Thesis
During the Holocaust, the Jews' rights were being systematically stripped away and their lives threatened as part of a strategic plan, formed by Hitler, to destroy a whole race. When the Nazis invaded the Netherlands, Dutch citizens saw how cruelly they were treating the Jews and formed a secret resistance movement. The Dutch Resistance, an underground movement of people from all different walks of life, had one thing in common, they felt it was their responsibility, no matter the consequences, to stand up against evil, fight against injustice and protect the most basic of all rights-the right to human life. Out of the bravery and selflessness, the members of Dutch Resistance put the lives of their families and themselves at risk, in order to rescue and hide thousands of Jews.
"I've been asked in recent years why my mother and I did these things. Historically, how did I grow up to be a rescuer? I never asked myself that question because it was a natural assumption for both of us that we would do this. We never questioned the premise, as if it was a tradition in the family. Well, it was. For us, it was the right thing to do. We never argued with my grandmother about it. We just assumed she would do this. " |
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Louis LAWRENCE-Isreal
Louis Lawrence is a Jew that lived in Holland during the Holocaust. She was only five when the occupation of Holland ended, but still remembers what it was like and stories and that her parents had told her.
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"Everyone of them could have saved themselves. But if all the leaders went away, who would take care of the children in hiding? Somebody had to stay in Holland to go on working. The shepherd can not leave the flock. I think they had to be very, very brave and courageous to take on the task. What they did was a very good deed. And they paid the price."
-Joseph Heinrich