Separated and in Hiding

When we were invaded on May 10th at 4a.m., I lived in The Hague with my parents, brother Wim, sister Willy [both teenagers] and Hans[born in ‘39].

Firstly, being occupied meant distrusting people, ever more shortages and putting up with marching soldiers singing,”Und wir fahren gegen Engeland”.

Though I did not understand English, the daily BBC news provided hope. Until 1942. Unbeknownst to my mother, Wim [now 18] had gone into hiding, instead of being sent to Germany as an Arbeits Einsatz (labour-force) conscript. The persecution of Jews was being intensified, thus my father had joined a Resistance group and Willy, who had finished her schooling, became a courier. Our house offered a shelter for Jews, one at a time. False papers were supplied and then a safe place had to be found. Willy (17) would take them secretly at night-time to their new, hard-found address during the curfew. Very risky! Fred, my age, moved in with us, as did Mr ‘R’. He got Wim’s room which was always locked. I was aware that something was going on, but never said a word. The ‘guests’ were advised to stay in during the day to avoid gossip.

In 1943 danger loomed.. The Gestapo were after Mr R. and to get him, they had arrested his Jewish girlfriend’s mother who’d be set free, after she, the girl, had kissed him at a pre-arranged meeting. That night Mr R did not come home. At the Gestapo H.Q he was recognised by an ‘undercover’, who jumped on his bike to warn the group. At 9 a.m, my mother was told to leave the house ‘now’! Coming home from school for lunch, nobody was in. How I panicked! My parents fled The Hague, going separate ways, and Willy took me in desperation to a vicar.

That night the Gestapo arrived at our house and were furious we’d flown. They sealed the lock, which meant the contents were confiscated. Next day, Willy broke the seal to rescue not only all our belongings, but also a German uniform and revolver from Mr R’s room. She packed everything in 3 days and 3 nights, being quite scared at times. And even packed a suitcase for each of us! She had ordered a removal-van for 6 a.m and handed them the keys to empty the house, while she hid behind a bush to check that all went well. Alas,we lost our home.
I didn’t see my parents again for about a year and could not attend school either.
Mr R., his girlfriend and her mother were killed.

Now they were after my father and put a price on his head. My grandfather was arrested and interrogated, but freed a week later. My father’s boss was arrested at 1 a.m. for failing to disclose the wherabouts of my father and sent to a concentration camp. My father was devastated, but was persuaded to carry on.. My mother just choked with anxiety about us all, especially when Hans was still too young to be able to accept my parents’ false name, which caused concern. She was convinced that Wim was in Germany. The less one knew, the better…..

All six of us were now facing the rest of the war apart and in hiding...

This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Anastasia Travers a volunteer with WM CSV Actiondesk on behalf of Theodora Coleman and has been added to the site with his permission. Theodora Coleman fully understands the sites terms and conditions.

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