Sonja’s Story
Have you ever felt called to action because of something in Horizons Magazine or our PW Bible Study? Here is the
story of one Presbyterian woman who did:
“Barely two years old, Clara VanThyn was given away to a friend just as her parents were boarding a train which
took them to their deaths at Auschwitz. That act of sacrifice saved her life, but…”
In oral presentations Sonja tells more details of her story. Born in October of 1940, Clara and her parents lived in
the Netherlands. In the summer of 1942 her parents were called to report to the train station in Rotterdam to be
resettled in Westerbork, a camp in the northeastern part of Holland. Before they boarded, they gave their only child to
Dolf Henkes for safekeeping. (Sonja learned much later—in l952-- that her parents were killed in a concentration camp;
their crime was that they were Jewish.)
The first attempt to settle Clara in a “safe place” failed. So Dolf took her to his home and his sister cared for her
until August when a more permanent placement was found. Clara was renamed Sonja and became a Hidden Child. It
was only in 1952 when the family immigrated to the United States that she was told that her parents died in a
concentration camp. She was told not to think about this anymore; she belonged to her second family. So, in Sonja’s
words, “my life became a conspiracy of silence.”
Initially, Sonja told part of her story at Montreat to her Presbyterian sisters. This was her “other” life, and it took courage
to tell it. Sonja says she finally took her step of faith when HORIZONS published the study of Esther. She related to the
Jewish girl who lived a double life. Sonja relates, “It was time to honor my parents. Who would know they existed if not
for my testimony?” Sonja tells her story in libraries, at schools, in any place where people will listen. She especially
wants to talk to students because they are the last generation who will personally meet anyone connected with the
Holocaust and hear their stories.
Sonja was one of 100 Presbyterians who traveled with the “Peace and Justice” delegation to the Middle East in
2006. Today, Sonja is concerned that history is repeating itself. She says, “Mr. Ahmadinejad, president of Iran, denies
the Holocaust and publicly makes it know that Israel needs to be wiped off the face of the earth.” Sonja uses her story
as an example of what harm racism can do. Her message is always “Evil prevails when good people do nothing;
everyone has a responsibility to do their own small part.”
In our Purpose of Presbyterian Women we pledge to “work for justice and peace.” Sonja certainly gives us a lot to
think about in that regard, not just in what happened to her family, but also in how people are treating each other today.
Pictures below are of Sonja DuBois at age 3 and from January 2008.
Have you ever felt called to action because of something in Horizons Magazine or our PW Bible Study? Here is the
story of one Presbyterian woman who did:
“Barely two years old, Clara VanThyn was given away to a friend just as her parents were boarding a train which
took them to their deaths at Auschwitz. That act of sacrifice saved her life, but…”
In oral presentations Sonja tells more details of her story. Born in October of 1940, Clara and her parents lived in
the Netherlands. In the summer of 1942 her parents were called to report to the train station in Rotterdam to be
resettled in Westerbork, a camp in the northeastern part of Holland. Before they boarded, they gave their only child to
Dolf Henkes for safekeeping. (Sonja learned much later—in l952-- that her parents were killed in a concentration camp;
their crime was that they were Jewish.)
The first attempt to settle Clara in a “safe place” failed. So Dolf took her to his home and his sister cared for her
until August when a more permanent placement was found. Clara was renamed Sonja and became a Hidden Child. It
was only in 1952 when the family immigrated to the United States that she was told that her parents died in a
concentration camp. She was told not to think about this anymore; she belonged to her second family. So, in Sonja’s
words, “my life became a conspiracy of silence.”
Initially, Sonja told part of her story at Montreat to her Presbyterian sisters. This was her “other” life, and it took courage
to tell it. Sonja says she finally took her step of faith when HORIZONS published the study of Esther. She related to the
Jewish girl who lived a double life. Sonja relates, “It was time to honor my parents. Who would know they existed if not
for my testimony?” Sonja tells her story in libraries, at schools, in any place where people will listen. She especially
wants to talk to students because they are the last generation who will personally meet anyone connected with the
Holocaust and hear their stories.
Sonja was one of 100 Presbyterians who traveled with the “Peace and Justice” delegation to the Middle East in
2006. Today, Sonja is concerned that history is repeating itself. She says, “Mr. Ahmadinejad, president of Iran, denies
the Holocaust and publicly makes it know that Israel needs to be wiped off the face of the earth.” Sonja uses her story
as an example of what harm racism can do. Her message is always “Evil prevails when good people do nothing;
everyone has a responsibility to do their own small part.”
In our Purpose of Presbyterian Women we pledge to “work for justice and peace.” Sonja certainly gives us a lot to
think about in that regard, not just in what happened to her family, but also in how people are treating each other today.
Pictures below are of Sonja DuBois at age 3 and from January 2008.
