Mirjam Bolle, who has been a member of our synagogue for very many years, kept the series of letters she wrote, but could not send, to her fiancee Leo, later her husband. He had managed to make aliya before the outbreak of war while Miriam worked as secretary of the Amsterdam Jewish Council. Newly translated into English, these letters describe conditions in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation, her deportation to the transit camp at Westerbork and finally to Bergen Belsen. The final letters tell of her release in a prisoner exchange and her journey to British Palestine through occupied Europe, through Germany, Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey and Syria. Leo Bolle (known after aliya as Dr. Menachem Elyakim Bolle) was a well known scholar and a much respected member of our shul and his guidance for the layning is still remembered by many with much affection. These letters are a remarkable account of her experiences and the Bet Knesset has copies for our members at a special price of NIS 54. They can be obtained at this price from Menachem jbh6@walla.co.il +972 -52-3832379 or can be posted, for an extra NIS 6 within Israel or NIS12 to addresses outside Israel.
