Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive

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

Relations with Non-Jews

Your parents too, did they have non-Jewish friends?

Um, yes, the neighbors and everybody. That--like in Germany they had it too.

Uh-huh. Um, what didn't you like about the school?

When somebody had a very loud voice, I got very nervous and hiding by myself. And I thought--I was always afraid that uh, when they ask me something, I don't know it very well or something.

Hm.

I was a little bit maybe, nervous, I don't know. And um, um, if there was a German word, I'd refuse to say it, when I had to read something, because I didn't want to be German, I was Dutch. I, I didn't want to be different than another childs. And they were all Dutch, so I was Dutch too. And I was speaking fluently Dutch without an accent, because I came very, uh...

Right.

in my early days to uh, to Amersfoort .

And did, did you play soccer, things like that?

No, not soccer, but we, we played with uh, the children in the street. We were always very busy. All the children well, they were very nice uh, children. I already--I remember them.

And what was your...

And uh, we played with the little ball, so you have to put it in the hole or we played ball or we were cycling or um, with the step uh, or we made a tent. And we got some bread and butter and sugar we were eating. You--like this.

Tea.

Yeah. And we played in the gardens with all the garden things and...


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