Villa Bouchina
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Villa Bouchina was a house of internment (a reservation camp) in the Dutch city of Doetinchem where the Germans held nine Jewish people during World War II, with the intention to protect these 'prisoners'. The interned people had had a certain importance to The Netherlands or Germany before the war, and therefore the Germans helped them to survive for a while.
But there were also tactics behind the project, which were part of the Plan Frederiks. The Nazis thought that if there was an opportunity to be part of Plan Frederiks, the Jews would try to get that chance, instead of hiding away from the deportations to camps like Auschwitz. By using these tactics, the Germans arrested many Jews.
The prisoners of Villa Bouchina were interned on February 27, 1943 and were transported to Theresienstadt on April 21 of the same year.
In addition, in Barneveld (a couple of miles away from Doetinchem) the Germans used the castle 'De Schaffelaar' and the house 'De Biezen' for the same purpose. The approximately 600 inmates of Barneveld were chosen by Secretary-General Frederiks, who was also in control of Villa Bouchina.
[edit] Prisoners
- Jo Spier
- Peter Spier
- Clara Ricardo-Ancona
- Abraham Spetter
- Paul Drukker
[edit] Research
A Dutch researcher has been investigating Villa Bouchina for a long time. The results of his research are published on the web site VillaBouchina.nl. There has also been written a book about Villa Bouchina (in Dutch), it's called 'Joodse NSB'ers' and it's written by the historician Chris van der Heijden.
