I’ve been fighting a bad cold as well as dealing with the fallout from our cancellation debacle at the University of Amsterdam, so I haven’t gotten out much. This is a great pity as the weather had been good, though now it’s turned rainy.
This evening I will give a talk on science vs. religion at Tilburg University, founded as a Catholic school in 1927. Now it’s only technically Catholic, and is described by Wikipedia as “a public research university specializing in the social and behavioral sciences, economics, law, business sciences, theology and humanities. . . ”
We have had no threats of disruption (Tilburg is a few hours south of Amsterdam), so I’m not worried about that. Tomorrow Maarten Boudry and I, plus perhaps a surprise guest or two, will tape the discussion that was deplatformed at the University of Amsterdam.
At any rate, here are a few snapshots from my limited incursions in Amsterdam.
I’m surprised that this is my third visit to Amsterdam, and up to now I’d missed the “Stolpersteine” (literally, “stumbling stones”) which one encounters from time to time in the pavement in front of houses. They’re easy to miss, which is why I haven’t seen them before. Wikipedia describes them like this:
. . . . a ten-centimetre (3.9 in) concrete cube bearing a brass plate inscribed with the name and life dates of victims of Nazi extermination or persecution. Literally, it means ‘stumbling stone’ and metaphorically ‘stumbling block’.
The Stolpersteine project, initiated by the German artist Gunter Demnig in 1992, aims to commemorate persons at the last place that they chose freely to reside, work or study (with exceptions possible on a case-by-case basis) before they fell victim to Nazi terror, forced euthanasia, eugenics, deportation to a concentration or extermination camp, or escaped persecution by emigration or suicide. As of June 2023, 100,000.Stolpersteine have been laid, making the Stolpersteine project the world’s largest decentralized memorial.
They mostly commemorate Jews, but are also laid for murdered Romani, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, and others persecuted by the Nazis. Here are three I found within two blocks from where I’m staying (there is a pair representing a man and his wife):
It says, “Here lived Elisa Frederika De Jon van Biema, born 1901, abducted 1944 to Westerbork, killed January 27, 1945, Auschwitz.” Westerbork was the infamous Dutch camp where detainees, including Anne Frank and her family, were kept until they were transferred to the concentration camps (in this case Auschwitz). Elisa was killed at 44.
Below are the stones for a Jewish man and his wife who were deported together; the man died at Westerbork and his wife at Auschwitz. Prisoners were sent to other camps, too, like Sobibór. All told, about 98,000 Jews were deported from Westerbork to the camps, and nearly all of them were immediately gassed upon arrival.
Although some people object because these small stones allow people to walk over memorials for dead Jews, I find them moving because, once you look for them, they are easy to find but distressingly common. The houses of the murdered, of course, are still there, so the memorials are ineffably evocative.
Another Jewish man and wife, arrested on April 8, 1943, and gassed at Sobibór only two weeks later.
On a lighter note, here are two pictures from the local “supermarket”, which is a market but much smaller than American supermarkets. Nevertheless, it has a huge supply of cheese, which of course is a speciality of the Netherlands. Look at all the different kinds of cheese!
If you follow this site, you know I always check out the cat food in markets, to see if there’s any local flavor to what they feed the moggies. Here there was nothing special (France has an array of gourmet-named cat foods), but they did have paté. The label reads, “complete pet food for adult cats.”
And a takeout meal last night from the local Balinese restaurant: rice, beef, chicken, eggplant, beans, and mixed veggies:
I’ve seen the same “stumbling blocks” set into the sidewalks in Berlin. I think the fact that they can be so easily overlooked, and casually walked over, is definitely part of the point of them. I find it a particularly moving, subtle, and clever memorial.
Agree- was going to post same. There are many beautiful memorials and commemorative museums that are destinations, where we consciously prepare ourselves for the experience. These we discover-or not- when our minds are elsewhere on the dailiness of life. They are like a jolt to bring our awareness to something so serious. Rememberance is an everyday occurance- under our noses, embedded in the ordinary walk of life. I belive it is poetic.
Another very moving memorial which is not a museum is the Holocaust Memorial in Leipzig, on the site of the main synagogue. It is 140 empty bronze chairs. Again, you can just come across it in the middle of Leipzig, and it will make you think of the vanished congregation of the great synagogue. —- Leipzig also has nearby the stumbling blocks.
+1
I’ve read about the Stolpersteine project, but haven’t experienced the memorials. I like the concept; the many memorials make it impossible to forget. Just as the thought of the Holocaust fades, another Stolperstein comes into view. My guess is that many people adjust their paths to avoid walking on them, adding to the impact.
Cheese! That’s a nice display. Cheese is super popular here in the Seattle area, and some of the higher-end supermarkets—Metropolitan Market and a Haggen’s, for instance—have similarly amazing cheese selections. One can buy anything from an ounce to a giant wheel weighing many pounds.
Here in Atlanta, we have a vast cheese selection at the Dekalb Farmers Market. But for some reason, the gouda cheese I can buy here in the US just doesn’t taste the same as (or as good as) the Gouda I learned to love in Holland.
A number of Catholic schools are excellent for a secular education: USC and Notre Dame, for examples.
USC Catholic??
My wife and I saw many of the Stolpersteine when we were in Germany and the Netherlands in summer 2022. I didn’t know about them before our trip, but once you know you see them everywhere. I think it is an extremely meaningful memorial in that it is incorporated into the daily life of the residents as opposed to a museum or memorial that one might visit once or twice in one’s lifetime.
A cold while traveling? That sucks. Feel better.
I wouldn’t mind being there for https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/campus/studium-generale/portfolio/night-university/tell-difference
That would be interesting. Some people are very prone to believe conspiracy theories. It’s impossible to argue with them.
That does sound interesting. Maybe it will find its way to YouTube at some point. Good find.
Short but poignant … gonna remember that … also interesting takeout!
Nice to see a small bits of Amsterdam. My very best girlfriend left the US in 1979 to become a Dutch citizen. She broke my heart, but sent me 30-40 page letters written on air mail paper every month or so. The Netherlands hold special meaning to me. Hope to see more pics.
Good luck with your presentation!
Sorry you’re sick. The Balinese meal looks delicious.
That cancellation really rankles, almost worse for being clumsy and amateurish.
In Italy we have more than two thousand stumbling stones, pietre di inciampo, including in Rome and Milan. I find them very moving and important: nobody should forget the horror they’re a symbol of.
And nobody should forget that Pope Pius watched the Nazis march Roman
Jews to the trains, transporting them to their final destination.
Italy, despite being fascist, lost far fewer of its Jewish citizens to Nazi mass murder that other countries, and to my knowledge the catholic church helped quite a bit behind the scenes. Maybe this would not have been possible if Pius had protested more publicly than he did. Had he done so, the many Catholic institutions where Jews were hidden might have been subjected to searches.
That Balinese food looks excellent. Similar to Indian cuisine? (reminds me of Indian). Should also be good for a cold. Hope you feel healthy before you depart. Thanks for the stumbling stones mention. I’ve never heard of the project, nor how wide spread it is.
The Solberstein are very moving, and a wonderful idea.
That meal looks amazing! My eldest daughter and her family are living in Bali at the moment, and we get regular WhatsApp portfolios of their local meals out. I’m very envious!
And that display of cheeses is also amazing. Our local farm shop can’t compete with the volume and variety; but it does have at least a dozen cheeses made within a few miles of where we live.
Hope you feel better soon!
Too bad about the heavy cold whilst away, bad enough when home. Hope it doesn’t impact too much. More cheese helps.
“science vs religion” just spreads bad feeling, resentment, division and chaos in society. You really need to embrace the power of all the UNKNOWNS in science, and there are some particularly interesting ones in MATH that are as rational as all get out. As regards academics and politicians – there was an very interesting story in Nature of Kurt Godel trying to smuggle a warning about German nuclear research to the US. Fascinating stories about the life of science in the 3rd Reich. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00644-1 Suppressing organized religion you are just going to get a zillion household gods ultra weird personalize wacky wu everywhere, crystal wrapping druid and jedi knight revival, ouija boards and tarot cards, the spectrum from palm readers to amateur empath mental health crusaders. Just look at the powerful influence of Derrida and the deconstruction thing. Derrida makes a wonderful ersatz religion, basically recognizing you cannot put ultimate truth into words and symbols.
I think it depends on what you mean by ‘science versus religion’. Do you mean the discourse on the differences between the two disciplines, as in Jerry’s talk? If that spreads ‘bad feeling, resentment, division and chaos in society’, then I think it is good to focus on mending the ways of society. I think free inquiry is a good thing. Many religious people try to keep up with modern attitudes toward religion without blowing their fuses. In any case, I don’t think we should shy away from openly discussing things because it might spread bad feeling.
Or did you mean that the phrase ‘science versus religion’ is antagonistic?
I think suppressing organized (or any other form) religion is bad because that is tantamount to suppressing a basic freedom of human beings. Even when religion drives people to break the law, we try to punish only the offenders. I like to leave people to worship as they wish.
On the power of the unknown: Recognizing that we don’t know is an important step to finding out. That is how science works.
No one, as far as I know is trying to suppress organised religion. Most atheists and humanists I’ve come across would be appalled at the thought of telling people what they must believe.
Theists often stress science’s uncertainties; the problem for them is that Truth is what it is, and society has to find ways of accommodating established scientific theory with those ancient belief systems it contradicts. This is likely to be uncomfortable for some, but I think discourse and debate are the only way forward.
I propose to edit your first line: “Religion just spreads bad feeling, resentment, division and chaos in society.”
So sorry you caught a bad cold on top of everything! I hadn’t been able to read here for some days and have only now, incredulously, seen the cancellation news. Reality is increasingly becoming its own parody. This has been a long time in the making, but we’ve crossed some Rubicon now in may ways in some European countries. Jerry has always been a shining light and knight of free speech, academic freedom and open discussion, defending the speech rights of all and sundry, including Holocaust deniers. The students behind the “OMG, it’s kind of ironic seeing our topic, but some will think badly of us if we associate with him because of completely unrelated stuff he thinks about Israel that happens to be against the current received opinion “-vote should be ashamed of themselves and of canceling the person in the world who least deserves it.