1.3

Fons has belly-aches and diarrhea.

​

He lays down on the couch in the living room and makes all kind of painful noises, while at the same time, he looks with longing and tears in his eyes at his favorite meal on the dinner table: pea soup and bread pudding.

​

V2 slain. A bomb load of 325 pounds lands on the “battle” field.

​

München, Gladbach, and Rheydt are conquered.

​

2.3

This day was devoted, for the most part, to the more or less solemn processing of the mortal remains of V2.

​

They tend to it with attention and diligence.

​

Venlo and Roermond liberated.  Krefeld and Trier conquered.

​

3.3

Ria, Hildegard and Nel follow Fons’ footsteps to the toilet at night.

​

The attic is transformed into an infirmary. Willy is appointed as nurse. But her tasks are interrupted by a bicycle trip for barter to Hoorn. The wind was blowing fiercely. However, Willy was able to come home with undamaged goods–cups and saucers with enchanting landscapes, among other things.

 

4.3

It becomes known that the Allieds have heavily bombarded The Hague, apparently to destroy the launching pads of the V2s.

​

The number of victims is estimated  between 1000 and 1500.  A great deal of destruction occurred. Fortunately, it seems later on, that the estimate was too high.

​

The Russians, with two armies in Pommeren, break through to the Baltic.  Kolberg and Köslin, among others, are conquered. The Allies reach the Rhine in several different locations. Fons goes for a recuperation visit to the house of Opa.

​

Under the direction of Oom Jan, the soup kitchen gradually transforms itself into a first-class restaurant. The menu for today: a delicious pea-soup.

​

In the evening the kitchen stove suddenly erupts, declaring its fiery love with flames and volcanic ash.  The stove was alone with–Willy! She calls in the domestic fire-department and soon the chief has the fire under control. Some firewood, which was put near the stove for drying purposes, fell victim to the flames, much to Oom Jan’s regret.

​

5.3

The “Galerie Modern“ makes a return visit to Huize Elastiek.

​

As one of the kings of the Far East, Monsieur Lapierre, arrives with beautiful clothes, printed scarves, and bottles of very fine smelling perfume, among other items. But there is one difference this time. The king of the Galerie Modern wishes to–barter. As a result of this visit, some changes are noticeable. The empty wall in the living room, left bare when a painting fell, is now hung with an artistic fabric.  In the expert hands of Agatha, Jos is transformed two days later into a sailor. Fietje, Ria and Willy are supplied with new aprons.

 

6.3

Liesbeth also joins the ranks of the sick.

​

Difficult night for Tante Jo.

​

Oom Jan bicycles to Alkmaar over fertilizer inquires and whatever hides behind the topic.

His Excellency Jan rides his bike to Nieuwe Niedorp to bring the goods to Joost and Geert Schlichting. The outcome of this bike trip for Jan: an enormous appetite, the victims:  11 sandwiches, 2 plates of stampot and 2 plates of porridge.

​

Cologne captured!

​

8.3

The sick are not fully recovered yet.

​

Ria and Hildegard are back on their feet. Nel wobbles around the house with the watery eyes of the pike-perch–according to Oom Jan at least–that succumbs this day to his knife.

​

Everyone is sick too at Opa and Oma’s house.

​

Oom Jan has made another huge conquest: a botter has arrived with 30 tons of potatoes. A great many people may now be offered assistance.

​

The Americans have formed their first bridge-head over the Rhine at Remagen.  The joy however is very much tempered by the news that in Apeldoorn 100 persons have been executed as a reprisal for an attempt on the bloodhound Rauter.

​

9.3

Tante Jo has a very difficult time with the very sick Liesbeth.

​

Restless nights with the moaning of the child. Almost every day a load of soiled underwear and bedsheets for the laundry. Jan falls as the next victim. Will everyone get their turn?

 

10.3

Liesbethje is still quite ill.

​

During the night Tante Jo, who is filled with concern for the sick little one, wakes up for a moment. She hears nothing and sees only Liesbethje laying precisely as she had in the early evening. Anxiety overcomes Tante Jo. At her request, Oom Jan goes to the little bed to stroke Liesbethje’s forehead. The child stirs and was simply fast asleep. Liesbethje seems to have turned the corner.

​

12.3

Jaap stops eating.

​

Now it is his turn, although he does not want to hear about it. Oom Jan is also affected and Jos finally, joins the ranks too. The union of the hitherto uninfected gets smaller and smaller.

When Tante Jo came home after 8 o’clock in the evening from a meeting, she finds Netty van der Donk in the living room, a further four starvelings from Amsterdam at the front door and two at the backdoor seeking shelter.  Leo is at his wit’s end. Too often good people, in giving shelter to such visitors, have had very bad experiences: thefts and, among other things, vermin stay behind as sorry remembrances.

​

Fighting in the streets of Küstrin!

​

13.3

Oom Jan travels–with a fever–to Hoorn for Drechterland Watershed business–luckily in the car.

​

The once again arriving cobbler from Amsterdam tells us that 150 people have been executed there as a reprisal for the attack on Rauter in Apeldoorn. The bodies of the executed were laid out in the Weterings Public Garden. All passers-by were forced to look at the victims.

Tante Jo has decided to allow Willy’s long planned bicycle trip to Haarlem-Amsterdam take place the next day.

​

In the evening, as regularly as the Mosquito bombers over Berlin of the past 2-3 weeks–Mr. Larsen from Apeldoorn appears to call his boss.

​

14.3

In Zwaag overnight 1 German and 2 landwachters are shot dead.

​

Consequently, razzias take place. The lesson taught by the Rauter case appears to have been in vain.  Publicly, it concerns undisciplined outsiders of the resistance movement.

​

At  11:30 A.M. Tante Koster and Willy steam away, after Oom Jan quickly provides another horn for Willy’s bicycle to warn motorists they encounter to prevent an accident. Naturally Annemarie and Thomas come to Huize Elastiek as lodgers.

​

During the night Fietje falls ill. As a result of this offence against the association’s statutes, the associates of those not yet infected lose one of their best members.

​

With bread ration cards bread is no longer obtainable. The bakers are no longer able to bake for lack of fuel. New allotments of fuel will be available no sooner than April 14th.

​

15.3

We hear bombs falling and machine guns shooting.

​

The shipyard in Enkhuizen has been bombed. 28 of the victims were civilians.

​

The house numbers in Bovenkarspel will be changed. This also has ,among others, its deeper reasons.  Huize Elastiek gets A 116.  Her old number, A 206, lands—in an amusing turn–also at an “association building.” 

​

16.3

It is already 10 o’clock in the evening.

​

Willy has not yet returned from her trip to Amsterdam. What could be the reasons for her delay?   At about 11 o’clock at night, Oom Jan receives a phone call from the police in Hoorn to let him know, that Willy and her companion, Mrs. Koster, are locked up there, because they were on the street after the 8 pm curfew.

​

17.3

At 11:30 A.M. Willy appears with baggage and visible signs of fatigue and nervous exhaustion.

​

Her companion had difficulty cycling, and had a bad bicycle on top of that, thus had repeated tire flats. Both cyclists had to walk long distances. They had left Amsterdam at 2:30  pm. Around 8:45 pm they were apprehended by 4 members of the German security police and 4 landwachters, searched and interrogated, and after some discussion–at last–brought to the local police station. They got two chairs and a small table as their night quarters. The next morning, after reviewing the details and receiving an unavoidable warrant, they were brought under guard back to the landwacht barracks to reclaim their identification cards, bicycles, and luggage. Finally they arrived in the safe haven. And that is the history of the “liberation“ of Willy in the occupied Netherlands.

​

20.3

Nothing special.

​

Oom Faessen is reminded by Willy that he is a year older today. Willy tried, in her own cheerful way, to make the sadness of this day a little lighter with a bouquet of flowers and a specially chosen book and a promise not to disclose this birthday to the other family-members. She has kept her word to her uncle.

​

21.3

Oom Jan bikes to Haarlem.

​

Tante Jo decides, after some hesitation, to go with him, this time without coal. Today

is the beginning of spring!

​

Saarbrücken, Zweibrücken, and Worms conquered. Fighting in Mainz and Kaiserslauteren.

​

22.3

The weather is beautiful.

​

Therefore, Oom en Tante Faessen, together with Willy, go for a late afternoon stroll on the dike. Nature finds herself in spring mood.  The IJsselmeer shines and sparkles in the rays of the sun. One would like so much to believe in “peace.” But there standing in the middle of the road, three war messengers of war appear, three armed Germans, who give Tante Edith a real scare. The ladies are evidently found to be trustworthy.  Not even asked for their personal identification cards. Oom Faessen, on the contrary, is viewed as an experienced criminal. His I.D. gets inspected. He is also searched for weapons, but rather superficially. Which was for the best. Otherwise, they probably would certainly have objected to the Trouw newspaper in his coat-pocket. Willy finally tears up Trouw in order to give Tante peace of mind. Thus, “faith-less” we turned back.

​

Tante Jo and Oom Jan arrive home shortly after 8 o’clock P.M.  Curate Grimbergen had invited Oom Jan and Tante Jo to travel together by truck on their way home. The spirit was willing, but the truck was weak. At first, the truck would not part with its abode and, when it finally did, it was so emotional, that it could not go any further. No choice left. Tante Jo and Oom Jan climbed on their bicycles and returned home, richer in the knowledge that, travelling from Haarlem to Bovenkarspel will require from 10 o’clock am to 8 pm when one combines the transportation modes of automobile and bicycle.

​

In the evening another surprise: A young man in hiding, despite every warning, walks with his girlfriend on the street. A German patrol encounters them. He wants to flee. That was dumb. The German patrol shoots at him. He is grabbed. What now?

​

23.3

The prelude of last night takes on an alarming effect.

​

Mathôt gets a house search. 7 Germans and landwachters are busy with it.  He is in hiding at home and not to be found. No doubt: the sorry fellow caught last night must have talked and given Mathôt’s name. There is great tension in town. What has the young man revealed? The atmosphere becomes precarious.  That is no surprise during a time where often a single accusation is sufficient as a basis for a death-sentence.

​

Jaap and Leo disappear underground. Willy takes the manuscript of this diary and keeps it “to heart.“ Tante Faessen undertakes a tranquilizing walk. Everything is pending. Oom Jan controls, as usual, the situation with calmness. Finally, Mathôt, on the advice of Oom Jan, turns himself in to the “Ortskommandant.” There he is confronted with the undergrounder-traitor. The young man had only told lies in the hope that he would alleviate his fate. Even the Ortskommandant has to agree, that the suspicion has no grounds. Mathot was able to return unharmed to his home. Jaap and Leo are allowed to return to daylight.

​

24.3

Two small boys from Amsterdam, sent by Curate Drost, appear at the house.

​

They left Amsterdam on foot 3 weeks ago; they are dirty and full of lice. After a thorough scrubbing and bath, they find a shelter with the family Boon-Bot.  But their host and her daughter become ill, the boys can not stay there. Another shelter is difficult to find in town, because it is over-filled with refugees from the big cities. A place becomes available in Nieuwe Niedorp, because Geert Schlichting is leaving. This may be something for the little boys. Fietje and Willy take over the transport of the children. With the heavy freight of both boys and bagage, they bicycle away at 1:30  in the afternoon. We do not count on it that they will be back before 8:00 PM, and that they will find a suitable lodging, as Willy did recently at the police-station in Hoorn. They have also not arrived. 

Instead of them, however, the Allies under the command of Montgomery arrived on the right bank of the Rhine river. They crossed the river by boat between Emmerick and Duisburg and they built four bridge-heads. Previously, a huge bombardment had taken place and, at the same time, an enormous airborn-landing.  The 3rd American army at Darmstadt was able to build another bridge-head over the Rhine. The Russian troops are fighting on the outskirts of Danzig and Gdinja.

​

A farewell to the town’s central soup kitchen. The last evening meal!  Mr. Larsen assists. Tante Jo has triumphed over her many opponents.

​

25.3

Palm Sunday.

​

Will the palms of peace be blessed today?

​

Fietje and Willy arrive in the early morning hours and are warmly welcomed. They spent the night at the rectory in Zwaag.

​

There is progress on the east-bank of the Rhine. The four bridge-heads are united. Wesel is in the hands of the Allied troops.

​

26.3

Darmstadt captured!

​

The American troops have crossed the River Main. The liberation is on the march!  Everyone listens, with breathless suspense, to the latest radio news, while holding on to our plates during our noontime meal in the attic, where our radio receiver is housed temporarily due to signal weakness.

Oom Jan said: “Such a noontime dinner should be remembered later on.”  Therefore, it is captured here.

​

28.3

Fietje and Willy are bicycling supplies for the two boys to Nieuwe Niedorp, where they brought them on March 24th.

​

Also a cousin in Ursum gets a visit, this time without a raincoat. Fietje and Willy return around 8 o’clock in the evening.

​

The Allied Forces are making good progress. They are fighting in Duisburg, Frankfort am Main and Hanau. They advance in the direction of Münster, Neurenberg and Schwenerfurt. The Russian troops capture Gdinja and are fighting in the centre of Danzig.  The Russians in Hungary are only 40 kilometers from the Austrian border.

​

29.3

The miracle stove is put to work.

​

In the evening during Adoration, a parishioner (Cor Laan) collapses and passes out with a sound similar to a hysterical woman, most likely caused by the blood dripping words of Chaplain Pas from the pulpit, naturally falling in a place immediately in front of Oom

Jan.  Who would not feel safe with him?

​

30.3

Mr. Larsen ends his guest-performance as a “nightmare” for Tante Jo.

​

We extend to Willy our sincere sympathies.