holocaust, jewish, extermination, concentration camp, shoah, auschwitz, belzec, treblinka, monowitz, birkenau, night of the long knives,
deportations, judenrat, majdanek, westerbork, chelmno, vught, wannsee, theresienstadt, roma, sinti, night of the broken glass, extermination camps, nazi´s,
hitler, jews, diaspora, jewish council, judenrat, transportation, birkenau, ghetto, hans vanderwerff, sion soeters, aktion reinhard, terezin, himmler, david irving
holocaust denial, holocaust lest we forget, jews, synagogue, oswald pohl, odilo globocnik, deportations, judenrat, majdanek, westerbork, chelmno, vught,
wannsee, theresienstadt, roma, sinti, night of the broken glass, extermination camps, nazi´s, hitler, jews, diaspora, jewish council, judenrat, transportation,
birkenau, ghetto, hans vanderwerff, sion soeters, aktion reinhard, terezin, himmler, david irving, holocaust denial, holocaust lest we forget, jews, synagogue,
oswald pohl, siegfried seidl, protectorate, bohemia, moravia, murmelstein, karl rahm, anton burger, karl hermann frank,

 

In Memoriam: Present for a teacher

 

(Story by) Gerrit de Jong


        You may find this story about Jetty rather silly though it left an indelible impression on my memory. The school year was 1935/36, the place the 2nd grade Emmastraat classroom in Assen, Drente. The teacher was Mrs. Balten. See the school picture below. The class was made up of approximately twenty-five pupils. All kids were about 7 years old, including myself. In my class was also a girl, Jettie Fischler. A sweet little girl, but extremely shy and rather unsure of herself. I must emphasize here that the war was still five years off and her being Jewish plays no part whatsoever in this story. It only offers a rare glimpse into the shy and insecure life of Jettie Fischler.

       It was teacher's birthday and the established procedure was that she would come in with a bag full of sweets for all of us to share while some of the pupils would have a present for her, such as beautiful flower bouquets purchased in the flower shop to the less prettier ones brought from home and the odd chocolate bar or apple. Some of us, including Jettie and myself, had no present but this was of no further significance. Between noon and 2 o'clock, as usual, all of us went home for lunch. At two we were all back in our seats, but not Jettie! First nobody thought much of it, but then, after 10 to 15 minutes someone suggested to go to her mother and warn her, and perhaps find out what could have possibly happened to her.

       At that very moment the door opened and Jettie walked in. With her hands held behind her back she made a bee-line for Mrs. Balten who had already started to scold her. I don't remember the exact wording she used but it was, I believe, a mixture of "Where on earth have you been" and "Well now, where does our little Jettie come from?"

Bottom row: Jettie Fischler & Mrs. Balten

Then Jettie pulled her arm from behind her back and held her fist in front of Mrs. Balten. In it she held an absolutely miserably looking bunch of wilted dandelions which she had picked from some weedy lawn along the Emmastraat where the school was located. There were plenty of dandelions all over the place, even in those days. She said with a timid voice, "Voor uw verjaardag, juf! - For your birthday, teach!" Children can be cruel so we are told. No sooner the kids in the class had started sniggering at Jettie's unfortunate situation, than they stopped again. Why? Because mrs. Balten began to cry and I mean cry. Tears were rolling down her cheek. I assure you, she was no fake. She meant it. She was deeply moved by Jettie's gesture (the school picture below of Jetty and Mrs. Balten standing so close together must have been taken only days after this incident. She brought Jettie back to her seat. Since that moment Jettie's ratings increased enormously among us. She became almost popular and with it her assertiveness grew noticeably. She badly needed that boost. After all: she was the kid who made the teacher cry!

       About a year later or so I lost sight of Jettie. I believe we were told that she had gone to another school. Anyhow, I don't remember noticing her again after that incident. But we all know of course what happened to her later on in the war. It saddens me to know that she too became a victim of the Holocaust.

 

 School year 1935-1936, Mrs. Balten-Alink, Grade 2