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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michel Velleman (5 January 1895 – 2 July 1943),[1] known by his stage name Professor Ben Ali Libi, was a Dutch magician who was murdered in the Sobibor extermination camp during World War II.[2] Dutch poet Willem Wilmink wrote a poem about his being murdered by the Nazis.[3]
Michel Velleman | |
|---|---|
Professor Ben Ali Libi during a show at the Old Men's and Women's almshouse in Amsterdam in 1933 | |
| Born | Michel Velleman 5 January 1895 |
| Died | 2 July 1943 (aged 48) |
| Occupation | Magician |
He was born in Groningen in the Netherlands and later moved to Amsterdam.[2]
Velleman was a well-known magician, performing for notables such as the Dutch prince consort and the exiled German Emperor Wilhelm II.[4][5][6] He wrote a booklet of simple magic tricks that was published in 1925.[7][8]
His precise politics are not known, but he supported workers' rights, including giving free magic performances to striking workers during the 1920s.[9] Besides paid work in variety shows, he often performed for charity, including at almshouses.[8]
During World War II, Velleman worked for the Cultural Department of the "Jewish Council," the Nazi administrative structure imposed on Jewish communities in occupied territory.[4]
Velleman and his wife Anna (née Speijer) were living in Amsterdam when they were abducted during a razzia on June 2, 1943.[1][9][4][10] His family was sent through the Westerbork transit camp before arriving at the Sobibor extermination camp.[11] His daughter Aaltje, who had Down syndrome, was murdered at Sobibor in May 1943.[9][12] Velleman and Anna both died in 1943 at Sobibor.[10][13] His son Jacques survived the war.[9]
In 2017, a memorial to Velleman was established in his birth town of Groningen.[14][4]
Wilmink's poem, titled "Ben Ali Libi," was written sometime after the war, as it concerns Wilmink's experience in reading Velleman's name on a list of those murdered in camps in a book by Dutch resistance member Henk van Gelderen.[3][15][9]
The penultimate verse of the poem reads in English translation:
And always when there’s a shouter to see
with an alternative for democracy
I think: your paradise, how much space is there
for Ben Ali Libi, the magician?[15]
The poem became more well-known after Dutch actor Joost Prinsen recited it on television.[4][16] Herman van Veen set the poem to music in 2009.[4]
In 2015, Velleman was the subject of a Dutch documentary film titled Ben Ali Libi, Magician, directed by Dirk Jan Roeleven.[4][17] The film was released in the Netherlands and shown in international film festivals.[18][11][19]
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