90-Year-Old Holocaust Survivor Inspires 500 Middle Schoolers

When Pete Metzelaar finished speaking, 500 middle school students jumped to their feet with thunderous applause, whistles, and cheers. Some rushed the stage to shake the 90-year-old's hand and ask for his autograph.

Metzelaar visited Kopachuck Middle School in Gig Harbor, Washington, on January 27 to share his Holocaust survival story for International Holocaust Remembrance Day. He's been speaking to students since 1993, turning his darkest memories into lessons of hope.

Born in Amsterdam in 1935, Metzelaar was just 7 years old when Nazi soldiers arrested his father in 1942. He never saw him again. His grandparents and uncle also disappeared, later confirmed to have died in concentration camps along with 6 million other Jews.

His terrified mother reached out to the Dutch Underground, a network of everyday people who risked their lives to save Jewish families. A farming couple named Klaas and Roefina Post took them in, sharing their food and home despite knowing they'd be executed if caught.

When Nazi raids intensified, Klaas cut a hiding space beneath the floorboards where Metzelaar and his mother would lie motionless in the dirt. Soldiers walked inches above their heads while they held their breath, knowing a single cough meant death.

Later, they dug a cave in the woods covered with branches. For two years, young Metzelaar never saw daylight, playing only with homemade toys Klaas carved for him. He felt erased from existence.

The Posts' courage worked. Both Metzelaar and his mother survived the war and eventually moved to the United States.

Why This Inspires

Metzelaar chose to spend the last three decades reliving his trauma so students could understand what hatred costs and what bravery looks like. The Posts risked everything for strangers simply because it was right.

The eighth graders at Kopachuck will study the Holocaust this year, but they'll remember Metzelaar's story forever. One man's willingness to speak and one family's choice to act prove that ordinary people can stand against extraordinary evil.