"It is the case of Miepie Viskooper, a girl from Amsterdam, aged seven, that is the closest to Lien's. She is the subject of witness statements 146 to 148.
Witness 146 is Joanna Wigman, a barmaid in her mid-twenties who had taken the little girl into her care. On the night of November 15, 1943, Miepie was sleeping beside Johanna on a mattress. Then, at half past eleven, Johanna heard a break-in downstairs. She had just time to hide the child under the blankets before Evers and Den Breejen burst in. The policeman demanded to know if her name was Johanna Wigman and then began their search. All too quickly Miepie was discovered. Den Breejen is recorded in the statement as saying 'Here we have the Yid!' But then, as the men continued in search of other evidence, the little girl ran out.
Evers and Den Breejen were furious and, for her act of protection, Johanna Wigman was sent to the concentration camp at Vught.
Witness 147 is the owner of the adjoining cafe, Cornelius van Tooren. He himself had a daughter, called Jannetje, of Miepie's age. Evers and Den Breejen, he reports, had spent time searching the cafe before moving on to the neighboring flat. After they left, he kept watch in their absence, and then at around midnight Miepie ran into the bar. Evers came in right behind her, pointing his revolver, shouting, ' It's the choke hole for you' at the little girl.
'I've only come to say good-bye to Jannetje,' she replied.
The worst is witness 148. This is Miepie's father, a small-scale confectionary manufacturer in the big city, the same as Lien's. Like Lien, Miepie was an only daughter, and again, just like Lien's parents, the Viskoopers thought their child would be safe if she hid with non-Jews, so they sent her away. They themselves also went into hiding, but they were caught. At the awful moment of their arrest there was at least the feeling that, for their daughter, theirs had been the right choice.
But then, as the couple was held at Westerbork, the Dutch Transit camp for Auschwitz, Miepie was brought into her mother, under guard.
As I read this, I think of my own wife and children and imagine that unwanted reunion. I can see the smile of recognition on the face of the child.
The Viskoopers traveled together to Poland. Then, on arrival, Michel Viskooper watched as his wife and daughter were taken from him and driven away on a truck.
Michel, Miepie's father, was one of just 5,200 Dutch Jews who survived the death camps, but he returned to Holland alone."
(66 - 67).
"'The Cut Out Girl' by Bart van Es"
https://www.optionstheedge.com/topic/culture/cut-out-girl-bart-van-es-tells-story-war-and-family
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