Susan Q. testimony 1990

Susan Q. was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands in 1923 to a prominent Sephardic family. She describes a large extended family. She recalls the German invasion and occupation. She describes learning trades such as dressmaking and nursing, including working at Jewish hospital. She describes her parents’ deportation to Westerbork in 1942 and their release after a friend provided false papers. She recalls the experience of hiding during round-ups and her older sister’s deportation to Auschwitz. She describes being forced to assist with involuntary medical procedures on Jewish men. She describes receiving a notice for deportation and her parents arranging for her to go into hiding. She describes learning that her parents were deported after they helped her (they later perished). Susan describes hiding in Bussum. She describes receiving false identification papers and working in Baarn where she was treated like a family member. She recalls liberation by Canadian troops and returning to Amsterdam. She describes reuniting with her surviving sister. She recalls moving to Leiden and Oxford to continue nursing training and working in London. She discusses her marriage, divorce and meeting her second husband in Canada. She discusses her emigration to Canada and her charitable activities. Susan shows photographs and documents.