Otto Frank, born 12 May 1889, died 19 August 1980. On 27 January 1945, the Russians liberate Auschwitz. Otto returned to the Netherlands, where he searched for information on the fate of his daughters day and night. The Red Cross referred him to the Brilleslijper sisters. In July 1945, he visited both Lien and Janny, and they told him Anne and Margot died in Bergen-Belsen.
Margot Frank, born 16 February 1926, died in February or March 1945 in Bergen-Belsen.
Anne Frank, born 12 June 1929, died in February or March 1945 in Bergen-Belsen.
Ida (Simons-)Rosenheimer, born 11 March 1911, died 27 June 1960. She was deported to Westerbork in September 1943, where she played in the camp orchestra as a pianist. She was deported to Theresienstadt in 1944, brought to Switzerland in February 1945 and returned to the Netherlands in the summer of 1945. After the war she made her name as a writer. Her novel Een dwaze maagd, A Foolish Virgin, published in 1959, became a bestseller.
Alexander de Leeuw, born 15 May 1899, went into hiding from time to time during the occupation until he was arrested in 1941 and put on a transportation to Auschwitz in July 1942, where he was gassed on 4 August 1942.
Kees Schalker, born 31 July 1890. He was arrested at an underground Communist Party meeting towards the end of 1943 and executed by a firing squad at Waalsdorpervlakte on 12 February 1944.
Acknowledgments
This extraordinary story could only be told with the help of others and I am deeply indebted to many. Thank you to the residents of the neighbouring villages who delved into their memories, left old documents and pictures in my letterbox, came to the door, or sent me emails full of personal stories.
To the relatives of the war victims who had the courage to rake up the past and kept encouraging me despite their own pain and sadness.
To the authors and historians whose knowledge I could draw from and who inspired me, including the late Evelien Gans, to whom I owe so much and would have so wanted to give a copy of this book.
To the archivists of newspapers, libraries and concentration camps in archives both at home and abroad, who enthusiastically helped me in my search and provided more information on their own initiative.
To all the neighbours of The High Nest who lovingly accepted our family, supplied me with pictures, information and anecdotes, and kept an eye on things from time to time: Fransje Sydzes-Westerman, Frans Bianchi, Randi and Alois Stas, Oma Aartje and Opa Lambert Kruyning, Maria Wesselius, the Kos and Westland families, Marijke and Nico Buijs – and many others.
To the Dutch Foundation for Literature, the employees of the Anne Frank Foundation and the employees of Yad Vashem, among whom are: Loes Gompes, David Shneer, Co Rol, Sylvia Braat, Louise Paktor, Buck Goudriaan, Marise Rinkel Bochove and Paul Schiffers.
To Willy Lindwer and Ad van Liempt, master craftsmen, who encouraged me at critical moments.
To the entire team at Lebowski Publishers and Overamstel, and to capo Oscar van Gelderen, ‘my jaunty publisher with an impish smile’.
To my editor and buddy Jasper Henderson, a man who, when you are about to chuck all your work out of the window, tells you to sit down, relax and just eat a banana first.
To the children of Janny and Lien, who welcomed me into their family with so much love, and gave me their trust, their memories and access to all the personal documents of their mothers; I can only hope I have done you justice.
To my dear family and friends, who have been so supportive and understanding during my physical, and often mental, absence.
And finally, to my first and, hopefully, also last love, Joris – the Marlin to my Dory and sometimes also the Creed to my Rocky. To my bonus daughter, Anne, and my children Josephine, Duc and Cees who, in trying times, showered me with kisses, hugs, omelettes with mayonnaise and bags full of sweets; you make me happier than you will ever realize.
Immersing oneself in the details of the Holocaust for a long period of time profoundly changes a person, but the strong will, courage and humour of the Brilleslijper sisters I can draw on for the rest of my life. To end with the words of that other resistance fighter, Albert Camus: ‘In the midst of winter I, at last, discovered that there was in me an invincible summer.’
References
This story is based on numerous sources, part of them oral history. I have been able to check almost all stories with multiple sources or against official documents. There is uncertainty about one thing: Janny Brilleslijper has always said she first saw the Frank family at Amsterdam Centraal Station, although she did not know them personally at the time. However, the Frank family and Janny Brilleslijper do not appear on the same date on the lists of the Amsterdam–Westerbork transports of the Dutch Red Cross. This can mean two things: either Janny did not see or remember it correctly, or there was an administrative error in the lists, which happened more often. Since I follow Janny’s memories throughout the story, and she was always very consistent and detailed, I chose to stick to her version.
Personal Documentation and Interviews
Brandes-Brilleslijper, J. Voltooid en onvoltooid verleden tijd; memoires voor besloten kring (Past and present time; memoirs for a private circle), 1986
Brandes-Brilleslijper, J. Eberhard Rebling: 90 jaar! memoires voor besloten kring (Eberhard Rebling: 90 years! memoirs for a private circle), 2001
Jaldati, L. and Rebling E. Sag nie, du gehst den letzten Weg, memoires van Lin Jaldati en Eberhard Rebling (Sag nie, du gehst den letzten Weg; memoirs of Lin Jaldati and Eberhard Rebling), Berlin, Buchverlag Der Morgen, 1986
Personal documentation of Eberhard Rebling and the Brilleslijper family in the Yad Vashem Archives.
Personal documentation of Janny Brandes-Brilleslijper and the Brilleslijper family in the Anne Frank Archives.
Personal conversations with Kathinka Rebling, Jalda Rebling, Rob Brandes, Willy Lindwer, Ad van Liempt and many others involved.
Registered conversations with Janny Brandes-Brilleslijper, Lien Rebling-Brilleslijper, Eberhard Rebling, Karel Poons, Marion Pritchard, Bert and Annie Bochove, Jan Hemelrijk and many others involved.
Filmed testimony of Janny Brandes-Brilleslijper, USC Shoah Foundation, the Institute for Visual History and Education, 1996.
Filmed testimony of Janny Brandes-Brilleslijper, De laatste zeven maanden van Anne Frank (The last seven months of Anne Frank), documentary by W. Lindwer, 1988.
Filmed testimony of Jalda Rebling, Yiddish Book Center, 11 March 2014.
Slesin, A., Secret Lives: Hidden Children and Their Rescuers During World War II, documentary, 2002.
Police interviews, witness statements, transport lists, et cetera, National Archives.
Correspondence and documents of the Dutch Red Cross.
Building plans, permit application and notarial acts of the architect during the construction of The High Nest, 1920.
Archives and Websites
Adolf Eichmann’s Testimony in Jerusalem about the Wannsee Conference, Haus der Wannsee-konferenz, Gedenk- und Bildungsstätte
100 jaar Joods Bussum, Joodse Gemeente Bussum, online archief (100 years of Jewish Bussum, Jewish Community Bussum, online archives)
Anne Frank Stichting (Anne Frank Foundation); information source:
Archief De Vrije Kunstenaar, Vakbeweging in de oorlog (Archives The Free Artist, trade unions in wartime); information source:
Archief Eemland (Eemland Archives); information source:
Archieven.nl, afdelingen erfgoedgids, kranten, personen (Archieven.nl, sections, archives, historical associations and museums, newspapers, people); information source:
Art Is My Weapon: The Radical Musical Life of Lin Jaldati, Media project by David Shneer; information source: https://www.david shneer.com/art-is-my-weapon.html
Artistiek Bureau, online magazine by Nick ter Wal, information on Gerrit van der Veen, Mik van Gilse and others; information source: <
https://www.artistiekbureau.com>
Auschwitz Bulletin, Nederlands Auschwitz Comité (Auschwitz Bulletin, Dutch Auschwitz Committee); information source:
Beeldbank WO2, NIOD, (Image Bank WW2, NIOD; Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies); information source:
Beleidsnota Bestuur Gooise Meren, Beheervisie Oude Begraafplaats Naarden, 2004 (Policy Memorandum, Gooise Meren Council, Management Vision Old Cemetery Naarden, 2004)
De Theaterencyclopedie, Bijzondere Collecties (UVA) en Stichting TIN (The Theatre Encyclopedia, Special Collections (University of Amsterdam) and Theatre in the Netherlands Foundation); information source:
Dodenakkers.nl, archief van de Stichting Dodenakkers, Funerair Erfgoed, o.a. over de dood van Jan Verleun en luitenant-generaal Seyffardt (Dodenakkers.nl, Archives of the Dodenakkers (Graveyards) Foundation, Funerary Heritage, among others on the death of Jan Verleun and Lieutenant-General Seyffardt)
Drenthe in de oorlog, Lourens Looijenga en rtv Drenthe, www.drentheindeoorlog.nl ((The province of) Drenthe in wartime, Lourens Looijenga and rtv (radio/television) Drenthe); information source:
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. 2010; information source:
Herinneringscentrum Kamp Westerbork, archief en collectie van Kamp Westerbork (Memorial Center Camp Westerbork, archive and collection of Camp Westerbork); information source:
Het ‘Illegale Parool’-archief 1940–1945 (The ‘illegal Parool’ (underground newspaper) archives 1940–1945); information source:
Het Verzetsmuseum Amsterdam, collectie en bibliotheek van het museum (The Amsterdam Resistance Museum, collection and library of the museum); information source:
Historical Papers, krantenarchief van Wits University (Historical Papers, newspaper archive of Wits University); information source:
Holocaust Survivors and Remembrance Project, Holocaust Rescuers; information source:
Humanistische Canon, Humanistisch Verbond i.s.m. Humanistisch Historisch Centrum (Humanistic Canon, Humanistic Association in collaboration with Humanist Historical Center); information source:
Jewish Virtual Library, American–Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE); information source:
Joods Monument, Joods Cultureel Kwartier (Jewish Monument, Jewish Cultural Quarter); information source:
Kranten Regionaal Archief Alkmaar (Newspapers Regional Archives Alkmaar); information source:
Krantenviewer Noord-Hollands Archief (Newspaper viewer North-Holland Archives); information source:
Nederlands Instituut voor Oorlogsdocumentatie (NIOD), Instituut voor oorlogs-, holocaust- en genocidestudies (Netherlands Institute for War Documentation (NIOD), Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies); information source:
Nederlandse vrijwilligers in de Spaanse Burgeroorlog, database van het Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis (Dutch volunteers in the Spanish Civil War, database of the International Institute of Social History); information source:
Notulen van de Wannseeconferentie, d.d. 20 januari 1942, Haus der Wannsee-konferenz, Gedenk- und Bildungsstätte, en Yad Vashem, The World Holocaust Remembrance Center (Minutes from the Wannsee Conference of 20 January 1942, Wannsee conference house, memorial and educational site, and Yad Vashem, The World Holocaust Remembrance Center)
Nuremberg Trials Project, Harvard Law School Library; information source:
Onderzoeksgids oorlogsgetroffenen WO2, terugkeer, opvang, nasleep. Het Nederlands Instituut voor Oorlogsdocumentatie (NIOD) en het Huygens Instituut voor Nederlandse Geschiedenis (Huygens ing) (Research guide for WW2 war victims, return, relief, aftermath. Netherlands Institute for War Documentation (NIOD) and the Huygens Institute for Dutch History (Huygens ing)); information source:
Parlementaire enquête regeringsbeleid 1940–1945 (Parliamentary inquiry into government policy 1940–1945); information source:
Stichting Joods Erfgoed Den Haag (Jewish Heritage Foundation The Hague); information source:
Stichting Oneindig Noord-Holland (Foundation ‘Infinite North-Holland’); information source:
The Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team, h.e.a.r.t.; information source:
Toespraken van Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler in Poznan op 4 en 6 oktober 1943, (Speeches by Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler in Poznan on 4 and 6 October 1943); Harvard Law School Library, Nuremberg Trials Project
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, archieven en interviews (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, archives and interviews); information source:
Wallenberg Lecture 1996, Marion P. Pritchard, 16 October 1996.
World Holocaust Remembrance Center Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority; information source:
Books
De laatste getuigen uit concentratie- en vernietigingskampen, een educatief vredesproject, Brussels, Uitgeverij Asp, 2010.
Agamben, G., Remnants of Auschwitz, trans. D. Heller-Roazen (New York: Zone Books, 2002)
Block, G. and Drucker, M., Rescuers: Portraits of Moral Courage in the Holocaust (New York: Holmes & Meier Publishers, 1992)
Braber, B., Waren mijn ogen een bron van tranen: Een joods echt paar in het verzet, 1940–1945 (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2015)
De Jong, dr. L., Het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden in de Tweede Wereldoorlog (The Hague, Sdu, 1969–1991)
Enzer, H.A. and Solotaroff-Enzer, S. (ed.) Anne Frank: Reflections on Her Life and Legacy (Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 1999)
Fischel, J., The Holocaust (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press Guide, 1998)
Fournet, C., The Crime of Destruction and the Law of Genocide; Their Impact on Collective Memory (Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate Publishing, 2007)
Hoeven, L., Een boek om in te wonen: De verhaalcultuur na Auschwitz (Dissertation, Hilversum: Verloren, 2015)
Keller, S., Günzburg und der Fall Josef Mengele: Die Heimatstadt und die Jagd nach dem NS-Verbrecher (München: Oldenbourg, 2010)
Kershaw, I., Hitler, trans. M. Agricola (Amsterdam: Spectrum, 2011)
Klemperer, V., Tot het bittere einde. Dagboeken 1933–1945 (Amsterdam: Atlas, 1997)
Land-Weber, E., To Save a Life: Stories of Holocaust Rescue (Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 2006)
Lee, C.A., Anne Frank 1929–1945: Het leven van een jong meisje, de definitieve biografie, trans. M. de Bruijn (Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Balans, 2009)
Lee, C.A., Anne Frank 1929–1945: Pluk rozen op aarde en vergeet mij niet, trans. M. Benninga et al (Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Balans, 1998)
Levi, P., If This is a Man, trans. S. Woolf (London: The Orion Press, 1959)
Liempt, A. van, Aan de Maliebaan. De kerk, het verzet, de NSB en de SS op een strekkende kilometer (Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Balans, 2015)
Liempt, A. van, Frieda: Verslag van een gelijmd leven (Hooghalen: Herinneringscentrum Kamp Westerbork, 2007)
Liempt, A. van, Kopgeld (Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Balans, 2003)
Lindwer, W., De laatste zeven maanden van Anne Frank (Meppel: Just Publishers, 2008)
Lindwer’s documentary by the same name was released in 1988
Minney, R.J., I Shall Fear No Evil: The Story of Dr. Alina Brewda (London: Kimber, 1966)
Pollman, T., Mussert & Co: De NSB-Leider en zijn vertrouwelingen (Amsterdam: Boom, 2012)
> Presser, J., Ondergang. De vervolging en verdelging van het Nederlandse jodendom, 1940–1945 (The Hague: Staatsuitgeverij, 1965)
Rol, C., En nu een gewoon Hollandsch liedje. Leven en werken van Dirk Witte (1885–1932) (Zaandijk: Stichting Vrienden van het Zaantheater, 2006)
Romijn, P., Burgemeesters in oorlogstijd: Besturen onder Duitse bezetting (Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Balans, 2006)
Schütz, R., Achter gesloten deuren: Het Nederlandse notariaat, de Jodenvervolging en de naoorlogse zuivering (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2010)
Schütz, R., Kille mist: Het Nederlandse notariaat en de erfenis van de oorlog (Amsterdam: Boom, 2016)
Seymour, M. and Camino, M., The Holocaust in the Twenty-First Century (London: Routledge, 2017)
Went, N., Hoe de Leider voor volk en vaderland behouden bleef (Bussem: Autonic, 1942)
Würzner, H., Österreichische Exilliteratur in den Niederlanden 1934–1940 (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1986)
Zee, S. van der, 25000 Landverraders, de SS in Nederland / Nederland in de SS (The Hague: Kruseman, 1967)
Magazines/Newspapers/Articles
Bruggeman, H., ‘In memoriam: Jannie Brandes-Brilleslijper (1916–2003), Verzetsvrouw’, Auschwitz Bulletin, no. 3, September 2003
Flap, H. and Tamme, P., ‘De electorale steun voor de Nationaal Socialistische Beweging in 1935 en 1939’, Mens & Maatschappij, vol. 83, no. 1, 2008, pp. 23
Gompes. L., ‘Fatsoenlijk land’, Rozenberg Quarterly Magazine, 2013
Meyers, J., ‘Mussert in mei veertig’, Maatstaf, vol. 30, 1982
n.n. ‘Mensch durf te leven’, De Omroeper, vol. 19, no. 2, 2006, pp. 75–80
Rolfs, D.W. and Professor Schaberg, ‘The Treachery of the Climate: How German Meteorological Errors and the Rasputisa Helped Defeat Hitler’s Army at Moscow’, Special Topics in History; World War II, 2010
Shneer, D., ‘Eberhard Rebling, Lin Jaldati, and Yiddish Music in East Germany, 1949–1962’ Oxford University Press, 2014
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