Elly M. Holocaust testimony (HVT-1170) interviewed by Mitzi Zerivitz and Ries Myers

Videotape testimony of Elly M., who was born in the Hague, Netherlands in 1931. She recalls a happy childhood; no differences between Jews and non-Jews; German bombing of Rotterdam; anti-Jewish measures; her father's volunteering to go to Westerbork believing it would save his family (he never returned); and the underground separately hiding her and her sister. Mrs. M. remembers many transfers; settling with a family in Middelburg; a year and a half as a loved family member; one incident of separation due to danger of exposure; the November 1944 Allied liberation; attending school; liberation of the rest of Holland in 1945; and reunion with her mother a month later. She describes not wanting to leave her foster family; moving to the Hague with her mother and sister; being forbidden to see her foster family; adjustment difficulties; leaving school; marriage to another hidden child; emigration to Israel in 1949; her two children; return to Holland in 1956; emigration to the United States in 1957; and becoming a nurse. Mrs. M. reflects upon her losses, which cannot be made up; her ex-husband's refusal to join Jewish organizations because Nazis identified Jews through organization rolls; the loss of family, especially felt at holidays; and satisfaction with her life in America, particularly her education and profession.