Forced to separate from his mother and brother and take cover in a carved-out chimney, a young James Vanderpol successfully hid himself from the Gestapo as the Nazis invaded the Netherlands in 1940.
Vanderpol shared his story with the Andover community on Tuesday. The Jewish Student Union (JSU) hosted him in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day, which occurred on Thursday.
Eighty-seven-year-old Vanderpol is one of three Holocaust survivors living near Andover. He grew up in a Jewish household in the Netherlands, where he faced Nazi persecution for five years. Vanderpol immigrated to the United States shortly after the end of the war.
Vanderpol described the omnipresent fear of the time and told stories about the resourcefulness necessary for him to survive. He also included stories of his experiences hiding from the Gestapo.
In one story, Vanderpol said that he managed to obtain extra rations from German forces by faking sick to the German doctors.
“[A family doctor] told me that the day before I went to the doctor I should exhaust myself and stay up all night and drink a lot of coffee, and then an hour before I went to the doctor to pinch my finger and suck some blood, and by the time the doctor saw me [the blood] would be in my stomach. So I did that and was successful. I got triple rationing,” said Vanderpol.
Vanderpol’s stories also revolved around his luck and the extreme courage and generosity of the people who aided him and others in surviving.
Vanderpol told one particular anecdote about a Jewish man who helped hundreds of children escape and later heard from the Gestapo that his wife and daughter had been taken to a concentration camp. So that his family members would not be alone, the man then went with his family voluntarily, even though he knew that they would all die.
Despite the hardship during of the period, Vanderpol said that he lightened the mood with jokes or funny anecdotes.
“In Amsterdam where I grew up, you have to know a whole repertoire of jokes. That is standard culture. That helped me in the war. A sense of humor is almost like music; it takes you away from the daily challenges and you can laugh,” said Vanderpol.
Michael Swarttz, Jewish Chaplain, said, “[Holocaust survivors] are a dying generation, and they’re a wonderful resource. That’s why it’s so important to give people the opportunity to hear their stories because once they’re gone, you can read about it and you can see videotape testimonies, but it’s not the same as having a person face to face in the room with you who lived through [the Holocaust].”
Adele Bernhard ’14 said, “This is a real treasure to be able to hear a first hand experience. It really made me think, ‘What would I do in that situation?’ and the amount of courage that he and so many people had–it was very inspirational.”
Vanderpol encouraged young people to take time out to study history “because there is almost nothing new under the sun.”
“Human beings have their good side, their in-between side, and some have their bad side. What we are trying to do is encourage the good side, and that’s why I’m here, to talk a little about the bad side,” said Vanderpol.
Vanderpol has spoken at various middle schools, high schools, colleges and other locations regularly for the past 20 years.
Vanderpol is the author of “And the Money Went Over the Railing,” which chronicles his experiences during the Nazi invasion and occupation of the Netherlands.
Swarttz organized the event with JSU after contacting local synagogues to find Holocaust survivors residing in the Andover area.
