Worldly Chatter

I think my father had a field day while he was here in Holland. My father, being a World War II buff, HAD to see Arnhem while he was here. A bridge too far, I hope it rings a bell to people here. Operation Market Garden wasn’t a bright spot during the war and people have been studying the operation, writing about it and of course, making movies on it. Now I have been getting into the war, history wise, but it is slow and I am by no means an expert on it. My appreciation for history in the past hasn’t involved the war; rather it was more ancient histories and religious history. So this is new and fascinating territory for me and when my dad came we went traveling and I got to learn a great deal about the war from him and the scenes right in front of our faces!

We traveled to Arnhem on a Sunday by train and got there just as the town was waking up around noon. After a little confusion, I purchased some maps and we were off to find the John Frost Bridge! If ever you are in the neighborhood to see War sites, might I recommend the maps? Not only are they helpful but particularly in Arnhem, you need them! The six of us were actually attempting to find the bridge via usage of the street signs. Here in Holland there are street signs everywhere. Traffic signs, street signs and signs to help you find landmarks and what have you. Such a huge tourist attraction and landmark, there were signs for the bridge. Don’t do that, EVER, in Arnhem. In any other town this is fine! In Amsterdam, den Haag, those signs work wonderfully, but here, it just takes you way out of the way and in circles! We sat down to drink some coffee and use the maps to find it ourselves.

Once we got there it was pretty neat. My dad bellowed that he was on his bridge and read the plaques and snagged some pictures of different stuff in the area to pay tribute to the battle. However, the really fascinating stuff about the battle came from Oosterbeek where the museum sits. It is actually the Hartenstein Hotel where the Allies set up base in Oosterbeek to control the men going into Arnhem. When you first arrived there were tanks and cannons to greet you. From there you went into the hotel to begin your tour. You can find everything in English and Dutch including the video they show to tell you of the battle and the significance of the place and Market Garden. As you go through the rooms you see documents, weapons, personal effects and other items pertaining to the troops as well as the operation. It was a learning experience I shall not soon forget. I tell you, it was one hell of a history lesson for me! To actually see, touch and hear about this battle from a military and historical point of view as well as a personal point of view was intense and enlightening. Yet we did one other thing before leaving Oosterbeek. We went to the Arnhem war cemetery that was a 15 minute walk from the museum. There you had older men walking through crying. It was a moving experience. These men we saw there had to be in their eighties or nineties and one stood somber looking while another was simply crying. As the six of us walked about you saw mainly British troops but there was also a section dedicated to the Polish men who fought alongside them. If you stand in the middle of the yard, you get swallowed in all the crosses and you begin to feel rather small among them.

The feeling didn’t change when we went to Amsterdam and went into the Anne Frank house. No pictures are allowed and there are times where you can hear a pin drop it is so silent in there. Some of the rooms had that silence while a couple had little televisions to show you interviews with Otto Frank and other survivors. You wanted to crawl in a hole and cry when you walked through what they hid in! You read the book as children, or adults, and you think you understand but in reality you can’t, not until you stand in that little room Anne had to share! You don’t get it until you see the tiny kitchen where they cooked and ate all eight of them. It was an experience I personally don’t want to do again. It is only a house but you know what happened and when you stand there, you can picture it all! It was a bit much for me. I am glad I went and recommend everyone to go because to never forget you need to see it and feel it but it isn’t something I plan on doing again.

When Dutchie and I were in Limburg for our honeymoon we were driving around our first day, just checking it out when we stumbled on an American Cemetery and Memorial, an odd thing to see in Holland so we followed the signs we saw and found it near Maastricht. What it is is a tribute to all the Americans who sacrificed their lives in the attempt to liberate the Netherlands. There is a massive monument to honor these men and two walls on either side. On this wall is a list of every single man who died in the Netherlands in the fall of 44. It is immense and overwhelming as you read some of the names and which state they were from. It also has the story of what happened and maps of the plans and routes taken in a little open room to the left of the monument. It goes into great detail about Market Garden and what happen once the men were dropped. It also explains in a little chapel behind the monument why this is all here in Holland and why it that location. Of course I read every detail, it is in both English and Dutch, and was moved that the Dutch and Americans came together to pay tribute to those men who tried to free the Dutch and didn’t live to see its liberation.

Overall it was an amazing experience, walking through history like that. I thoroughly enjoyed that I got to share some of it with my father; it is something we have in common and can enjoy together. There is still much to see, I am sure but that is for another excursion!

World War 2 sites in Holland, Oosterbeek, Arnhem, Limburg, Worldy Chatter, World War 2 Memorials in Holland, Operation Market Garden, A bridge too Far

4,000 people have joined a lawsuit against Germany for the atrocities that went on and how they still suffer for them but there is an interesting twist. It isn’t for money, it is for psychiatric care.

They want biweekly sessions for the individuals involved and this could run Germany anywhere from ten to thirty million dollars if they succeed. Should Germany actually pay out for the care of these people who suffer so because of the country’s history? Germany has paid well over fifty billion dollars since the fifties to survivors and their family’s for the atrocities of ww2. With all the money that is given to said families the people involved in the lawsuit do not want the money coming from the various funds and accounts set up for survivors and their immediate families, this is different and should be paid separately. Would this lead to a revolving door of people crying damages and psychological damages and demand Germany paid up? Is the current government and its citizens responsible for those who came before them? When does it stop? Germany, I think, will always carry the weight, always pay for what their families did before them. A hundred years from now, will that weight lessen? This is what I imagine the persons handling this in Germany are thinking. What, for sure, are they thinking or saying, I don’t know because they aren’t saying much at all on the matter right now.

I can completely understand why they seek the funds for treatment. Their government doesn’t have the means to care for them properly and their health care system, according to them, is inadequate. Stories, habits and fears can and do carry on from parent to child, especially something like this. There are many Europeans who grew up with the stories of their families, picked up the habits, mistrust and fears of their families who survived the war but is it so serious as to be in constant fear of running out of food or refusing to use public transportation because of memories, I don’t know but it has me thinking.

I can no more say for sure what the damage can possibly be to a second generation Holocaust survivor than anyone else my age. We did not go through anything like that and probably can’t even picture it right in our heads and hearts. I found the story and found it interesting. At first I thought they wanted money and it was some sort of scam. Maybe it is but why go through all that for psychiatric care if it is a scam? Should Germany pay up? I refuse to even guess or suggest because I would never have the right answer. Yet I do have a question, if it is for the Israelis who have such trauma, will this count for the Europeans whose families went through the war? Will there be something there or is another lawsuit in the future of Germany actually pays up? Something I am going to keep an eye on though.

Second Generation Holocaust Survivors, WW2, Holocaust children want lawsuit, Worldly Chatter, Germany, World War 2

Germany has been up to a lot as of late when it comes to their World War 2 history. They do not want to hide the things they have done, rather they seem to want to embrace it. A couple of months ago I read about the underground tunnels existing under Berlin that were used during WW2 as well as the Cold War and how they want to open as many as they can for tourism, to finally see what is really under Berlin. Roughly, three hundred tunnels and bunkers exist under Berlin out of a thousand or so.
The Holocaust memorial is becoming an even bigger attraction than they imagined. Opened two years ago it is over two thousand concrete blocks covering the space of three football fields. Even with the slight growth in neo-Nazism in Germany over the years, vandalism isn’t something they contend with much to their surprise. It also contains a database of over 3.5 million known names of those who died under the regime.
Then there is the place where Hitler’s bunker used to be, about 100 meters away from the Holocaust memorial. It no longer exists yet still people flock to it yearly.
Yet the newest is the Berlin exhibition that focuses on the slave and forced labor from Poland. “Rememberance Preserved: Third Reich Slave and Forced Labour from Poland 1939-45″ and opens at the city’s Rote Rathhaus. In the Niederschoeneweide District it reminds everyone of the Polish, Czechs, Ukraine, Belorussian and Dutch men and women were deported to Germany and forced into labor in the three thousand camps located in and around Berlin.
With everything Germany has been doing in recent years to stop hiding it’s shameful past there are still many who do not trust the country, its people or the efforts it is making. Laws that have made it illegal to read certain materials or deny the holocaust put into place with much success. Yet World War 2 is still considered THE war despite the war going on now and there are still many who remember or who have family members who remember. It has been 62 years and there is still little trust. Germany can do so much to erase or attempt to undo its horrid past but with so many who do not trust the country or its people will it be another 60 years before trust and faith is restored? Maybe…
Regardless, one should never forget and if given the chance to go to Germany, go see the memorial, the tunnels and bunkers. You can see some of the camps that exist today but that is up to the individual. I personally do not see myself going to any such camp but would love to check out other WW2 sights as well as non-historical places of the city. I know my father plans on coming to Germany in years to come to see war sights as well as check out the restaurants and attractions. It seems the Germans themselves are trying to cope with the lack of trust as best they can and do fine despite it. People still come to their country for a vacation or to live so it’s getting somewhere.

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My father is a World War 2 buff and is coming to Holland in September. I was surfing the net in hopes of finding places throughout the country that appeal to his historical nature. My have I hit a jackpot of information for him yet where in the world would I start! Along my internet travels, I came across a website dedicated entirely to places of relevance to the war, bunkers, hide-a-ways and museums galore. I can take him to Amsterdam, Arnhem and any city having any significance but there has to be something I can also teach him. He wants things to stimulate and make his studies real. In Amsterdam, the Anne Frank House is always popular. You can take a historical canal ride through Amsterdam and it makes routine stops to her house. Then there is the Holandsche Schouwburg (Dutch theater) where many Jews found themselves before transportation to a camp. There is the Verzetsmuseum, which is dedicated to the Dutch Resistance. In the province of Gelderland, we have Arnhem and Operation Market Garden where many can see the details of Market Garden and what remains in the Oorlogsmuseum.
There is the Homomonument in Amsterdam which I am sure he does not even know exists. The monument opened September of 87 and consists of three pieces, all in triangle shape with pink granite. Its construction was in honor of the gay men and women of World War 2 while also honoring all GLBT people who still live with discrimination. Roughly, 50,000 gay men were sent to their deaths during Nazi power but few actually know the facts, as it is generally not mentioned in history books. Its birth came about when gay activists attempted to put a lavender wreath on the National War Monument on the Dam Square and informed it was a disgrace and removed it. Dutchie and I finally found it on one of our ventures through Amsterdam and was a moving sight. Each triangle points in a different direction. One points to the National War Monument, one towards the Anne Frank House and the third towards COC headquarters, the oldest Dutch gay rights foundation.
With so much history in Holland, it seems almost silly to concentrate all my efforts to one point in history but it is his passion and his vacation yet it should not be a problem. With Bunkers, caves, museums, monuments and other WW2 history around this small country, it should not be any trouble to make him happy!
Yet I want to give him something different. Maybe there is something out there on the subject my father does NOT know about. Doubtful but my search is on! Any suggestions let me know! Wish me luck!

WW2, Anne Frank, Homomonument, World War 2 in the Netherlands, Arnhem, Dutch Tourish, Dutch History

Dirk was co-owner of a hat shop, Juliana is a housekeeper and nanny, and they had two children by the start of World War 2. Once Germany had invaded the Netherlands, they began to put into policy the same restrictions on Jews as in Germany. Families with only one partner that was Jewish were not necessarily subject to deportation to camps or relocated to Jewish ghettos. While this left them in a semi safe place, they were still in occupied Holland and had to abide by the new law of the land. Curfews, food rations and coupons, Juliana still had to wear her start. They also had to deal with the new laws that stated that Jews only be allowed work in ‘Jewish’ shops. This became an issue with Dirk as his partner was Jewish and Dirk had to let him go according to the Germans. When Dirk refused, he was arrested and imprisoned at Scheveningen where placed in a 2 meter block cell. He received hay for a bed and a bucket for a toilet. From there Dirk was transferred to a camp where Dirk and five others attempted to escape from the camp, Dirk was one of two that made it safely.
Juliana and her two children made it through the war, as did her husband and two sisters. However, one sister never fully recovered from the horrors witnessed. Both moved to England where she lived in a mental facility, her mind forever stuck as a teenager. Juliana’s daughters, Anita and Katina recall growing up in Scheveningen where they played in the rubble left after the war. Dirk found work after the war as a guard at the same prison he once stayed. He was a hardened man who rarely spoke though when he did it was loud, often harsh. He rarely spoke of the war and what he endured, either did Juliana. However, at the time of her death in 2004, her children went through her things and found her yellow star and coupons for food were still among her possessions. Dirk, Juliana, their children and Juliana’s sisters were all that remained of their family after the war. Some family members they are sure went to the gas chambers while others they simply do not know what became of them.
Another man, Bert, was just a Dutchman with a wife and children when Germany invaded his country. He was not of Jewish decent but at some point Germans started forcing non-Jews to work for them. Informed he had to go to work or he would have to face consequences, Bert did not see any other choice and went to work for the Germans. Once the Canadians liberated Holland Bert no longer worked for the Germans but consequences awaited him; a traitor they labeled him and stripped his citizenship. He continued to live in his country, function and pay taxes but in 1983, he died with no country behind him. It was not until years after his death that his wife received a letter expressing their apologies on the misunderstanding and reinstated his citizenship. Due to the overwhelming work ahead of the Dutch government after the war, many people in Bert’s shoes had been stripped their citizenship until the government could get through all the paper work and find proof of their stories.

These stories lack detail and many questions remain unanswered but they are real stories of people who lived through World War 2. Dutchie is the granddaughter of these stories. Bits and pieces of what they went through has been brought down and while they never rehashed most of the atrocities they saw and experienced they felt they did share what they could. These stories are of just one family of many. So many families have similar stories; many being passed on to the younger generation.

It is no wonder that, in a recent poll done here in Holland, there is still hostility and mistrust for their neighbor. While polls show there is a shift in change; there are still many who carry on the hostility. With so many people who can recall the war, even as children, and the younger generations holding fast to the stories of their family it may take years before there can be rest between the two nations.

    For many years, most recently since WWII a strong animosity existed towards Germans. They were said to be rude, arrogant, noisy and intolerant and in fact, most other antonyms of characteristics the Dutch pride themselves on. For many Dutch people it is not a question of “why” they dislike Germans, they just do. According to “The Xenophobe’s Guide to the Dutch”, “Telling a Dutch person that their language seems very similar to German is unlikely to benefit your relationship.” It humorously adds: “Remarking that the two nations are similar in many ways will probably get you thrown out of the house.”
Perhaps strangely, Germans are generally unaware of the fact that they are disliked by their neighbors and often think it is merely a soccer phenomenon, as this is when the anti-German feelings are most visible. The Dutch and Germans have had fierce soccer rivalry ever since the Second World War, even though the post war rivalry on Germany’s side is actually a reaction on the behavior displayed by the Dutch.
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Being as I am from America I may never fully understand the rivalry, mistrust and, at times, hatred that goes on and not living in it all my life I may never totally grasp it. I did not come from a place with such stories to hear. My country came over to aid in ending the war; it was not invaded, violated and spat upon as though it had no right to exist. With the recent observances this weekend, movies were on the television to remind of why these observances are held. Dutchie shares her story and I sit and try to come to terms with everything I see and hear. It is drastically different that I learned in school. It almost feels that what I learned was at a distance, intangible to my young mind. I was taught dates, strategies, battles won and lost and the ultimate result. Names of generals and other key players; I was taught the basics. Names and faces of the average people who went through it force it all to be more real than any textbook can demonstrate. I sit here with a different way to look at history and I welcome it, though it does leave me raw and emotional when I hear and see what went on from a personal perspective. It definitely shows me how the two continents view the same war and how people on a personal level still react to it today.

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(Names have been changed for privacy.)

Here in the Netherlands is Remembrance of the Dead today. It is a day where they remember those who died in World War 2. After 1961, it became a day to remember all who have died in peacekeeping missions as well as World War 2. On the Dam Square in Amsterdam Queen Beatrix, Prince Willem Alexander and Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende will place wreaths on the war memorial and tonight at 8pm there will be a two-minute moment of silence all over the country. Waalsdorpervlakte, near Den Haag will have their own ceremony as well to remember the resistance fighters executed during the war. Tomorrow is bevrijdingsdag where they celebrate the liberation from Nazi occupation largely due to Canadian troops. A holiday celebrated every five years until 1990 where they made it an annual national holiday.

I have made some observations that are interesting to me on the topic of World War 2. For one thing, the feel is different here when such holidays are recognized. America has its Veterans Day and Memorial Day but I always remember it as a day to have a barbeque and have a day off from work. While as the years go on and the people who do remember the horrors of World War 2 pass on leaving us with little fresh memory the holiday here does have its barbeque feel but there is also a certain amount of respect for what the day is that isn’t just carried by veterans but also by the regular people. The laws are different here than in America and in talking with Dutchie and reading the news, I have learned a great deal about what is acceptable and what is not on the subject.
Here in Europe the war was in your face and affected everyone because it was their neighbors taken to camps, it was themselves struggling to deal with the Germans all around and had to deal with food shortages, looting and death on an everyday basis on their own streets. Talk of denouncing or downplaying the holocaust is illegal in most European nations and material Nazism will land you in jail for a minimum of two years. In Germany, five men convicted of burning the Anne Frank diary during Solstice and glorifying Nazi rule received fines and probation.
Americans saw another side of the war and the feelings of its average citizen is different. In America I could read whatever I pleased on the topic, materials were readily available on Nazi rule and Hitler. Here it is not the case. While my father has read Mein Kampf I cannot do the same. While many people hate the Holocaust denial enthusiasts or people who attempt to downplay it, it is legal to do in America. America states they have a right to their speech no matter how wrong or distasteful it might be.
There are many people just as Dutchie whose family drastically affected by the war and take it to heart when holidays like Dodenherdenking or Bevrijdingsdag come around. Family members who never returned home, while other members denied their citizenship and imprisoned because the Germans forced them to work or shot upon refusal. Dutchie and many like her were not in the war but their family carries the memories in their minds and passes them down in a hope that people will remember.
My first time here for May 4^th Dutchie explained to me what was going on in Amsterdam and informed me of the two-minute silence during the ceremony. We were living with a Dutchman, his American wife and children at the time. Our American friend was already accustomed to it and had her children quiet and all activity stopped in the home for those two minutes. Longest two minutes I had experienced, or at least it felt that way. It was important to Dutchman and Dutchie that we respect that moment, I could ask questions after and believe me I did. I wanted to know everything Dutchie had to tell me on it.
While Dutchie and her generation have fresh in their minds the stories of their parents and grandparents one can wonder if the later generations will take today and tomorrow as seriously. Will the stories go on? I remember learning about WW2 and I hear and see around me in Europe the different tone that is taken on the subject. To me, being an American and have lived there long enough to know that most Americans do not take those days as serious as those who serve and have served before them. I can recall the barbeques and sales at the mall on such holidays. You will find parties, sales and barbeques here too, do not get me wrong, but the atmosphere as a feel that changes from the generation of Dutchman and Dutchie to their offspring. It feels as though there is a barrier between the two, those who still hold it sacred and remember and those that find it a day to take to the streets with bands and food. The laws will not change as we can see in the papers people still held accountable for the speech and riots they incite. Queen Beatrix with pass on her stories of her grandmother and the family hiding in Canada to her son Willem and just as Dutchie will pass on her stories. Will the atmosphere take on an air like that of America where only the veterans and the troop’s families take their Veterans Day and Memorial Day serious?

bevrijdingsdag, dodenherdenking, Liberation Day, May 5th 1945, Rememberance of the Dead, Netherlands, World War 2, Holocaust, Nazi occupation of Holland