Esther Hillesum

Esther (known as Etty) was the daughter of Levie Hillesum and Riva Bernstein. In 1932 she moved to Amsterdam to study law and Slavic languages. In Amsterdam she met Julius Spier. He became her teacher and great love. During the war she worked for the Jewish Council at Camp Westerbork and other places. She wrote several letters from Westerbork and kept a diary. The collected translated edition of her work is entitled 'Etty Hillesum: An Interrupted Life the Diaries, 1941-1943 and Letters from Westerbork.'
Jewish Historical Museum, Documents collection, inv.nr 5119;
H. Hamburger and J.C. Regtien, Joodse oorlogsmonumenten in de provincie Overijssel, alsmede algemene oorlogsmonumenten waarop joodse namen voorkomen. Profiel (Bedum 2002) 21

In Deventer, where Etty Hillesum grew up, a school and a memorial centre are named after her. The website of the Etty Hillesum Lyceum contains a biography and a bibliography of Etty Hillesum. You can find also more information on the website of the Etty Hillesum Centrum and the website of the Joods Historisch Museum

On 13 June 2006 the Etty Hillesum Research Centre (EHOC) was opened at Ghent university. The Research Centre coordinates and stimulates research on the Letters and Diaries of Etty Hillesum (1914-19143), written during the period of World War Two. More information on the website of the Etty Hillesum Research Centre.


This persoon is commemorated on 2 memorials in Deventer. More information on these memorials ( memorial 1 , memorial 2 ) can be found (in Dutch) on the website of the Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 mei.