Highlights February 20 Meeting

President Jim Schmidt opened the meeting by asking Wendell Jones to offer the invoication, and Jack Rosenberg to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.  He thanked Steve Ross for serving as greeter welcoming members and guests to the meeting.

 

Rabbi Brodi Aberson and Danielle Rosenberg were guests of Frank Rosenberg.  Bud Knore was attending as a visiting Rotarian from Columbia Center, Washington.

 

 

Rabbi Brodie drew the token that had Carolyn Jones' badge number on it making her the winner of $10 in the weekly attendance drawing since $5 had rolled over from the January 13 meeting when there was no winner after three tries.  Dick Myren was the holder of the winning weekly raffle ticket.  The big pot will continue to grow since he drew the five of diamonds rather than the ace of clubs.

 

Dick Myren contributed two dollars instead of one honoring Rod Daniels' tradition of being happy to be a member of Mesa West Rotary.  He doubled his usual donation since he won the small pot in the weekly raffle.  Penny May was happy to report that Hans and Lolita Wiesner were finally off the Diamond Princess and on a bus to the Airport to board a charter plane to Canada.  They had spent two weeks in quarantine on the cruise ship as a precaution because they had been exposed to the Corona Virus.  Rik Bucy was happy to be in Arizona and at our meeting - the weather back home was horrible.  Chris Krueger was happy to have been in Cancun, maybe not-so-happy to be back.  She did bring back a gift to raffle.  It was reported that Fred Ash - a charter member of Mesa West  - had passed.  John Pennypacker was happy to report he has no more bees.  An exterminator removed over 40 pounds of bees, honey and junk from his chimney.  He tried to rival our President's humor telling about a patient that asked a nurse in the emergency room if they could do their own stitches.  Her answer (you might want to read this out loud) was, "Suture self."  Wendell Jones and Carolyn had enjoyed the prior weekend in his hometown near the New Mexico/Arizona border east of Safford.  They had a wonderful time with cousins, brothers and sisters and participated in a Valentine Dance celebration.  Darl Andersen went with them.  His father was reared in the same area.  Lucinda General was happy to report Wayne had moved his office to a location closer to home.  She had banker boxes to give away as well as a large roll of bubble wrap.  Frank Rosenberg was happy.  Amanda is coming home from spending time in England.  He was also happy to have the pleasure of teaching CPR to ASU football coaches.  

 

Chris Krueger served as auctioneer for her gift from Cancun, Mexico.  She said it contained items to eat and drink.  Joan Reimann was the successful bidder with her $50 bid.  The bag contained coffee, chocolate, tequila, chipotle and guacamole.

 

President Jim shared the following:  "A lawyer opened the door of his BMW, when suddenly a car came along and hit the door, ripping it off completely. When the police arrived at the scene, the lawyer was complaining bitterly about the damage to his precious BMW.  'Officer, look what they've done to my Beeeemer!!!,' he whined.

Dirk Vanleenen was introduced by Lola McClane.  He was a little boy in Holland during the holocaust.  His parents hid Jewish people and helped them escape.

 

Mr. Vanleenen came to the United States from Holland in 1989 after he retired from the United Nations.  His children wanted him to tell stories about the war.  Every time he tried to tell stories; he would start crying.  A psychiatrist suggested he write a book.  

 

His father was a resistance leader.   They would have an average of twenty people under the floor of their home.  One-by-one they would be smuggled out during the night.  The Nazis were always hunting the farms all over the country.  They helped over 1,000 people.  There were people working the resistance in every city in Holland.  The Nazis turned off the electricity water and gas.  Dirk's family cooked on a little stove.  There was no fuel available to cook or heat with.  After a year there were no trees left as they had been cut down to use for fuel.  

 

Everyone over the age of 16 had to work four hours a day for the Nazis.  Dirk's father was no different.  He brought home small copper parts from the bomb triggers he was supposed to help assemble making the bomb triggers inoperable.  As a little boy, Dirk used the small pieces of copper to make things.  Anybody could be stopped anytime and asked for identification.  The ID cards for the Jewish people had a red "J" on them.  If stopped with such a card, they could be immediately arrested.  Anyone could be arrested if they were stopped on the street during the time they were supposed to be working for the Nazis.  If sent to a labor camp, few were ever seen again.  

 

Food production was down in Germany.   The Germans stole food from the countries they occupied.  Dirk's family had to go to the river to scoop buckets of water.  Problem was, the river was also serving as a sewer.  The water had to be strained through a pillowcase and boiled before it could be used.  Even as a small child, he was very aware that every aspect of life was problematic.  Books that tell the stories from that period are very important to try to avoid having history repeat itself, which is a bigger risk than many would like to believe.  He shared a couple of parallels recently noted.  The Democratic women dressed in white at the State of the Union message reminded him that the Hitler women always dressed in white.  Hitler started out saying the whole world needs to become socialist.  In six months' time, 90"% were persuaded, enticed by free tuition, free healthcare, free housing and guaranteed jobs - all of which would be made possible by taxing the rich 90%.  They made the same offer with the same result as they occupied surrounding countries.  In Holland, 150,000 members of the local Nazi Party were visited by soldiers and told they had to help.  They became traitors working in the national socialist movement.  Many local people became Nazis, but it was impossible to tell who they were.  

 

The Nazi soldiers would search homes looking for hiding places.  As a 2 1/2-year-old boy, the soldiers looked beautiful.  He wanted to help them.  Dirk's mother was Jewish.  His father explained to Dirk that the Jews were God's chosen people, and the Christians had to take care of them.  This lesson learned at such an early age has stayed with him his entire life.  Tension was constant. 

 

In Germany in 1935 the Jewish issue began.  Hitler created riots in cities using "Antifa" dressed in black with black masks.  It was called the "night of the broken glass."  After the riots, Jewish people who could afford tickets to the United States left.  Those who could not were on the streets trying to find a way out.  Holland created a village for Jewish refugees to house 20,000 Jewish people.  When the Nazis came, they left it alone for two years, then took it over.  Anne Frank was in that camp.  At the end of the war, she was taken.

 

Entire families were arrested.  The fathers were shipped off first.  Dirk showed photos of train cars with a box on the back where an armed soldier would gun down anyone trying to escape with a machine gun.  The Jewish council was ordered to distribute Stars of David.  Dirk got ahold of one, which he really liked because it was pretty.  A good neighbor grabbed him when he started to show it off and told him what he could NOT do.  He remembers whole families being loaded up.  One such family had twin daughters age three who he still fondly remembers playing with.  He remembers a German truck arriving and pushed the parents out first.  The girls came out crying and the soldiers grabbed them by the arm and threw them into the truck like a sack of potatoes.  Some went voluntarily.  Those waiting for the train were promised prosperity.  Entire orphanages were emptied.  Dirk's father organized a resistance effort where each member took one child.  They were able to save all the children in one orphanage.  

 

Dirk showed a picture of himself when he was about four years old.  He was so thin, he stuffed his shoes with paper to keep them on.

 

The resistance printed fake ID's which saved many lives.  By changing the spelling of a name so it was not obviously Jewish and eliminating the red "J" some Jewish people were able to exist more openly.  Dirk rode his bicycle when he went out with his father.  The fake ID's were hidden in his apparel on his person.  The Nazi's did not frisk children.  

 

Dirk wrote three books:

He had books at the meeting for sale.  Used books are available on-line.