Project 'Long shadow of Sobibor' Interview 07 Mary Richheimer-Leyden van Amstel Project 'Late gevolgen van Sobibor'

Mary Richheimer was a little girl of two and a half years old when her parents handed her over to foster parents for hiding. She was treated badly, not only in her first foster family, but also by the Jewish Cohens after the war. Mary never assumed the family name of Cohen but always called herself named Leijden van Amstel, after her parents who were killed in Sobibor. Mary didn't know anything about her parents: she has only one picture of her mother and even nothing at all of her father. The only surviving aunt, a sister of her mother, did not want to talk about her family. Mary always felt a great loss. At all the important moments of life her parents and all relatives she never knew were absent. Still a young girl she began working as a nurse and this is how she met her husband, Guus Richheimer. They founded a family and have four children together. The file with the complete interview as well as a file with the transcription of the interview is available in EASY after permission from Selma Leydesdorff. The interview is also direct online available via the website 'Long Shadow of Sobibor'. However, due to the preparations for a publication by Selma Leydesdorff, some parts of this online interview are masked. Dutch keywords / Trefwoorden: Abcoude, Amstelveen, Amsterdam, Ben Viljoenstraat, Bertie, Bloeme, Bonneterie, Buitenveldert, CIZ, Cohen, Daphne, depressie, Down, drop, Elbaum, Esther, familie Roosen, Femma, Frans Leijden van Amstel, Froutie Cohen, Gideon, Gijsbrecht van Amstelstraat, grootouders, Guus, Hadassa, HBS, Hedi Elbaum, Huis en Haard, kindertehuis, kleinkinderen, kost en inwoning, Leeuwarden, Leijden van Amstel, Leusden, lift, lysol, misbruikt, MULO, nachtdienst, Obrechtstraat, OLVG, opgesloten, paardendeken, Pfeiffer, psychiater, Reijnier Vinkeleskade, Reiss, Richheimer, Rick, Ronnie, Roosen, Sarphatihuis, schort, Stadionweg, tante Femma, tante Frans, Tugelaweg, uniform, verpleegster, weeshuis, Weteringschans, Willie Leijden van Amstel, zuster Blok, zusterhuis