Verdoner children playing

Yoka, Francisca and Otto Verdoner playing on the floor of their home in Hilversum, Holland. Yoka and Francisca play with baby Otto as if he were a life-sized doll. Their mother Hilde picks up Otto to rescue him from his sisters' affections. CU, Hilde and Otto. CUs, Otto attempting to crawl, holding his torso up, etc. Yoka and Francisca try to help Otto. Brief shot of Francisca sitting at a table eating. The Verdoner Family - Gerrit and Hilde Verdoner, their children Yoka (b.1934), Francisca (b.1937) and Otto (b.1939) - were Jewish. In May 1940, when the Germans overran the Netherlands, Nazi decrees aimed specifically at Jews forced Gerrit out of his business and Yoka out of her second grade class. When the Nazis commandeered their home, the Verdoners went to live with Gerrit's parents in Amsterdam. Shortly thereafter, Gerrit and Hilde decided to place the children in hiding. Their foresight enabled the children to survive and save these family films. Hilde entered Westerbork on December 18, 1942, while Gerrit had a job with the Jewish Council. On September 29, 1943, after the collapse of the Jewish Council and Gerrit's narrow escape from the Germans, Gerrit found refuge in a hideout on a farm. On January 8, 1944 Hilde was sent to Auschwitz. After the war, Gerrit managed to reunite with his children and other surviving family members. The Verdoners emigrated to the US in 1946.