In the 1980s, when people thought about the Holocaust, they usually imagined Jews as victims. The accounts they gave provided useful information about Barbie, but some also contained an extraordinary revelation – a so far untold story of a resistance group consisting almost entirely of Jews that had operated in the Netherlands, helping people to escape from deportation centres and concentration camps. Barbie seemed to have been involved and may have conducted their interrogation. Some refugees had been arrested as the Germans occupied Dutch soil. It emerged that before May 1940 the German police had been spying on political opponents who had fled to the Netherlands. I discovered that Barbie had been posted in Amsterdam before he gained notoriety in Lyons. In February 1983, the German war criminal Klaus Barbie had been flown from Bolivia to stand trial in France, where during the Second World War the Hauptsturmführer of the Schutzstaffel (SS) had become notorious as the ‘Butcher of Lyons’. At the time I was studying history at the University of Amsterdam, following a few years of journalistic work, and I earned a living for my young family by working as a freelance reporter. The reason for meeting Nol was to ask him about his wartime experience. Nol Bueno de Mesquita in 1985 (photo Norma Braber-McKinney). As he told me his story, Nol was serious, but occasionally his eyes betrayed a streak of mischief. Although ageing and balding, he strongly resembled the man he had been in 1942. They got away, because I met Nol in 1985, 40 years after the end of the Second World War. Was it possible to escape? And if so, where could they go? The deportation of Jews from the Netherlands was in full swing. There were roadblocks, raids and round ups. Actually, it was just as unsafe in daylight. The evening curfew made it dangerous to go out at night. It was getting cold the winter frost was about to descend. Their daughter Ruth was only one and a half years old and Ter suspected being pregnant again. The trail led to Nol and Ter’s flat on an Amsterdam canal, just outside the old Jewish neighbourhood. The German police and their Dutch helpers were hunting Krijn and his fellow resistance fighters. The consequences of that step overtook them in 1942. When a friend had asked the Jewish couple that summer to ‘do something against these rotters’, ² they had joined resistance groups. Two and a half years earlier German armies had occupied the Netherlands, where Nol had married Ter Kolthoff in June 1940, barely a month after the invasion. A bit older, wearing spectacles and with wavy dark hair, Nol had always feared betrayal, but it took time to grasp the first part of Krijn’s message. We’ve been betrayed.’ ¹ That last word wasn’t lost on Nol Bueno de Mesquita. Bursting into the first floor flat, he shouted: ‘Nol, you need to get out of here. The grooves in his otherwise young face had long been deep, but now Krijn Breur looked extremely worried. Contentsįront cover Ter Kolthoff and Nol Bueno de MesquitaĤAdvert for Nol’s Interior Design BusinessĩTer and Nol with Their Daughters PROLOGUE This title is also available as an e-book. | World War, 1939–1945–JewishĬover image: Ter Kolthoff and Nol Bueno de Mesquita (photographer unknown) Subjects: LCSH: Bueno de Mesquita, Nol, 1908–2002. Includes bibliographical references and index. Title: Individuals and small groups in Jewish resistance to the Holocaust :Ī case study of a young couple and their friends / Ben Braber.ĭescription: London New York, NY : Anthem Press, | Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Owner and the above publisher of this book.īritish Library Cataloguing-in-Publication DataĪ catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Without the prior written permission of both the copyright (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or introduced intoĪ retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.Īll rights reserved. This edition first published in UK and USA 2022ħ5–76 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8HA, UKĢ44 Madison Ave #116, New York, NY 10016, USA Individuals and Small Groups in Jewish Resistance to the HolocaustĪ Case Study of a Young Couple and Their FriendsĪn imprint of Wimbledon Publishing Company
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