Duration: 12' ca.

Composed in 2025​​

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Winner of the 2026 WASBE Warren Benson International Composition Contest

 

Born in the Netherlands in 1896, Geertruida Wijsmuller-Meijer spent her life rescuing over 10,000 Jewish children from Nazi German oppression. She grew up with a family of compassionate working-class parents, and began working at a young age. After meeting her husband and deciding against having children, Wijsmuller took up a life of social work. In 1938, the infamous Kristallnacht – a night during which Germans nation-wide ransacked Jewish homes and businesses – led “Auntie Truus,” as she was affectionately known, to meet a Jewish boy who was lost in the woods, and to help him sneak across the border. After this experience, Wijsmuller began to use her status as a non-Jewish person and her brilliant wit to speak with Nazi soldiers and to convince them to allow Jewish children to leave the country by train. From then until the beginning of World War II, she organized trains called Kindertransports to bring hundreds of children from Germany to both the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. While the conditions in such situations were not desirable, they were far better than the environment the children would have been left in after the outbreak of the war. Tensions in Europe continued to rise, but Wijsmuller – fueled by compassion – kept negotiating with Nazis to maintain the Kindertransports for as long as possible. Even after the trains were forcibly shut down, Wijsmuller continued to provide children with food and medicine throughout the rest of the war. This piece is a programmatic retelling of the most meaningful aspects of Wijsmuller’s life during the war. 

 

As a Jewish composer, it is very important to me to share stories such as this one which are not nearly as well known as they deserve. Learning from this history is essential in order to create a better life for all in the present. My family and culture may look very different today if not for Wijsmuller, so this piece is dedicated to her.