First Person with Ralph Berets, May 22, 2019

Through the First Person program, Holocaust survivors have the opportunity to share their remarkable personal stories of hope, tragedy, and survival with thousands of visitors at the Museum. This program was recorded on May 22, 2019. It features Ralph Berets, who was born in The Netherlands in 1939. His family led a normal, comfortable middle class life until Germany invaded the Netherlands in May 1940. The Netherlands is circled on this map which shows Nazi occupied western Europe in 1940.. To avoid deportation, the Berets family found refuge in a cottage his father had built in the fields on the property of Ralph's father's Christian acquaintance. After a close call where they were almost discovered, the family contacted the Dutch underground for assistance and finding new hiding places. Ralph and his sister were hidden together, separately from their parents. They lived in a number of different hiding places before the whole family hid in a chicken coop in Arnhem.They were in the chicken coop until they were liberated by Canadian forces on May 5, 1945

[@brendondowdy5651]

Wow unbelievable. I'm born and raised in Missouri and sadly just found out of this man's existence.

[@joslynandcarltonramsubhag1836]

Very Interesting!

[@wednesdayschild3627]

I forgot to mention. I know why the farmer hung his son. The older son betrayed his family. Jesus said, father and son would be against each other, but to still do the right thing no matter what. That son could not be trusted. I appreciate how candid Ralph is.

[@wednesdayschild3627]

It isn't paranoia, if they really are after you.

[@gonefishing167]

Thank you sir for your testimony. Let us hope with all our hearts that mankind finally learns to tolerate each other else, I fear, we will end up destroying ourselves as a species. I sometimes think that as an evolutionary experiment , man has been a dismal failure. The dinosaurs were here for 200 million odd years. Without an asteroid, perhaps we wouldn’t exist. And yet, we’ve been around for just a few thousand and we’re not doing a good job of it. Blessings to you and your family sir. 🙏🙏🙏🙏👵👵👵👵🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺