By Laurie Warshal Cohen, Ed.D, Co-Executive Director, Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center, Seattle
The story of hidden children in Holland who did survive the Holocaust is a fascinating one (“The saved children,” March 6). While Wolf points to many cases where the child’s identity remained hidden after the war in Holland, many children were liberated at the end of the war. Anne Frank and the tragedy of her betrayal is the dominant story of a hidden child that most people know about. It is also the one that is still read and studied by middle school children. Here in Seattle, there are other stories of children in hiding who did survive and survived as Jews. All of these stories are precious to us, as they offer a wider and deeper perspective of the experience of Dutch Jews and non-Jews during the German occupation of Holland.
The Center’s Speakers Bureau includes three such hidden children — all of whom were hidden by the Dutch Resistance. They are a part of a group of survivors who tell their stories to classrooms and community groups all over the region as volunteers. Another speaker tells the story of her husband, who was yet another hidden child who survived. Middle school children who read Anne Frank and then hear the personal story of our “˜”rescued” children are awed to hear of a child their age who did survive.
Students of the Holocaust — no matter what age — learn a special lesson when they hear stories of survival and resistance. While it was a small part of the big picture of death and destruction during the Holocaust, rescue and resistance are still the stuff of heroes and heroines who live among us.