Frieda

'Life in the Shadow of the Swastika' Frieda Roos-van Hessen

09/24/2006

'Life in Shadow' emerges

Story recalls peril of Dutch Jews

By MARTA HEPLER DRAHOS
Record-Eagle staff writer

TRAVERSE CITY — Frieda Roos-van Hessen can recall with startling clarity the day in 1940 when her family's life changed.

Sleeping soundly after having given a concert the night before, she awoke at 2 a.m. to her brother's screaming. German war planes were racing over her family's home in Amsterdam on their way to bomb Schipol, Holland's biggest airport.

"We flew to the basement of the house and from that moment on, we were at war," said Roos-van Hessen, now an American citizen.

A former concert and opera singer, Roos-van Hessen was 25 and at the threshold of a successful career when the Nazis invaded Holland during World War II. At 19, she sang the lead for the Dutch version of Walt Disney's "Snow White." At 24, she was the soloist in a performance of Verdi's "Requiem" for the Dutch royal family.

For the complete story, click here: http://archives.record-eagle.com/2006/sep/24holocaust.htm

Autobiography of Frieda Roos-Van Hessen: Life in the Shadow of the Swastika

Which Bus Are You On?

The Potter’s House, UCC

October 1, 2006

Rev. Corey Sanderson

Which bus are you on?

This past Friday I took my ethics class to hear Frieda Roos-van Hessen – one of the few remaining Holocaust survivors. At 91, she spoke for an hour and a half about the atrocities she experienced; the betrayals by friends and neighbors, the murder of her family members, and the 4 years of living in fear of being caught and killed. It was an amazing story.

Back in class, I asked the students to share their thoughts. “Ethics is the study of making right and wrong choices,” I prodded, thinking this would be a slow pitch. “How might Frieda’s story help us reflect on those who made the ‘wrong’ choices?”

One student said, “It’s real sad, but there were just too many people who thought the Jews should be killed. That’s just how it goes.” Thinking this was merely an under-developed opinion I asked what others thought. One after another they confirmed it; there were just too many people to do anything.

“Just following orders?” I prodded. “Yeah” someone said.

Now, with an obvious level of disappointed irritation in my voice, I said, “No one is going to say this was wrong?” Silence. “That’s the ethical cop-out,” I said. “If you can’t say rounding up 6 million people and killing them because of their religious belief, sexual orientation, physical or mental abilities, is wrong, then you are not an ethical person. You are a chicken. And the world doesn’t need any more chickens. The world needs more ethical people who are willing to stand up for what they believe in and make a difference. And hopefully that difference includes concern for the lives of other people.”

I realized that what I was trying to say to them was, “I think you’re on the wrong bus.”

For more of this story, Click Here:

http://www.pottershouseucc.org/Assets/sermons/061008sermon.pdf

Life in the Shadow of the Swastika by Holocaust survivor, Frieda Roos-Van Hessen, is available in limited quantities.

Frieda Roos-van Hessen Receives Standing Ovation

Holocaust survivor tells about her ordeal

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer

Holocaust survivor Frieda Roos-van Hessen shared her harrowing tale of persecution, escape, survival and spiritual triumph with more than 800 people during two public lectures. Greeted with a standing ovation as she entered the stage, the animated Roos-van Hessen captivated listeners with her humility and candor as she relayed her dramatic story.

To read the full article from 10/4/06, click here:

http://www.gtherald.com/2006/oct/04freida.htm

Life in the Shadow of the Swastika, the autobiography of Frieda Roos-Van Hessen, is available at ReadingUp.com

Book Review: Life in the Shadow of the Swastika by Frieda E. Roos-van Hessen

Life in the Shadow of the Swastika: An Incredible Story of Survival, Bravery, and Renewal

Frieda E. Roos-van Hessen
Harvest Day Books (2006)
ISBN 0974134589
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (1/07)

“Life in the Shadow of the Swastika” begins with a letter written in 1949 to Felicia, from Frieda E. Roos-van Hessen. Frieda shares with her daughter what life was like during the Holocaust. 

“Before the war, the atmosphere in our home was that of music, and art and family.” Frieda refers to herself as “daddy’s little girl.” Her father was “a businessman and captain of the corps of Engineers with the Dutch Army Reserve.” Her life was pleasant with visits to the zoo and “presents from Sinterklass.”  Frieda went to school, learned to knit, crochet and embroider. Childhood was a time of laughter and joy. That ended when the nightmare began.

It was on a field trip to the mountains of Germany anti-Semitism first touched her life. The experience left her and her friends dumbfounded. That was only the beginning. Frieda’s life took a drastic turn. Her family was in danger. A law was passed not allowing Gentiles to serve Jews. 

“Life in the Shadow of the Swastika” by Frieda E. Roos-van Hessen is a tribute to the brave people that risked their lives to help the Jewish people in Holland. The story of the Holocaust should never be forgotten. Ms. van Hessen is a courageous woman and an excellent writer. Her life is one to be celebrated. She is a beautiful woman physically as attested to by the photo on the back cover. She is a beautiful person inside as demonstrated to by the story she tells. The cover of this book speaks a thousand words, with a picture of the author at as a teen and the Star of David imposed on the shadow of a swastika. The story flows smoothly and is easy to focus on. The trying times come to life on the pages.

***** I highly recommend this book to everyone, for this is a story that all generations must hear.

Life in the Shadow of the Swastika by Frieda E. Roos-van Hessen is available at www.ReadingUp.com

Frieda Roos-van Hessen & Shoah Project

Frieda Roos-van Hessen's testimony is one of nearly 52,000 visual history testimonies of survivors and other witnesses of the Holocaust which have been archived by the USC Shoah Foundation Institute. Shoah, meaning catastrophe, is the Jewish word for Holocaust.

Director Steven Spielberg was the impetus behind the Shoah Foundation's video archive in 1994 after filming Schindler's List the previous year in Poland. His mission was to preserve the testimony of Holocaust survivors for future generations. Many of the interviews are with Holocaust survivors, including Jews, Sinti and Roma, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses and political prisoners. The archive also includes interviews with rescuers, liberators, members of aid organizations, eyewitnesses, and participants in war crimes trials. In all, about 52,000 testimonies from 52 countries and 32 languages.

Frieda van Hessen has a captivating story. She was one of Holland's foremost concert and opera singers. At 19, she sang the lead for the Dutch version of Walt Disney's Snow White. At 24, she was the soloist in a performance of Verdi's Requiem for the Dutch Royal Family. Frieda van Hessen won the Grande Diplome at the World Contest in Geneva, Switzerland where she was judged one of the eight best female singers in the world. The future could not have seemed brighter until she was forced into hiding when the Nazis invaded Holland during World War II.

Today, this 92-plus-year-old woman lives to tell about her hiding, mircaculous escapes, and determination to survive some of the worst horrors this world has ever seen.

• For information about the Shoah Project, see http://college.usc.edu/vhi/
• For information about Frieda Roos-van Hessen, see www.friedaslife.com
• For information about her book Life in the Shadow of the Swastika, see www.readingup.com

Publisher, Thomas White, of Harvest Day Books calls Frieda's book Life in the Shadow of the Swastika amazing! "It chronicles her four-and-a-half years of hiding including her eight incredible escapes from the hands of the Nazis. When I first read her manuscript, I was numb for two days. Incredible."