“Another Perspective: The Story of Maud Dahme”

By Alexander Valdes | Published by April 20, 2020 

Not many people can say they have experienced a true life of hardship and strife, though not many people today were alive during the events of the Holocaust, except one individual who wanted to share her story, Maud Dahme.  

A Zoom meeting hosted by the Holocaust Resource Center on April 6 gave Dahme the opportunity to talk about her life experiences as a Jewish woman during World War II and the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.  

During the early years of the Second World War, Dahme had been able to live with her biological mother and father. This was during a time where Jewish people were being segregated from the rest of the populace, being banned from working in certain fields or even purchasing foods at certain times at certain markets.  

One thing that Dahme recalled was how at the age of five she did not understand the terrible nature behind Jewish people being forced to wear stars on their clothing. Of course, it was used by Nazi officials to identify Jewish citizens. But to Dahme and her sister, they were just colorful stars that she wore on her clothes. 

By the summer of 1942, situations were escalating so Dahme’s family was urged by a family friend to send both her and her sister Rita into hiding with the assistance of the Dutch underground resistance.  

Both Dahme and her sister were hidden for three years by two separate farming families where they adopted new names and would have to forego their Jewish identities. Dahme expressed throughout the ordeal that she was constantly living in anxiety and fear by the thought of both her and her sister being discovered and killed by Nazi officials.  

Dahme recalled her favorite memory during the war when Canadian soldiers arrived in town after the Germans had surrendered. Soon thereafter, Dahme and her sister were reunited with their parents who were hiding within an attic of a car dealership in the very town they lived in. However, due to the years they were separated she and her sister did not recognize their parents and were hesitant to go back home with them until they eventually did. 

Dahme went on to describe the difficulty she faced in trusting anyone throughout the time that she was hiding as well. 

“The people that I knew, yes but you had to be very careful because it could be your next-door neighbor who you’ve known for years,” said Dahme. “There was a price on our head too that if you turned in, let’s say, three Jews then it’s ‘okay you’re paid for three’ or they were given food because we had the hunger winter, I guess just turned on other people.” 

Dahme made it a priority to give a voice to those that could not speak up about the hatred directed at her and others as well as the fear and isolation that innocent Jewish people had to endure during this time of hatred. She has visited many Holocaust memorial museums throughout her life and continues to speak openly and publicly about her experiences so that others may learn in order to help prevent such a tragedy from ever occurring again. 

---