, 10969 Berlin
    (Opposite the Museum)
    See location on map

Video Recordings: Watch Past Museum Events (77)

Event Series: Eyewitness Talks (15)

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