How do you survive three concentration camps and one of the biggest shipping disasters of all time? The book ‘The Last Witness’ tells the story of Wim Aloserij (1923-2018) from Lochem.
Lying on the roof of a moving train, Wim flees the compulsory Arbeitseinsatz in Germany during the war. He went into hiding and hid in a coffin underground for months, until he was arrested during a raid. He eventually ends up in three different camps: Amersfoort, Neuengamme and Hussum. A few days before the liberation, after a gruesome journey with seven thousand fellow prisoners, he ended up on the ship Cap Arcona in the Bay of Lübeck.
While the Allies forced the German army to surrender on shore, RAF fighter planes carried out bombing raids on the ships anchored in the bay. Three of them, including the Cap Arcona, are hit full. The prisoners are trapped below deck like rats. Miraculously, Wim manages to escape the inferno.
Wim Aloserij passed away on 2 May 2018 at the age of 94, two days before he was to speak in the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam and meet the king and queen.
The book ‘The Last Witness’, written by Frank Krake, was nominated for the NS audience award 2018 and received a high score. The book is for sale in the museum shop.
