Cor Suijk

Cor Suijk is 16 years old when the German Army invades Holland in May 1940. He goes to school in a city called Bussum, and soon things start to change.

All Jews in Holland have to leave public schools in 1942. Cor decides, like most students, not to get involved when first the Jewish teachers and then his fellow students are sent from school. When he hears about the suicide of his Jewish classmate Joop, he is devastated. He feels that if he and others would have been more supportive of their classmate, Joop might still be alive.

Cor sees a round-up (razzia) where male Jews are forcefully arrested in the presence of their girlfriends, wives and children. He and his family decide to help Jews. Cor helps Jews find hiding places near his hometown. One day he is caught by German troops and arrested.

He is thrown into a prison and then a camp. The camp is horrible. People are constantly taken to be interrogated, tortured, and sometimes killed.

Shortly after arriving at the prison, Cor recognizes a familiar face. It is his classmate Erik, who is wearing an SS uniform. He has become a Nazi. Cor secretly asks Erik for help. Erik barks back, "Don't count on me, bastard".

Cor remembers how he and his classmates used to always tease and bully Erik at school. He wonders if this influenced Erik's choices.