Maria Susanna de Bruijn - Kamperman

Maria Susanna de Bruijn - Kamperman 

The remarkable woman I was named after. (Marjolein Susanna Alida van Leeuwen was the name my parents gave me at birth). 

I couldn't be more proud to carry my grandmothers name. 



Unfortunately, a month ago we received news that she passed away. I flew home to be with my family and be there with the funeral and the wake. At 96 years old she had lived a full life. Such a full and remarkable life that her story in my opinion is worth it to be shared.

I have the fondest memories of my grandmother. Some of my earliest ones of her in the wintertime in the kitchen making me home made hot cocoa. Other times standing on a little stool in the kitchen helping her bake her delicious apple pie. Which ironically I finally decided to make for Christmas and share with my family in law here in California this past winter. 

Having my first ever sleepover at her house and finding out my grandmother snored even louder than my father, I couldn't believe it!!  Or later when I was older biking over from school to have lunch with her during my school breaks. She'd make me a simple omelet but in my eyes it was always the most delicious lunch ever. And after lunch we would sit down for the remaining time until I had to return to school and we'd just talk. About her life. Her history. And she'd tell me her life's stories. This is the way I remember her telling me about her life.

Born in 1920 my grandmother was only 18 years old when the Germans invaded the Netherlands. Living in the central city of Utrecht my grandmother found herself right in the center of all kinds of Nazi activity. Like many others she could have chosen to ignore the issues the war posed to those less fortunate. Having the privilege of being a young 'Aryan' woman (as the Nazis viewed people of 'pure blood' in Europe at that time) she didn't have anything to worry about. Yet from her point of privilege she still decided to make a difference and along with her parents, she supported the resistance. Carrying messages from one location to another on a bike without rubber tires for them, she did her part. Yet at home they also decided to offer shelter to several Jewish children desperately trying to stay out of the hands of the Nazis and the inevitable path leading to concentration camps, gas chambers and death.  

One day when two of the main men in the detection of Jews showed up at their doorstep, my grandmother and her parents discovered that they'd be found out. Someone had given them up and my grandmother along with the two Jewish boys they were hiding at the time were arrested. She was taken in for interrogation but eventually luckily let go. The two boys upon instructions from my grandmothers parents and the resistance pretended to be sick and were taken to a hospital where at that time some nurses were part of the resistance and managed to smuggle them out from under the Nazi's eyes. 

Many years later after the war, when some of the main men in the Nazi and Jewish operations in Holland were being sentenced in court, my grandmother testified against them. Thanks to her testimony and others these men were sentenced for their part in the Dutch Jewish genocide. 

Many, many years later my grandmother was honored by Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, called Yad Vashem. She was awarded a medal and her name was inscribed in the wall of Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, to honor her and her parents for the lives they saved. 

As you may understand better now, 

My grandmother was an amazing woman. A hero in her own right. That's quite a heritage to be a part of and I can honestly say that I couldn't be more proud to be her grand daughter. 

I am writing this story so that we will never forget what happened in that war. People were discriminated against, crimes were committed against them. And for what reason? Simply because their background was different? Because they looked different? That should never be a reason to treat another human being as lesser than ourselves. I share this story because I want to remember what an incredible woman I'm related to. I will certainly do all that is in my power to make sure her story is passed on. To my children and my children's children. 

My grandmother was one of the strongest women I have known and know. It is an honor to carry her name, which I will forever be grateful for. 

Oma, may you Rest In Peace. You and your story will not be forgotten.