HENNY JULIARD: Near the end of the war, Pam and I were living in a little house in the woods that Bochove found for us; with our newborn baby, it was a better place to be. While we were living there, Pam published a little book, underground, to help earn some money. In it were two anti-Nazi stories. It was a dangerous thing to do, but it was all right with me. I even helped him with the typing.
By then we had practically no food in the house. There were some Dutch S.S. in our village--Dutch, not German--who were in the habit of searching houses, looking for food to confiscate. I can't say that we lived in fear of them as much as anger, and we were very angry about this. One day they came to our little house, looking for food, and what did they find? My husband, me, our little child, and the books.
"What is this? You'll have to come with us!"
They made Pam pile the books on a cart. They took him away, pulling the cart behind him.
I was certain I would never see him again. I was so sure he wouldn't come back, I began to pack a suitcase to go to Annie Bochove's. Then a few of the S.S. came back to the house.
"You are leaving? Oh, what a nice little girl you have," said one.
Then he started to rip up the place. I got really angry.
"What are you doing? I shouted. "I just cleaned up and you're making a mess again. Get out of here!"
And he went away. He was so surprised that I stood up to him. Usually in such circumstances you don't have the courage.
They took Pam to a different town for interrogation. It was only two weeks before the end of the war. We could hear the cannons of the Canadian army, they were that near.
The German questioning Pam said, "This is Jewish libel!"
"No, that is not libel."
Pam made up a story that someone from the Resistance had asked him to hide the books for him. The German said, "Wait until the Russians are here. Then you will see what life will be like. Go home! Go home!"
Pam walked all the way back to Huizen. He was just very lucky. The next day they shot a boy there because they had found a gun on him. Pam's great danger, of course, was that they might have discovered he was Jewish.
By then we had no money left at all. The first years of the war, before we went to Bochove's, we lived from our savings and by selling every possession of any value. By the end of the war, all Pam had left to wear were his pajamas.
We had traded my gold wedding ring, his watch, even his underwear.
But we were lucky. I know of other people in hiding who were told to leave when their money was gone. One person told me that when he wanted to go to the bathroom he had to pay for a piece of toilet paper.
Yes, some Jewish people we knew had very bad experiences in hiding, but because of our friends the Bochoves, it was not so terrible for us. That we had to hide, that we were treated like criminals, that we couldn't feel like a " mensch ," that was awful.
My husband and I are from large families. Almost everyone was murdered--parents, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts and their children. May they rest in peace. The Bochoves saved our lives.
Henny Juliard gave this interview at her seaside home in Scheveningen, The Hague, in 1986.
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