From one hiding place to the next
A risky jump: Eventually they would also clear
out the isolation ward, and they transported us by
truck and bus to the ”Joodsche Invalide” (Jewish
home for senior citizens). From there we were
supposed to be taken to Westerbork. The elderly
and the sick, however, did not go to the
Schouwburg, which usually was the assembly
point prior to deportation.
At the moment, when we were parked in front of
the ”Joodsche Invalide”, ready to be hauled off,
I noticed that there was but one SS-man, armed
of course, who guarded those four or five
vehicles loaded with the elderly and the sick,
myself as a healthy boy among them.
As he turned his back to me, I jumped without a
moment’s hesitation off the truck and ran around
the next corner. As luck would have it, I rang the
bell at a Jewish family’s home; the man of the
house was a lawyer, who was still allowed to
work, namely for the ”Joodse Rat”. If nothing
else, there I could stay overnight.
The Jewish home for senior citizens
”Joodsche Invalide” in the year 2000
Photo: Alfred Strauss
