Holocaust survivor tells his story to Idaho residents

BOISE, Idaho – Pete Metzelaar was a Jewish boy born in Amsterdam.

Today he lives in Seattle as a Holocaust survivor. This week he’s in town to tell his story to Idaho residents.

The Council for Holocaust Awareness of Idaho launched a new initiative with the goal of bringing one Holocaust survivor or a relative of one to Idaho each year. Metzelaar is the first.

Metzelaar shared his story with over 500 people in Boise on Tuesday evening. And another group in Meridian on Wednesday evening.

“I always joke,” Metzelaar told KTVB on Tuesday morning. “I forget what I had for dinner last night, but I remember a lot of things from when this happened between the ages of six and 10.”

At the age of six, everything he had was taken away from him.

“After my entire family, except my mother, was arrested by the Nazis with the help of the so-called ‘underground,’ my mother and I went into hiding,” Metzelaar told KTVB.

Metzelaar and his mother hid on a Christian family’s farm for two and a half years, he said.

“There were often German raids where we hid under the floorboards in the farms,” Metzelaar said. “There was also a small forest near the farm… Mom and I hid in this cave when the Germans raided the farm looking for people.”

He said it was scary to lose his entire family, especially as a young boy.

“What happened to Grandma and Grandpa? What happened to dad? Why aren’t they here? What am I doing in this hole? So, you know, those were the aspects of extreme, extreme, extreme fear for as long as you could.” “It doesn’t exist, you don’t have that, never talk to anyone because it could be your last day,” he said.

Metzelaar said they hid in another town for a few years after the farm. When World War II was over, Metzelaar said it was a relief.

“With one exception, no one in the family came back and we didn’t know what happened… We know that today,” he said.

Four years after the war, Metzelaar came to America at the age of 14.

“When your freedom and liberty are taken away, it’s a devastating thing, but when it’s given back, it’s not like turning on a light switch,” Metzelaar said. “It takes time, it takes a while. After the war, can I go out and play football with my friends? How do I have to look behind myself? Will someone arrest me? Because who I am, what I am, takes time.”

It wasn’t a typical childhood.

Now, at the age of 89, he has been telling his story for 20 years.

When asked why he continues to tell his story, he said: “How will the children know? Because if they’ve never heard of it, it’s an event that happened a long time ago.”

He said it was more than just his personal story. Six million Jews were murdered.

“In daily events, right in this country and around the world, there are signs today that are similar to those before Hitler came to power,” he said. “How do you know if it happens again? If you don’t teach it.”

Soon there will be no more Holocaust survivors.

When asked what Metzelaar would like future generations to remember, he answered real experiences.

“It’s not based on any opinions. It’s based on facts, so it has to be committed, just like all parts of the story, and you have to put it aside and say, ‘Okay, well, I like learning about this part of the story and this part.’ of the story, but I don’t want to hear about that part… No, you can’t do that,” he said.