…Little Lisette was brought to us on the very day that our little daughter was born, i.e. 10 September 1942. At that time we lived in Burnierstraat 36 in the Hague. We didn't know the person who brought the child, nor did we know her family. It was however from the very beginning that we felt the need to help and loved the infant very much.
We were deeply impressed with the enormous love that was reflected in the items that were sent with the child. In the coming days things kept arriving, including the child’s bed. After a certain time contact was established with Mr. J. Haye, a real estate agent in Haarlem, who was taking care of the family's property and who was the only connection.
It was through him that we learned the terrible news about the arrest and deportation of her parents and grandparents. It strengthened our love to the child, that had an especially sweet character. Although Lisette was one and a half years older than our daughter, a real bond was created between the two. We raised them as sisters and we were mother and father to her. The terrible loss upset us terribly.
By coincidence I was not at home when the SD arrested the children. My wife was not touched because she was sick. My mother, who was a grandmother to Lisette just as much as to Annemieke, was arrested and detained in Arnhem. She had done an enormous lot for the children, and the loss of them was a heavy blow for her.