For Martijn Docters from Eindhoven, a long-cherished wish has come true. After a long search, he has found a place for his impressive exhibition about his great-nephews Edo (12) and Lexje (8) Hornemann, who were brutally murdered during the Second World War. The Hornemann House opens its doors for the first time on Sunday.
For the story about the Jewish brothers from Eindhoven, Martijn has found a temporary place on the Hurksestraat in Eindhoven. In the pop-up room, authentic items from the family can be seen, including letters that the boys wrote from the concentration camp. “I still have trouble reading them out loud,” says Martijn with a trembling voice.
Edo and Lex grew up like any other child in Eindhoven. Father Flip worked at Philips and mother Bets ran the household. As a result of the persecution of the Jews, father Flip was imprisoned in Vught concentration camp in 1943. Later Bets and the two boys also stayed here.
“They were abused for this for five months.”
The whole family was then deported via Westerbork to the Auschwitz extermination camp. Flip and Bets died almost immediately. Edo and Lexje were then on their own. The Nazis selected the two brothers for horrific medical experiments.
In the Neuengamme concentration camp, the brothers and eighteen other children fell prey to SS doctor Kurt Heissmeyer. “They were injected TB cells directly into their organs without anaesthetic. They were abused for this for five months,” explains Martijn.
“They were hung in a dark basement and later burned.”
Towards the end of the war, the Nazis decided to cover their tracks. The twenty children were transferred to a nearby school. Martijn becomes emotional when he further describes their fate: “Here they were hung in a dark cellar and later burned.”
Martijn has been committed to keeping the story of his grandnephews alive for a long time. “It’s up to our generation to pass it on to the next generation. Learning from the past in the present is my goal. I want to give people an experience here for their awareness.”
As an example, he mentions the dilemma room in which visitors are challenged to appeal to their conscience. “Would you have betrayed Jewish neighbors during the famine winter in exchange for money, so that you could feed your own children? You don’t just have an answer to that.”
“Brabant and Eindhoven, we are ready.”
As far as Martijn is concerned, the Hornemann House must quickly be given a permanent place in the center of the city. “The aim remains to tell our story somewhere in the Museum Quarter to about fifteen thousand students and ten thousand other interested parties every year. I have many fine people fighting to make this happen. The business community is already doing well and we can always use donations. Brabant and Eindhoven, we are ready.”
