Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

• Contents
• Map

Miriam Troostwyk - May 28, 1998 and June 3, 1999

Was she married already?

No. But she had my uh, brother-in-law--she knew him and he wanted to marry her, but she was not yet ready for it. So she uh, she was uh, with us in Holland. And then in 19--when I was three years old uh, or four years--I think three and a half years, then she got married. That must have been in 1934 or five.

And, and this was a German Jewish--somebody she knew in Germany?

And I, I, I c...I remember a little thing from the wedding, not much, but just uh, uh, uh, hear something or--and that's all.

What?

What I remember is it was in a--it was not in the synagogue, it was the hall in uh, very beautiful palms and there was a red uh, carpet on the floor that was very beautiful. And there was the chuppa.

Palms, you say?

It was in a, in a--there in a hall, the antich...

But you said there were beautiful palms?

Palms, uh, yes, plants, two plants.

Palm trees?

Palm trees.

Really?

Yeah, not uh, that from uh, the South of France but uh, it's a plant what has--that leaf that go around like this and they start already near the pot. And I liked them so very much, that's why I know it.

So you remember the plants?

The, the plants and staying in there with somebody--people, because it was with the tallit.

The chuppa?

The chuppa.

Uh-huh. And where...

And I remember that my sister played in the evening, piano--a little song, which she learned me in English--she taught me in English and I had to sing it.

What's the song?

Which, which song was it? I sing from Shirley Temple or something, On the Good Ship Lollipopor something.

But do you remember it?

But it can be another song too because we had family in England. And when she came back, she was uh, playing and singing the songs from uh, I Walk in When You Walk Out and something, it was a fox trot and she was always [snaps fingers] doing this. And she said to me, you have to dance, dance, so I was dancing too...

Uh-huh.

that I remember. And uh, and she played a lot with me. She was, uh...