Elly Vleeschhouwer-Blocq, one of the first prisoners in Camp Vught, has died. ‘With a lot of luck’, as she often said later, the Jewish woman survived eight concentration camps. She died on Tuesday at the age of 101.
National Monument Camp Vught announced in a message on social media on Friday that it was saddened to once again lose someone from the last generation of eyewitnesses. “In Elly, Camp Vught loses a special woman whose powerful voice has been extinguished forever, but will continue to resonate in the story we have to tell.”
Elly grew up with her four brothers and two sisters in a Jewish family in Amsterdam. In 1942 she married Wim, who was also Jewish, in the middle of the Second World War. When Elly had to wear a star, she initially refused: “I just didn’t want to be singled out.” But the persecution was unavoidable.
Eight concentration camps
During the war she went from concentration camp to concentration camp. Camp Vught was the first. She arrived there in January 1943 as one of the first prisoners and stayed until early June 1944. She said she had been ‘very lucky’, but the love of her husband Wim, who voluntarily accompanied her when Elly was arrested, and her work at the Philips Kommando also played a major role in her survival.
After the war, Elly and Wim were reunited and they grew old happily together. Wim died in 2007. For most of her life, Elly kept silent about her experiences in the war. She only started telling stories at a very old age. Femmetje de Wind based the historical novel He called me Elly in 2024 on her life story. With that book, Elly’s story instantly gained national fame.
At a time when war, hatred and fear are again prevalent, Elly wanted to give another message: “You have to get to know each other, then you will no longer hate each other.”
