WWII Concentration Camp Survivor

If you are looking for a speaker who will touch the hearts and minds of your audience, then Charlotte is the right choice for you. She speaks from the heart with tenderness yet also what she calls "school of hard knocks!"
Charlotte is available for speaking engagements for junior high school students through college age, as well as civic organizations, Veterans events, Cultural Symposiums, church events, women's events, 9/11 and Day of Remembrance celebrations as well as Memorial and Veterans Day holiday engagements. Charlotte speaks with much emotion as she recalls her time in a WWII concentration camp. She was very young, only 3-6 years old, but her memories are ingrained in her psyche. She can't help but get emotional as she recounts her time in the prison and then shares her love and gratitude to the USA for taking her and her family in as immigrants in the 1950s. When Charlotte speaks, it's not only a lesson on WWII history, but it's also a message of survival, forgiveness and gratitude. Themes that are appropriate no matter what the event. Charlotte reads excerpts from her book while her daughter stands alongside for moral support as well as explaining the historical and cultural significance to what Charlotte is discussing. She shares her poem, "AMERICA'S GIFT" which is a tribute to her beloved adopted country. When she reads this poem, there is never a dry eye in the house and she always gets a standing ovation! Some testimonies:
1) The John Greenleaf Whittier DAR Chapter was thrilled to hear the story of Charlotte Van Steenbergen's survival from a WWII concentration camp and her escape to America. The inspiration of her poem and gratitude of Charlotte to American is heartfelt and amazing. I recommend the program to everyone as a tribute to Charlotte and to the United States of America. Shiryl Boerlin, 1st Vice Regent, JGW Chapter Daughters of American Revolution
2) First Lady, Laura Bush ~
“Thank you for your kind letter. President Bush and I are grateful for your words of support and prayers. Thank you also for sending the beautiful bookmarks containing your poetic tribute to America and your life story. You have found a very creative way to express your love for America. I admire the positive spirit of Americans like you and appreciate your concern for our country. The President joins me in sending best wishes.”
3) Mayor San Clemente, Stephanie Dorey ~
“Thank you so much for attending our July 1 meeting and sharing your beautiful poem, America’s Gift. The recital was a very emotional experience.”
4) TV Commentator, Stephanie Edwards ~
“Beautiful and intelligent, Charlotte still sheds tears of joy and gratitude as she speaks of what it is to live in America. We cry too, grateful that this elegant, humble woman is among us, and hurting over the need to be reminded by her that the U.S., with all its flaws, is still a glorious work in progress.”
Charlotte's poem, America's Gift, is imprinted on a beautiful bookmark that is available for purchase with the majority of the proceeds benefiting families of the military stationed at Camp Pendleton.

Charlotte Van Steenbergen is a WWII Concentration camp survivor. Her story is not only one of survival from the atrocities of a concentration camp so horrific that it is nicknamed The Hell, but a story of gratitude to the United States of America for accepting her and her family as a refugee in the 1950s. Charlotte speaks at civic functions, Veteran’s events and church gatherings/events. Whenever she tells her story which includes reciting her poem, “America’s Gift,” there is never a dry eye in the audience and she always receives a standing ovation. Her memoir, MEISJE: I met God in Hell, A Young Girl's Journey to Forgiveness is now available on Amazon. It is the true story of a WWII concentration camp survivor written with the perspective of a wise woman, reliving memories of a very young child in an abusive, brutal environment. Known as “Meisje” (MAY-sha) in the memoir, Charlotte is not only a survivor but she is a thriver. Akin to Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand combined with The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom, Charlotte's story is a powerful and beautiful story set in a concentration camp so infamously known for the horrific atrocities perpetrated on the prisoners, that it was nicknamed “THE HELL.” It was here, in Hell, that Mom first met God – by those who called on Him on a daily basis, and those who cursed Him daily. Imagine being only three years old and ripped from the luxurious lifestyle as an upper class citizen in the Dutch East Indies, to thrown into squalor with no food other than one tiny handful of rice per day, no showers, toilet facilities a mere hole in the ground, and random punishments meted out by cruel Japanese Kempeitai.
With events that seem Oscar-worthy film scenes, Charlotte recalls with vivid detail, stories like how her father was reported dead by the Red Cross, only to be reunited with the family after the war when the baby sister who was only 6 months old when she last saw her dad but kissed “A Papa Photograph” each night for three years, screamed out “PAPA!” as his truck passed by the family’s jeep while the prisoners were carted away from the prison.
Charlotte is retired and lives with her husband of 58 years in Southern California. She was born in Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), fled to Holland after WWII, and then immigrated to the USA where she met her husband Jim, who also did the same migration pattern. Charlotte speaks from the heart, always becoming very emotional as she acknowledges her love and pride in becoming a US citizen.

No special needs other than microphone and lecturn