Where I Belong
A young Jewish girl from the Netherlands is rescued by a Christian family during the Holocaust and then claimed by her relatives from Canada after the war.
A memoir by a Holocaust survivor about surviving as a hidden child in the Netherlands.
After Germany invades Amsterdam, young Ellen and her mother go into hiding with the Versteegs, their Christian friends. When they are discovered and deported to a Nazi camp, Mr. Versteeg manages to secure Ellen’s safety, but her mother is sent to Auschwitz. Ellen lives with the Versteegs as a Christian until she is uprooted yet again when her Jewish relatives from Canada claim her. Facing the loss of her parents and her adoptive family, and torn between her identities as a Jew and a Christian, Ellen begins a search for belonging that shapes the course of her life.
Praise & Recognition
Details
Publication Date: November 24, 2026
Product Format: Default Title
Pages: 126
ISBN: 978-1-998880-72-0
Weight: 200
About the Author
Ellen Tissenbaum
Ellen Tissenbaum was born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 1936. In 1950, she immigrated to Canada. Ellen married and raised four children while working as a nurse and as a nursing director in geriatric centers. She currently lives in Montreal and teaches nursing at the Lester B. Pearson School Board.