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Online shops pull 99-year-old’s book after claims of Dachau captivity found improbable
Saturday, 17 October 2026 – 14:45
Online retailers have ceased selling the biography of 99-year-old Willem Wilbrink following a controversy thatarose last weekover his accounts of the Second World War. According to an investigation by Historisch Nieuwsblad, his narrative of being imprisoned in the Dachau concentration camp was highly improbable. Investigators found no camp number for Wilbrink in Dachau’s records, and other survivors did not recognize his accounts, among other factors.
Bol.com has removed the book titled Getekend voor het leven in Dachau en Indië by Laurens van Aggelen at the publisher’s request Bruna and Amazon have also likewise stopped stocking the book, according to the book trade journal Boekblad
According to Wilbrink, he was arrested at the age of 15 for participating in resistance. He said he had to carry bodies in the Dachau concentration camp. He wrote that he discovered certain individuals marked for the crematorium were still alive and took them to the sick bay.
Researchers who examined Wilbrink’s wartime record report finding no corroboration for his claims. He allegedly has no camp number attached to his name. Dachau’s record keeping is reportedly known for exceptional accuracy, researchers said.
On top of that, other survivors did not recognize Wilbrink’s stories. He also wears decorations whose provenance is unclear, including a Polish “hero title.”
The Dutch Dachau Committee has reportedly known since 2024 that doubts existed about Wilbrink’s story. The committee did not actively publicize doubts because “we, more than anyone, know what wartime trauma can do to the stories in one’s head,” chairman Jaeger said on Friday. According to Jaeger, Wilbrink himself believes he was imprisoned at the camp.
Following the news, the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies warned narratives of this kind of damage the historical record of the Second World War. The institute noted that those who deliberately seek to sow doubt can exploit such stories to cast doubt on the Holocaust.
