In May 1995, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) and a consortium of major Jewish groups signed a good faith agreement over the issue of posthumous baptisms of Jewish Holocaust victims by the LDS Church. The LDS Church willingly promised to curb the proxy baptisms of deceased Jews—especially Jewish Holocaust victims. Prior to 1995, Jewish Holocaust victims, whose names were taken from multiple Holocaust lists, had been baptized by the hundreds of thousands in Mormon temples.
Nothing much has changed during the past 15 years. The splash goes on. Many Mormons have behaved as though the agreement between Mormons and Jews does not exist. Since 1995, the names of multi-thousands of Jewish Holocaust victims have been submitted into the LDS pipeline by “overzealous” Mormons for Mormon temple rituals.
Jewish Holocaust victims — with the death camps they died in clearly listed on their on Mormon records — continue to be baptized in Mormon temples around the globe.
Roughly 102,000 Jews from the Netherlands were killed in Nazi concentration camps. Most of these Jews perished (1942-1944) in the gas chambers of Auschwitz or Sobibor.
Dutch Holocaust victims have been excessively targeted for pre and post-1995 Mormon rites by Mormon submitters. This has resulted in an ever-changing jumble of listings for Dutch Holocaust names in the New FamilySearch program of the LDS Church.
[The] New FamilySearch contains updated details of proxy temple ordinances that have been done for dead people. Only an accredited Mormon with a special user log-in can currently access this website.
As a specific provision of the 1995 agreement, the LDS Church agreed to remove from its database of posthumous ordinances—which was then identified as the International Genealogical Index (IGI)—the names of all known posthumously baptized Jewish Holocaust victims who were not direct ancestors of living members of the LDS Church.
Thousands of Dutch Jewish Holocaust names are on this list. The LDS Church presented Jewish organizations with a compact disc documenting the Holocaust names that were removed from the IGI, including the names of the Dutch victims. Unfortunately, since the Victims of the Holocaust (1997) on CD-ROM was produced by the LDS Church, a new dilemma was created: a substantial number of the Dutch Holocaust names on the compact disc have been resubmitted into the LDS temple system for duplicated proxy rites.
Details about the list of Holocaust victims removed from the IGI and the Dutch Holocaust names that have been resubmitted into the LDS temple system are described in my Report on the Mormon-Jewish Controversy, pages 26-39, and attached Addendum (see PDF). The CD of names removed is referred to as “Holocaust Names Removal CD” (HNRCD) in that write up.
As Report on the Mormon-Jewish Controversy indicates, not all Dutch Jewish Holocaust victims are listed on the HNRCD. Numerous entries for Dutch Holocaust victims have been found in the now outdated IGI and also New FamilySearch that are not recorded on the HNRCD. It stands to reason that names that are recorded on the HNRCD should not be reappearing on Mormon lists for repeat posthumous temple rites.
I have put together a sample collection representing over 50 Dutch Holocaust names from the HNRCD that match randomly selected entries from among the many listings for Dutch Holocaust victims in New FamilySearch—current as of July 7, 2010. The death camps where these Dutch Jews died are plainly listed on their individual New FamilySearch records, which records all show the details of the recent LDS ordinances that have occurred for these Dutch victims—some as recently as June, 2010.
The names on the following list (excluding duplicates) are shown exactly as they appear on the HNRCD. These listings closely match the New FamilySearch copies:
- Sophia Da #SILVA ABENATAR#Female#Birth#7 Jan 1892#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Aaltje #ARBEID#Female#Birth#8 Nov 1883#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Abraham #BEEM#Male#Birth#13 Jun 1934#Neth, Netherlands, Friesland, Leeuwarden Eva #BEEM#Female#Birth#21 May 1932#Neth, Netherlands, Friesland, Leeuwarden
- Aaltje #COHEN#Female#Birth#3 Aug 1892#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Betsie #COHEN#Female#Birth#7 Feb 1902#Neth, Netherlands, Groningen, Groningen
- Regina #DIKKER#Female#Birth#22 Aug 1873#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam Maurits #GOBES#Male#Birth#29 Jul 1891#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam Saartje #GOBITS#Female#Birth#4 May 1897#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam Henriette #GOMPERTS#Female#Birth#24 Mar 1874#Neth, Netherlands, Friesland, Leeuwarden
- Abraham #HEIDE#Male#Birth#26 Feb 1885#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Mozes #HEIDE#Male#Birth#26 May 1897#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Roosje #HEIDE#Female#Birth#12 Sep 1892#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Salomon #HEIDE#Male#Birth#25 Jul 1883#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Simon #HEIDE#Male#Birth#26 Apr 1895#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Jesaia #HEILBRON#Male#Birth#16 Sep 1874#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Benjamin #DE KLIJN#Male#Birth#7 Sep 1872#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Joseph #KLOOT#Male#Birth#1 Oct 1887#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Mietje #KOE#Female#Birth#18 Feb 1884#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Naatje #KOOL#Female#Birth#16 Mar 1891#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam David Alphonse De #LANGE#Male#Birth#28 Jun 1883#Neth, Netherlands, Gelderland, Zutphen
- Georgette Henriette #DE LANGE#Female#Birth#19 Jul 1924#Neth, Netherlands, Zuid Holland, ‘S Gravenhage
- Henri Meijer #DE LANGE#Male#Birth#20 May 1879#Neth, Netherlands, Overijssel, Kampen
- Judith #DE LANGE#Female#Birth#30 May 1877#Neth, Netherlands, Overijssel, Kampen Salomon Meijer #DE LANGE#Male#Birth#9 Nov 1881#Neth, Netherlands, Overijssel, Kampen
- Clara #DE METZ#Female#Birth#27 Dec 1931#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- David #DE METZ#Male#Birth#13 Jun 1928#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Elisabeth #DE METZ#Female#Birth#28 Jan 1920#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Louis #DE METZ#Male#Birth#5 Aug 1925#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Eliazer #MORPURGO#Male#Birth#19 Aug 1904#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam Mozes #MORPURGO#Male#Birth#17 Jun 1884#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Raphael #MORPURGO#Male#Birth#4 Sep 1901#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Rebecca #MORPURGO#Female#Birth#10 Feb 1922#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Betje #MOZES#Female#Birth#21 Apr 1893#Neth, Netherlands, Groningen, Groningen Heintje #MUTSEMAKER#Female#Birth#24 Oct 1866#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Duifje #PEPERWORTEL#Female#Birth#6 Nov 1874#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam Jacob #PEPERWORTEL#Male#Birth#23 Apr 1862#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam Salomon #PEPERWORTEL#Male#Birth#31 Dec 1876#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Betsij #SOUGET#Female#Birth#3 Apr 1920#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam Salomon Mozes #SOUGET#Male#Birth#10 Sep 1878#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Abraham #SWAAP#Male#Birth#9 Apr 1900#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Asser #SWAAP#Male#Birth#26 Apr 1875#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Rebecca #SWAAP#Female#Birth#2 Jun 1904#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Joseph #VIEIJRA#Male#Birth#10 Oct 1913#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Jacob #WIJNSCHENK#Male#Birth#29 Dec 1897#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Levie #WIJNSCHENK#Male#Birth#21 Jan 1927#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
- Meijer #WIJNSCHENK#Male#Birth#21 Jan 1923#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam Nico #WINS#Male#Birth#1 Aug 1922#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam Salomon #WINS#Male#Birth#13 Mar 1924#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam David #WORMS#Male#Birth#7 Dec 1875#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam Esther #WORMS#Female#Birth#8 May 1900#Neth, Netherlands, Noord Holland, Amsterdam
New FamilySearch records (as of July 7, 2010) show that posthumous baptisms occurred in 2010 for 33 of the individuals on this list of 50-odd examples that match the HNRCD. Other LDS rituals, such as confirmation, initiatory and endowment ceremonies, or sealing to parents or spouse, were performed for 12 of the 33 names as recently as June 2010. The names of these 12 Dutch Holocaust victims as they appear in New FamilySearch are:
Sophia da Silva Abenator (1892-1943); Betsie Cohen (1902-1943); Regina Dikker (1873-1943); Maurits Joseph Gobes (1891-1942); Henriette Gomperts (1874-1943); Jesaia Heilbron (1874-1943); Benjamin De Klijn (1872-1943); Georgete Henriette de lange (1924-1943); Mozes Morpurgo (1884-1943); Salomon Peperwortel (1876-1943); Betsy Souget (1920-1943); and Salomon Mozes Souget (1878-1943).
Baptisms were done in Mormon temples, in either 2008 or 2009, for the remaining Dutch Holocaust names on the sample list that matches the HNRCD. These names have been subjected to additional proxy temple rites, ranging from October 2009 until June 2010.
Proxy rites may be performed separately in different temples for a deceased person. A variety of temples may be listed on the ordinance details of an individual Mormon record. Although there are only 50-odd names in the randomly gathered list, New FamilySearch ordinance records for these Dutch Holocaust victims show that LDS rituals were done for these names in 37 different Mormon temples, in the United States and around the world.
Tens of thousands of entries for Dutch Jews who died in the Holocaust have appeared in the IGI and New FamilySearch since May 1995. Many of these listings were removed from the IGI. Some of these records can be found in New FamilySearch with LDS ordinance details marked as “Not available.” Many entries for Dutch victims that were purged from the online IGI have disappeared and are not visible in New FamilySearch.
A large number of mainly 2009 submissions for Dutch Holocaust Jews recently vanished from New FamilySearch, but long lists of entries for Dutch Holocaust victims remain. LDS ordinance details, including post-1995, are available on numerous existing records. Hundreds of Dutch Holocaust listings are tagged as “Ready” for LDS ordinances—as Mormons continue to pump Dutch Holocaust names into the Mormon temple system.
The flood of submissions for Dutch Jewish Holocaust victims in recent years has been staggering. Some names disappear and then reappear as “Ready” for proxy ordinances. It is anyone’s guess how many thousands of inappropriate Dutch Holocaust entries, including duplicates, have been submitted by individual Mormons into Mormon temple files for posthumous rites since 1995. The figure could be as high as 50,000 entries.
LDS officials have publicly declared that New FamilySearch—the LDS Church’s new computer program—is a technological deterrent to improper temple submissions. This program is supposed to halt or slow down the submission of incorrect, inappropriate or dubious information that is being fed into its temple system by “overzealous” Mormons. Yet, new listings for Dutch Holocaust victims are appearing in New FamilySearch. The question has to be asked why the LDS Church is allowing this problem to persist.
The LDS Church is responsible for correcting LDS Church members who keep breaking the rules of the good faith agreement by continuing to submit names of Jewish Holocaust victims they are not directly related to. The LDS Church is responsible for the entire contents of its temple files. The LDS Church has the ultimate responsibility of monitoring the names of Jewish Holocaust victims that have been submitted into its temple system.
Haphazard purges and concealment of LDS ordinance data for some improper Dutch Holocaust listings in a database that is already off-limits to the public is not good enough.
The muddle of entries in New FamilySearch for Jews from the Netherlands who were murdered in the Holocaust will probably never be sorted out. Even so, the rickety rod of mismanaged LDS discipline in this matter should reach out and strongly rap the knuckles of Mormons who are known to wrongfully submit the names of Dutch Holocaust victims.
Names of any and all Dutch Holocaust Jews, who have no direct family ties to living Mormons, should not be submitted—or repeatedly submitted—for Mormon proxy rites.
© Copyright 2010, Helen Radkey—Permission is granted to reproduce, provided content is not changed and this copyright notice is included.
