​​USCShoahFoundation

Visual History Archive Online

​for a visual history of Pieter, clickHERE, register and then search for Pieter Kohnstam.


                          A Holocaust Survival Story

        Neighbors of the Anne Frank family in Amsterdam chose to flee and survived to tell their story.
I have often reflected on how a moment in history or a single, individual decision can alter the course of one’s life irrevocably. When I was six years old, my parents and I lived in Amsterdam under the Nazi occupation of The Netherlands. Our apartment at Merwedeplein 17 happened to be near the Frank family —Otto, Edith, Margo and Anne. As neighbors we were compatible because both the Franks and my parents were Jewish and had fled from Hitler’s Germany. The youngest daughter, Anne, whose diary later became world famous, was my babysitter and playmate. At the time, of course, none of us knew what difficulties and tragedies lay ahead.

This book is the account of my family's journey to freedom as told by my father Hans Kohnstam. I offer this chronicle of our family’s survival of the Holocaust during a time of persecution.

To schedule media appearances, speaking engagements, book signings, etc., please contact Pieter at 941-488-6166.

 in St. Petersburg, FL and at Holocaust Museum 

 

Click here for the

Update on Holocaust Education and Legislative Programs

  Click here for the translated  article by   Rian Verhoeven  about the Merwedeplein    residents in the Amsterdam newspaper.

To read about Pieter's dream, click here.

Click here for the SNN YouTube Video of

Pieter Kohnstam

 Letter written by Clara Habermann, Pieter's maternal   grandmother, on the Day of Liberation. The letter was   professionally translated from German to English. She was   hidden in The Netherlands from 1942 through May 7, 1945,   the Day of Liberation.

Click here to read the letter.


Connecting the Past and Future

   For Anne Frank  Promotional Material

Click here

by Pieter Kohnstam

Click here to view the Traveling Education

program in Germany

in Southwest, FL


On Tuesday, August 23, 2022, the City of Venice, FL at a City Council meeting,  presented a Proclamation condemning anti-Semitic attacks. This proclamation includes attacks  to any person, group or organization based on their religious beliefs, race or ethnicity.  Area clergy as well as Pieter Kohnstam were present. Pieter represented the JCV.


   Click here for the Power Point Presentation of reading     excerpts of Pieter's German Book on 2/1/21 through Anne   Frank Zentrum, Berlin.

Pieter Kohnstam and his wife, Susan, were recognized for their humanitarian work.

Click here for the article in the Sarasota Herald Tribune.

Click here for Pieter's story  told through the eyes and heart of 9-year-old, Karina Kopacz. Her film short won a state award in the Florida PTA Reflections Arts Contest 2016-2017.

A Chance to Live

can be purchased on

amazon.com

It is also available on Kindle

Click here for Part 1 of the Power Point Presentation video lesson produced by the Florida Holocaust Museum.


Click here for Part 2 of the Power Point Presentation video lesson produced by the Florida Holocaust Museum

Schools in the Diocese of Venice

City of Venice Proclamation

Pieter speaking with Congressman John Lewis, who received the Anne Frank award at the Anne Frank Tree Dedication at Liberty Park, World Trade Center, NYC, on June 12, 2017. 

Click here for the YouTube video of Pieter's Speech 

 Presentations

A Chance to Live

A  Family's Journey to Freedom