Sternefeld-Hemelrijk-Mok testimony. Collection

Mirjam Hemelrijk was born on 4 September 1932 as Sofia Antoinetta Hemelrijk, the daughter of Sophia Hemelrijk and an unidentified man. Sophia Hemelrijk was of catholic descent and had her daughter baptized. However, as a baby Sofia was adopted by the Jewish couple Samuel Lisser (b. 23/11/1899, Amsterdam, the Netherlands) and Rachel Keyser (b. 25/06/1903 in Antwerp, Belgium), who lived in Zandvoort, the Netherlands. Sofia was renamed Mirjam Lisser. Both Samuel Lisser and Rachel Keyser were deported from the Netherlands and did not survive. After her parents’ arrest, Mirjam first stayed with a family named Hemelrijk before being placed in an orphanage in Amsterdam. After the war her grandparents, the parents of Rachel Keyser who lived in Antwerp, found Mirjam and took her with them to Belgium. At the time of the interview Mirjam lived in Antwerp. Eva Sternefeld was born in Antwerp as the daughter of Benjamin Sternefeld and Mietje Kwetser, and is the sister-in-law of Mirjam Hemelrijk. Eva’s father Benjamin was born in Antwerp in 1903, her mother in the Netherlands that same year. During the war, the Sternefeld family fled Antwerp and lived in France for quite some time before reaching Spain. They remained there for a month, then left for Lisbon, Portugal, and from there emigrated by boat to Brazil. Because the vessel did not receive permission to debark in Brazil, the Sternefeld family ended up in Suriname. After the war the family returned to Antwerp via Rotterdam. Rachel (Chelly) Mok was born as the daughter of Maurits Mok and Rebecca Slap, both born in the Netherlands in 1907. Rachel’s father probably emigrated to Antwerp between 1910 and 1920. Rachel and Eva were brought up as sisters since their parents had been best friends from before both girls were born. The Mok family was also able to flee Antwerp during the war and ended up at the same location in France. The Mok family, however, was able to reach England and survived the war there. After the war, the Mok family returned to Belgium.

On 3 May 2017, Veerle Vanden Daelen and Nele Custers interviewed Holocaust survivors Mirjam Hemelrijk, Eva Sternefeld and Rachel Mok during a joined interview. The three women subsequently added copies of photos to illustrate their stories.

Mirjam Hemelrijk, Eva Sternefeld and Rachel Mok, 2017