Tswi Herschel

Tswi Herschel (M / Netherlands, 1942), Holocaust survivor

• KEYWORDS : <Hidden Children>

Biography

Tswi Herschel was born 29 December 1942 in Zwolle, a small town in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands. In January 1943, the family had to leave Zwolle and moved to Amsterdam, where Tswi's father contacted non-Jewish Dutch friends and asked for help for his newborn son. In March 1943, a Protestant Dutch family took in baby Tswi, caring for him and raising him as their own child until the end of World War II. Tswi’s parents were transported to the transit camp of Westerbork in the Netherlands in June 1943. One month later, they were deported to the extermination camp of Sobibór, where they were murdered shortly after arrival.

Tswi's grandmother, his only surviving relative, took him from his foster family after the war in order to give him a Jewish education. Tswi grew up, got married and had two daughters.

In 1986, Tswi and his family immigrated to Israel. Since 1991, Tswi Herschel has told his story to young people and adults in Israel and Europe.