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| DP-2 card of Luba Tryszynska that spoke at least 6 languages, among others Yiddish. Hermina Kranzová spoke five: Slovakian, Hungarian, Polish, Russian and German. |
Kinderheim in Bergen-Belsen - Dutch, Polish, German Hungarian and Yiddish were dominating languages among children in the Barack 211.
Before the Nazis sought to exterminate Jews, the Jewish population across Europe and elsewhere was estimated at 17 million, of which actually up to 13 million spoke Yiddish. Of the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust, 85 per cent were Yiddish speakers.
To start with, I thought that Yiddish was the common language in the Kinderheim. However, it was not the case. Polish and Dutch were dominating. It is likely that some of the children from Poland learned quickly Dutch although they were expose to that language only for 3-4 months. Dutch children used Dutch and German. Few Hungarian and Romanian children used most likely German and Yiddish to communicate with others.
It is likely that children gathered according to language and age. Older children had often "group of mothers" to talk to.
Above was the situation in the Kinderbaracke, the Kinderheim. According to Hetty Verolme (Esther Werkendam), the Polish and Dutch groups during the day spent their time at two different locations within the hut. Esther Werkendam - Hetty Verolme wrote to me: Than a whole lot of Polish girls arrived but they did not mix with the Dutch Children. They always stayed in the dinning room and we stayed in the dormitory".
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| Hetty Verolme and her brothers were sent from Westerbork transit camp to Bergen-Belsen. Most of the transports from Westerbork ended up in the death camps. Esther Werkendam - Hetty Verolme wrote to me: Than a whole lot of Polish girls arrived but they did not mix with the Dutch Children. They always stayed in the dinning room and we stayed in the dormitory". |
Hetty Verolme wrote a book, see below.
