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{{short description|Dutch Holocaust survivor}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Rozette Lopes-Dias<br>"Rose" Van Thyn
| name = Rozette Lopes-Dias<br />"Rose" Van Thyn
| image = Holocaust survivor Rose Van Thyn of Shreveport, LA.jpg
| image = Holocaust survivor Rose Van Thyn of Shreveport, LA.jpg
| birth_name = Rozette Lopes-Dias
| birth_name = Rozette Lopes-Dias
| birth_date = {{birth date|1921|9|19}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1921|9|19}}
| birth_place = [[Amsterdam]], [[Netherlands]]
| birth_place = [[Amsterdam]], Netherlands
| death_date = {{death date and age|2010|6|27|1921|9|19}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|2010|6|27|1921|9|19}}
| death_place = [[Shreveport, Louisiana|Shreveport]], [[Caddo Parish, Louisiana|Caddo Parish]]<br>[[Louisiana]], [[United States|USA]]
| death_place = [[Shreveport, Louisiana]], US
| spouse= (1) Moses Lezer (died in concentration camp) <br>
| spouse= {{ubl|Moses Lezer (died in concentration camp) |Louis Van Thyn (married 1946–2008, his death)}}
⚫
| children= 2
(2) Louis Van Thyn (married 1946–2008, his death)
⚫
| children= Nico A. Van Thyn
Elsa A. Van Thyn
| occupation = [[Holocaust]] activist, [[Seamstress]]
| occupation = [[Holocaust]] activist, [[Seamstress]]
| footnotes=
| footnotes=
}}
}}


'''Rozette Lopes-Dias Van Thyn''' (September 19, 1921 – June 27, 2010), known as '''Rose Van Thyn''', was a [[Holocaust]] survivor of the [[Auschwitz concentration camp]] during [[World War II]] in [[Poland]]. She became a naturalized [[United States citizen]] residing in [[Shreveport, Louisiana|Shreveport]], [[Louisiana]]. In addition to raising a family and working as a professional seamstress, she was active for forty years as a Holocaust educator.<ref name="honor">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13098934/|title=Group to Honor Community Leaders|last=Haag|first=Diane|date=17 February 2003|work=[[The Times (Shreveport)|The Times]]|location=[[Shreveport]]|access-date=14 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|page=5B|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> She spoke to thousands of children in Shreveport and as an academic fellow to college students about her experiences during the Holocaust.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13098614/|title=Holocaust Survivor Rose Van Thyn Dies|last=Pierson|first=Drew|date=28 June 2010|work=The Times|location=Shreveport|access-date=14 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
'''Rozette Lopes-Dias Van Thyn''' (September 19, 1921 – June 27, 2010), known as '''Rose Van Thyn''', was a [[Holocaust survivor]] of the [[Auschwitz concentration camp]] during [[World War II]] in [[Poland]]. She became a naturalized [[United States citizen]] residing in [[Shreveport, Louisiana|Shreveport]], [[Louisiana]]. In addition to raising a family and working as a professional seamstress, she was active for forty years as a [[Holocaust education|Holocaust educator]].<ref name="honor">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13098934/|title=Group to Honor Community Leaders|last=Haag|first=Diane|date=17 February 2003|work=[[The Times (Shreveport)|The Times]]|location=[[Shreveport]]|access-date=14 August 2017|page=5B|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> She spoke to thousands of children in Shreveport and as an academic fellow to college students about her experiences during [[the Holocaust]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13098614/|title=Holocaust Survivor Rose Van Thyn Dies|last=Pierson|first=Drew|date=28 June 2010|work=The Times|location=Shreveport|access-date=14 August 2017|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>


== Biography ==
== Biography ==
Van Thyn was born in [[Amsterdam]] in 1921.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13099377/|title=Area Remembers Holocaust Victims|last=Hargrave|first=Kacee|date=1 May 2000|work=The Times (Shreveport)|location=Shreveport|access-date=14 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> She originally attended [[Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam|Free University of Amsterdam]], until she had to quit and start working in a [[factory]].<ref name=":2" /> She and her family were [[Jews|Jewish]].<ref name=":4" /> In 1942, when the [[Nazi]]s occupied Amsterdam, her sister and brother-in-law were taken by German soldiers and then her father and first husband.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13099571/|title='You Never Get Over This'|last=LaCour|first=Courtney|date=25 April 1999|work=[[The Town Talk]]|location=[[Alexandria, Louisiana]]|access-date=14 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Finally, Van Thyn and her mother were taken to [[Auschwitz concentration camp|Auschwitz]], where Van Thyn was assigned inmate number 62511.<ref name=":2" /><ref name="Survivors">Van Thyn, Nico, ''Survivors: 62511, 70726: Two Holocaust stories, from Amsterdam to Auschwitz to America'', Seattle, [[CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform]], 2016, p.&nbsp;18. {{ISBN|978-1536983081}}, {{ISBN|153698308X}}.</ref> They were placed on railroad [[Stock car (rail)|cattle cars]] with nearly one hundred other people for three days<ref name=":4">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13099973/|title=Holocaust Survivor Recounts Nightmare|last=Markley|first=Melanie|date=10 November 1988|work=The Times|location=Shreveport|access-date=14 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> with the men separated from the women.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Auschwitz survivors reunited|last=Keith|first=Bill|author-link=Bill Keith (politician)|date=13 July 1977|work=The Times|location=Shreveport|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> At Auschwitz, she underwent medical experiments, all performed without [[sedative]]s.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13100504/|title=Holocaust Survivor Harbors No Hate|last=Casey|first=Steve|date=3 April 2001|work=The Times|location=Shreveport|access-date=14 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13098419/|title=Holocaust Memories Do Not Fade|last=Heyen|first=Curtis|date=18 April 2001|work=The Times|location=Shreveport|access-date=14 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|last2=Jordan|first2=Carita|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> She was one of two medical-experiment victims of Dr. [[Carl Clauberg]]'s sterilization experiment who was interviewed in 2005 about the program.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lbihs.at/BenedictWeinbergerMedicalPersonnel.pdf|title=Medical Personnel in Auschwitz: Inmate Doctors and Nurses|last=Susan Benedict and Ruth Yolanda Weinberger|date=2008|work=pg 8-9|publisher=Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Historical Social Science}}</ref> She lived in Block 10 of Auschwitz for two years.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13098522/|title=Too Painful to Forget|last=Harty|first=Kristin|date=1 May 1992|work=The Times|location=Shreveport|access-date=14 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|page=2A|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Later she was dispatched to [[Ravensbrueck]] and survived a "death march" at the end of the war.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13100110/|title=Holocaust Survivor Recounts Nightmare|last=Markley|first=Melanie|date=10 November 1988|work=The Times|location=Shreveport;|access-date=14 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|page=20A|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> She was liberated by American soldiers<ref name=obit/> on April 26, 1945.<ref name=":2" />
Van Thyn was born in [[Amsterdam]] in 1921.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13099377/|title=Area Remembers Holocaust Victims|last=Hargrave|first=Kacee|date=1 May 2000|work=The Times (Shreveport)|location=Shreveport|access-date=14 August 2017|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> She originally attended [[Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam|Free University of Amsterdam]], until she had to quit and start working in a [[factory]].<ref name=":2" /> She and her family were [[Jews|Jewish]].<ref name=":4" /> In 1942, when the [[Nazi]]s occupied Amsterdam, her sister and brother-in-law were taken by German soldiers and then her father and first husband.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13099571/|title=You Never Get Over This|last=LaCour|first=Courtney|date=25 April 1999|work=The Town Talk|location=[[Alexandria, Louisiana]]|access-date=14 August 2017|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Finally, Van Thyn and her mother were taken to Auschwitz, where Van Thyn was assigned inmate number 62511.<ref name=":2" /><ref name="Survivors">Van Thyn, Nico, ''Survivors: 62511, 70726: Two Holocaust stories, from Amsterdam to Auschwitz to America'', Seattle, [[CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform]], 2016, p.&nbsp;18. {{ISBN|978-1536983081}}, {{ISBN|153698308X}}.</ref> They were placed on railroad [[Stock car (rail)|cattle cars]] with nearly one hundred other people for three days<ref name=":4">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13099973/|title=Holocaust Survivor Recounts Nightmare|last=Markley|first=Melanie|date=10 November 1988|work=The Times|location=Shreveport|access-date=14 August 2017|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> with the men separated from the women.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Auschwitz survivors reunited|last=Keith|first=Bill|author-link=Bill Keith (politician)|date=13 July 1977|work=The Times|location=Shreveport|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> At Auschwitz, she underwent medical experiments, all performed without [[sedative]]s.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13100504/|title=Holocaust Survivor Harbors No Hate|last=Casey|first=Steve|date=3 April 2001|work=The Times|location=Shreveport|access-date=14 August 2017|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13098419/|title=Holocaust Memories Do Not Fade|last=Heyen|first=Curtis|date=18 April 2001|work=The Times|location=Shreveport|access-date=14 August 2017|last2=Jordan|first2=Carita|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> She was one of two medical-experiment victims of [[Carl Clauberg]]'s sterilization experiment who was interviewed in 2005 about the program.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lbihs.at/BenedictWeinbergerMedicalPersonnel.pdf|title=Medical Personnel in Auschwitz: Inmate Doctors and Nurses|last=Susan Benedict and Ruth Yolanda Weinberger|date=2008|work=pg 8-9|publisher=Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Historical Social Science}}</ref> She lived in Block 10 of Auschwitz for two years.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13098522/|title=Too Painful to Forget|last=Harty|first=Kristin|date=1 May 1992|work=The Times|location=Shreveport|access-date=14 August 2017|page=2A|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Later she was dispatched to [[Ravensbrueck]] and survived a "death march" at the end of the war.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13100110/|title=Holocaust Survivor Recounts Nightmare|last=Markley|first=Melanie|date=10 November 1988|work=The Times|location=Shreveport|access-date=14 August 2017|page=20A|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> She was liberated by American soldiers<ref name=obit/> on April 26, 1945.<ref name=":2" />


Van Thyn discovered that both parents, a sister, and her first husband, Mozes Lezer, were killed in the death camps.<ref name=":0" /> After she returned to the Netherlands, she met fellow Holocaust survivor, Louis Van Thyn, whose first wife died in the Holocaust.<ref name=":3" /> Rose and Louis married in Amsterdam in 1946. The Van Thyns had a son and a daughter.<ref name="obit" /> The Van Thyns' 1956 immigration to the United States was sponsored by the Shreveport [[Jewish]] Federation and the family of Abe Gilbert.<ref name=":1" /> Van Thyn became a United States citizen in 1961.<ref name=":2" />
Upon liberation Van Thyn discovered that both parents, a sister, and her husband, Mozes Lezer, were killed in the death camps.<ref name=":0" /> After she returned to the Netherlands, she met fellow survivor Louis Van Thyn, whose first wife was murdered in the Holocaust.<ref name=":3" /> Rose and Louis married in Amsterdam in 1946. The Van Thyns had a son and a daughter.<ref name="obit" /> The Van Thyns' 1956 immigration to the United States was sponsored by the Shreveport Jewish Federation and the family of Abe Gilbert.<ref name=":1" /> Van Thyn became a United States citizen in 1961.<ref name=":2" />


A home maker and professional seamstress, she was also active as a Holocaust educator for over three decades,<ref name="honor"/><ref name="obit" /> wanting to tell her story to the world.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Mrs. Van Thyn (62511), Angel of Auschwitz|last=Hilburn|first=Wiley|author-link=Wiley W. Hilburn|date=11 July 2010|work=[[The News-Star]]|location=[[Monroe, Louisiana]]|page=4B|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> She related her life story before civic groups, churches, and schools throughout northern Louisiana.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Holocaust survivor shares her memories|last=Sutherland|first=Eugene|date=4 May 2005|work=The News-Star|location=Monroe, Louisiana|page=3B|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> She also spoke as an Attaway Fellow in Civic Culture to Centenary College students.<ref name="obit">{{cite news|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=rozetta-van-thyn-rose&pid=143834379|title=Obituary of Rose Van Thyn|newspaper=[[The Times (Shreveport)|Shreveport Times]]|access-date=July 12, 2010}}</ref> During the [[United States Senate election in Louisiana, 1990|1990 election for a United States Senator from Louisiana]] she criticized [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] candidate [[David Duke]] who was then a [[Louisiana State House of Representatives|State Representative]] and also a former Grand Wizard of the [[Ku Klux Klan]], comparing him to [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13419618/|title=Do not be deceived by the like of Duke|last=Van Thyn|first=Rose|date=11 February 1990|work=The Times|department="Letters"|location=Shreveport|access-date=29 August 2017|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
A homemaker and professional seamstress, she was also active as a Holocaust educator for over three decades,<ref name="honor"/><ref name="obit" /> wanting to tell her story to the world.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Mrs. Van Thyn (62511), Angel of Auschwitz|last=Hilburn|first=Wiley|author-link=Wiley W. Hilburn|date=11 July 2010|work=[[The News-Star]]|location=[[Monroe, Louisiana]]|page=4B|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> She related her life story to civic groups, churches, and schools throughout northern Louisiana.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Holocaust survivor shares her memories|last=Sutherland|first=Eugene|date=4 May 2005|work=The News-Star|location=Monroe, Louisiana|page=3B|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> She also spoke as an Attaway Fellow in Civic Culture to [[Centenary College of Louisiana|Centenary College]] students.<ref name="obit">{{cite news|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=rozetta-van-thyn-rose&pid=143834379|title=Obituary of Rose Van Thyn|newspaper=[[The Times (Shreveport)|Shreveport Times]]|access-date=July 12, 2010}}</ref> During the [[United States Senate election in Louisiana, 1990|1990 election for a United States Senator from Louisiana]] she criticized [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] candidate [[David Duke]] who was then a [[Louisiana State House of Representatives|State Representative]] and also a former Grand Wizard of the [[Ku Klux Klan]], comparing him to [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13419618/|title=Do not be deceived by the like of Duke|last=Van Thyn|first=Rose|date=11 February 1990|work=The Times|department=Letters|location=Shreveport|access-date=29 August 2017|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>


In 2002, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at Centenary's 2002 commencement exercises.<ref name="prweb.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/04/prweb12628919.htm|title=Annual Rose and Louis Van Thyn Holocaust Lecture Commences April 13 at Centenary College of Louisiana|author=|date=|website=prweb.com}}</ref> In 2003, Louis and Rose Van Thyn were recognized for their civic support by the [[National Conference for Community and Justice]], formerly known as the National Conference of Christians and Jews.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13098900/|title=Group to Honor Community Leaders|last=Haag|first=Diane|date=17 February 2003|work=The Times|location=Shreveport|access-date=14 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|page=1B|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> She also received the Liberty Bell Award from the Shreveport Bar Association.<ref name="obit" />
In 2002, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at Centenary's 2002 commencement exercises.<ref name="PRWeb">{{cite web|url=https://www.prweb.com/releases/annual_rose_and_louis_van_thyn_holocaust_lecture_commences_april_13_at_centenary_college_of_louisiana/prweb12628919.htm|title=Annual Rose and Louis Van Thyn Holocaust Lecture Commences April 13 at Centenary College of Louisiana|website=[[PRWeb]]}}</ref> In 2003, Louis and Rose Van Thyn were recognized for their civic support by the [[National Conference for Community and Justice]], formerly known as the National Conference of Christians and Jews.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13098900/|title=Group to Honor Community Leaders|last=Haag|first=Diane|date=17 February 2003|work=The Times|location=Shreveport|access-date=14 August 2017|page=1B|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> She also received the Liberty Bell Award from the Shreveport Bar Association.<ref name="obit" />


In 2008, her husband, Louis, died.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13098755/|title=Van Thyn's Work Must Continue|last=|first=|date=29 June 2010|work=The Times|location=Shreveport|access-date=14 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Van Thyn died on June 27, 2010 at age 88.<ref name=":1" /> Shreveport mayor [[Cedric Glover]] expressed sorrow on Van Thyn's death: "It is a tremendous loss not just to Shreveport but to the entire world to know that someone who possessed the knowledge and experience and the history that she lived has now passed on."<ref name="times">"Holocaust survivor, community educator Rose Van Thyn passes away," ''Shreveport Times'', June 28, 2010</ref>
In 2008, her husband, Louis, died.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13098755/|title=Van Thyn's Work Must Continue|date=29 June 2010|work=The Times|location=Shreveport|access-date=14 August 2017|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Van Thyn died on June 27, 2010, at age 88.<ref name=":1" /> Shreveport mayor [[Cedric Glover]] expressed sorrow on Van Thyn's death: "It is a tremendous loss not just to Shreveport but to the entire world to know that someone who possessed the knowledge and experience and the history that she lived has now passed on."<ref name="times">"Holocaust survivor, community educator Rose Van Thyn passes away," ''Shreveport Times'', June 28, 2010</ref>


In 2016, her son, Nico Van Thyn, released an independently published book about his parents' experience, titled ''Survivors: 62511, 70726: Two Holocaust stories, from Amsterdam to Auschwitz to America''.<ref name="Survivors"/>
In 2016, her son, Nico Van Thyn, released an independently published book about his parents' experience, titled ''Survivors: 62511, 70726: Two Holocaust stories, from Amsterdam to Auschwitz to America''.<ref name="Survivors"/>


==Death and legacy==
==Death and legacy==
[[Centenary College of Louisiana|Centenary College]] has a Van Thyn Endowed Professorship Chair.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13099767/|title=Rose Van Thyn Leaves Legacy of Mutual Respect|last=|first=|date=24 April 2011|work=The Times|location=Shreveport|access-date=14 August 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Centenary College holds an Annual Rose and Louis Van Thyn Holocaust Lecture Series.<ref name="prweb.com" /> An oral history interview with Van Thyn is on file at the [[United States Holocaust Memorial Museum]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn512244|title=Oral history interview with Rose van Thyn - Collections Search - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|author=|date=|website=collections.ushmm.org}}</ref> Other recordings of some of her speeches are archived by [[Louisiana State University Shreveport]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://scripts.lsus.edu/libarchives/collections.php?collection=659 |title=Rose and Louis Van Thyn Materials, 1983-2005 |author= |format= |pages= |date= |accessdate=2017-08-19 |quote= |publisher=[[Louisiana State University Shreveport]] }}</ref>
[[Centenary College of Louisiana|Centenary College]] has a Van Thyn Endowed Professorship Chair.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/13099767/|title=Rose Van Thyn Leaves Legacy of Mutual Respect|date=24 April 2011|work=The Times|location=Shreveport|access-date=14 August 2017|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Centenary College holds an Annual Rose and Louis Van Thyn Holocaust Lecture Series.<ref name="PRWeb" /> An oral history interview with Van Thyn is on file at the [[United States Holocaust Memorial Museum]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn512244|title=Oral history interview with Rose van Thyn - Collections Search - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|website=collections.ushmm.org}}</ref> Other recordings of some of her speeches are archived by [[Louisiana State University Shreveport]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://scripts.lsus.edu/libarchives/collections.php?collection=659 |title=Rose and Louis Van Thyn Materials, 1983-2005 |access-date=2017-08-19 |publisher=[[Louisiana State University Shreveport]] }}</ref>


==References==
==References==
Line 37: Line 36:


== External links ==
== External links ==
*{{Find a Grave|54183354|accessdate=2017-08-14}}
*{{Youtube|lV12j5LCj_k|Rose Van Thyn at the USC Shoah Foundation Institute}}
*{{Youtube|lV12j5LCj_k|Rose Van Thyn at the USC Shoah Foundation Institute}}
*[https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/media_ph.php?ModuleId=10005434&MediaId=1774 Photograph of Rozetta Lezer Lopesdias-Van Thyn and a friend, with the compulsory Star of David on their clothing. Amsterdam, the Netherlands, May 1942-1943] -[[United States Holocaust Memorial Museum]]
*[https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/media_ph.php?ModuleId=10005434&MediaId=1774 Photograph of Rozetta Lezer Lopesdias-Van Thyn and a friend, with the compulsory Star of David on their clothing. Amsterdam, the Netherlands, May 1942-1943] -[[United States Holocaust Memorial Museum]]


{{Portal bar|Biography|Netherlands|Poland|Louisiana|Education|Judaism}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|Netherlands|Poland|United States|Education|Judaism}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


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[[Category:Ravensbrück concentration camp survivors]]
[[Category:Ravensbrück concentration camp survivors]]
[[Category:Centenary College of Louisiana alumni]]
[[Category:Centenary College of Louisiana alumni]]
[[Category:Dutch emigrants to the United States]]

Latest revision as of 20:38, 6 November 2024

Rozette Lopes-Dias
"Rose" Van Thyn
Born
Rozette Lopes-Dias

(1921-09-19)September 19, 1921
Amsterdam, Netherlands
DiedJune 27, 2010(2010-06-27) (aged 88)
Shreveport, Louisiana, US
Occupation(s)Holocaust activist, Seamstress
Spouses
  • Moses Lezer (died in concentration camp)
  • Louis Van Thyn (married 1946–2008, his death)
Children2

Rozette Lopes-Dias Van Thyn (September 19, 1921 – June 27, 2010), known as Rose Van Thyn, was a Holocaust survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II in Poland. She became a naturalized United States citizen residing in Shreveport, Louisiana. In addition to raising a family and working as a professional seamstress, she was active for forty years as a Holocaust educator.[1] She spoke to thousands of children in Shreveport and as an academic fellow to college students about her experiences during the Holocaust.[2]

Biography

[edit]

Van Thyn was born in Amsterdam in 1921.[3] She originally attended Free University of Amsterdam, until she had to quit and start working in a factory.[3] She and her family were Jewish.[4] In 1942, when the Nazis occupied Amsterdam, her sister and brother-in-law were taken by German soldiers and then her father and first husband.[5] Finally, Van Thyn and her mother were taken to Auschwitz, where Van Thyn was assigned inmate number 62511.[3][6] They were placed on railroad cattle cars with nearly one hundred other people for three days[4] with the men separated from the women.[7] At Auschwitz, she underwent medical experiments, all performed without sedatives.[8][9] She was one of two medical-experiment victims of Carl Clauberg's sterilization experiment who was interviewed in 2005 about the program.[10] She lived in Block 10 of Auschwitz for two years.[11] Later she was dispatched to Ravensbrueck and survived a "death march" at the end of the war.[12] She was liberated by American soldiers[13] on April 26, 1945.[3]

Upon liberation Van Thyn discovered that both parents, a sister, and her husband, Mozes Lezer, were killed in the death camps.[9] After she returned to the Netherlands, she met fellow survivor Louis Van Thyn, whose first wife was murdered in the Holocaust.[5] Rose and Louis married in Amsterdam in 1946. The Van Thyns had a son and a daughter.[13] The Van Thyns' 1956 immigration to the United States was sponsored by the Shreveport Jewish Federation and the family of Abe Gilbert.[2] Van Thyn became a United States citizen in 1961.[3]

A homemaker and professional seamstress, she was also active as a Holocaust educator for over three decades,[1][13] wanting to tell her story to the world.[14] She related her life story to civic groups, churches, and schools throughout northern Louisiana.[15] She also spoke as an Attaway Fellow in Civic Culture to Centenary College students.[13] During the 1990 election for a United States Senator from Louisiana she criticized Republican candidate David Duke who was then a State Representative and also a former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, comparing him to Adolf Hitler.[16]

In 2002, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at Centenary's 2002 commencement exercises.[17] In 2003, Louis and Rose Van Thyn were recognized for their civic support by the National Conference for Community and Justice, formerly known as the National Conference of Christians and Jews.[18] She also received the Liberty Bell Award from the Shreveport Bar Association.[13]

In 2008, her husband, Louis, died.[19] Van Thyn died on June 27, 2010, at age 88.[2] Shreveport mayor Cedric Glover expressed sorrow on Van Thyn's death: "It is a tremendous loss not just to Shreveport but to the entire world to know that someone who possessed the knowledge and experience and the history that she lived has now passed on."[20]

In 2016, her son, Nico Van Thyn, released an independently published book about his parents' experience, titled Survivors: 62511, 70726: Two Holocaust stories, from Amsterdam to Auschwitz to America.[6]

Death and legacy

[edit]

Centenary College has a Van Thyn Endowed Professorship Chair.[21] Centenary College holds an Annual Rose and Louis Van Thyn Holocaust Lecture Series.[17] An oral history interview with Van Thyn is on file at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.[22] Other recordings of some of her speeches are archived by Louisiana State University Shreveport.[23]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Haag, Diane (17 February 2003). "Group to Honor Community Leaders". The Times. Shreveport. p. 5B. Retrieved 14 August 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c Pierson, Drew (28 June 2010). "Holocaust Survivor Rose Van Thyn Dies". The Times. Shreveport. Retrieved 14 August 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c d e Hargrave, Kacee (1 May 2000). "Area Remembers Holocaust Victims". The Times (Shreveport). Shreveport. Retrieved 14 August 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b Markley, Melanie (10 November 1988). "Holocaust Survivor Recounts Nightmare". The Times. Shreveport. Retrieved 14 August 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b LaCour, Courtney (25 April 1999). "You Never Get Over This". The Town Talk. Alexandria, Louisiana. Retrieved 14 August 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b Van Thyn, Nico, Survivors: 62511, 70726: Two Holocaust stories, from Amsterdam to Auschwitz to America, Seattle, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016, p. 18. ISBN 978-1536983081, ISBN 153698308X.
  7. ^ Keith, Bill (13 July 1977). "Auschwitz survivors reunited". The Times. Shreveport – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Casey, Steve (3 April 2001). "Holocaust Survivor Harbors No Hate". The Times. Shreveport. Retrieved 14 August 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b Heyen, Curtis; Jordan, Carita (18 April 2001). "Holocaust Memories Do Not Fade". The Times. Shreveport. Retrieved 14 August 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Susan Benedict and Ruth Yolanda Weinberger (2008). "Medical Personnel in Auschwitz: Inmate Doctors and Nurses" (PDF). pg 8-9. Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Historical Social Science.
  11. ^ Harty, Kristin (1 May 1992). "Too Painful to Forget". The Times. Shreveport. p. 2A. Retrieved 14 August 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Markley, Melanie (10 November 1988). "Holocaust Survivor Recounts Nightmare". The Times. Shreveport. p. 20A. Retrieved 14 August 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ a b c d e "Obituary of Rose Van Thyn". Shreveport Times. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  14. ^ Hilburn, Wiley (11 July 2010). "Mrs. Van Thyn (62511), Angel of Auschwitz". The News-Star. Monroe, Louisiana. p. 4B – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Sutherland, Eugene (4 May 2005). "Holocaust survivor shares her memories". The News-Star. Monroe, Louisiana. p. 3B – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Van Thyn, Rose (11 February 1990). "Do not be deceived by the like of Duke". Letters. The Times. Shreveport. Retrieved 29 August 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ a b "Annual Rose and Louis Van Thyn Holocaust Lecture Commences April 13 at Centenary College of Louisiana". PRWeb.
  18. ^ Haag, Diane (17 February 2003). "Group to Honor Community Leaders". The Times. Shreveport. p. 1B. Retrieved 14 August 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Van Thyn's Work Must Continue". The Times. Shreveport. 29 June 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Holocaust survivor, community educator Rose Van Thyn passes away," Shreveport Times, June 28, 2010
  21. ^ "Rose Van Thyn Leaves Legacy of Mutual Respect". The Times. Shreveport. 24 April 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Oral history interview with Rose van Thyn - Collections Search - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum". collections.ushmm.org.
  23. ^ "Rose and Louis Van Thyn Materials, 1983-2005". Louisiana State University Shreveport. Retrieved 2017-08-19.
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