War children of the Rivierenbuurt (Riverquarter) - Amsterdam

WAR CHILDREN OF THE RIVIERENBUURT

INTRODUCTION This is the catalog of the outdoor exhibition “War children of the Rivierenbuurt (Riverquarter)” which can be seen from April 24 till June 1, 2015 on the Churchill-laan in Amsterdam.

The exhibit consists of 17 panels which show present-day schoolchildren interviewing ‘war children of the Rivierenbuurt’, who were young more than 70 years ago. These war children have in common that they were all portrayed in 1943 by photographer Annemie Wolff, who lived on the Churchill-laan, in the middle of the Rivierenbuurt. In 2015 they have been portrayed again, this time by photographer Katrien Mulder during their interviews with the children who live in this neighborhood nowadays.

These interviews are part of the project “War in my Neighborhood”; the exhibit is the result of a cooperation of the Annemie and Helmuth Wolff Foundation and “War in my Neighborhood”.

We thank Stadsdeel Zuid, Stichting De Initiatieven, the Rabo Coöperatiefonds, Ars Donandi – W.J.O. de Vries fonds, the company Allen & Overy, the Maatschappij tot Nut der Israëlieten in Nederland, the Amsterdams comité 4&5 mei, the RAI Amsterdam, Hergo Slagerijen, the Okura Hotel and several private persons whose financial contributions made it possible to make this exhibit.

We thank the ‘war children’ for sharing their memories; the students of the Anne Frank School and the Catharinaschool for asking the right questions and those who organized this and who prepared and accompanied the students.

Annemie and Helmuth Wolff Foundation, An Huitzing War in my Neighborhood, Minka Bos

ABOUT ‘WAR CHILDREN’ AND ‘WAR IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD’

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The ‘Oorlog in mijn Buurt’ (‘War In My Neighborhood’) project gives school children a chance to interview senior citizens who lived in the same neighborhood during the war as the school children do now. This exhibition is a joint project by Stichting Wolff and Oorlog in mijn Buurt. Students from the Anne Frank School and Catharinaschool interviewed 16 of the ‘war children’ from the Rivierenbuurt who were photographed

by Annemie Wolff in 1943 and sought out

by Stichting Wolff. If the child in question hasn’t survived the war, they interviewed a cousin, brother or childhood friend.

Each panel shows one of Annemie Wolff’s photos from 1943. On the other side, you’ll find the story the school children heard and the photo Katrien Mulder took during the interview.

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Annemie and Helmuth Wolff fled to the Netherlands from Munich in 1933. Helmuth was a Jewish architect, Annemie a Gentile photographer. They lived on 157-III Churchill-laan – the then-Noorder Amstellaan – and took publicity photos for clients like the Amsterdam Port Authority. After the German invasion, they attempted to commit suicide together on May 15, 1940, because Helmuth was certain the Germans would come for him. Helmuth died, but Annemie was found in time and survived the attempt.

After the war, Annemie Wolff continued their photography studio by herself. While she never talked about the war, it later turned out she had been working for the Resistance. Fourteen years after her death, in 2008, a collection of 100 photo rolls containing negatives was discovered among Annemie’s estate. The negatives were photos she took in 1943 of about 440 residents of her neighborhood, the Rivierenbuurt. Their names and addresses are listed in an accompanying ledger. Stichting Wolff has been working to find the people in the photos or their next of kin since 2011, in order to record their stories and ‘return’ the photos to them. Most photos were probably taken as a memento; others were taken for use on real or forged identity papers.

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This map shows where the children in the photographs lived in 1943.

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THE AMSTERDAM RIVIERENBUURT IN 1943 The Rivierenbuurt, where all streets are named for Dutch rivers, was only just finished when the war started in the Netherlands, in 1940. This neighborhood is the eastern part of urban development concept “Plan Zuid”, designed by architect H.P. Berlage. This new urban expansion was supposed to form an architectural unit through its symmetrical design, with adjoining monumental housing blocks and beautiful squares. The two main Rivierenbuurt roads converge on Vrijheidsplein, forming a Y shape with Vrijheidslaan as the bottom part of the Y. In 1943, Churchill-laan, Rooseveltlaan and Vrijheidslaan were named Noorder Amstellaan, Zuider Amstellaan and Amstellaan, respectively.

The apartment buildings were built by social housing corporations and the municipality. Councillor Wibaut and the Amsterdam Municipal Housing Service were followers of the Amsterdam School, which uses natural materials and featured many sculptured decorations. The rhythm of the monumental façades was more important than the apartment layout – something the architects didn’t bother with, and which was a source of many complaints. The Rivierenbuurt was a middle-class neighborhood, meant for teachers, civil servants, small business owners, tradesmen and merchants. The larger lanes were for people in liberal professions, like doctors and lawyers. The fathers of the 16 warchildren in this exhibition worked in office jobs, or owned shops or small factories. Three fathers had liberal professions.

During the recession, it was difficult to find tenants, and so rental apartments included new wallpapering, curtains, or carpeting, or an initial rent-free month. There were no owner-occupied houses. By the end of the 1930s, the economy grew and vacancy rates were gradually reduced.

Many Rivierenbuurt residents came from the crowded city center neighborhoods; some of them had previously lived in 19th-century workers quarters. The members of the Social Democrat, general, Catholic, and Protestant social housing corporations were very pleased to live in what were at that time considered to be spacious, modern and affordable houses; each had private bathrooms and showers and central heating. Any newly built neighborhood attracts young families, and as such, there were many children living in Rivierenbuurt.

Cars were a rare sight: photos from those

first few decades show wide, nearly empty streets, with plenty of room for children to play. There were playgrounds, undeveloped areas that offered plenty of adventure, and children could go swimming at Zuider Amstelbad. There were shops on every street corner, and plenty of stylish schools with large playgrounds.

Many Rivierenbuurt residents came from the crowded city center neighborhoods Among the new Rivierenbuurt residents were many young Jewish families, mostly members of the Social Democrat social housing corporations. From 1933 onwards, an increasing number of German and Austrian Jews fled the terror and discrimination in their countries. These families quickly found homes in the new neighborhoods in Zuid, which incidentally looked much like what they had left behind.

Although the arrival of the refugees led to much solidarity and help, it also caused friction among the Jewish residents. In general, German Jews were better off, better educated and more modern than their Dutch counterparts. These economically valuable refugees had an easier time getting into the country than poorer Jews did.

The Dutch Jews and Dutch government alike feared that a flood of Jewish refugees would lead to more unemployment and further economic recession, as well as to a growing sense of anti-Semitism. The aid that the Jewish refugees received was mostly paid for by the Jewish community in the Netherlands. The government and other organizations tried to restrict the influx to those who would travel onwards to other places like the Americas, but these soon closed their borders. People desperately tried to get their hands on foreign visa. Left wing Dutch people also illegally aided Jewish and Gentile refugees from communist and trade union circles, who were also facing persecution.

Around 1940, one third of Rivierenbuurt residents were Jewish. Although not all of OORLOGSKINDEREN VAN DE RIVIERENBUURT

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them by far were practicing Jews – many had found a new faith in socialism – there were enough religious people to support the opening of an ultra-modern synagogue Lekstraat in 1937. It was a place where the more liberal German Jews also felt at home.

Of the 16 photographed children of war, two were born in Germany, and three were born to refugees who had come to Amsterdam.

Ten of them are Jewish; one has a Jewish mother and a Gentile father.

On May 10, 1940, the Germans invaded the Netherlands. Five days later, the Netherlands surrendered; the start of five years of German occupation. The government fled to London. The Netherlands was the only country in which the Nazis took over civilian government, thinking they would be able to win their “Germanic brethren” over to the side of National Socialism. This meant that the generally obedient Dutch civil servants and police apparatus now directly answered to the Germans. This, and the unusually thorough Dutch population register meant a death sentence for Jews.

On May 15, German troops drove into Rivierenbuurt via the Berlage bridge. Amsterdam Deputy Mayor Kropman had been waiting for them at Duivendrecht, and told General Von Tiedemann that he hoped the Germans wouldn’t bother the Amsterdam Jews. Van Tiedemann reassured the counselor: “If the Jews don’t want to see us, we will not see the Jews.” This misdirection tactic would prove typical for the Nazis in the years that followed, meant to soothe the people and gradually tighten the net around the Jewish population.

First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the Social Democrats, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Social Democrat.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me— and there was no one left to speak for me.

(Martin Niemöller) Anti-Jewish measures were introduced gradually. The foundation for this was laid in January 1941, when the order came for

On may 15, 1940 german troups entered the rivierenbuurt via the berlage bridge. Photo beeldarchief, Cees Kleijn en Stijn Reurs

“those who are fully or partly of Jewish descent and reside in the occupied Dutch territory” to report in. Nearly all Jews reported, and ended up in a trap that led to arrests, deportation, and annihilation. In April 1941, the Nazi administration introduced an identity card for all Dutch residents. This identity card was so technically advanced that it was very difficult to forge.

Dutch Jews received one that featured a large J. The trap was closing in on them.

Amsterdam responded once, with a brief general strike organized by the illegal Communist Party. Although this didn’t change anything about the fate of the Jews, it did encourage them. The strike started in Rivierenbuurt on February 25, 1941, where the trams refused to leave the Lekstraat depot.

This meant many Amsterdam residents were unable to get work, and effectively crippled the city. The strike spreads toward several other cities, but was violently broken up. Several people died, and a number of strikers faced execution by firing squad later on.

In September 1941, all Jewish children were forced to leave their schools and attend specially appointed Jewish schools.

This definite separation of Jewish and Gentile children also meant they were not allowed to visit each other anymore. In 1942, the Germans started to systematically arrest Jews and deport them to concentration

camps via Westerbork. They were aided in this by the Dutch police force and Dutch Railways, while the Dutch government in London never uttered a word in protest.

The interviews are testament to the fact that this period of roundups was horrible for the Jewish children, and has marked the Gentile children for life as well.

The photos in this exhibition were taken between January and October 1943 by photographer Annemie Wolff. She did not take the initiative; people came to her because they wanted to have their picture taken.

Don’t look back; look forward. Try to forget; don’t think of it any longer.

They had different reasons for coming.

Some of them needed a forged identity card so they could go into hiding, others wanted a memento of children or family in these terrifying times. The photograOORLOGSKINDEREN VAN DE RIVIERENBUURT

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pher also came to people’s homes, and took several photos outside. All in all, she photographed about 440 people, over half of whom were Jewish. Her Jewish customers with people who had managed to stay out of Nazi hands until that time. Some of them were employed by the Jewish Council, which meant they would not be deported – at least not until September 1943. Although not everyone in the photographs has been identified yet, it’s clear that many of them have survived the war. This makes them the exception to the rule, as 85% of the Jewish population in the Netherlands died. Of the children of war pictured in the photographs, four were killed during the war.

After the war ended, people spoke very little of what happened. It was too terrible.

Don’t look back; look forward. Try to forget; don’t think of it any longer. The interviews and the large gaps in the knowledge of one’s own family history are testament to that. These photos form a trigger for them to speak of it after all those years. And although this hurts, , it is a good to do so.

Do come tonight with stories of how the war is over, and repeat these a hundred times: every time, I will cry.

(Leo Vroman) An Huitzing and Tamara Becker

interview with MONICA KALTENSCHNEE interview by PEPPE, MATS AND RAVI

interview about ANNEMIE WOLFF 34 YEARS OLD WHEN WWII BEGAN

NOORDER (CHURCHILL-LAAN) AMSTELLAAN 157-III

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hen Annemie Wolff died in 1994, Mrs. Kaltenschnee inherited all her photographs and other belongings. Monica Kaltenschnee told us about the Annemie she knew.

Annemie Wolff went through a lot during the Second World War, but she never wanted to talk about it. We had a difficult time understanding why Monica and Annemie never discussed those dark days.

What do you know about her life during the war?

“I was in my twenties when my mother told me how Annemie and her husband Helmuth had ended up in Amsterdam.

Annemie and Helmuth Wolff came from Germany, where they were being persecuted because Helmuth was Jewish. They fled the country in 1933, coming to the Netherlands. When the Germans occupied the Netherlands in 1940, the couple tried to take their lives together. They must have reasoned that they would die anyway, so they would rather be masters of their own fate. Helmuth died, but Annemie was found in time and survived the attempt. Annemie has always regarded Helmuth as the love of her life. ‘There is no room in this house for even another man’s fountain pen,’ she used to say.”

How did you know Annemie Wolff?

“She was my grandmother’s neighbor and lived in the house behind hers. They were good friends; Annemie was even there when I was born. Although Annemie was forty years my senior, that never stood in the way of our friendship. Annemie was a very lively, independent woman with a great sense of humor, who was very involved in the community.

I know now that she experienced terrible things during the war, but I never talked to her about it myself. Many people never spoke of the war again; neither did she.”

Why did she photograph people from the Rivierenbuurt in 1943?

“Annemie was a professional protographer; people paid her to take their photo. They came to her for photos and used them for forged identity cards or as mementoes for family. People felt a need to capture the moment, to look back on when the family was still together, or on the birth of a new baby... They didn’t know what was in store for them and hoped they would survive the war, but it was a very uncertain time.”

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interview with PETRA BURGHOUTS, HALF A YEAR OLD WHEN WWII BEGAN

interview by YANNE, JULIA, SAMUEL AND RONI

portrayed with HER GRANDFATHER PIETER BEUGER PHOTO MADE MAY 17, 1943

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Socialist Party, the NSB. My eldest aunt had a big portrait of Hitler in her living room. She and her husband admired Hitler greatly. My father hated this. He taught English and German, but refused to teach German to my aunt.

nnemie Wolff photographed Mrs. Niemansverdriet-Burghouts in 1943, when she was three years old. In the photo, she’s sitting on her grandfather Pieter’s lap, whom she was named after. Mrs. Niemansverdriet remembers quite a few things about the war. She remembers how much the air raid sirens used to scare her. Our interview with her took place on the first Monday of the month, during which the air raid sirens went off.

What does hearing the air raid sirens remind you of?

“I remember how scared we were. Nowadays when those sirens sound once a month, that feeling always comes back to me. It scares me, like it scared me when I was a child. Father always told us to stay indoors. We were taught to take cover in the stairwell. I lived with my father and mother, and my sister, who was born in 1944. Grandpa Pieter lived in our neighborhood, and so did my aunt and uncle . I used to enjoy being with them. Two other aunts on my mother’s side were also really nice, but with their husband they had joined the National

What was that like for you, as a child?

“Very difficult. My eldest aunt had no children of her own and was very sweet to me. But of course, I realized something was up and that my parents were upset with them. It was very confusing. After the war, my aunt and uncle ended up in an internment camp, where we couldn’t visit them. When they returned to Amsterdam, I kept visiting them. They still were like my ‘other’ parents to me, but their NSB membership was always in the back of my mind, even long after the war had ended...”

What do you remember about the liberation?

“I distinctly remember the liberation. People celebrated everywhere. My father took me to the Dam, to a big liberation party.

I was sitting on his shoulders, and the two of us went to the edge of town, to the food droppings. Planes passed over our heads, dropping white bread. That was so wonderful: white bread just falling from the sky, after those first five scary years of my life, and the long, cold Famine.”

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Interview with RUTH JAWITZ, 12 YEARS OLD WHEN WWII BEGAN interview about BARBARA AAL, LEFT IN PHOTO, BORN OCTOBER 20, 1938 AND AN UNKNOWN FRIEND BARBARA WAS KILLED IN AUSCHWITZ OCTOBER 25, 1944

interview by DAVID, HUNTER AND MILAN

PHOTO MADE AUGUST 13, 1943, ON CHURCHILL-LAAN IN FRONT OF NUMBER 201

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came into our lives; she became our new mother after the war.

Milie was Jewish and decided to go into hiding. I knew where she was, but naturally, I had to keep it a secret. I remember when an SS officer we knew came to our house and started interrogating my father. At the same time, his wife took me into another room. She asked me all sorts of questions about Aunt Milie and where she was. I didn’t tell her anything! It wasn’t until after the war that we found out this couple had betrayed a large number of Jews for money.”

rs. Freeke-Jawitz was seven years old when the war broke out. She told us about her wartime experiences. Before and during the war, she often visited her aunt and uncle and her cousin Barbara, who was photographed by Annemie Wolff.

What do you remember about your cousin?

“Barbara was much younger than I was. I often babysat Barbara and my younger brother, taking them out for a walk or playing with them in the garden. Then one day in 1943, Barbara and her parents had suddenly disappeared. They died in Auschwitz.

Barbara was only six years old.”

Were you and your parents in danger as well?

“My mother was Gentile, my father was Jewish. After my mother died in 1940, my father was still registered as being in a socalled ‘mixed marriage’. That saved his life. In 1942, ‘Aunt Milie’

Wasn’t your father arrested?

“I was ten years old when my father had to report for labor.

He was sent to a camp for those in ‘mixed marriages’, close to Schagen. My brother and I went to live with our neighbors; I was taken in by one neighbor, and my brother by another. My father escaped the camp on September 5, 1944 - ‘Mad Tuesdayay’ when it seemed the Germans were defeated. He walked all the way home from Schagen that day. I distinctly remember my neighbor handing me the key to our house and telling me, ‘Go take a look in your own house, you’ll find a surprise waiting for you.’ So I went in and saw my father standing there. I was so immensely happy that I cried...”

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interview with PAUL HAGEL, ONE YEAR OLD WHEN WWII BEGAN interview by KIM, SASHA AND MAEDY

interview about DICK HAGEL, BORN NOVEMBER 11, 1942 DICK DIED IN 2005 PHOTO MADE AUGUST 7, 1943

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Jewish neighbors were thrown out of their homes. I was terrified. I had no idea who they were looking for. Our family wasn’t Jewish at all, but I was only a child and had no idea they weren’t after me. All I knew was that unexpected bad things could happen. I didn’t know that I was less at risk; I was too young to know the difference.”

ick Hagel, born in 1942, was photographed by Annemie Wolff in 1943, proudly standing in his playpen. Dick lived on Deurloostraat with his parents, his two brothers, and his sister.

We interviewed his older brother, Paul Hagel.He was only one year old when the war broke out; he mostly remembers how scared he was.

Were you very scared during the war?

“I was scared all the time. All around me, right on my street, people were being arrested. I was only a little boy, and I didn’t understand what was happening. They told me the neighbors went to prison, and sometimes they just disappeared... I remember when our entire street was blocked off and German soldiers came upstairs to our house as well.

They wanted to see if we were hiding anyone. All of our

Do you remember anything else about the war?

“I remember aerial combat over the ‘skyscraper’. I was out with my aunt, and we quickly sought refuge below the arches. High up in the air, the planes were firing at one another. Their gunfire went rat-tat-tat. The planes looked like two mosquitos to me; they were so far away. I wasn’t scared at the time, but that night, I dreamed of planes crashing down.

What do you remember about the liberation?

“I remember somebody rapped on the window on the evening of May 4, 1945. ‘The war is over!’ the neighbors said. The Germans had surrendered. I looked out the window and into the street. It looked just like before. I remember thinking, ‘We’re free now... And everything looks exactly the same.’”

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interview with ANKI TAUBER, LEFT, SEVEN YEARS OLD WHEN WWII BEGAN portrayed with HER SISTER KATI TAUBER, BORN DECEMBER 9, 1935 KATI DIED IN 1995 PHOTO MADE MAY 14, 1943

interview with MAURO, OSCAR AND XAVER

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Weren’t you scared?

“I knew there was a chance we would be taken away, but I didn’t fully understand it. At one point, all the Jewish kids, including me, had to go to a Jewish school. Children from my class kept disappearing; the number of empty desks grew every day. At school, people said the kids who’d disappeared had gone to ‘Camp Westerbork’. I thought it was something like summer camp, so I wanted to go there too.

Then my best friend Kitty van Esso disappeared as well. She only lived to be seven years old.”

nki Flores-Tauber, of HungarianJewish descent, lived in the Rivierenbuurt with her sister Kati and her parents Miklos and Henrietta Tauber. Mrs. Tauber told some great stories about her wartime memories. She and her sister loved to play outside and pull pranks. . During the war, she and her family had to return to Hungary and only just survived the war.

Did you have to wear a Star of David?

“Because of the treaty between Hungary and Germany, we didn’t have to wear our Star of David, but Kati and I did anyway, just to annoy our parents. Thinking back, I realize how dangerous that was. We were up to all kinds of mischief together; Deurloostraat was Paradise to us. We’d play ding dong ditch, put dog poo on door handles, or played skip rope with a really long rope and not let anyone pass. There was this one German child who lived on our street... Well, we certainly wouldn’t let her by! We were really bad!”

Were you ever taken to one of the camps?

“Once, the Nazis took us from our home. They brought us to a gym hall on Gerrit van der Veenstraat (then called Euterpestraat). There was a big crowd there, ready to leave: putting on their hats and coats... Not my mother, though. She started a conversation with one of the Germans in charge, telling him all about her brother who had lost his leg fighting for the Germans on the Eastern front. It was all made up, of course.

But when they came to get everyone, that German told us we didn’t have to go.”

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interview with

KARIN TEN HOEVE, ONE YEAR OLD WHEN WWII BEGAN HER SISTER IRENE TEN HOEVE, BORN AUGUST 23, 1941

interview by SANTJE, MENA AND NINA

portrayed with

THEIR BROTHER WIM AND MOTHER ANNA PHOTO MADE APRIL 28, 1943

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through our all of our things, even looking under the bed.”

uring the war, Karin and Irene ten Hoeve lived on Deurloostraat with their brother Wim and their parents Willem and Anna ten Hoeve. The sisters were very young during the war and repeatedly told us that they don’t remembered much, but they actually remembered quite a lot.

After the war, they lost all of their old photos. Karin and Irene were very sad about that, which is why they were so glad to receive the photos taken by Annemie Wolff.

Did you know any Jewish people during the war?

“My mother was good friends with our Jewish downstairs neighbor, Rita Tauber. She had two daughters. We loved playing with them, because they had beautiful toys. One day, Mrs. Tauber gave me a really pretty dress. It was beautiful; apricot-colored, with handmade embroidery on it. I was so happy about my beautiful dress, and wore it with pride. Then one day, as I stood next to the burning stove, my dress went up in flames. I was so incredibly sad about that. Soon after that, the entire Tauber family fled the country: father, mother, and the children. They went to Hungary and survived the war.”

What do you remember about the war?

“Both of us distinctly remember German soldiers coming to search our house. They were looking for our father, who had been summoned for forced labor in Germany. He was hiding in the cellar of a cafe on the corner of Churchill-laan and Schelde­straat. I remember the soldiers walking around the house with their guns out. They came into our room as well. I was so scared... Our nanny told them: ‘The children have nothing to do with this!’ But they still came in and went

Did your family suffer during the Famine?

“We were lucky; my family always had enough food. Father owned a rye bread bakery. Father would sometimes take us to the bakery with him. Those were the best days, because we got to eat the ends of the loaves. Delicious! That rye bread was truly what kept us from starving during the Famine. My parents also traded it for other goods. And whenever we were invited over during that time, my parents would bring a loaf of rye bread for the hosts.”

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interview with LOUK DIKKER, EIGHT YEARS OLD WHEN WWII BEGAN interview by NOA-NOOR, FEBE, MOON AND RUTGER

interview about LIENTJE LISSER, BORN JANUARY 30, 1937 LIENTJE DIED IN 2012 PHOTO MADE JULY 26, 1943

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oek Dikker told us about his wartime memories and about his wife, Lientje Lisser, who passed away in 2012. Loek lived in Zandvoort with his parents and brother, but the family had to leave and moved to the Roerstraat in South Amsterdam. Lientje grew up just a few streets over. She and her mother were arrested in 1943 and ended up in Bergen-Belsen. The Jewish Dikker family went into hiding.

Did Lientje ever talk about the war?

“She had a very difficult time talking about it. Lientje’s mother wanted her to go into hiding, but Lientje didn’t want to go. She was six years old and determined to stay with her mother. One time when she and a guardian were on their way to a place for her to go into hiding, she said: ‘If you don’t take me back, I’ll shout and tell everyone that I’m Jewish.’ Lientje got what she wanted. Some time after that, she and her mother were arrested during a round-up. They were deported to Westerbork and Theresienstadt, and finally ended up in Bergen-Belsen. It was a horrible place. Lientje told me there were enough piles of bodies in the camp for her and the other children to play hide and seek among them.”

What do you remember about the war?

“One day, there was a round-up on Roerstraat; the entire street was cordoned off and the Germans went door to door to look for Jews. We were hiding in the attic, shaking with fear, when our ‘good’ German neighbor took us to her place and hid us in her bathroom. When the Germans came to her door, she told them that her Jewish upstairs neighbors had already been taken away. She saved our lives that day. We went into hiding shortly after that, moving from place to place. It was a dangerous time, but all four of us managed to survive the war.”

What was life like for Lientje after the liberation?

“It was nice that the three of them had survived; her father came back as well. But dealing with what happened proved to be very difficult. Lientje’s mother never wanted to talk about it again. Whenever Lientje asked about their time in the camp, she would say: ‘You don’t remember anything, you were only a child.’ But Lientje remembered terrible things, and wanted to know whether they were real memories or if she was only imagining them. War had made her mother a more difficult person. Lientje and I met later, in Zandvoort.”

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interview with MARION KUNSTENAAR, THREE YEARS OLD WHEN WWII BEGAN interview about MARY KUNSTENAAR, RIGHT, BORN JULY 30, 1930 AND JACKY KUNSTENAAR, BORN NOVEMBER 30, 1935 MARY AND JACKY WERE KILLED IN SOBIBOR MAY 28, 1943 PHOTO MADE APRIL 21, 1943

interview by MIJNTJE, OLIVER AND STAN

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rs. Kunstenaar told us about her own wartime memories and about losing her cousins Mary and Jacky, who had been photographed by Annemie Wolff in 1943. Five weeks after that photo was taken, they died in a concentration camp. Mary and Jacky lived to be 12 and 7 years old, respectively.

with Jacky. My father adored Mary. We were all evacuated from Scheveningen to the Rivierenbuurt in Amsterdam. I remember lying in bed as my grandpa and grandma came to tell me goodbye. I never saw them again. Mary and Jacky were taken away.

My mother had proposed to take care of Mary and Jacky, but their parents wouldn’t have it. My mother always remained very sad about that. For a long time, I held on to the hope that Mary and Jacky had survived, that they had managed to escape in Russia and were hiding in a forest somewhere.

Were you scared during the war?

“Yes, very much so. One thing that scared me was when somebody rang the doorbell. My room faced the street, and when the doorbell rang, I crouched down against the wall underneath the window. Nobody could see me that way. I thought I was rather smart for thinking of that. But I was angry too. I remember taking a walk with my mother and passing a fruit stall with cherries. There was a German soldier who wanted to hang a pair of cherries over my ears. I got really mad and pushed him away, because he wasn’t allowed to do that to me.”

Wasn’t your own family in danger?

“When it got too dangerous for us to be in Amsterdam, we went to live with Gentile family in The Hague. That house had a crawl space under the ceiling for my father to hide in. Whenever there was a raid, I was to get into bed and pretend I was ill. That often scared the Germans enough that they wouldn’t come too close. We were the only ones to survive the war, because my mother wasn’t ‘officially’ Jewish. During the Famine, my father gave me most of his food. He got so skinny. When it got harder and harder to get food, my father cut the Star of David from his clothes and went out to find food himself. For my last wartime birthday, he baked me a cake of tulip bulbs. It didn’t look much like a cake, so he made a paper cutout in the shape of a cake and decorated it. He covered the tulip bulbs with the decorated cutout, so it was pretty nonetheless.”

Did your cousins live nearby?

“My whole family – grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, parents and I – used to live in Scheveningen at the seaside. We spent a lot of time together. I remember playing on the beach

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interview with LIA KOOPS, TWO YEARS OLD WHEN WWII BEGAN portrayed with HER SISTER RIA (LEFT) AND HER BROTHER ROBERT RIA WAS BORN MARCH 1, 1941 AND ROBERT JUNI 17, 1939

interview by JIP, FINN, OLIVIER AND SAM

PHOTO MADE MARCH 27, 1943

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parents died in Auschwitz. She was seven years old.”

rs. Akman-Koops had a brother and a sister. During the Famine of 1944-1945, they put their shoe at the fireplace for Saint Nicholas every day, and loudly sang for him. But there was never anything in their shoes the next day... until December 5th, when she found a piece of speculaas (traditional Dutch gingerbread) and a polished red apple in her shoe. To this day, that apple is the best gift she’s ever received.

What do you remember about the war?

“I was always playing outside on the streets with my best friend Liesje Prins. One day, Liesje wasn’t there anymore. She was just gone. I didn’t understand. We never got to say goodbye. It wasn’t until after the war that I heard Liesje was supposed to go into hiding. However, the people she would be staying with eventually left her in front of the Hollandsche Schouwburg [where Jews were gathered before transport]. Liesje and her

Do you remember anything about the Famine?

“We didn’t have any food left at home, so I had to go live with some farmers in Castricum, where there was still enough to eat. When I left, my mother asked me: ‘If we were to have another baby, what name would you like?’ I suspected nothing and said, ‘Peter’, like the protagonist in one of my grandmother’s books. My aunt brought me to the farm. She was a district nurse and one of the few people who still owned a bicycle. We cycled all the way to the farm, her nurse’s headdress flapping over my head and my feet in her saddle bags.

One day, my aunt came to visit me, and I overheard her and the farmer’s wife talk about ‘the baby’. That’s when I knew: ‘We had another baby!’ It was still a secret, because my mother didn’t want me to be homesick. But to me, this was the best news in ages! I would be in bed at night and tell myself: ‘I have a baby brother! I have a baby brother!’ When I got home after the liberation, my mother was very happy and told me she had a surprise for me. She took me to the cot and that’s where I saw Peter, my new brother. Although I was ecstatic, I told her disdainfully: ‘Pffff... I already knew that!”

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interview with JAN DRIJFHOUT, THREE YEARS OLD WHEN WWII BEGAN interview by KICK, LUCIE AND MONS

interview about EEFJE HERBST, BORN MARCH 14, 1937 EEFJE WAS KILLED IN AUSCHWITZ SEPTEMBER 10, 1943 PHOTO MADE JUNE 2, 1943

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e visited Jan Drijfhout, who lived on Geulstraat with his parents and sister during the war. His neighbor Eefje was his best friend. A few years ago, Mr. Drijfhout received a photo of Eefje, taken by Annemie Wolff in 1943. That photo is displayed in his living room, in a silver frame.

Who is the girl in the photo?

“That’s Eefje Herbst. Well, actually, Eva Amalia Herbst. She was my closest friend during the war. Eefje and her parents lived across the street from us. I played at her house a lot, and she often came to mine. And if we were both at home, we would look out the window and wave at one another. Eefje always wore a necklace with an anchor pendant. Her parents were really sweet, and got along well with mine.”

What happened to Eefje?

“One day, my father heard a rumor that the Germans would do a round-up in our neighborhood. Eefje and her parents were Jewish. My father found places for them to go into hid-

ing: the mother and father were to go to Friesland, and Eefje would hide with a family on the Veluwe. Eefje’s parents were willing to consider it, but eventually turned it down. They told my father that they preferred to stay together. They expected they would have to work at the concentration camp, but that they would come back. I said goodbye to Eefje on a Sunday morning. The four of us were gathered by the bay window: my father, mother, sister, and me. We cried and waved at them.

My mother wanted to give Eefje a new water jug, as she had dropped hers. But the soldiers wouldn’t let her. Then Eefje and her parents turned the corner, and they were gone.

My parents and I went back into the house when we heard a strange noise. What was that? It turned out there were two mice playing in a large earthenware jar containing powdered milk. We couldn’t help but laugh. That felt so wrong: hearing myself laugh, while I had just been crying a minute ago while saying goodbye to Eefje. I was so embarrassed.”

Did you ever hear from Eefje and her family again?

“Ten days later, we received a postcard from the Herbst family. It said, ‘We’re relatively well, and on our way to Auschwitz.’

That somewhat restored hope for us. My mother told me, ‘You should send Eefje some toys.’ I put my favorite toys into a box and sent it to Auschwitz. But by that time, Eefje was already dead.”

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interview with LOWINA DE LEVIE, RIGHT, 14 YEARS OLD WHEN WWII BEGAN portrayed with HER SISTER JULIEKE DE LEVIE, BORN JUNE 29, 1930 JULIEKE DIED IN 1981 PHOTOS MADE APRIL 9 AND 17, 1943

interview by FIEN, RACHELLE, SEM AND NATHAN

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What was it like when you were in hiding?

“My sister and I were brought to Friesland, where we went into hiding with a famer’s family in a village called Sint Jacobieparochie. But the minister from a nearby town called Bergum wanted us to hide at his house, as he needed someone to do his housework. He threatened to withhold money and food stamps from the family that was hiding us. I didn’t want to go, but I decided to go anyway, because living in Bergum would allow Julieke to go to school. That was very important for me.

The minister made me work really hard. My sister and I were scared that someone would betray us, because the minister was very careless. My sister was so frightened that she wet the bed at night. In the end, the minister had to go into hiding himself. We then stayed in different places in Friesland.”

uring the war, Mrs. De Levie lived on Grevelingenstraat.

She was always afraid.

Whenever she heard the sound of soldiers’ boots outside at night, she would hide under the blankets. Nevertheless, we think she was very brave. Mrs. De Levie went into hiding when she was 16 years old and made sure her younger sister could still attend school during that time.

How did the war start for you?

“When the war broke out, I was 14 years old and attending the Barlaeus Gymnasium. I lived with my parents, my two brothers and my sister Julieke. As of September 1941, I was forced to attend the Jewish Lyceum, and all of us had to move to one of the ‘Jewish Quarters’, the Rivierenbuurt.

From that moment onwards, we always had our packed bags at the ready, so we could go into hiding at a moment’s notice.

One thing was certain: we would definitely go into hiding. A school friend told me he could not go into hiding, because his parents didn’t have the money. At that moment, I understood the importance of having money.”

What was it like to return to Amsterdam?

“My parents, my two brothers, Julieke and myself had all survived the war, but all our relatives and friends had been murdered. My family was reunited in the apartment on Grevelingenstraat. It was completely empty. I don’t remember anything about the reunion itself. What I do remember is that my father immediately wanted to divorce my mother. I was heartbroken. My family fell apart. For years, I felt uprooted.

It wasn’t until forty years after the war, after Julieke and ours parents had long since passed away, that my brothers and I were able to talk openly and restore our bond.”

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interview with FEMKE MEIJER, LEFT, BORN JUNE 2, 1943 portrayed with HER OLDER SISTER, WHO DIED IN 2012 PHOTO MADE FEBRUARY 5, 1943

interview by ZJENJA, LAURENS, YANA AND PAULINE

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with it. But in January 1944, we were arrested anyway, and were transported to concentration camp Bergen-Belsen. My parents died there, in January 1945. Then another family took care of us children.”

rs. Roos-Meijer told us it was a miracle that she and her sister survived concentration camp Bergen-Belsen.

She had been sent to this camp with her older sister and her parents when she was only a toddler. Mrs. Roos said she was unable to talk about the war for a long time.

She thinks it’s important to know what happened during the war. At the same time, she’s deeply moved when she sees that what happened to her as a child is still happening today to children around the world.

When were you liberated?

“In April 1945, this family, my sister, and I were transported to another camp, together with a great number of other prisoners. However, the train had nowhere to go, because Germany was a battlefield and the country was in chaos.

The train traveled around for weeks. Every day, people died from hunger and disease. The mother of this family would always leave the train to find some food for us and the other children. My sister and I survived the war because of that family.”

Did you spend any time in hiding?

“No, we were able to stay in Amsterdam for a long time.

My mother was very clever; she stuck a note on our front door saying how we all had scarlet fever. It was a serious infectious disease, and the Germans wanted nothing to do

Did you return to the Netherlands after the liberation?

“I was three years old when I returned to the Netherlands.

We eventually ended up in a Jewish orphanage in Laren.

Some of my parents’ belongings were returned to us after the war. I honestly don’t know where they came from.

My mother’s jewelry means a great deal to me; I wear it every day.”

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interview with EDITH BAAS, BORN MARCH 24, 1945 interview about HER SISTER EEFJE BAAS, BORN DECEMBER 31, 1942 also portrayed THEIR MOTHER EVA BAAS-PACHTER WHO DIED IN 1970 PHOTO MADE FEBRUARY 6, 1943

interview by WILLEM, EMY AND NOAH

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I still have those cards today. In 1943 and 1944, my aunts and grandparents were killed in Auschwitz. My mother was the only one of her family who survived the war, because she had married a non-Jewish man.”

e visited Edith BernardsBaas. She was born in 1945, so she hasn’t lived through the war herself, but her older sister Eva has. Annemie Wolff photographed Eef and their mother, Eva Baas-Pachter, in 1943. In that same year, her maternal grandparents and four aunts ended up in Auschwitz.

What was life like for your sister and parents during the war?

“They lived on Rijnstraat behind the store my parents ran: ‘Radio Baas’, where they sold electric appliances. My mother was Jewish. She married her Gentile neighbor Willem Baas in 1940. Her parents and four sisters lived around the corner from us. In 1943, my parents and aunts were deported and brought to Westerbork. My mother would send them food packages, and my grandparents would send back postcards.

Did you know any people in the Resistance?

“My father worked for the Resistance, forging identity papers for Jews. Someone betrayed him, which got him sent to Camp Vught. While there, he got tuberculosis, and the camp guards sent him home, saying: ‘You’ll probably die soon anyway.’

When he got home, he was in a really bad state.

During the Famine in the winter of 1944-1945, my mother cared for a sick toddler and a very sick husband. She took my sister with her to the distribution headquarters to try and get more food vouchers; a very dangerous thing to do, because she had to wear her Star of David. She’d take my sister Eva on her arm and hold her tightly, covering her Star of David so nobody could see it. Miraculously enough, she managed to get extra vouchers every time. All three of them survived the Famine, and I was born in the spring of 1945, just before the liberation.”

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interview with GERBEN HELLINGA, THREE YEARS OLD WHEN WWII BEGAN portrayed with HIS PARENTS WYTZE HELLINGA AND JOHANNA HELLINGA-RIEMENS AND HIS SISTER JOHANNA, PHOTO MADE JUNE 24, 1943

interview by ESSENC, TIM, NORA AND THIJS

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erben Hellinga was only five years old when this photo was taken, but he remembers it nonetheless; mostly because he thought his mother looked very pretty that day. Shortly after this photo was taken, the family went into hiding for the remainder of the war, because Gerben’s father was an officer and didn’t want to be sent to Germany.

Do you remember how your Jewish neighbors were taken away?

“One day, I was playing outside on Dintelstraat and saw my Jewish friend Anneke’s grandmother being taken away by German soldiers. When I got home, I told my parents about what I’d seen. They immediately called Anneke’s father. Her father was our GP, Dr. Brilmann. He was a very nice man. Dr. Brillmann came over immediately. He sat down across from me in our living room, and I had to tell him what I’d witnessed. In great detail. Over and over again. He was crying... Soon after that, Anneke suddenly didn’t come to class anymore. Our teacher said: ‘Anneke has been taken away, and she won’t be coming back.’ I couldn’t imagine that; I thought it was horrible...”

Your family went into hiding. What was that like for you?

“I thought it was exciting and very special. We lived in a tiny house out on the heath. I didn’t go to school; my parents homeschooled me every day. If the weather was good, I would take a morning walk across the heath with my father, and we would practice math and calculus. I loved those days. But sometimes, planes would crash down. We loved to play in those plane wrecks.

Of course it was much more difficult for my parents, because they knew what was really going on. There was a lot of shooting nearby, because our house was close to an important railway controlled by the Germans. And I remember how my father would sometimes lose it completely, and spend the entire day chopping down pine trees behind the house, crying.

I hated that. I would hide in the forest, as far away as I could, but no matter how far away I went, I could still hear him...”

What do you remember about the liberation?

“One day, a large tank rode into our forest. It came to a stop at about 50 meters from our house. The cannon was trained on us. My father yelled: ‘Get down on the ground!’

He waved a white flag. Four big men with helmets and guns came towards us. They turned out to be our liberators, the English. I still remember all of us sitting in a circle and eating chocolate.”

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interview with PETER KAHN, FOUR YEARS OLD WHEN WWII BEGAN,

interview by SALAHEDINNE, MAROUA, YASSIRA AND GODIPHA

PHOTO MADE MARCH 27, 1943

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way home, while columns of German soldiers kept passing us.

‘Wollen Sie mitfahren?’, they asked us. ‘Ja!’ I yelled enthusiastically. My parents weren’t too happy about it, of course, and kindly but firmly refused the offer. After that experience, my parents immediately started looking for somewhere to hide.”

eter Kahn was a Jewish boy who went through a lot during the war, but who was never afraid. He mostly remembers the food he had to eat during the Famine: sugar beet porridge, soup made from potato peels, and pureed tulip bulbs. He told us: “We have to make sure to be nice to one another, no matter a person’s skin or background. It’s about being a good person.”

Have you ever experienced a round-up?

“Yes, my parents and I were arrested during a round-up once.

They brought us to the Sieberg garage on Scheldeplein (where bowling alley Knijn is housed now). From there, they took us to Amstel station in a military column. I remember the mural of old-fashioned and modern trains at the station very well; I thought it was beautiful. While I stood there, looking at the mural, my mother did her best to convince the Germans that we weren’t really Jewish. Lo and behold, it actually worked, and we were sent back home. We had to walk all the

How did you find a place to hide?

“We have our landlord to thank for that. He helped us even though he was a member of the NSB. He had nothing against Jews at all. We went into hiding in De Pijp, another neighborhood, while he kept up appearances. To make it look like we still lived on Roompotstraat, he would open and close our curtains every day. In doing so, he prevented neighbors or moving company Puls from ransacking our home.

There wasn’t much for me to do while we were hiding. Every now and then, I’d go out into the street and gather firewood.

Because I was blond and didn’t look Jewish, that was reasonably safe.

What happened to your landlord after the war?

“After the liberation, he was arrested on account of being an NSB member. However, when my parents told the authorities what he’d done for our family, he was released.”

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interview with BERDI PRONT, BORN DECEMBER 25, 1942 portrayed with HER STEPMOTHERS GREET VAN HINTE (LEFT) AND KOKKI HENNEKAM GREET DIED IN 1981 AND KOKKI IN 1989 PHOTO MADE MARCH 27, 1943

interview by JOSEPHINE, ISCHA, SAMUEL FRIDA, YUSUF NISANUR AND ARIANA

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and Cornelia’s child. They were my ‘Mammi’ and ‘Kokki’.

Now all of a sudden, these two strangers showed up and said they were my parents. That’s when my own war started…

My foster mothers’ diary entry for May 6, 1945, about how I would soon be leaving: Yesterday, aunt Thea came to say my own parents wanted to see me. Cor was upset all day (...) It is very difficult, of course, but time will heal all wounds.”

rs. Vieyra-Pront was only 14 days old when her parents had to leave her behind. Since her parents were Jewish, she was taken in by two foster mothers, Cornelia Hennekam and Margaretha van Hinte. She doesn’t remember much about that time herself, but her foster mothers kept a diary of the three years that Berdi was a part of their lives.

How did you end up with your foster mothers?

“My parents and foster mothers went to the same GP, Dr. Ben Sajet. When my parents realized they would have to go into hiding themselves, they asked Dr. Sajet if he could help house me somewhere else. That’s how I ended up with my foster mothers. I lived with them for three years; my parents returned after the liberation. They had survived the war and came back to pick me up.”

What was it like to return to your birth parents?

“Very difficult. For over three years, I had been Margaretha

What part of living with your parents again did you have to get used to most?

“While I lived with my foster parents, I had always been the center of attention, but things were different when I went to live with my parents. They had another son and daughter, and there were often young cousins around as well. In addition, my parents suffered greatly from the loss of most of their relatives. I never felt like my parents really wanted me, but I did feel like my foster mothers wanted me.

The relationship between my birth parents and my foster mothers was abysmal. I always wanted to go back to Kokki and Mammi, but it wasn’t until I was eight years old that I was able to visit them every week. Every time I came by, Mammi would read from the diary they kept on my behalf.”

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interview with ANNELIES JACOBI, SIX YEARS OLD WHEN WWII BEGAN portrayed with HER PARENTS LOUIS JACOBI AND EVA JACOBI-SIEDNER HER FATHER DIED IN 1968 AND HER MOTHER IN 2005 PHOTO MADE APRIL 7, 1943

interview by CASPER, LORA AND AYA

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us the photo. “You all look so kind and peaceful.” They wrote that the photo was passed around among the people in their barrack, and that everyone admired the picture. I still have that letter.”

rs. Arens-Jacobi fled to the Netherlands from Germany in 1937, together with her parents, Louis Jacobi and Eva Jacobi-Siedner.

Two years later, her grandparents moved in with them. As a child, Mrs. Jacobi used to think nothing would ever happen to them, but things didn’t work out that way. “When you’re a child, you don’t think about that. Of course I was scared every now and then, but I mostly lived from day to day.”

How did the war start for you?

“At first, I still went to school. I was in the third year of primary school at the Jekerschool, and enjoyed playing outside with my friends in the neighborhood. In early 1943, my grandparents were taken away by the Nazis and ended up in Camp Westerbork. We sent that photo of me and my parents to my grandparents in Westerbork, as a present for their 60th wedding anniversary. To celebrate that occasion, the camp commander allowed my grandparents to spend one extra hour together. In the last letter we got from them, they thanked us profusely for sending

Were you and your parents deported as well?

“Yes, we were deported to Westerbork in a locked freight train in 1943. By the time we got there, my grandparents were already gone... Later on, we were transported to Camp Bergen-Belsen. It was a horrible place.

In April 1945, we were once again put on a train to be transported to another camp. However, chaos reigned in Europe and the train had nowhere to go. The train traveled aimlessly for two weeks. We lived in locked train wagons, with barely anything to eat or drink. We stopped at a village called Tröbitz, where the Russians liberated us. I vividly remember how scared I was of those shouting men on their little horses, yelling things I couldn’t understand.

We weren’t able to return to Amsterdam until August of 1945.

For the first time in a long while, I traveled in a real, beautiful passenger train again! But when we got back, we had nothing left. When we arrived at the station, we were given 10 guilders as a means to survive. We were brought to a shelter in a horsedrawn carriage. Upon arrival, the driver charged us 30 guilders...”

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‘WAR CHILDREN OF THE RIVIERENBUURT’ Organization

Text writing

Stichting Annemie en Helmuth Wolff,

Anika Auweiler,

An Huitzing

Luuk de Bakker,

Oorlog in mijn Buurt,

Tamara Becker,

Minka Bos

Minka Bos, Muel van Bunge,

Photos 1943 Annemie Wolff

Kim Hensbergen, An Huitzing, Sarah van Kerkvoorde,

Copyright and scans of Annemie Wolff’s photos Monica Kaltenschnee

Maarten Kuiper, Hugo Schalkwijk, Astrid Verdijsseldonk

Photos 2015 Katrien Mulder

Translation English catalog Ashley Cowles Translation & Copywriting, Utrecht

Design exhibition panels and catalog Monique Wijbrands

Funding and sponsorship Stadsdeel Zuid of the city of Amsterda

Research

Stichting De Initiatieven

Tamara Becker,

Rabo Coöperatiefonds

An Huitzing,

Ars Donandi – W.J.O. de Vries fonds

Simon Kool

Allen & Overy Maatschappij tot Nut der Israëlieten in Nederland

Interviews

4 & 5 mei comité Amsterdam

Children of the 6th Montessorischool Anne Frank

RAI Amsterdam

Children of the Catharinaschool

Slagerij Hergo

Anika Auweiler,

Okura Hotel

Lies van Oekel, organization

Private gifts

Copyright © Stichting Wolff / Oorlog in mijn Buurt 2015 Copyright photos Annemie Wolff: Monica Kaltenschnee Copyright photos Katrien Mulder: Katrien Mulder www.stichtingwolff.nl / www.oorloginmijnbuurt.nl