Dr. Maurice Vanderpol

Maurice (Ries) Vanderpol was born on July 12, 1922, in Amsterdam, Holland into a middle class Jewish family. His parents worked very hard to give their children a secure existence and future. He attended public schools and had many friends of various religious and ethnic backgrounds. He never experienced any overt antisemitism and while clearly having a Jewish identity, he identified himself as a Dutch citizen first and foremost.

When the Nazis invaded and occupied Holland in 1940, his father was abroad in Antwerp on a business trip and could not return home. Ries was left with his mother and brother to weather the storm of persecution and deportation. At the time, Reis was attending his second year of medical school and very soon was forced to leave the university because he was Jewish. In response to the expulsion of all Jewish students, the dean of the medical school started an underground but accredited medical school where the Jewish students went to the homes of Jewish professors to continue their courses. This lasted a fairly short time because of raids on Jewish young men to be sent to the camps.

By 1942, when deportations were going full speed, Ries and his family decided to go into hiding with the help of gentile friends. One of his friends gave Ries his own identity card without the "J" for Jew on it and reported his card as lost. Ries was in hiding for about two years until liberation on May 5th, 1945.

In 1946, Ries emigrated to the United States and completed medical school. He went on to a successful practice in psychiatry and psychoanalysis. Ries is now retired and lives in Massachusetts with his wife, Netty.

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Additional Resources

• Full bio of Dr. Maurice Vanderpol [pdf] from The Holocaust Center, Boston North.
• The Little Kettle: a Memoir of Nazi-occupied Amsterdam is a 29-page, illustrated children's book written by Ries, which tells the story of the water kettle given to him by his grandfather. It is available to Facing History educators from our lending library.
• Ries Vanderpol's Story from Secret Courage - The Walter Suskind Story
  Making Suskind's story known to the world has been a mission of Ries' for decades and was realized when the film "Secret Courage: The Walter Suskind Story" was made in 2005.
• Read an article about Ries' childhood city, Amsterdam, during the Holocaust from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's website, which offers a media-rich, comprehensive history of the Holocaust.
  
  

Related Video: 

Ries Vanderpol has been a friend to Facing History and Ourselves for many years. He has enriched the lives of Facing History teachers and students by sharing his story in classrooms and at Facing History professional development workshops and seminars. The following video excerpts are from 2002, when Ries spoke at a Facing History and Ourselves summer seminar for educators.

	Dr. Maurice Vanderpol Tells How He Survived the Holocaust in Hiding Dr. Maurice Vanderpol, from a middle-class Dutch Jewish family, describes his family's life before World War II, how they went into hiding when the Nazis invaded and occupied Holland in 1940, and how they survived the war. He spoke at a 2002 Facing History and Ourselves summer institute. (36 min.)
	Dr. Maurice Vanderpol Talks about Facing History and Ourselves Dr. Maurice Vanderpol, from a middle class Jewish family, went into hiding when the Nazis invaded and occupied his native Holland in 1940. He spoke at a 2002 Facing History and Ourselves summer institute. In this excerpt, Dr. Vanderpol explains why his involvement with Facing History and Ourselves is so important to him in a post-9/11 world.
	Dr. Maurice Vanderpol Reads a Poem about Ostracism and "A Recipe for Evil" Dr. Maurice Vanderpol, from a middle-class Jewish family, went into hiding when the Nazis invaded and occupied his native Holland in 1940. He spoke at a 2002 Facing History and Ourselves summer institute. In this excerpt, Dr. Vanderpol reads two poems that are especially meaningful to him: "Courage" by Bob Blue and "Recipe for Evil" by Jordan Clark.
	Dr. Maurice Vanderpol Tells about his Experiences after World War II Dr. Maurice Vanderpol, from a middle-class Jewish family, went into hiding when the Nazis invaded and occupied his native Holland in 1940. He spoke at a 2002 Facing History and Ourselves summer institute. In this excerpt, Dr. Vanderpol tells about his experiences after the end of World War II, including the shocking antisemitism he experienced after moving to the United States.
	Holocaust Survivor Dr. Maurice Vanderpol Answers Questions Dr. Maurice Vanderpol, from a middle-class Jewish family, went into hiding when the Nazis invaded and occupied his native Holland in 1940. He spoke at a 2002 Facing History and Ourselves summer institute. In this excerpt, Dr. Vanderpol answers questions from participants.