Haven't been here for a long time, but I've kind of made tradition of this day to post something.
Today I'll share with you the story of Michel Velleman, a Jewish magician and illusionist.
He gained popularity under his artistic pseudonym Ben Ali Libi. During the Second World War he was murdered by the nazis. After the war the public gained knowledge of him through a poem by Dutch poet Willem Wilmink.
Michel Velleman was born on the 5th of January 1895. At the start of the twentieth century he moved to Amsterdam, where he worked as a "comedic magician", under the pseudonym "professor Ben Ali Libi". He was quite popular, he performed for prominent figures like Prince Hendrik and the exiled German emperor Wilhelm II.
In 1916 Velleman married Anna Speijer. Two children were born of this marriage. During WWII he worked for the Cultural quarter of the Jewish Council, an organisation brought into life by the occupant, to control the Jewish population in the Netherlands. He also taught magic tricks and published a small book on easy to learn tricks.
During a razzia of the Germans in Amsterdam on the 20th of June 1943, Ben Ali Libi and his wife and daughter were arrested. Via camp Westerbork they travelled to Sobibor. The three of them were murdered there on the 2nd of July. At the time of the razzia their son Jacques was not at home. He was warned not to return, and was the sole survivor of the war in his family.
After the war the poet Willem Wilmink wrote a poem about the murdered magician. This poem gained popularity with a performance by Joost Prinsen. In his birthplace of Groningen, a monument has been erected for Ben Ali Libi.
I'll share the poem with you (translated to English), which seems to be more relevant than ever in these days.
Feel free to share any history or thoughts regarding WWII in this thread.
This post was edited by balrog66 on May 4 2022 12:26pm