The Sisters of Auschwitz
Facilitated by Roxanne van Iperen
Monday, April 25, 2022
2:00PM - 3:00PM
Location: Virtual Event via Zoom
The Sisters of Auschwitz: The True Story of Two Jewish Sisters’ Resistance in the Heart of Nazi Territory
1943, The Netherlands. A safehouse in the woods, just below Amsterdam, in the middle of Nazi territory. Under the reign of two Jewish sisters in their twenties, Janny and Lien Brilleslijper, the house becomes a large centre of resistance where Jewish culture flourishes, political debate takes place and Yiddish music resonates. After eighteen months they are betrayed. All residents are taken away and Janny is tortured for information – without result. The Brilleslijper family is deported on the very last train to Auschwitz, together with the Anne Frank family. By the time they arrive in Bergen-Belsen, both sister couples have no-one left and Janny and Lien watch over young teenager girls Anne and Margot. In the chaos of disease and starvation, they manage to nurse and save many people, but the Frank sisters succumb to Typhus. When the Brits liberate Bergen-Belsen on April 15, 1945, they find 13,000 corpses and 60,000 prisoners, barely alive. Janny and Lien are amongst them. A remarkable story of Jewish resistance, reconstructed after years of research and with the cooperation of family members.
Roxane van Iperen (1976), is a former lawyer, investigative journalist and author. Her debut novel was awarded a literary prize. Her second book is based on the story of two Jewish sisters heading a safehouse during WWII: The High Nest. In 2012, Roxane moved into The High Nest, and embarked on a six-year investigation, leading to The Sisters of Auschwitz.