Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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Simon Maroko - February 19 & 26, 1986

But uh, when--now when you took this pre-clinical massage, gymnastics course. You first were told that you had to stop your pre-medical studies.

Right. It was numerus clausus.

Now who, now how were you notified of that?

It was uh, I don't know whether I was personally notified. But this was in the Jewish newspaper.

Just in the newspaper. I see. But what, what, what are the events now of 1941-1942 that uh, um, you have sort of direct memories of?

When the time came to put on the David star, I didn't wait until the very date. I felt that it was an act of pride to wear it. So I probably had it sewed on already three or maybe four days before the date. S. This is 1942.

Nineteen forty-one probably.

[pause]

In May, 1941.

You probably know that date better than I, precisely. I mean the month. In '42, a lot of things happened. In 1941 or '42 sometime, a young man, Jewish, who was in my opinion quite interested in my younger sister, he was perhaps about my age himself. Um, and we were walking back and forth to the synagogue services, told me that he had heard that there were people who were coming from England, landing in Holland. And then also could get back. Um, I asked him about the possibility that I might be one of those who could that way escape from Holland. He uh, said that he would look into it. And this whole thing--it was very drawn out. At one time I had a definite impression that it might be only a matter of weeks before his contact could arrange that I would be picked up. I got to the point that I actually wrote a farewell letter to my family. The excuse or whatever, I don't know whether it was, the whole thing was a bluff or whatever. He told me that his contact had fallen ill in England and therefore never had made the trip.