Our Great Escape: The story of a Dutch family's flight from persecution (1942-1943)

When Lex was only six years old, he was unexpectedly taken on a long and dangerous journey. His Jewish parents, after living for two years under the German occupation of their native Netherlands, had little illusion about the fate awaiting them unless they managed to get away. For Lex the journey was a frightening but at the same time exciting adventure, as the family traveled through several countries while hiding their true identities. It took nearly a year, including several months of a forced stay in a refugee camp in Jamaica, to finally find asylum in the Dutch island of Curaçao. There the family could once again live in safety and Lex could get back to school, which he had missed all this time.
 

In Our Great Escape, the author gives a vivid description of this extraordinary period in his life, illustrated by a large number of preserved photographs, documents, and maps. He continues to describe the aftermath, his family’s eventual return to the much-changed post-war world of the Netherlands, and, after finishing high school, his move to the United States. In recent years, as he became aware of the similar experiences of refugees in many parts of the world as well as the widespread resurgence of antisemitism, he decided he must write and publish this story of his early life.