A secret room that saved this girl’s life

“It was late at night, I was already asleep, when my mother’s soft voice woke me up. ‘Dollychen, you have to get up now. It’s not morning yet.’ She came and sat on the bed with me and so did my father. They said they had to leave for two weeks, as the Germans wanted that, but then they would come back…. the doorbell suddenly rang very loud and long and my father opened the door. Three officers from the Grüne Polizei [Nazi police force] burst in, their boots making a loud noise of clicking and stamping. They shouted all sorts of orders loudly and roughly for everyone to hurry up: ‘Schnell, schnell, sonst schiessen wir [(Quick, quick, otherwise we shoot]’. I hid behind Anna and was scared, very scared.”