Where our school is located, used to be a Jewish children's home called the Bergstichting.
From 1911 to 1963 this was the home of Jewish orphans or children whose parents were too poor or not capable of taking care of their children.
The Bergstichting was a safe haven for these pupils and they were well-taken care of. However, during World War II, 48 pupils and 4 teachers were forced to move to Amsterdam, where they were later transported to the transfer camp Westerbork, and then to theconcentration camps Auschwitz-Birkenau or Sobibor, where they were killed upon arrival.
Every year, we commemorate these pupils and teachers during an official ceremony with the Mayor of Laren, the Rabbi of the Netherlands, ex-pupils, guest speakers, and our students of both ISL and L&B.
We are all especially proud of Ori from Grade 9, who shared with the audience the intensely moving story of his great-grandmother, Ms. Dora Gros.
