Stories preserved with care

Esther Shaya is an Amsterdam-based author of narrative non-fiction. Her work is dedicated to preserving and sharing stories from the Jewish community in the Netherlands.

She is the author of two acclaimed Dutch-language books, Harry & Sieny: Overleven in Verzet en Liefde and Wacht Maar: Het veelbewogen leven van Henriëtte Pimentel, co-authored with Frank Hemminga.

From 2015 to 2025, Shaya served as a board member, editor and author for the Jewish Houses Foundation. She contributed eight historical narratives to the foundation’s annual publications, documenting the lives of Dutch Jewish families before the Second World War.

Shaya has been interviewed on Dutch national radio and television and has spoken in the Netherlands, the United States and Australia. She lives in Amsterdam.

Research and approach

Esther Shaya conducts historical research in a wide range of archives, including the National Archives in The Hague, the Amsterdam City Archives, the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, and various regional archives throughout the Netherlands. She also consults the collections of specialized institutions such as the Jewish Museum and the Dutch Resistance Museum in Amsterdam. Her research is further supported by an extensive library of relevant literature, historical newspapers, and a broad network of individuals who can provide first-hand accounts of pre-war life and the Second World War.