The 4th of May

Ever since I was a little girl, I had an enormous interest in war. Trying to understand how war arises and why people could turn into beings, able to hurt other people. Sometimes even neighbours. At the age of 8, I bought the diary of Anne Frank, from my first allowance. Growing up, I read everything I could find about the war. I loved talking to my grandmother, who had a small box where she kept memories from that period. Vouchers for food, documents, pictures but most important, she told me many stories. The occupiers took over the farm where my grandparents lived. Just leaving them a small space to live with my father.

On the 4th of May, the Netherlands commemorates the victims of the Second World War. At 8 o’clock in the evening the whole country is silent for two minutes.
Handmade, the Invention Lab where I work, is located at Singel 262, in the centre of Amsterdam, a place that holds a lot of history.
Just around the corner you can find ‘Het Achterhuis’, the house where Anne Frank was hiding with her family during the war. Our building used to be the office of Querido. A well known publishing house in our country.
In 1933, after Germany’s takeover by Hitler, Jewish writers could no longer publish their books. Querido offered them the opportunity to publish their work.
During the WWII Querido and his wife were deported to concentration camp Sobibór where they both died.
Before being forced to close by Germans in 1944, Geert van Oorschot, who had been transferred leadership to, was able to hide a lot of books. Partly due to that smart move Querido grew out to be one of the most leading literary publishing houses after the war.

On days like these, I am extra aware of the privilege of working in our building, where my colleagues are able to invent anything they want, in freedom and where we are trying to make things for people that can help make this world a bit more beautiful!