The three siblings of us ended up in different Jewish families. My youngest sister was
taken in by the Krammer family. However, difficulties within the host family arose.
Gertrud was just four years old and due to circumstances suffered from a weak bladder.
The Krammer’s had three children of their own, and they caused enough problems. I
guess that the language also played a role in all of this. At any rate, little Gertrud didn’t
have it all that good there. After some time the Cohen family from Apeldoorn took her
in. Mr. Cohen was a dermatologist, and they, too, had three children. Gertrud stayed
there during the whole time of the war until after the liberation. They treated her like a
daughter, and the children got along real well. The Cohen family went underground and
survived in a hiding place.
The siblings, Emilie (known as Milly),
Gertrud, and Alfred Strauss 1939 in
Holland - most likely in Zwolle, shortly
after their arrival
