Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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

The Vandenbergs

Um, do you, do you think that the Vandenbergs knew that if they were caught they would be killed?

No.

They don't know that they would be killed?

No, not in the beginning--later.

Did...

Later, when...

Did you know that? Did you think that?

No. We didn't think that when we were hiding. We had such a lot of uh, tsuris on our head...

Hm.

that we didn't think of that. But I don't think that they think that they would get killed because--they, they will be punished, they know, maybe to a camp...

A camp.

but they didn't know what kind of a camp or they didn't--they were very poor people and they didn't know--maybe didn't read about concentration camps or much. They were but a little bit innocent in this way, I think.

Uh-huh.

And they were very good-hearted and they were very poor. They had six sons and they were very poor people. Very Catholic, very--from uh, Orthodox Catholic. And um, and good-natured, good--open um, uh, simple, open, poor, nice people.


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