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Emile Isidore
van
Itallie
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Emile van Itallie and his brothers, Leopold and Victor, were all academic pharmacists. Leopold was a professor of pharmacy and toxicology at the University of Leiden. In 1937 his testimony as an expert witness in a poisoning case resulted in exoneration of the accused woman. Victor played an especially influential role in shaping the Pharmaceutisch Weekblad, a professional journal to which all three brothers contributed in some way. Emile served on its editorial committee in the early 1930s.
Emile Isidore van Itallie lived in The Hague. Under pressure of the circumstances, he took his own life one day between 29 March and 5 April 1943.
NIOD, Records Joodse Raad, box 36d, letter d.d. 5 April 1943
It is still an extremely sensitive topic: suicide during the Second World War. Historians have not known what to do with it for a long time. What is the place of suicide bombers in war history?
Remarkably little has been written on this subject and there seems to be no list of names or memorial book…