“We decided to actually go and try and find every footstep of Mary’s”

When Maisie Barnett signed up for the Yad Vashem Bar/Bat Mitzvah Twinning Programme, she and her mother Thamar went more than the extra mile to find out all they could about Maisie’s ‘twin’ Mary, a Dutch youngster murdered by the Nazis long before she could celebrate her bat mitzvah. They found Mary’s best friend Renate, who guided them around Amsterdam to where she and Mary had lived and played all those years ago. They made a moving short film of their journey and Renate was present as guest of honour as Maisie read from the Torah at her bat mitzvah at Northwood and Pinner Liberal Synagogue in July 2019. Here Maisie and Thamar talk to JR’s arts editor Judi Herman about their extraordinarily meaningful and memorable experiences and expand upon making their beautiful film.

Watch Maisie and Thamar’s film on Vimeo and read more about Maisie’s experience with the Twinning Programme in the July 2020 issue of JR.