Hidden Like Anne Frank

by Marcel Prins

  4. star: a Star of David on a yellow background with the word Jood (Dutch: Jew) in the center. From May 3, 1942, all Jews six years and older had to wear this star on their outer clothes. The star had to be clearly visible and firmly attached, or the person would be punished.

  5. the resistance: organizations carrying out activities against occupying forces, such as helping people go into hiding, printing and distributing underground newspapers, and acts of sabotage.

  6. Arbeitseinsatz: (German: forced labor) Many German men had been called up to join the army, so Dutch men were taken to Germany to work there toward the end of the war. The men, and sometimes women, were simply rounded up and sent to Germany. Many non-Jewish men tried to escape this forced labor by going into hiding like the Jews.

  7. Hunger Winter (Dutch: Hongerwinter): the Dutch famine in winter 1944–45, when there was a serious shortage of food in much of the Netherlands, causing many people to starve to death.

  8. Wehrmacht: the name of the German army from 1935 to 1945.

  9. Pronounced “YOH-pee HOOF-nah-gul.”

  10. NSB: the National Socialist Movement (Dutch: Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging), a kind of political party in the Netherlands (1931–45), which was modeled on Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party in Germany. The NSB often worked with the German occupiers.

  11. Pronounced like the English word “ice”. IJ is a single letter in Dutch, which is why both letters are capitalized here.

  12. concentration camp: a large prison camp where people were treated very badly and often died from malnutrition, abuse, or serious illnesses. In many concentration camps, people were murdered, often upon arrival. These camps were known as extermination camps. Two of the best-known camps are Auschwitz-Birkenau and Sobibor. Most of the Dutch Jews were murdered in these two camps.

  13. Sperre (German: block): a stamp in a person’s identity card that exempted them from transportation to a concentration camp. The Germans could withdraw the Sperre at any moment, which eventually happened in almost every case.

  14. Westerbork: Before the war, Westerbork was established by the Dutch government as an internment camp for German-Jewish refugees. This changed during the war, when the Germans turned Westerbork into a transit camp. Almost all of the Jews who were rounded up in the Netherlands were sent by train to Westerbork, where they were kept in very primitive conditions. Mainly Jews, but also other groups of “undesirable aliens,” were sent first to Westerbork and then on to the concentration and extermination camps. Between July 15, 1942, and September 13, 1944, ninety-three trains headed to the east, carrying 102,000 Jews. Around 5,000 Jews returned to the Netherlands after liberation.

  15. Pronounced “MOO-kuh.”

  16. Pronounced “SAY-bul-chuh.”

  17. Pronounced “SHAAK.”

  18. Allies: the countries that fought together against the Germans in World War II, which included Canada, France, Poland, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

  19. Hollandsche Schouwburg: a theater in Amsterdam that the German occupiers used between August 1942 and November 1943 to imprison Jews before they were sent to concentration camps. Young children of families held there were taken to a kindergarten across the street.

  20. Pronounced “REET-chuh.”

  21. SS (Schutzstaffel): a paramilitary organization often seen as the most brutal division of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party.

  22. Frisian, or West Frisian: a language closely related to Dutch, which is spoken in the province of Friesland in the north of the Netherlands.

  23. Gestapo: the German secret police. Their main activity was tracking down the enemies of the German occupiers. The Gestapo then sent their “enemies” to concentration camps with no legal representation. They were known for torturing their prisoners.

  24. race laws: three racist, anti-Jewish laws that Germany introduced on September 15, 1935, which meant that Jewish citizens no longer had any civil rights. These laws were later responsible for Jews being systematically persecuted and murdered.

  25. Yad Vashem medal: an Israeli medal to honor non-Jews who risked their lives to help Jews during the Holocaust.

  26. Sinterklaas: a festival held in the Netherlands on December 5–6, when Saint Nicholas (Sinterklaas) visits the country, and families and friends exchange presents.

  27. PRA: Politieke Recherche Afdeling (Political Investigation Department)

  28. Dolle Dinsdag (Dutch: Mad Tuesday): Tuesday September 5, 1944. The Belgian cities of Antwerp and Brussels had been liberated two days before, and the Dutch thought they would soon be liberated as well. Everyone was mad with happiness. However, it was not until May 5, 1945, that the Netherlands was finally liberated.

  29. Shabbat: the Jewish day of rest. Shabbat runs from a few minutes before sunset on Friday until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday evening and is intended as a day of rest to honor God and the creation of the heavens and the earth.

  30. Piet Meerburg’s group: a resistance group that arranged safe houses for Jewish children.

  31. peat bin: a place where people kept chunks of peat, pieces of decayed vegetation that are dried and can be burned as fuel.

  32. Autoped: an early kind of motor scooter.

  33. curfew: the time in the evening by which everyone had to be off the streets.

  34. kosher: food and drink that conforms to Jewish dietary laws.

  35. jenever: Dutch gin.

  36. requisitioned: claimed by the government or the authorities for their use, particularly for military purposes.

  37. shul: a Jewish place of worship where people come together to pray and learn. The word shul comes from Yiddish (the language of the Jews of eastern Europe) and is related to the German word Schule (school). Shul is another word for synagogue.

  38. Talmud: a central book of Judaism, containing rabbis’ commentaries on the Jewish bible (Torah) as well as Jewish law.

  39. front line: in a war zone, the area where the fighting is taking place.

  40. Radio Oranje: radio station operated by the Dutch government in exile in London. Radio Oranje reported on the progress of the Allied forces, and Queen Wilhelmina gave a weekly radio address to lift the spirits of the people of the Netherlands.

  41. keppel: a skullcap, a small round head covering worn by religious Jewish men. Also called a kippah or yarmulke.

  42. airborne landing at Arnhem: British, Polish, and American soldiers parachuted down near Arnhem (a city in the eastern part of the Netherlands) in September 1944, but they didn’t succeed in capturing the bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem, which meant that the northern part of the Netherlands still had to wait to be liberated.

  Rita Prins-Degen

  Jaap Sitters

  Bloeme Evers-Emden

  Jack Eljon

  Rose-Mary Weijel-Kahn

  Lies Lisser-Elion (1931–2010)

  Maurice Meijer

  Harry and Sieny Cohen

  Leni Meijer-de Vries

  Benjamin Kosses

  Michel Goldsteen

  Lowina de Levie

  Johan Sanders

  Donald de Marcas

  Allies: the countries that fought together against the Germans in World War II, which included Canada, France, Poland, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

  Arbeitseinsatz (German: forced labor): Many German men had been called up to join the army, so Dutch men were taken to Germany to work there toward the end of the war. The men, and sometimes women, were simply rounded up and sent to Germany. Many non-Jewish men tried to escape this forced labor by going into hiding like the Jews.

  “auf der Flucht erschossen”: In German, “shot during an escape attempt,” a common phrase used to explain a prisoner’s cause of death.

  concentration camp: a large prison camp where people were treated very badly and often died from malnutrition, abuse, or serious illnesses. In many concentration camps, people were murdered, often upon arrival. These camps were known as exterminatio
n camps. Two of the best-known camps are Auschwitz-Birkenau and Sobibor. Most of the Dutch Jews were murdered in these two camps.

  curfew: the time in the evening by which everyone had to be off the streets.

  Dolle Dinsdag (Dutch: Mad Tuesday): Tuesday September 5, 1944. The Belgian cities of Antwerp and Brussels had been liberated two days before, and the Dutch thought they would soon be liberated as well. Everyone was mad with happiness. However, it was not until May 5, 1945, that the Netherlands was finally liberated.

  Frisian, or West Frisian: a language closely related to Dutch, which is spoken in the province of Friesland in the north of the Netherlands.

  front line: in a war zone, the area where fighting is taking place.

  Gestapo: the German secret police. Their main activity was tracking down the enemies of the German occupiers. The Gestapo then sent their “enemies” to concentration camps with no legal representation. They were known for torturing their prisoners.

  Hollandsche Schouwburg: a theater in Amsterdam that the German occupiers used between August 1942 and November 1943 to imprison Jews before they were sent to concentration camps. Young children of families held there were taken to a kindergarten across the street.

  Hunger Winter (Dutch: Hongerwinter): the Dutch famine in winter 1944–45, when there was a serious shortage of food in much of the Netherlands, causing many people to starve to death.

  Jewish Council (German: Judenrat): administrative organizations that the German occupiers ordered Jewish communities to set up to manage Jewish affairs. The council had the task of carrying out some of the measures that the Germans imposed on the Jews. Anyone who worked for the Jewish Council was temporarily exempted from deportation. Thousands of people were involved in the work of these organizations.

  Many Jewish people resented the council members, particularly the leaders, for following the orders of the occupying Germans, and they thought the exemption from deportation was unfair, but a lot of Jewish Council members secretly tried to help others whenever they had the chance.

  keppel: a skullcap, a small round head covering worn by religious Jewish men. Also called a kippah or yarmulke.

  mixed marriage: usually a marriage between two people of different religious backgrounds or nationalities. In this case, a marriage between a Jew and a non-Jew. Generally, Jews in mixed marriages were not required to report for deportation, and their children did not have to wear stars on their clothing to indicate that they were Jewish. They did, however, have to obey the other rules that the German occupiers had made for Jews.

  NSB, or Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging: the National Socialist Movement, a kind of political party in the Netherlands (1931–45), which was modeled on Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party in Germany. The NSB often worked with the German occupiers.

  Piet Meerburg’s group: a resistance group that arranged safe houses for Jewish children. The group managed to hide about 350 Jewish children between 1942 and 1945.

  PRA, or Politieke Recherche Afdeling: Political Investigation Department, set up after the war to serve justice on Dutch people who had collaborated with the Germans.

  Pulsing: clearing out a home of all its possessions; the name comes from Abraham Puls, who the Germans had given the job of emptying out the homes of Jews who had gone into hiding or who had been taken away during a raid.

  race laws: three racist, anti-Jewish laws that Germany introduced on September 15, 1935, which meant that Jewish citizens no longer had any civil rights. These laws were later responsible for Jews being systematically persecuted and murdered.

  Radio Oranje: Radio Orange, a radio station operated by the Dutch government in exile in London. Radio Oranje reported on the progress of the Allied forces, and Queen Wilhelmina gave a weekly radio address to lift the spirits of the people of the Netherlands.

  raid: a police or army action to find people and take them into custody.

  requisitioned: claimed by the government or the authorities for their use, particularly for military purposes.

  the resistance: organizations carrying out activities against occupying forces, such as helping people go into hiding, printing and distributing underground newspapers, and acts of sabotage.

  Schutzstaffel, or SS: a paramilitary organization often seen as the most brutal division of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party. Initial responsibility of the SS was protecting Hitler and his party members, but later extended to include enforcement of racial laws. Made up of several divisions, including the Gestapo and SD.

  Shabbat: the Jewish day of rest. Shabbat runs from a few minutes before sunset on Friday until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday evening and is intended as a day of rest to honor God and the creation of the heavens and the earth.

  shul: a Jewish place of worship where people come together to pray and learn. The word shul comes from Yiddish (the language of the Jews of eastern Europe) and is related to the German word Schule (school). Shul is another word for synagogue.

  Sicherheitsdienst, or SD: German intelligence unit of SS, known for interrogating and torturing prisoners.

  Sperre (German: block): a stamp in a person’s identity card that exempted them from transportation to a concentration camp. The Germans could withdraw the Sperre at any moment, which eventually happened in almost every case.

  star: a Star of David on a yellow background with the word Jood (Dutch: Jew) in the center. From May 3, 1942, all Jews six years and older had to wear this star on their outer clothes. The star had to be clearly visible and firmly attached, or the person would be punished.

  Talmud: a central book of Judaism, containing rabbis’ commentaries on the Jewish bible (Torah) as well as Jewish law.

  Wehrmacht: the name of the German army from 1935 to 1945.

  Westerbork: Before the war, Westerbork was established by the Dutch government as an internment camp for German-Jewish refugees. This changed during the war, when the Germans turned Westerbork into a transit camp. Almost all of the Jews who were rounded up in the Netherlands were sent by train to Westerbork, where they were kept in very primitive conditions. Mainly Jews, but also other groups of “undesirable aliens,” were sent first to Westerbork and then to the concentration and extermination camps. Between July 15, 1942, and September 13, 1944, ninety-three trains headed to the east, carrying 102,000 Jews. Around 5,000 Jews returned to the Netherlands after liberation.

  Yad Vashem medal: an Israeli medal to honor non-Jews who risked their lives to help Jews during the Holocaust.

  This book would not exist without the participation of the people who shared their stories with us. It was not only difficult at times for the contributors themselves to recall the past, but some of these stories also stirred up painful memories for their partners. We are most grateful to all of the following people: Harry Cohen, Sieny Cohen-Kattenburg, Jack Eljon, Betty Eljon-Peperwortel, Bloeme Evers-Emden, Michel Goldsteen, Didje Goldsteen-Uijterschout, Bennie Kosses, Lammie Kosses-Drenth, Lowina de Levie, Jacques Lisser, Lies Lisser-Elion, Donald de Marcas, Sonja de Marcas-Bernd’t, Maurice Meijer, Leni Meijer-de Vries, Marja Minderman van Driessel, Ad Prins, Rita Prins-Degen, Johan Sanders, Jaap Sitters, Carla Sitters-van der Horst, Arnold Weijel, and Rose-Mary Weijel-Kahn.

  And thanks, of course, to the organizations that made this project possible: the Stichting Collectieve Maror-gelden Nederland, the Mediafonds, the Nederland Fonds voor de Film, the Mondriaanstichting, and the Stichting Christelijke Pers. And to De Joodse Omroep for their confidence and support, both moral and financial, right from the very beginning of this project.

  We gratefully made use of Jaap Sitters’s book, Jelle, for the chapter “Three Pianos,” and of Bloeme Evers-Emden’s notes for the chapter “I’ll Go Fetch Her Tomorrow Morning.” In one story, a name has been changed at the interviewee’s request.

  For more stories, photos, and information, visit www.hiddenlikeannefrank.com.

  MARCEL PRINS was inspired to create this project by his mother, who went into hiding in 1942 to escape
Nazi persecution. She was just six years old at the time. Mr. Prins is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and cameraman. He lives in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

  PETER HENK STEENHUIS is a journalist who lives and works in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

  Originally published as Ondergedoken als Anne Frank, copyright © 2011 by Marcel Prins and Peter Henk Steenhuis

  Translation by Laura Watkinson copyright © 2014 by Scholastic Inc.

  All rights reserved. Published by Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920, by arrangement with Em. Querido’s Uitgeverij BV, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. SCHOLASTIC and the LANTERN LOGO are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Prins, Marcel, 1962– author.

  [Ondergedoken als Anne Frank. English]

  Hidden like Anne Frank : fourteen true stories of survival / Marcel

  Prins and Peter Henk Steenhuis ; translated by Laura

  Watkinson. — First American edition.

  pages cm

  Summary: “A collection of fourteen eye-opening first-person accounts that share what it was like to go into hiding as children in the Netherlands during World War II” — Provided by publisher.

  ISBN 978-0-545-54362-0 (hardback) 1. Jewish children in the Holocaust — Netherlands — Biography. 2. Hidden children (Holocaust) — Netherlands — Biography. 3. Holocaust, Jewish (1939–1945) — Netherlands — Personal narratives. 4. World War, 1939–1945 — Netherlands — Personal narratives. 5. Netherlands — Biography. I. Steenhuis, Peter Henk, 1969– author. II. Title.

  DS135.N6A162513 2014

  940.53’180922 — dc23

  [B]

  2013040908