Eighteen-year-old Ali Wolf from Meppel and her mother Roosje went into hiding in November 1942 and remained hidden until the liberation. They stayed with headmaster Pauptit and his family in a house that has since been demolished—today, a jeweller's shop stands on the site. Mr. Pauptit was the headmaster of the local public school in Staphorst.

Ali and Roosje stayed in a small bedroom at the back of the house. Both women had strong personalities, and tensions ran high at times. Being confined together for so long was not easy. Roosje spent much of her time sewing with a machine in the room, while Ali did embroidery and mended socks.

In 1942, Jan Pauptit was six years old, and his sister Ity was four. Mr. and Mrs. Pauptit had drilled it into their children: never tell anyone about the guests in the back room. Jan kept the secret. Ity found it harder. One day, a neighbour said, “What a lovely dress you have, Ity!” Ity replied, “Aunt Wolf made it for me.” The neighbour found that odd and asked Mrs. Pauptit who "Aunt Wolf" was. Mrs. Pauptit simply said, “Oh, our Ity has such a vivid imagination.”

Next to the teacher’s house stood (and still stands) the farmhouse where the Pander family lived. They knew about the hidden guests and would leave food under the hedge in the evenings—milk, eggs, and other items.

By late September 1944, the teacher’s house was quite full: Mr. and Mrs. Pauptit, their two children, Mrs. Pauptit’s mother, a family of four from the west of the country, three Jewish people in hiding—and, incredibly, a billeted German sergeant and one or two soldiers. That meant around fifteen people were living in the modest house, and great care had to be taken to ensure the Germans never encountered the Jews.

When Staphorst was liberated, Ali and her mother stepped outside for the first time in two and a half years. They stood with other Staphorst residents along the main road (‘de Diek’) waiting for the Canadians. Villagers looked at them in surprise: Who are they? Where did they suddenly come from?

Ali later recalled a telling anecdote from that time. After the liberation, she was dusting their room when the dust cloth fell out the window and landed in the garden. She called out: “Mrs. Pauptit, would you please fetch the dust cloth for me?” Mrs. Pauptit replied, “You can do that yourself now, Ali!” Ali had forgotten what it was like to simply walk outside.

The day after the liberation, Ali and Roosje walked back to Meppel. The closer they got to the city, the more people gathered around them. Soon after arriving, they learned the devastating news: Ali’s father—Roosje’s husband—Abraham Wolf, and nearly all the other Jewish residents of Meppel had been murdered.