Overview
- Interview Summary
- Rita Boas-Koopman describes life in the Netherlands between 1940 and 1943; the attitude towards the German invasion of the Netherlands; the marking of Jewish identity cards by Germans; how her brother saved the son of Dutch Nazis from drowning, which postponed her family’s deportation; being in Vught Concentration Camp from 1943 to 1944; being a prisoner in Auschwitz Concentration Camp from 1944 to 1945; the train journey to Auschwitz and her impressions upon arrival at the camp; the reception from a Jewish girl dressed as a SS women; seeing prisoners fighting for bread; civilian workers questioning the nature of the camp; seeing that the Germans were fearful; her personal attitude towards survival; being on a death march away from the camp in 1945; being in Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp in 1945; arriving in Bergen-Belsen; the discovery of food whilst clearing a SS woman’s room; the reaction to the cutting of hair; and hearing about the end of the war in train heading for Sweden in May 1945.
- Interviewee
- Rita Boas-Koopman
- Date
-
interview:
1972
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, purchased from the Imperial War Museum Collection
Physical Details
- Language
- English
- Extent
-
1 sound cassette : analog.
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- There are no known restrictions on access to this material.
- Conditions on Use
- Restrictions on use. Permission to copy and/or use recordings in any production must be granted by the Imperial War Museums.
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Death march survivors. Death marches. Head shaving. Holocaust survivors--Great Britain. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Netherlands--Personal narratives. Jewish refugees--Sweden. Jewish women in the Holocaust. Jews--Persecutions--Netherlands. Women concentration camp guards. Women concentration camp inmates. Women Kapos. World War, 1939-1945--Deportations from Netherlands. World War, 1939-1945--Jews--Netherlands. Women--Personal narratives.
- Geographic Name
- Great Britain. Lower Saxony (Germany) Netherlands--History--German occupation, 1940-1945. Poland. Sweden.
- Personal Name
- Boas-Koopman, Rita.
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
Imperial War Museum
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The interview was conducted by Thames Television for the "World at War" Television Series. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum acquired a copy of the interview with Rita Boas-Koopman from the Imperial War Museum in February 1995
- Special Collection
-
The Jeff and Toby Herr Oral History Archive
- Record last modified:
- 2023-11-16 08:17:12
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn510175
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