Podcast: War Wound from Nationaal Monument Kamp Amersfoort
War Wound is an audio story about the doctors' resistance called 'Medisch Contact' during World War II in the Netherlands. Throughout World War II, doctors sought to resist Nazi ideology and rules. Medisch Contact is the name of the resistance movement of a nearly full-fledged professional group, which the occupying forces ultimately never got a grip on — despite imprisonment of nearly 300 doctors mainly in Kamp Amersfoort. How could that resistance be so effective?
How could that resistance be so effective? That’s the question in this podcast. Just like in the podcast De Verdwenen SS'er, we talk about special discoveries that have emerged in research. 211 names of captured doctors have been identified and five previously undiscovered 'relay messages' have emerged. Relay messages were letters with which members of the doctors' resistance organization communicated with each other.
Double layer
In this podcast, we talk to several experts. Floris van Dijk, Head of Research at Nationaal Monument Kamp Amersfoort — and known from the 15 times awardwinning podcast De Verdwenen SS'er — is featured frequently, of course. He also wrote a book about the doctors' resistance together with Cees Rodenburg, a former internist and volunteer in Kamp Amersfoort. Also appearing as experts in their fields are Eddy Houwaart (emeritus professor of medical history), Erik Thys (author of the book 'Psychogenocide', among others), Hannah van den Ende (medic and author of 'Vergeet niet dat je arts bent'), and Heiko Roelfsema (psychotherapist).
We also talk to relatives of members of Medisch Contact, such as the camp doctor's grandson Nicolaas-John van Nieuwenhuysen. He recently contributed to a book about his grandfather, who received a 20-year prison sentence after the war for his crimes in the camp. After all these years, is there still a war wound among the next of kin?
Part of exhibition ‘Artsenleed’
In the summer of 2022, a rotating exhibition in the museum of National Monument Kamp Amersfoort was dedicated to the doctors' resistance during the Second World War. It consists of six portraits of doctors who were in the camp. Two Nazi camp doctors and four doctors who were arrested for their resistance activities for the Medical Contact. Floris van Dijk: 'We know that they met each other here, there have also been discussions between the imprisoned doctors and their colleagues on the other side. In the exhibition we highlight medical ethical dilemmas and we build a bridge to the present.'
The podcast and the exhibition once again attracted, after De Verdwenen SS'er, national media. The TV program EenVandaag had a 7-minute item about it.