Stolen Childhood
Holocaust Survivor ~ Maurits Louis
Witsema (de Wit)
As a little
girl growing up in Michigan, I loved to play outside. I had several friends who
lived right on my street and we would
have the best time.
We would play baseball, kick the can, Murder in the dark
(which is tag at night using flash lights), board games like Monopoly, Clue,
Careers, and Cards, riding our bikes all over the neighborhood and into our
town for ice cream or French fries. It was truly a fabulous way to grow up. I am
so grateful also for the fact that I still am friends with a many of my
childhood friends. Whenever I travel to Michigan I get together with many of my
friends. It’s such a warm happy feeling and so good for my soul.
I was
talking to my friend from here in The Netherlands the other day and basically
he had the same beginning to life. But what if this little boy I’m talking
about was not born in 1962 like me but in 1929? And right in the middle of his idyllic childhood a war begins and your country is invaded by people who want to take
away everything and everyone in your life that you hold dear to your heart. Confusion,
fear, anxiety grip your every fiber and all you want to do is survive.
Meet my
friend Maurice. His full name is Maurits Louis Witsema (de Wit). This is his
story.
Maurits Louis Witsema (de Wit) was born in Eindhoven on May 2nd,
1929. His parents, Louis de Wit and Philipina de Wit, had two children, Maurice
and his sister Miriam who was 2 years younger and they called her Ineke.
Philipina (Pien) de Wit
Louis de Wit
Maurice and his family lived in Eindhoven in a
neighborhood where the houses, like a lot of Dutch homes, were very close. His
very first memory of his childhood is of the Kermis or the Fun Fair that would
take place right on his street on the Wihelmina square. Rides, vendors selling
many colorful goodies, games and people just enjoying life. There was a big square not
far from his house (Edenplein) where there is now a tall building. On this
square every Tuesday there was Market Day. For the Queen’s birthday there was a
firework display and once a year a circus. Maurice liked to watch the setting
up of the tent and the animals. Maurice’s mother always bought a live chicken
on the market which was put in a cage till Thursday when it was slaughtered by
a kosher butcher, to be eaten on Friday.
Maurice had
a lot of boys his age that he loved to play with that lived close to his house.
They would run up and down the street
playing tag or running races to see who was the fastest. At the end of the
street was a beautiful park with a huge area of green grassy park where they
could play football and field hockey. Maurice and many of his school classmates
were very involved with the Boy Scouts. He loved his time spent with his
friends doing Scouting activities like learning how to tie a knot, creating
plays, going camping and making pancakes. He just loved his time Scouting. Also, in the park near his house was a pool but
it was not in use anymore. Maurice and his friends loved to swim so they went
to the indoor pool every Saturday. This was organized by the school at a
reduced rate. But his best friend was Bertie van Vlijmen. Bertie did not live
nearby but Maurice loved going over to his house to play.
Several
times as a child Maurice and his family would take holidays together. Often,
biking from Eindhoven into Belgium to enjoy time away from work, school and
just to be with the family. They would ride to places like Luik, Yperen and
Diksmuide where they would visit places of the WW1 to see the trenches the
soldiers fought in and paying respect for the fallen at the cemeteries.
Maurice’s
father Louis and his Uncle Ies owned and ran a store in the center of Eindhoven
at Demer 42 called M. de Wit & Co. Maurice’s grandfather who he is named
after, Maurits de Wit, founded the store in 1899.
The shop sold household wares
and supplies but what interested Maurice were the toys, goldfish and the stamps
that could be bought for collecting. It was a fun place for Maurice to visit
and he loved being with his dad and uncle.
Maurice
doesn’t remember what he wanted to be when he grew up… but he does remember his
mother telling him and his sister bedtime Grimm’s fairy tale stories. He
especially loved Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood.
Safely tucked in with
his family all around feeling secure, happiness and loved.
And he
remembers… when life changed and his childhood would be forever taken from him.
Maurice’s first
memories of his world shifting around him, were of course the whispers and
discussions between the adults in his life. The anxiousness of his parents and
intense conversations about what was happening in Germany. The family would
gather around the radio and listen carefully to the news of neighboring
Germany. The Netherlands at the time had a full is full policy with regards to
immigration. Dutch laborers were worried that new refugees would take the much
needed jobs at the time. But after Kristallnacht (Crystal Night or Night of the
Broken Glass) in Germany, the decision was made to open its boarders to people
who did not pose a threat to the work situation.
With the help of Jewish
leaders, soon German Jewish children arrived in Eindhoven. They were alone on
the train and did not arrive with their parents. They had been sent alone for
their own protection. Some of the children were sent to live in a place called
the Dommelhuis in Eindhoven and on the weekends they would visit Jewish
families like Maurice’s.
The children would come from the Dommelhuis on
Saturdays where Maurice’s family would give them food and talk and play a few
games. Most of the children who visited
were close to Maruice’s age.
The
Netherlands prior to WW2 had a strict neutrality policy but all of that ended
when Germany invaded The Netherlands on May 10th, 1940. Maurice was
11 years old at the time and in the sixth grade of primary school. Maurice was
at home at the time as the schools were closed. He and his family listened to
the radio for news on what was happening. Five days later and only a day after
Rotterdam was bombed, the Dutch forces surrendered. Queen Wilhelmina fled with her daughter to
England along with Dutch government. She
began sending inspirational messages on Radio Oranje and became very
inspirational to the Dutch resistance.
In the
beginning, there was not much of a difference for life in German occupied
Netherlands for Maurice. He went to school, played outside and went to Scout
activities with his friends. They would visit with the friends of his parents.
One in particular that he remembers was the Hornemann family. While the adults
visited with each other, he would play with their two young sons Eduard and
Alexander.
In the remaining months of 1940, the Germans
slowly started to implement anti-Semitic orders.
Signs were posted where Jewish
people could not go into public places like parks, schools, pools, theaters and
had to shop in Jewish stores only. And the Scout movement was forbidden.
Maurice would not be allowed to do the Scouting actives that he was used to
with his friends. He was extremely disappointed.
In Maurice’s neighborhood were different schools, a Roman
Catholic school for boys, a nun school for the girls and a Nutsschool for the
others, mainly protestant boys and girls. That school is still there.
The Joodse Raad (Jewish Council) was
set up and this is when Maurice had to leave his school with all of his friends
at the school called Nutsschool
Akkerstraat in Eindhoven. He started attending school lessons in private
homes with Jewish teachers. This was not very fun for Maurice as he loved to
walk to and from school with his friends and just appreciated the joy of
learning in a school environment.
In the
spring of 1941, the Philips factory had existed for 50 years. The workers went
out of the factory to have a party in the center of Eindhoven. This quickly
turned into an anti-Nazi demonstration. The German Grune Polizei, the German
military police, shut the demonstration down. The Sunday after the
demonstration, Maurice’s father and Uncle Ies were arrested while playing
Bridge at a favorite café. Supplies for the anniversary celebration had been
purchased from their shop. The German police came to Maurice’s house to carry
out a house search. His father and uncle both received six month prison
sentences and a fine of a few thousand guilders. They spent three months at the
police prison in Eindhoven and three months in the Scheveningen prison. Luckily
they were released at the end of their term and allowed to go home.
In the
meantime, while Maurice’s father was in prison, their shop, M. de Wit &
Co., received a new German verwalter (supervisor) while Maurice’s mother was in
charge of running the store. Carefully his parents succeeded in smuggling out
money and the stamp collection from the store.
In 1941,
Maurice and his whole family had to register with the Jewish council. It was
staffed with Philips employees. And he was given his STAR.
This yellow star had
to be sewn onto all of his clothing indicating that he was Jewish. He had to
keep it clean and the star had to be worn at all times. It was inscribed with
the word Jood, meaning Jew in Dutch.
In the
beginning of 1942, a Jewish high school started in S’Hertogenbosch. Maurice
received a special permit to travel by train every day to attend. Every day,
Maurice would walk to his mother’s sister’s house for lunch. Maurice was so happy to be able to be back in
school especially because he and Bertie got to ride the train together and were
in the same class. Maurice also loved meeting new friends. In May, Maurice was bar mitzvahed in the old
Eindhoven synagogue which was designed by the famous Dutch architect, Pierre
Cuypers.
Cuypers is most notably known for designing the Rijksmuseum and
Amsterdam Central. Sadly, the synagogue was damaged with the German bombing on
September 18, 1944 during the liberation of Eindhoven. Later the synagogue was
demolished due to the widening of the street.
During the early part of World War 2, Eindhoven saw the
population of Jewish people continue to rise. Many coming from Germany trying
to escape the war and the many children that had been sent to The Netherlands
on their own. Many people found work at
the Phillips factory in Eindhoven in a special Jewish section. The Joodse Raad
(Jewish Council) in Eindhoven consisted of many of the workers from the
Phillips factory who felt the shop owners were inferior and did not give them
the same protection as the factory workers received. This was the reason
Maurice’s family would be in the first group of Jewish people in Eindhoven to
receive deportation orders.
It was in August of 1942, when there would be a knock on the
door. A man carrying a normal looking letter stood before Maurice’s mother. The
letter contained orders for the entire family to report to the Eindhoven Train
Station the very next day where they would be brought to a work camp in
Westerbork.
Horror, fear and panic set with in the family. Maurice’s father was
at work but came home immediately upon hearing the news. What should they do?
Who could they ask for help? What would happen? Maurice’s father who had been
to prison and returned thought that maybe things would be ok. Their family
could ride out the stay at Westerbork like he and his brother had done at the
Eindhoven and Scheveningen prisons. Surely they would be ok. If they were
telling the whole family to report, surely it would be to work. But Maurice’s
mother was not so sure. She had talked with her cousin who was involved in the
Dutch resistance. Maurice’s mother thought they should follow their advice. The
decision was made, they would disappear and go into hiding (onderduiken).
With panic still flooding through their home, backpacks were
hastily packed with a few clothing items and precious family items were quickly
stored over at a neighbor’s house for safe keeping. Among them, was the stamp
collection from M. de Witt & Co. That evening they would walk out of their
family home and into the night and head toward what would become their first
place to hide. Disappearing from all who knew them.
There was no story that needed to be invented on the
disappearance of their family. Everyone who knew them, knew they must have gone
into hiding. There was no foreign country to run to at this point. Some people
were smuggled into Belgium to avoid deportation, but this was terribly
dangerous as people were turning others in to save themselves. Again the word
“onderduiken” is mentioned… which literally means to dive under. And that’s
what people were doing… hiding under anything that would keep them alive. Attics,
barns, basements, the forest, underground, anywhere and everywhere to hide for
as long as possible. Luckily for some of the Jewish people in hiding, family
and friends came to their aid. Also the Dutch Resistance, although not well
organized and very sporadic throughout The Netherlands, did a wonderful job of
placing people in hiding. Organized food coupon books and other documents that
would be needed to fool the Germans. It was a great risk not only to the people
hiding but also to the people that were providing the protection as well. If
caught, people were deported to Westerbork or even shot on the spot. The people
that were helping were given a tough sentence as well.
For Marurice and his family, they would first be moved to a
house that was owned by the Mason Lodge. The house was located behind Maurice's house and they had to take this pass to get to it. The house no longer exists. It was bombed on September 18, 1944 during the German bombardment.
The family van Laarhoven were the caretakers. Mrs. Van Laarhoven worked
in Maurice’s father’s shop. This was only a temporary place and so they only
stayed 3 days. They were then moved to another address to the home of the
family Vennix.
After a short time, the underground organization was discovered
by the Germans because of treason. Maurice’s cousin and his parents, who also
went into hiding, were caught and transported via Westerbork to Poland. Only
his cousin survived, working in the coal mines near Sobibor.
Because of the above-mentioned situation, Maurice and his
family had to leave their hiding place and spend another few days with Mrs. van
Laarhoven, the lady from their shop. Her husband’s brother then took them for a
year in their house. This family was also named van Laarhoven.
Fuchsiastraat 13
This house was very
small and it did not have a bathroom or shower. They all had to bathe in a big
wash tub once a week. Maurice spent his time studying and reading. This house
was a row house so all of the houses were joined together with common walls.
Silence throughout the day and night went into effect. Only the neighbors on
one side knew that they were there and the people of the underground who supplied
distribution coupons and helped to sell jewelry and silver objects as they had
to pay for their living expenses. After
a year, the lady of the house became pregnant and as she became afraid, Maurice
and his family had to leave.
Maurice and his family then went to a large house in the
center of Eindhoven on Hoogstraat.
Hoogstraat 185
Does not exist anymore
Former Pal Studio for animation advertising films for Phillips
In this house lived two families. The family
named Scholten had two sons and one daughter and the family named Mes had two
small daughters. Mr. Scholten did not do anything, but Mrs. Scholten bought
food in trusted shops. Mr. Jan Mes supplied food coupons and was active in the
underground organization. He worked in the Philips factory.
In this house the following Jewish families were hidden:
Mr. and Mrs. Louis de Wit-Leviticus with a son of 14
(Maurice) and a daughter of 12 who was Maurice’s sister Miriam (Ineke) ; Mr.
and Mrs. Ies de Wit-Roosenveld with a daughter of about 20; Mr. and Mrs.
Wertheim-Blomhof; their father, B. Blomhof and their uncle and aunt, Mr. and
Mrs. M. Blomhof.
They slept upstairs with the families in separate rooms and Maurice
slept in the hall. During the day they could sit in a large room. The men read
and played cards, the women prepared dinner while Maurice and his sister studied
and were taught by their father. They also read a lot. Some old neighbors, who
were involved with the underground, visited them from time to time.
On September 18, 1944, Maurice and his family were liberated
by the American 101st Airborne Division and the British Second Army.
A few days before, they had seen, from the house, the bombardment of the Eindhoven
Airport by the American and British planes.
After that they saw planes with
parachutists from the American 101st Airborne Division and planes
with gliders flying over the house. On the 18th of September, they
saw the first American soldiers passing the house and they were allowed outside
of the house.
Liberation Day September 18, 1944
Hoogstraat 185
In the center foreground is Maurice's sister Miriam (Ineke) and first on the left in the back row is Maurice. Second from the left is his father, Louis and in front of him is his mother, Philipina (Pien).
The next day, they walked to their old neighborhood on the
Rodenbachlaan several kilometers away. In the afternoon on their way back, the
Germans started a bombardment. A bomb destroyed the house where they had twice
spent a few days and where they had hidden some of the possessions. Some bombs
fell in the garden of the house they were staying in on Hoogstraat but did not
damage the house itself.
Immediately after the Liberation, Maurice helped to guide
some members of the British Army bringing refugees to the Philips factory where
they were housed. With a desire to help as much as possible, his Scouting
skills kicked in in order to help those in need.
After a few days, Maurice’s family could move into the house
where they lived before on Rodenbachlaan.
Rodenbachlaan 20
The people who had been living there
were forced to leave. Maurice’s family received furniture from a Nazi
collaborator. They lived in their house with two families and after a short
time, his mother’s sister and her daughter came to live with them. His cousin
who survived Sobibor was liberated by the Russians, also came to live with
them.
As time passed, the de Wit home provided beds and shelter for
returning Jews from hiding and camps who came to register. Since the house was
crowded, Maurice and some of his friends from Scouts went to live and work at a
school run by nuns. This school was turned into a temporary hospital. Maurice
did things to help out here like making the rooms blacked out fully enshrouded
in darkness if needed. He was also in charge of summoning the Doctor if someone
was about to have a baby.
In early 1945, as the war continued in the North of Holland
and around the world, Maurice was able to resume his schooling in Eindhoven.
The same year, his father and uncle opened a shop in the center of Eindhoven
selling stamps from the collection saved by a neighbor during the occupation.
The original shop on Demer 42, founded by his grandfather, had been destroyed
by an English bombardment in December 1942.
On May 5, 1945, Holland was fully liberated and the enormous
task of picking up the pieces of life for those that survived the war. Many
would never return and those that did were starved, injured and forever
emotionally damaged.
That summer, Maurice and his father hitch hiked in cars and
trucks to Utrecht to visit his father’s friend. This man was a Veterinary
Professor at a University in Utrecht. Today, this trip would take about an hour
and a half but in war torn Holland, this was not the case. Along the way, shocked and saddened to see the
damage that had happened to their beautiful country. Buildings, homes, roads
all destroyed in the bombings. But the most haunting part were the people.
People whose every fiber of their being had been shattered. People staggering
home from the camps or hiding only to find that no one from their family had
survived. Children who had been given the gift of life by being placed with a
family while their parents were arrested. Taken into people’s homes. The bitter
task of returning the children to their parents who were hard to recognize or
that they never knew or had forgotten. Some of the children were never
returned. It was a gift that they survived but for what and for who?
The following summer after the war, with freedom running
through his veins, Maurice and his Scouting friends took off for London as part
of a Scouting exchange.
Maurice front far right
Scouts from London visiting Holland with a visit with the Queen
The year was 1946. As guests of an English Scouting
group, they were invited to an official tea in the House of Parliament with the
Minister of Labor. And among other fabulous sites were able to hear the Southhark
Cathedral Scouts group sing in a church. They stayed at a church that was set
up for the Scouts.
Continuing with his studies during the school year but ready
for another adventure when summer came, Maurice took off with a friend on their
bikes and rode all the way to Paris. Life never felt so good, 19 years old and
doing whatever they felt like. They saw and did many things on this exciting
trip to Paris. They traveled through the Champagne region and then continued on
to Paris. They stayed at a girl’s school that was being used as a Hostel during
the summer. Running around the city taking in the Eiffel Tower, Champ Elysees,
eyes wide open in the Red Light district and even taking in a standing room
only show called Casino de Paris. Oh to be young in Paris!
The next summer, ready to spread his wings again, Maurice and
a friend hitch hiked all the way to the south of France. Taking in the
beautiful sights of Nice and Cannes enjoying time along the Mediterranean.
In 1951, after finishing his technical schooling, Maurice got
a job working for a Dutch shipping company, KPM, in Indonesia. The family Mes
that he had stayed with had previously relocated to Indonesia where Mr. Mes got
a job in Bandung at the same time that Maurice was working in Djakarta. He went
several times to Bandung to visit them, as Bandung is cooler than Djakarta. He
spent 6 years in Indonesia before being chased out because of the problems
between Indonesia and the Dutch. In 1958 Maurice then left for Singapore for
about 4 months working for a company called KPM, helping take inventory of all
ships that had been stolen or damaged. He then headed to Israel to work before
finally returning in 1962 to Holland working as a commercial technician.
In the early 1970’s, Maurice came back to his family’s
business coming to work with his uncle and his father at de Wit & Co. until
his father died. He then worked with his mother until the early 1980’s when the
decision was made to close the doors on the beloved Eindhoven Centrum store, de
Wit & Co. For nearly 100 years de Wit & Co. stood strong and proud
among the other shops in the centrum falling only once for a while, at the
hands of a war. Maurice then took the business and started his own company,
Waalrese Postzegelhandel de Wit, running it from his home until this past year
when he finally decided to retire at the age of 85.
WWII was a war of wars, taking millions of people’s lives
away that stood innocently in it’s path. The horrific atrocities that were
inflicted upon the people of The Netherlands and around the world have been
documented before and will continue forever. Hopefully these stories will keep
other generations from repeating this horrendous lesson in the future.
Maurice’s story is one of survival. But survival has come at a price. The price
of a childhood that was interrupted and stolen from him never to be erased from
his mind. The price of losing family members and friends that would never come
home or get to run in that park down the street chasing a ball. The price of
having to hide from people that wanted to take away everyone and everything that
is dear to his heart. Hiding from a Monster, every child’s worst nightmare come
to life.
Maurice survived the war and went on to live an incredible
life traveling around the world and marrying two incredible women at different
times of his life. His first wife was Janny whom he married in 1959 and died
1991 and his second wife Jeanne, my friend, whom he married in 1998 and sadly
died this past year.
Family
and Friends of Maurice’s who were murdered and would never return:
Family:
Maurice’s uncle, aunt and cousin (his father’s younger
sister)
The wedding of Jaap and Selma with them in the middle
Maurice is standing center front with his sister Miriam to his right
Jaap and Selma and Vieyra - de Wit and their son Max Vieyra
born 1940 in Amsterdam
June 11, 1943 Sent to Sobibor and immediately gassed upon
arrival
Maurice’s aunt and uncle (his father’s older sister)
Betje Hartog - de Wit and her husband Meijer Hartog
Murdered at Auschwitz January 31, 1944
Their son Jo survived Treblinka and was liberated by the
Russians. He came to live with Maurice after he was liberated.
The Stolpersteins for Betje & Meijer Hartog
Friends:
Many, many friends would not return from the camps leaving
the schools and neighborhoods all but empty. But so near and dear to his heart…
His best friend Bertie van Vlijmen – Born Bernard Andre’ van
Vlijmen August 29, 1929
Bertie’s father (Joseph) worked for Phillips and they thought
they would be spared but they were all rounded up and taken to Vught Concentration
Camp and then sent to Auschwitz. Sadly, Bertie was deported to Kdo
Wustegieisdorf where he died on May 9, 1945…. The day after VE Day.
But the story that was so upsetting to me was the story of
what happened to the Hornemann family. So much written about it and in horrific
detail. This is the family that Maurice used to go over to their house to play
when their parents enjoyed adult talk.
Philip and Elizabeth Hornemann and their two sons. Eduard
Born 1932 and Alexander Born 1936. Mr.
Hornemann was an executive working for Phillips at the time and as was the case
he was able to provide certain special privileges to his family that were
denied to other Jewish families at the time of occupied Holland.
As I said
before, Phillips had set up a special Jewish section at their company
specifically for their Jewish employers. They all thought they were safe. Till
one day, the company was surrounded August 18, 1943 by the Nazis and all of the
Jewish employees were rounded up and taken to Vught Concentration Camp.
Elizabeth had been hiding on a farm with young Alexander and Edward had been
hiding with another family on a nearby farm.
When Elizabeth heard that her
husband had been taken, she was advised that he would receive better treatment
if the family was together. The family was deported to Auschwitz on June 3,
1944. Elizabeth died 3 months later of typhus in September 1944. The boys, Eduard
and Alexander, were moved to the children’s barracks. Their father was sent to
Dachau Concentration camp and then onto Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. He
died during the transport February 21, 1945.
But little Eduard and little Alexander would be in for a
worse fate. Chosen along with 18 other boys and girls between the ages of 5-12.
Ten boys and ten girls. They were taken to Neuengamme Concentration Camp where
an SS doctor named Kurt Heißmeyer and others conducted unthinkable medical
experiments on the children. They injected live tuberculosis into their bodies
and removed lymph glands to study the effects.
On April
20, 1945, the children and 4 adults who were looking after them were brought
into Hamburg to a school called Bullenhuser Damm, taken to the basement and murdered.
Hanging the 4 adults first and then injecting the children with morphine and
then hanging them as well. They were so small they had to hold them down to
murder them. The British were less than 3 miles away from the camp when the
children were taken away in an effort to cover up the atrocities that had been
done. Eduard was 12 and Alexander was 8.
Maurice’s
story is one of survival and learning how to pick up the little pieces of your
life during the war and when the war was over. Millions upon millions of little
pieces like sand running through your fingers at the beach….. Are just lost
forever. But thanks to people like Maurice who have to courage to come forward
and share such an intimate, personal story…. Maurice's loved ones lost will not be
forgotten. Nor will the memory of his stolen childhood.
Can
Anyone Hear Me? My Name is Maurice.
In my bed awake at
night
Laying still with fear and fright
Time keeps passing day by day
I dream of when I can go out to play
Boredom, quietness, worrisome, fear
How long can we sit here, year after year?
Smells, sounds and sights fill my brain
Feelings of this
horrible time will not pass in vain.
My stolen childhood, with innocence never replaced
Friends and loved ones
taken from me, I will keep in my grace.
My
name is Maurice, please don’t forget me.
(Written
by Lisa Jochim)
