p6-aliza

Bram Pais (Victim)

Born: May 19, 1918 Died: July 28, 2000 Birthplace: Amsterdam

Bram Pais was a Dutch-born American physicist and science historian. At one point the Germans began to gradually restrict the activities of the Dutch Jews and in early 1942 required them to wear yellow stars. Then in early 1943, the German authorities issued orders for the University Jews to report to Barneveld for their own safety, where they would be housed in a chateau. Pais did not trust that and instead went into hiding. Pais hid in 9 different places, all over the place, but stayed in one place longer than the others. Tineke (a former college classmate) helped Bram find places to hide. Bram’s last hiding place was in an apartment in Amsterdam with a friend by the name Lion Nordheim. After 2 years of hiding Bram was betrayed. The Germans caught him and he went to prison. It was late though; March of ’45. Bram got lucky though. In that same week when Bram went to prison the Americans crossed the Rhine and cut of the northern part of Holland, so there was no longer any possibility of being shipped out to a concentration camp. The lines were cut. So he was in prison in Amsterdam during the very last days of the war. After 36 hours of interrogation Bram was set free. From all this information I think that Bram Pais is a victim. The reason that I think Bram Pais is a victim is because, Bram did not believe the ways of the Germans. When the Germans said they were going to hold all Jews in a chateau Bram did not trust that because he believed that he would die. So instead he went into hiding. []