Nederlands Dutch Auschwitz Committee Organisation

History

In 1956, the International Auschwitz Committee in Vienna turned to Dutch Auschwitz survivors to look for women who would be willing to testify against C. Clauberg. This Nazi doctor was notorious for his medical experiments in Auschwitz.  There was a call for a public meeting and that's how the Dutch Auschwitz Committee came about. The founders were: J. Alvares Vega, Ro and Lou Corper, Eva and Jacques Furth, Elly and David van Geens, Annetje Fels-Kupferschmidt, and Saar and Manus Neter.

Activities
The Committee protested against the fact that former Nazis received high positions in Germany. It collected funds for an international memorial in Auschwitz, organised cultural evenings, and published a magazine. In the 1960s, the Committee fought against the 20-year statute of limitations for war criminals.  A protest demonstration in Amsterdam against releasing the Nazi police chief constable, Willy Lages, who was responsible for the deportation of countless Dutch Jews, brought thousands to the streets.

The Committee protested against the plan of the Dutch government to release three German Nazi war criminals, Aus der Fünten, Kotälla, and Fischer, from the Breda prison. This was successful, although in 1989 they were freed. Kotälla by then had died in jail.

Subsequent history

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  1. In January 1952, the Polish government organised the first international memorial to commemorate the liberation of the concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. Survivors from a number of countries were invited to attend this memorial. The Dutch delegation of Auschwitz survivors in January 1952 in Warsaw.
    From left to right: Louis van Thijn, Tilly van Weren, Roby Corper, Bets Roos, Sam Goudsmit, Jacques Furth, Benny Cohen, and Bé.
    Photo: Lex Weren
  2. Amsterdam, 18 September 1966. Several thousand demonstrators joined the Auschwitz Committee to protest the release of war criminal Willy Lager.
    Photo: Het Parool/ Bert Sprenkeling
  3. Amsterdam demonstrates on 14 December 1980 'against fascism, racism, and anti-Semitism'. Eva Furth walking in front in the direction of the Jaap Eden Hall
    Photo: Pieter Boersma
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