Jewish family visits Switzerland and Italy prewar
These films belong to Meijer Bed, a Dutch Jew. Meijer and Kaatje Bed (nee Vet) had two children Henriette Elly (Jetje) and John. According to IWM, the entire family was deported from Amsterdam to their deaths at Auschwitz.
In Switzerland, John and Jetje Bed walk toward the camera from the entrance to the Hotel Gotthard. Passing landscape and a sign reading “Bally” shot from a moving car or train. Views of Lucerne from a ferry. The ferry sails past the Vitznau, Switzerland mountain railway (Rigi Bahn) station. Dog sits on a dock and very steep rocky cliffs. The family exits a train in an (Italian?) town, CUs of each family member as they ride in a horse-drawn carriage. 04:14 John carries a box camera around his neck. John and Jetje play with pigeons in a town square. The family enjoys refreshments at an outdoor café. Camera pans around busy streets with shop sign in Italian, then a bridge over a river (the Arno river in Florence?). The family in a rowboat and then swimming and diving. 10:21 A group of people wearing bathing suits pose and clown for the camera. One of the women in the group holds a box camera. The family leaves a hotel carrying suitcases, which are loaded on top of a car. River landscapes. The Bed family sails toward Capri, Italy. 14:30 Funicular railway and hillside houses in Capri. A man with a monkey on a leash entertains tourists. Children, including Jetje and John, jump off a platform into the ocean. Family members walk through town and pose for the camera. Ocean views. The family rides in a small boat rowed by an older man. Kaatje combs her hair seaside. 18:46 The family drinks beverages at an outdoor café. Kaatje and Jetje watch women getting water from a spigot in a narrow street. Family looks at a vendor’s wares in a market.