Josua Ossendrijver is a son of the Jewish tailoring teacher Simon Ossendrijver and Roos Sanders. He was born at a hiding place in Rotterdam during a German invasion. Immediately after his birth, he was ceded to a friendly non-Jewish couple, who referred to him as their own son named Klaas Slegt. His parents fled with his brother David to Molenschot, where Jacob Sanders, Roos' brother, was also in hiding. After treason, they were arrested in February 1944 and deported to Auschwitz via Camp Westerbork. His mother and brother were murdered immediately upon arrival, his father and uncle were employed in Extern Kommando Gleiwitz, where his father died. It was only after the death of his adoptive parents that Klaas discovered his true identity in 2010. Since then he has allowed himself to be called Josua Ossendrijver. [1]
In 1967 Ossendrijver became a teacher in the Tarwewijk district of Rotterdam and three years later director of a primary school in the Rotterdam district of the Oude Noorden. He was particularly committed to children in disadvantaged situations. He made his debut as a writer in 2014 with his autobiography Verdakd Verleden. Since that year he has also been a guest speaker for the Remembrance Centre Camp Westerbork. In 2020, he founded bubulcus publishing house.