By Nathaniel A. Lopez
On Friday, May 3, a group of more than 30 people gathered at El Rancho Robles in Oracle for an intimate, informative, and inspirational talk by Dirk Van Leenen, a Holocaust survivor, and author of a book trilogy on the subject, Resistance on a Bicycle, The Americans are Coming!!! The Last Hope to End the War in Holland, and The Last Train to the Concentration Camp: A Small Boy’s Memories on the Train to Bergen-Belsen.
Van Leenen, born 1940, in the Netherlands, was just a child during World War II. Coming to Arizona in 1985, after accepting a horticulture job, Dirk met his current wife, and has been in the Phoenix Area ever since. Van Leenen credited his children, and grandchildren for inspiring him to write his stories, after recounting his experience of the war times to them.
“Once you start, there’s no stopping,” he told the crowd about telling his story.
During his presentation, he recalled what it was like living in Holland as a young boy during the Nazi occupation: food and water scarcity, lack of electricity, and persecution just for their faith. His father was a member of the Dutch Resistance, and his family would help fellow Jewish people who needed hiding. He recalled his house being searched by Nazis when he was just 3 years old. The Nazis weren’t able to find the hiding place because their secret passageway wasn’t in a typical place, Van Leenen explained. It was behind the toilet. On average, there would be about 20 people in hiding. His family and the resistance helped save over 1,000 people with acts of courage and bravery.
Even as a child, Dirk played his part, occasionally smuggling food for others under his clothing, while sitting on the back of his father’s bike. He even had his own garden in their backyard at just the age of 4.
He told the story of his father being tailed by the Nazis close to the end of the war. His father was arrested after attempting to alert other resistance safe houses that they were being watched, and needed to be careful. He recalled crying after seeing how badly they tortured his father, as his mother tended the wounds. That’s when he talked about being placed on a train, and taken to a concentration camp, during what would be the last month of the war.
“I still see those bodies at night every once and a while,” he told the crowd.
Eventually, the concentration camp he was in was liberated by the British. His family then made their way back to Holland, where they continued to help the Dutch Resistance until the war was finally over.
The crowd sat fully invested in his tales of his family’s resilience and perseverance in the face of persecution and bigotry.
After his presentation, he asked if the crowd had any questions. One member of the crowd asked him how long it was, after the war, before everything felt normal, to which Van Leenen responded that it took over a year before it became a little normal.
He offered a special deal on his books to those in attendance, reminding them to pass on these stories, because they needed to be told, and they needed to be heard.
Dirk Van Leenen, a Holocaust survivor, and author, talks about his experiences with two audience members.