On July 15, 1942, the German army and their Dutch collaborators began deporting Jews from the Netherlands to concentration camps in Germany. By September 1944, more than 107,000 Dutch Jews had been deported, including 19-year-old Cecilia de Haan. Cecilia was born in Alkmaar, The Netherlands, where her father was a rabbi and head of the community. Nazi Germany occupied The Netherlands in May 1940 and in February 1942 the entire Jewish community of Alkmaar was forcibly relocated to Amsterdam. Ceci