“They were my grandfather and grandmother. In 1942, Izak Akker and Marianne Akker-Cohen were instructed to go to the station and take the train to Westerbork. They then never returned,” says granddaughter Marian Akker.
She is one of the relatives present today at the unveiling of sixty new stumbling stones in Hoogeveen. Her grandparents’ stones have been given a place in the center. During the Second World War, two hundred Jews were deported and murdered from Hoogeveen. They are commemorated with the stumbling stones.
Dozens of people today received a tour of the new stumbling stones under the guidance of the Hoogeveense Memorial Stones Foundation. The group believes this is an important milestone. “What happened during the Second World War must not happen again. That is why commemoration is so important,” explains chairman Eddie Seinen. “But despite that, we still learn very little from it worldwide,” he refers to the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
It is a special day for Akker. “I actually don’t know much about my grandparents.” Her father used to not be able to tell much about it, she says. “There is only one photo of grandpa and grandma, but with the stumbling stones there is now something tangible. I think that is very nice.”
Watch the unveiling of the new stumbling blocks in Hoogeveen: