Holocaust survivor speaks on his trials

Wenatchee High School juniors were visited on April 15 by Peter Metzelaar, a survivor of the Holocaust. Metzelaar shared his experiences with the class in both the trials of World War II and the lessons that came with them.

His speech told his story during the war, when Metzelaar at age seven hid from the Nazis with his mother. He had help from the Dutch Underground, but even as he got away he watched the fates of those who didn’t make it.

“One of the most vivid things that I recall– again, I was just a little over seven– is that one night, a little after dark, trucks started pulling up to the apartments,” Metzelaar said. “And in the quiet of the night I hear metal doors slamming, and German soldiers yelling, followed by people and babies screaming.”

For the next three years he rotated homes while he witnessed the deep injustice that Jews were treated with. Two of those years he spent with the Klaas and Roefina Post family until it was unsafe. He tried to get in touch with them 50 years later to thank them for their kindness. Though the family had passed away ten years prior, Metzelaar managed to get ahold of their daughters.