Eva Beem

Eva Beem

The Beginning

In Leeuwarden, Holland on May 21st, 1932 Hartog and Rosette Beem were blessed with a little girl whom they named Eva. Though Eva grew up with only her younger brother and was considered the oldest, she was truly the Beems second child. Their first a younge boy named Salo had died a year before Eva's birth in a car accident.

The family lived happily in the small town of Leeuwarden, and kept very active in the social and cultural aspects of their country. Mr. Beem was a high school teacher and Mrs. Beem stayed at home sometimes mending neighbor's clothing for a little money. Eight year old Eva enjoyed helping her mother around the house when she wasn't playing with her best friend Leah.

The Story

In October of 1940 Holland started closing Jewish stores and busnesses, forced them to wear the star of David on their clothing, and started separating them from the rest of the citizens. When Jews were starting to be collected for concentration camps Hartog and Rosetta Beem decided that they would go into hiding.

It was thought that the children would be safer posing as non-Jews in a smaller village called Ermello with a Christian family willing to take the risk. The children were both given different identities and names, Eva was called Linni De Witt. While Eva and Abraham were happily in school playing with their new found friends and adopted family, their parents were living underneath a house in their home town of Leeuwarden. However the children were able to exchange coded messages to their parents secretly.

The End

Sadly the Nazis knew that some of the Jews were in hiding and strengthened their search. Eventually some allies with the Nazis told them of Eva and Abraham in return for some money. In February of 1944 the police went in and took the children and Christian family. Eva and her brother were shipped to Auschwitz and killed promptly after arrival on March 6th 1944. Their parents Hartog and Rosette survived, but only to find their two children gone.

Quotes

"I don't know if he or any of the other four police mans received any punishments... Not that such a punishment would have made the sorrow of the poor children's parents any less."

"May the memory of Abraham, Eva, Salo, Hartog,

and Rosetta Beem be a blessing."

"No one seemed to care. They simply turned their noses up in fear of death, but when you turn away you have already died inside. It is hard to look into the eyes of a young girl and realize that they were forced to grow up much faster than you and yet they only had 11 years."

Sources

Facts:

http://asoccerrockz.blogspot.com/2012/06/eva-beem.html

http://yonathanbert.blogspot.com/2010/04/abraham-eva-beem-zl.html

http://holocaust-children.tripod.com/beem.html

http://www.graceproducts.com/fmnc/beva.htm

Pictures:

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=Eva+Beem&hl=en&sa=X&tbo=d&qscrl=1&rlz=1T4ITVB_enUS502US510&biw=1280&bih=796&tbm=isch&tbnid=TQnw7W6tIFvyEM:&imgrefurl=http://www.museumoftolerance.com/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx%3Fc%3DtmL6KfNVLtH%26b%3D5759983%26ct%3D7871247&docid=2tygBfKQ7gVnTM&imgurl=http://www.museumoftolerance.com/atf/cf/%25257B0418CDF9-65C7-4424-955C-E30218530A20%25257D/beva.gif&w=300&h=400&ei=0anKUP6KIOmliQLC3YD4Ag&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=109&sig=102551379470646669730&page=1&tbnh=155&tbnw=112&start=0&ndsp=34&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0,i:123&tx=80&ty=92

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=Eva+Beem&hl=en&sa=X&tbo=d&qscrl=1&rlz=1T4ITVB_enUS502US510&biw=1280&bih=796&tbm=isch&tbnid=v2cwW6A2I00NRM:&imgrefurl=http://yonathanbert.blogspot.com/2010/04/abraham-eva-beem-zl.html&docid=enLYsRQKtPsDMM&imgurl=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QrazLvEcxGg/S501GjiR65I/AAAAAAAABVA/6Cdp8vtJ8yE/s400/Abraham%252Ben%252BEva%252BBeem.jpg&w=400&h=288&ei=0anKUP6KIOmliQLC3YD4Ag&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=140&sig=102551379470646669730&page=1&tbnh=155&tbnw=208&start=0&ndsp=34&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0,i:126&tx=155&ty=89

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=Eva+Beem&hl=en&sa=X&tbo=d&qscrl=1&rlz=1T4ITVB_enUS502US510&biw=1280&bih=796&tbm=isch&tbnid=xe914ylRRwLfXM:&imgrefurl=http://williambeem.com/the-impact-of-a-snapshot/&docid=bGgXGCyAUVEHoM&imgurl=http://williambeem.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Eva-Beem-c.-1942.jpg&w=383&h=500&ei=0anKUP6KIOmliQLC3YD4Ag&zoom=1&iact=rc&sig=102551379470646669730&page=1&tbnh=155&tbnw=114&start=0&ndsp=34&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0,i:120&tx=83&ty=84

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=auschwitz+gas+chambers+victims&hl=en&tbo=d&qscrl=1&rlz=1T4ITVB_enUS502US510&biw=1280&bih=796&tbm=isch&tbnid=U1y0MVkiSb328M:&imgrefurl=http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/education/lesson_plans/auschwitz_birkenau.asp&docid=LyEP-DNXfd1vUM&imgurl=http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/education/lesson_plans/images/auschwitz_birkenau2b.jpg&w=800&h=552&ei=xarKUOKbDMTAigLhkYD4Dw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=566&vpy=286&dur=1844&hovh=186&hovw=270&tx=187&ty=104&sig=102551379470646669730&page=1&tbnh=141&tbnw=210&start=0&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:0,i:114

Wings

Eva in every way was a butterfly. Though it can be said that I did not actually know her, I do. She is still here as everyone who is thought to be lost is here. They live in the world, in everything beautiful and loving, with us and in us, as long as we remember. And in the same way that Eva is lost, she is living, living in our memory, living with wings. It started as a project to honor her life, but it soon turned into an honor of my life. As I read Eva's story, I felt her laughter, her love, and I knew that Eva's life was ours and if we lived it, she lived it as well. This was Eva's deliverance, our lives are her wings.