Sigmund Family Memorial
The Sigmund Family Memorial site is a digital book, an illustrated life story of the Sigmund family: Grandmother Netta, Ernst, Käthe, Lotte, and Kurt Sigmund. All murdered by the Nazis.
Olly, a friend of Lotte Sigmund who survived the war, thought for years that she was the only one who had known the Sigmunds, Lotte Sigmund. Olly:
As long as you think of them, they are still there. If no one thinks of them anymore, then they are gone forever. And I had the idea for myself: I am the only one in the world who still thinks of them.
Only a few tangible traces of the family have been preserved. Only photographs of both parents have been recovered; to date, not a single photograph of the children, Lotte and Kurt, is known. Nevertheless, there are small personal belongings that provide a poignant impression of their short lives. Lotte's poetry album has been preserved, containing handwritten texts and memories. Handwritten names of both children have been found. Drawings by Kurt have been preserved, as well as a small notebook in which carefully cut-out Märklin trains have been pasted.
These are fragments of a vanished family that are far from providing a complete picture. However, they do reveal something of their daily lives, their personalities, through which the memory of them can be shared and passed on.
To the reader of this digital book
For many years, I have collected memories of the Sigmund family and incorporated them into this digital book. Although it is possible to view the site on a mobile device, it is best read on a PC or tablet.
The book is not a continuous chronological narrative like a paper book. Captured in short texts and images, and presented as a website, it has become a composite, illustrated portrait of the family members Netta, Ernst, Käthe, Lotte, and Kurt.
A family that, like many others, was not allowed to exist. Murdered by the Nazis.
Flip through the pages and remember the existence of these people with me.
Ron van Blokland, 2026
Contact: [email protected]