Team
Swenja Granzow-Rauwald
President
Swenja’s maternal grandparents were persecuted as part of the anti-semitic war campaign. Both survived Auschwitz, but were taken to different satellite camps of Neuengamme. They met after the liberation in a camp for displaced persons.
After an internship at the Neuengamme Memorial Swenja went up becoming an employee. She started out as a guide, then organised workshops for descendants of both victims and persecutors. Now she’s in charge of media-use in the education setting.
Tom Devos
Vice-president
Tom Devos is one of the founders of Museum44 in Meensel-Kiezegem. This small Belgian town had 63 of its inhabitants deported to Neuengamme by the Nazi regime. Four other people were shot on sight, another 33 were held hostage.
As the town had only about 850 inhabitants, Meensel-Kiezegem is considered to be one of the most victimised communities during World War II. As a tech entrepeneur Tom has a key role in connecting with new generations through digital platforms.
Tom Lemmens
Secretary
Tom’s great-grandfather was a simple farmer from Meensel-Kiezegem. His great-grandfather was arrested as part of an act of vengeance and deported to Neuengamme. As a child Tom wondered what happened to his relative leading up to the deportation.
As about 10% of Meensel-Kiezegem’s inhabitants were direct war victims, the town developed a tradition of remembrance in their tight community. The desire to answer open questions made the story of Tom’s great-grandfather unfold, finally.
Franci Henning
Treasurer
Great-granddaughter of persecuted social democrat who got into the resistance. He got arrested for spreading anti-fascist “propaganda”. He managed to get out of prison, only because he was arrested early on in the war. He performed mandatory military service as a medic.
Although Franci’s great-grandfather has never been in Neuengamme, he did serve his sentence in Hamburg. Franci got in touch with the war archives of Neuengamme and Hamburg in general, where she decided to become a professional archivist.