Newly Transcribed Dutch War Diaries

[Jaga]

Hello Pieter,

these pictures are hard to watch. I did not know about Dutch famine until much later, since difficult situation was in other places in the world in this time. But it is good that it is documented since the world need to remember

[kaima]

Wow, quite a follow-up, Pieter! I thought it would be of interest, an American report on cultural events and revealed history from your country. The value of these diaries adds weight to the encouragement today for people to record their lives and experiences through this current Corona-Virus episode. From many little experiences a good view of the times, values and culture can be had.

You have certainly expanded well upon the topic, and appropriately brought in the Hunger Winter as well. The war events in the Netherlands are an often neglected aspect in our American historical view, and certainly they presented great challenges to survival, much less fostering of life at the time. Your personal family experience is quite notable, with the double role of housing german officers and hiding a young man who would be drafted for forced labor.

I enjoyed the commentary on the subtleties of language as well. My German was good enough to enjoy the humor, generate my own, catch a fair part of local dialect - the Hessian proved easier at first than the formal German that followed, though I was schooled in the high German. The commentary on the subtleties. Again, there are some things that I can express precisely in German that are approximate in English, and the most unknowing demand of a person is for "a word for word translation". At times it cannot exist. What saddens me is that there are topics that can be discussed in German that cannot be discussed in American today, or 25 years ago.

Also the presentation can be so different... just this week I read the English version of Der SPiegel and "How Trump Is Fueling a Corona Disaster" at www.spiegel.de/international/world/the-american-patient-how-trump-is-fueling-a-corona-disaster-a-024a5cc9-2c07-419a-a351-67837b47f6bb and passed it on for my partner to read. She was equally impressed with the coverage, the tone, the thoroughness and the straight forward reportage and analysis. Some of which we get in the USA, but the good writing - in English - stood out as exemplary, and so sadly very much missing in the America of today. Besides, the Germans can write objectively and critically of a foreign leader, whereas that is a very, very limited practice in America today due to the fear of Trump and reprisals he and his cult followers will perpetrate.

Thank you for not just rounding out the story of the diaries, but in also filling it in so thoroughly.

Kai

[karl]

Pieter

No matter what or how much might I say would not be enough, but I will non the less say: I am so sorry that darn war touched your family and your Nederland. The solders of that time, fought very bravely even though my self was not a witness but by only the historic records of that time as shown by your presentation.

We have so enjoyed this many years of peace with the greatest hope of many more years to come of the same.Freedom is not free, but may be very costly if not to understand and recognize the enemies that wish to over come us. It is this recognition that is what is so dangerious, for quite often our enemies enjoy to hide behind a mask of supposed friendship as a wolf in sheeps clothing.

my self do realize my previous post reply was with out the proper respect for those that died under such horrible conditions that were forcibly imposed upon them in that war. How well do I understand the cruel manner of their treatment even though not to live the experience of that time and places.

As a person, I have the privilege to speak in my behalf, but not the conscience of that time even though a German citizen as with Dänmark.

karl

[pieter]

Letter from Holland

Leeuwarden, Holland
27th April, 1945

Dear Mrs. Crofts,

Our town was liberated by the Canadians on the 15th of this month. Your son Joe was with them, and he stayed with us for a couple of days and so we made friendship. I promised him to drop you a few lines just to tell you that your son was doing well, everything O.K.

We have had an awfully bad time, these five years. The Germans came here on the 10th of May 1940. Their army was then nicely equipped, and they had quite a number of planes on the Leeuwarden airodrome. When they went on the 14th inst., they had very little left, no planes, their cars riding on wood-gas, for they have been out of petrol since a long time already. That is the end of Hitler’s army.

But a lot of harm they have done here. In 1941 they started picking up all the Jews. All our Jewish friends disappeared and were sent to Poland, and Germany, most probably to be butchered there. I wonder what will come back of them, I am afraid not many.

In 1942 they started sending all our young fellows to Germany to work as slaves for them. Those who could escape were hidden by friends or family. Often the Germans entered the houses and searched for young men, bu then they were put under the floor, so that in most cases the Germans could not find any. When a German wire was cut, they let all men of the town do some watching so that no more wires should be cut. When a German was killed, they picked out a number of civilians, ten, twenty-five, and in one case even 400, and shot them. You will understand how glad we were when at the end it was all up with them, and when the Canadians arrived here we gave them a cheery welcome where ever they came.

Now perhaps you would like to know who we are. I shall introduce the family. My wife, aged 54, my eldest daughter Wilhelmina aged 29, my second daughter, Ida, aged 23, and I myself aged 55. I have always been in business, my eldest daughter does some bookkeeping in a dairy-export-firm, and my youngest is working with the police in this town. We gave Joe a photograph and if he will still have it on his arrival home, you will make acquaintance with our faces too. Joe told us quite a lot about his family and showed us the photos he has got with him. So we have seen you, his sister and brothers here already.

There seems to be not so much fighting left now in Germany, and we therefore hope that the "B" squadron will have no more engagements so that all the boys will arrive safe and sound in Canada with their families.

In our country the war is not going easily. The Germans blow up every dyke, so that the country which for a great part is under the level of the water, is under water now, quite inundated, and it is very difficult to pass through. If it had been the enemy’s country the army might bomb the towns until every resistance would be over, but this being the country of a friendly nation, they cannot take to such measures. Anyhow, there will be an end to this in our country as well within a short while.

We are glad to have had your son with us. It was only in the night that he was with us, in day time he had work to do, and he also took his meals with the boys.

Well I think this has been quite a long letter, but I daresay my wife and daughters will be glad to hear from you so now and then, and I myself as well.

I send you our best greetings, and to everyone of Joe’s family, and we sincerely hope that you will very soon be able to welcome your sons back in the family again.

I remain, Dear Mrs. Crofts, sincerely yours,

(Signed)

H. van Heulen, Dronrijperstraat 9, Leeuwarden (Holland)

[pieter]

Liberation of the Capital of Friesland (Frisia) Leeuwarden


Producers: Agaath and Johan Witteveen-Obbema
Film images of the liberation of Leeuwarden on April 15, 1945. The Witteveen family lived in the center at 25 Wirdumerdijk, opposite the Mennonite church. The special feature of the liberation film of the Witteveens is that they started filming in the morning that April 15, when the Canadians were still approaching and the Interior Forces (BS) owned the city. BS men patrol the street, lead detainees to the police station on the Nieuwestad and cycle or drive triumphantly past. Residents are not yet venturing into the street. Filming is first done from the portico of Duiker, opposite the menswear shop of the Witteveens. The first flags only go out at the end of the morning. The Canadians arrive around noon. Then the liberation party starts.

Friesland after tbe liberation in 1945 - Part one

[pieter]

Friesland after tbe liberation in 1945 - Part two

[pieter]

Before, during and after the war in Friesland

[pieter]

Canadians Liberate Leeuwarden

[karl]

Pieter

This Frisian presentation was so very interesting to me with vested interest. For whilst viewing, was also flooding my self with long forgotten memories. For as you know and I am not ashamed of my past, we were not wealthy nor prosperious, we were though a very close family more so in Dänmark but also with the family I lived with in Cuxhaven.

In contrast I was to learn in later years, we were prosperious in food. At the time, there were many dairy farms near and around us in Esbjerg, although we did not have a cow, we traded the use of our smoke house to the farmers for smoking their hams at slaughter time and smoked fish for their winter use. In return, we received all the milk and cream we could use. We then made our own butter and cheese, the cheese was a family affair, but the butter was my sweat with filling a large fruit jar with cream and shaking it until it turned to butter as for some reason we did not have a butter churn. Once the butter has turned, then we over the sink, strained the butter through a cotton cloth to seporate the butter from water and stored the butter then in a small crock.

For white cheese {cottage cheese} we filled a large wash basin with whole milk, covered it with a large cotton cloth to keep flies out and let it spoil in to clabber. Once curds had seperated from the liquid, it took both my self and auntie to lift the heavy liquid filled wash basin over our large concrete sink, to then drain through a large cotton cloth leaving only the heavy large curd. With all liquid sqeezed out leaving only the curd. We then after washing out first the wash basin, then dumped out the strained curd for my self, Adrianna and Anikka to break up the curds in to smaller ones whilst auntie salted and peppered to taste. We then packed it all in to large mouthed milk jars for storage.

The above and with our large garden for vegtables and fruit, we lived just fine. What hurt as we found out, was the shortage of food in Germany and here we had an abundance..

Karl

[pieter]

Allied propagana film