Diving into the Dutch perspective

Last week I was in Voorthuizen in the Netherlands again, this time for intensive research.

I conducted eight Dutch-language interviews with people who had experienced the Second World War in the Netherlands. They were between 85 and 96 years old and lived in Rotterdam, Scheveningen, Barneveld, Voorthuizen, Meppel and Putten during that time.

They told me about the bombing of Rotterdam, the fear of being betrayed by the neighbours when listening to the forbidden Radio Oranje, nighttime curfews, school closures, hunger and the joy when the people could wave the flag again after the liberation. The word “fear” repeatedly occurred during the interviews.

One of the interview partners, Janny van Roon-van Dompseler, had lost her father after the razzia of Putten. Several hundred men from this village had been deported and never returned. She told me how this loss shaped her life and how excited she was one day as a child when she played with another child who had a father.

Another encounter stayed in my memory as well: When I was introduced to an elderly woman as an author and researcher from Germany, her face softened, she warmly took my hands and said: “Welcome to the Netherlands!” Every time she used expressions like “the enemy” or “We had to keep our distance from the Germans” during the interview, she would gently pat my knee and say: “Sorry about that.” At the end of the conversation, she gave me a hug.

Furthermore, I attended Camp Operation Cleanser again and was happy to meet a lot of people whom I had gotten to know last year. The event remembers the battle of Voorthuizen and the liberation by the Canadians in April 1945. It continues to be very interesting for me to be there, since my great-grandfather, whom I published my book about, experienced it as a teenager and was taken prisoner of war in this village.

I appreciated to have had the chance to speak to the historian Gerjan Crebolder during the event. He told me more about what happened here and was able to provide me an information I had been searching for a long time. Furthermore, I learned about some terrible details regarding the use of flamethrowers in Voorthuizen and surroundings. In my view, this information gave the historic events in this area a new dimension and made them darker than ever before.

By having conversations with so many people, I gained a deeper understanding of the Dutch perspective on the war. I particularly noticed in what a differentiated and nuanced way the people view it.

Yesterday, I gave two school readings in Herne (Germany). After having been to Voorthuizen, there was an intensive closeness and presence when reading about the front experiences and when telling the students about them.

Particular thanks to William Gielen, Irma Top, Edith Waaijenberg, Gerjan Crebolder, Winfred van Egteren and Joke Schaftenaar.