A 139-year-old book acquired by the National Library contained a unique and unexpected keepsake from a victim of the Nazis in the Netherlands. Who was Vroutje Bloemist? Why did her story suddenly attract our attention decades after her death? And what became of the Nazis’ “Lost Train,” aboard which Bloemist was a passenger?


How a Diamond From the UK’s Imperial State Crown Ended Up in an Israeli Engagement Ring
Set in the center of the Imperial State Crown of the United Kingdom is an enormous diamond. A part of the original stone is in the possession of an Israeli family. How did this happen?

Bloodsucking Pelicans, a Dutch Jewish Symbol?
Amsterdam’s Portuguese Jewish community adopted a seemingly strange image from Medieval Christian art