Camp Westerbork seemed to have vanished from the earth but a monument was erected which served as a permanent reminder of its sad history and one of the blackest pages in the history of the Netherlands. The National Westerbork Memorial was designed by Ralph Prins, himself a former prisoner in this camp. In 1970 the memorial was unveiled by Queen Juliana. It is situated at the spot where, during the war, the railroad from Hooghalen to the camp terminated. After having cut through the entire camp, the train came to a standstill in front of a buffer, just outside the camp. The memorial signifies the dismay that results from realizing what has happened to the Jewish people. The bewilderment that something like this has been possible in a world like ours. The curled up rails express this despair. At the end they have been treated as if they have been shot at. The railway sleepers show the extent of the destruction. The closer one comes to the end the more they are torn up.
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