Milton John Nieuwsma (pronounced "news-ma") (born September 5 1941) is an American writer, journalist and filmmaker noted for his work on the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. His 1998 book ''Kinderlager'', about three young

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

survivors, was the basis for the 2005

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

-winning documentary, '' Surviving Auschwitz: Children of the Shoah,'' which he wrote and co-produced. Nieuwsma won a second Emmy in 2006 for the film '' Defying Hitler.''

Early life

Nieuwsma was born in

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls ( ) is the List of cities in South Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the List of United States cities by population, 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha Coun ...

, the son of John Nieuwsma, a

Dutch Reformed The Dutch Reformed Church (, , abbreviated NHK ) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal fami ...

minister, and Jean (née) Potter, a teacher. In 1945, after World War II, his family moved to

Bellflower, California Bellflower is a city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was founded in 1906 and municipal corporation, incorporated on September 3, 1957. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, th ...

. At the age of 5, he met

Corrie ten Boom Cornelia Arnolda Johanna "Corrie" ten Boom (15 April 1892 – 15 April 1983) was a Dutch watchmaker and later a Christian writer and public speaker, who worked with her father, Casper ten Boom, her sister Betsie ten Boom and other family membe ...

, a Dutch-born concentration camp survivor and author of ''The Hiding Place'', whose family had hidden Jews in their Netherlands home during the war. Ten Boom was a guest at the Nieuwsma parsonage in Bellflower. In a 2001 interview, Nieuwsma recalled "sitting on (ten Boom's) lap...listening to her talk and wondering to myself, 'Who is this woman?' She reminded me of my grandmother." Ten Boom inspired him to learn more about the Holocaust.

Writing career

Nieuwsma started his writing career as a reporter for the Holland (Michigan) ''Evening Sentinel'', while in high school. After graduating with an English degree from

Hope College Hope College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Holland, Michigan, United States. It was originally opened in 1851 as the Pioneer School by Dutch immigrants four years after the community was first settled. The first freshman coll ...

in 1963, he worked as a public information officer at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

and hosted a weekly radio program, ''The Fifth Freedom,'' on WQRS-FM, a Detroit

fine arts In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...

station. In the late 1970s, Nieuwsma began writing historical features and travel articles for the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

''. In 1978, he received a master's degree from the

University of Illinois Springfield The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) is a public university in Springfield, Illinois, United States. The university was established by the Illinois General Assembly in 1969 as Sangamon State University with a focus on post-graduate edu ...

. In 1994, while teaching journalism at

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

in New Jersey, Nieuwsma met Tova Friedman, believed to be the youngest

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

survivor, which inspired him to write ''Kinderlager''. Friedman is one of three children featured in the book. In 2001 ''Kinderlager'' was selected by the Hogere Europese Beroepen Opleiding (Institute for Higher European Studies) in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

as one of the top 10 books written on the Holocaust. In 2005 the book was reissued under the title ''Surviving Auschwitz: Children of the Shoah'' as a companion to the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

documentary which Nieuwsma wrote and co-produced. Released in 2005, the film received an Emmy Award from the Michigan chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for best historical documentary. The film also won a First Place Gold Camera Award at the International Film and Video Festival in Los Angeles. Today, ''Surviving Auschwitz'' is featured in many school-based Holocaust studies programs in the United States. Nieuwsma won a second Emmy in 2006 for writing and co-producing ''Defying Hitler,'' a documentary about a Jewish fighter in the Polish Resistance.

Personal life

Since 1997 Nieuwsma has lived in

Holland, Michigan Holland is a city in Ottawa County, Michigan, Ottawa and Allegan County, Michigan, Allegan counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located in the West Michigan, western region of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower Peninsula, the city is si ...

, where he continues to write. He and his wife, the former Marilee Gordon (m. February 1 1964), have three children, Jonathan, Greg and Elizabeth, and seven grandchildren.

External links

* Lesson Plans for ''Surviving Auschwitz'' (grades 6-

* Lesson Plans for ''Surviving Auschwitz'' (grades 9-1

* Society of Midland Authors biography (2006

* "Outliving Auschwitz", ''Chicago Tribune'' (Jan. 30, 200

* Tova Friedman interview on ''Today Show'' NBC (Jan. 27, 2005

* "Illuminating the Darkness", ''Chicago Tribune'' (Apr. 2, 2000

* Milton Nieuwsma interview on ''The Hour of Power'' (Nov. 15, 199

Sources

* ''Who's Who in America'' (63rd ed., 2009) * ''Who's Who in the World'' (26th ed., 2009) * ''Contemporary Authors'' (vol. 213, 2004) * ''Chicago Tribune'' (Jan. 30, 2005) * ''Grand Rapids Press'' (Apr. 25, 2006) * ''Holland Sentinel'' (Nov. 4, 2001) * Note: For critical reviews of Nieuwsma's work, see ''Contemporary Authors'' (vol. 213, 2004, pp. 306-307); ''Something About the Author'' (vol. 142, 2004, pp. 140-141). {{DEFAULTSORT:Nieuwsma, Milton American non-fiction writers American people of Dutch descent Living people 1941 births Hope College alumni