Louis deGroot

Louis deGroot was born in the Netherlands and grew up close to the German border. The Germans occupied his city on the first day of their invasion in 1940. In November 1942, Louis’ parents decided that for their safety, they had to go into hiding. The family split up and Louis, 13 years old at the time, moved 13 times in the first 13 months of hiding and another eight times after that before the end of the war. In April 1944 Louis learned that his parents and sister had been betrayed, arrested by Dutch policemen, and deported to Auschwitz where they were killed. Louis was liberated by Canadian troops in April 1945 and went to a Jewish orphanage in Amsterdam. In 1948 he went to Palestine to fight for the creation of the Jewish state of Israel and then returned to Holland to finish his studies. Louis immigrated to the United States in 1950 and served in the US Army during the Korean War. He was an inspiring leader in Holocaust education and a devoted Farkas Center Board member for over 10 years.