Zwarte Avonden 2

As Elizaveta mentioned in an earlier post, singer Jo Vincent was one of the Dutch musicians who refused to bow to the Nazi occupiers when they forced all artists to join the Kultuurkamer, under penalty of exclusion from public performances. She survived by performing...

Zwarte Avonden

Learning from the past to survive the future by Elizaveta Agrafenina During this strange period in Amsterdam one must think back in time. Today is exactly 78 years ago since Dr. Tobie Goedewaagen, held an official opening as the president of the ‘Kultuurkamer’. This...
Liberation days

Liberation days

While the Netherlands celebrate Liberation day today, on 5 May, my first association with “liberation day” will aways be 4 April – the day when Soviet troops chased away the last nazi units from Hungarian territory in 1945 –  the day I...