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Why Hetty: A True Story Continues to Matter

What makes Hetty: A True Story so significant is that it preserves the Holocaust through the eyes of a child while allowing readers to recognise the humanity that endured within it.

Hetty’s experience as the “Little Mother” of forty-four orphaned children in Bergen-Belsen offers young readers more than an account of unimaginable suffering. It shows them how courage, responsibility, and care could still exist in circumstances designed to strip people of their humanity. Her story does not diminish the horror of the Holocaust; it brings that history closer to readers by allowing them to encounter it through the experiences of a young person.

My correspondence with Hetty’s daughter, Julia, has deepened my understanding of the legacy behind the book. Julia shared how students who first encountered Hetty through her school talks sometimes sought opportunities to visit her at home, where conversations extended beyond the Holocaust to Hetty’s life in Australia, her community, and her accomplishments after the war. They were drawn not only to her testimony but also to her exuberance, candour, and unmistakable personality.

That distinction matters. Historical testimony can introduce us to what happened, but the person behind that testimony can help us understand why remembering matters in our own lives. Hetty’s enduring message, “Tomorrow will be a better day,” speaks to that connection between remembering the past and finding the courage to face the future.

Perhaps this is the deepest meaning of the “pass it on” effect: a young person encounters a story, becomes curious about the person who lived it, and carries that curiosity into another conversation. Through that process, remembrance becomes more than the preservation of history. It becomes a responsibility shared across generations.

As a moderator of SOS: Serious Overload of Series on Goodreads, I believe Hetty: A True Story deserves to be encountered not only as an important Holocaust memoir for young readers, but also as a testament to the enduring importance of truth, human dignity, and hope.

Hetty’s story reminds us that remembering is not simply about looking backwards. It is also about what we choose to carry forward.

Warm regards,

Judithe
Moderator, SOS: Serious Overload of Series

An Answer to Reader

Reviews and Letters, , , , , , , , ,

Dear Judithe,

Thank you for the outpouring of emotional support after discovering, reading, and sharing my mother’s book. Thank you to Fremantle Press for their support of Hetty’s words from the very beginning, as they were her original publishers.

You asked: What did Hetty intend young readers to feel: the weight of loss, the power of care, or something else entirely?

I will happily pass this onto my children, Jacleen and Adam, to whom Mum’s books are dedicated. I believe the intention was not necessarily for her many readers to feel the weight of loss or to experience the power of care per se. However, Mum was, as you reminded us, passing on a suggestion that we all have the power to claim our own fate—to hope for better days. Mum’s mantra of “Tomorrow will be a better day” lives on in her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren, and was mentioned at her funeral (which is available to view online at www.hetty.com.au).

I like to believe Hetty was successful in her intention to hopefully have her many student listeners get the “pass it on” effect, so they would discuss the subject of her talks with their parents and perhaps lend their signed books to the nearest relative or sibling to read. Above all, we hope that her words will begin to slowly help others through their difficult days. I have said many times, and I will say it again here, that I am thankful Hetty is not here today to see what’s happening in the world currently, or to see what’s happening to the precious youth of today—the ones she was unable to reach with her knowledge of history and her wisdom. The young adults who are lost in some sort of stupor, as they have no purpose, and so they demonstrate in the streets and, as we know, are paid to do it.

Mum had a very definite purpose, and that was to teach each child one by one, one day at a time, one school at a time, one reader at a time, that love for humanity is the most important blessing you can bestow on each other, and that the senseless killing of her race during the Holocaust did happen. To those who are the brainwashed of today, I believe she would have said, “Pick up a book and read the truth.”

With sincerest regards,

Julia

German Pres

Greetings from two European Presidents

Thank you Letters, When Hetty Talks People Listen

The German President visited Bergen Belsen this 70th anniversary of the liberation of the camp where there are many many mass graves left untouched with but a few headstones.

An acquaintance of Hetty’s a well known historian, and author himself of many books, Hans-Dieter Arntz, has written a book called The Last Elder of Bergen Belsen -Josef Weiss. Hans-Dieter also went to Belsen this year.

It seems The President of Germany Joachim Gauk, sent a letter to Hans-Dieter and added his very special greetings to the Family Verolme and Weiss – dated May 2015.

Speaking to Hetty of Hans- Dieter today , she said “He sent me a copy of the actual letter he received from the President of Germany, where the President sends his personal Greetings to Family Verolme and Weiss”.

 

Hetty said she was especially honored to have received words from two European Presidents during her tour in May. “I find it unbelievable” she said with excitement “that now a second President in Europe has done this”.

The first recognition came from The Italian President Sergio Mattarella, who opened the book Fair in Turin” she said. Hetty was a guest speaker there when President Mettarella gave Hetty an honorable mention in his opening speech, that day, 14th May 2015.

Summaries, Arts, Monash University

Monash Arts Summary

A summary from Monash University describes the book The Children’s House of Belsen in more detail. Here is a condensed version.

The Children’s House of Belsen is Hetty Verolme’s autobiographical account of her experiences during her imprisonment at the Bergen-Belsen Concentration camp from 1943 to liberation in 1945.

Verolme, as one of the older children, quickly established herself as a surrogate mother to the captive children, putting the needs of the children before her own. She describes in beautiful detail her affection for the children, her love for Sister Luba (one of several minders of the children), and the way that she attempts to ease the discomfort of the children in their appalling environment.

The Children’s House of Belsen is written in an accessible, yet powerful style and does not set out to shock the reader, as the tale itself is shocking enough. Verolme presents herself as a simple girl with simple morals and the courage to practise them. Verolme provides descriptions of the places and people she encounters during the Holocaust, from her surroundings at Belsen to the hospital the children are transferred to after liberation. The Children’s House of Belsen is first and foremost an account of survival and strength; of how even children can survive one of the worst atrocities the world has ever known.

A Letter From Kalgoorlie

Lets-write

Hi Hetty,

I just wanted to take an opportunity to thank you properly for your visit.  It was such an honour and a special privilege to have you in Kalgoorlie.  Our students at Goldfields Baptist College have been talking about your speech all day, and to all of their teachers.  They appreciated your traveling out to see us so much more than I could ever have imagined, and were very disappointed not to hear the end of your story.  Other students have given me money to purchase the last copies of The Children’s House of Belsen because they so badly wanted to find out how your story ended, and have asked me to get them signed for them when I come to see you in two weeks.  It is lovely to see their enthusiasm about something so important.  Many of the students who bought a copy of your book have already begun reading them.  All of our students who attended were touched by your story, and many of the staff at the school have told me they were sorely disappointed not to be able to attend.  I am sure there will be a lot of enthusiasm at the school at the prospect of getting you to visit again next year.  Certainly, the students who attended have said that they think as many students as possible need to hear you speak, so I certainly hope we can do this again in 2014.

I very much look forward to seeing you again at the beginning of September, and hope you had a pleasant flight home.

Thank you so much again for the absolute privilege of allowing me to spend so much time with you these past two days, and for making such an effort to visit our little city and speak to the students.  I know the kids who got to listen to your presentation will never forget the experience, and will hold you in their hearts for a very long time.  We don’t often get people as special as yourself to come out to us, so it will be well appreciated for many years.

Thank you again Hetty, and I’m deeply sorry for the unceremonious, very rushed farewell this morning at the airport.   I can say a proper goodbye when I see you in two weeks. J

Warmest wishes,

Marisa.