Episode Nine:
Eddie Hamel, was born in New York City in 1902, and died in the gas chamber at Auschwitz in April 1943. Between his birth and death, he lived an extraordinary life. He was so beloved at Ajax that the fans sang songs about him, often invoking his nickname, Belhamel.
Documentary: Super Jews
AFC Ajax: Stolpersteine for Eddy Hamel (YouTube)
At the beginning of the occupation, almost two-thirds of Dutch Jews - 80,000 of 140,000 - resided within the city of Amsterdam. The majority lived in the central southeast, in adjoining neighborhoods collectively known as the Jewish Quarter. In May 1941, the municipality aided the Nazis by preparing a map detailing concentrations of Jewish inhabitants, which was used to organize arrests and deportations. Each black dot represents ten Jews, so the map became known as the ‘dots map’. The city also provided maps locating Jewish-owned businesses. These act of official collaboration significantly contributed to the unparalleled death toll for the city's Jewish population, where more than 75% were killed in the Holocaust.
This current-day Google Maps image shows the layout of Plantage Mideenlaan, where the Hollandsche Schouwburg, a detention center for Jews, stood directly across from The Reformed Teacher Training College. Adjoining the college was a Jewish daycare center, where the children of arrested Jews were placed. Faculty of the college smuggled children from the daycare center into the college, usually when a tram was stopped, blocking the view of guards at the theater. The children were then transported out of the city, and handed over to sympathetic families in the Dutch countryside. More than 600 Jewish children were spared deportation and death by this secret operation.
The Hamel family Stolpersteine, in front of their former home at Rijnstraat 145, Amsterdam.
Photo: J. McGough. All rights reserved. Do not download or redistribute without permission.
Schoolchildren examining the newly placed Greenman family Stolpersteine, on Harddraverstraat, Rotterdam.
Watch AFC Ajax - Stolpersteine for Eddy Hamel on YouTube
Learn more: Stolpersteine (Primary) | Stichting Stolpersteine (Amsterdam)
Photo: J. McGough. All rights reserved. Do not download or redistribute without permission.
Memorial bricks for Eddy's father Mozes, and his two sons Paul and Robert, are grouped together in the monument wall. The wall also features bricks for Eddy and Johanna, as well as members of the Greenman family, including Leon's wife Else and his son Barney.
Learn more: Holocaust Names Memorial, Amsterdam
Nirit Peled, an Israeli woman living in Amsterdam, investigates why fans of Ajax have adopted the nickname ‘Superjews’, complete with Star of David Star tattoos, Israeli flags and songs like Hava Nagila. Superjews examines the use of symbols and what it means for signs of Jewish identity to be borrowed and repurposed.
Watch: Super Jews
Sports Illustrated magazine published an article, "Remember the Ringleader," on the life and legacy of Eddy Hamel in 2019. It was written by Michael McNight. I was interviewed for the story.
