Annex 4: A Poem by Salomon (Piet)
In dit pand, (Citroenstraat 18), boven in de nok,
Zaten wij jaren, als kippen op stok.
Te Zuchten en te wachten op betere tijden,
Tot we in ‘45 verlost werden uit ons lijden.
Mevrouw Okma en haar kinderen, hielpen ons door veel narigheid,
Een familie die zich zeker van andere onderscheidt.
Als kleine dank voor‘t redden van ons leven,
Willen wij hen deze herinnering geven.
Lien en Piet
Bram.
In this house, (18 Lemon Street), at the top of the keep,
We sat for years, like chickens roosting.
To sigh and to wait for better times,
Until '45 when we were released from our suffering.
Mrs Okma and her children, helping us through much misery,
A family to be distinguished from others, certainly.
As small thanks for saving our lives,
We want to give them this reminder.
Lien and Piet
Bram.
The commemoration plaque in the Garden of Remembrance at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem
The view from Yad Vashem
[1] Pronunciation: Grietje = Hree-chuh (G is a guttural h); Kieks = Keeks.
[2] Pronunciation: Moeder = Mooder; Martha = Mar-tuh; Ruurd = Rürt; Willem = Villum; Douwe = Daw-vuh; Trijntje = Train-chuh; Truida = Trow-duh (Trow rhyming with ‘brow’).
[3] Pronunciation: Vos = Fohss.
[4] Pronunciation: Citroenstraat = Sitroonstraht.
[5] Pronunciation: Tiny = Tee-nee; Hillegom = Hill-uh-hom (g is a guttural h).
[6] Pronunciation: Tine van Deth = Tee-nuh fun Dett.
[7] Pronunciation: zusje = zoo-shyuh. Dutch: term of endearment for ‘little sister’.
[8] Pronunciation: Teun van Dien = Työn fun Deen.
[9] Pronunciation: Guido = Hwee-doh (G is a guttural h).
[10] Pronunciation: Kraantje = Kraahn-chuh.
[11] Pronunciation: onderduikers = ohn-de-day-kers. Dutch: literally, ‘under divers’; people of all persuasions who were hidden from the Nazis during the war.
[12] Discovery of involvement in sheltering Jews meant an immediate death sentence.
[13] Willem was right. The Henneicke Column infiltrated the Resistance networks, tracked down and captured some 8,000 hiding Jews, and handed them over to the Nazis for extermination. They received bounty of 7.50 guilders per Jew. Their mission largely achieved, the group formally disbanded in October 1943, but continued to track down hidden Jewish property for the Nazis.
[14] Dutch: ‘Pete’, for Peter the Apostle.
[15] Pronunciation: Sjoerd Bakker = Shoert Bukker.
[16] Dutch: ‘Orange Hotel’, the popular nickname given to the part of the Scheveningen Prison used by the Germans to intern Resistance fighters.
[17] Pronunciation: Piet Brakel = Peet Brah-kul; Joop and Bep van Gelderen = Yohp and Behp fun Hel-der-un (G is a guttural h); Jood = Yoht; Wim = Vihm.
[18] Pronunciation: Bram = Brahm.
[19] Pronunciation: Jantje = Yuhn-chuh. Dutch: ‘Johnny’, for John the Apostle.
[20] Pronunciation: Mevrouw = Muh-froh.
[21] Pronunciation: Ineke = Een-uh-kuh.
[22] Dutch: ‘Radio Orange’; the Dutch-language BBC European Service wartime radio programme broadcast from London for 15 minutes at 9 p.m. every day, playing a major role in keeping the Resistance alive. Managed by the Dutch government-in-exile, it often broadcast the exiled Queen Wilhelmina’s speeches to her people.
[23] Pronunciation: Gans = Hahns (G is a guttural h).
[24] Pronunciation: Ijmuiden = Eye-mow-din.
[25] Pronunciation: Jan Boone = Yun Boh-nuh; Gommert Krijger = Hom-mit Kray-Huh (both Gs are a guttural h); Kees = Kayse (like case). The surname Krijger means ‘warrior’ in dutch.
[26] Pronunciation: Wil and Wim Spaans = Vihl and Vihm Spahns.
[27] Pronunciation: Landwacht Niederlander = Lund-vuht Nay-der-lund-er (guttural h).
[28] Pronunciation: Diny = Dee-nee.
[29] German: ‘match against England’.
[30] Teus was the name given to the man by Kurt Lewin in his diary. Pronunciation: Teus = Työs (like Tuesday).
[31] Karel van Boesnack and Hein van Staveren, escaped on 11th August. Pronunciation: Karel van Boesnack = Kah-rul fun Buss-nuck; Hein van Staveren = Hiyn fun Stah-fer-en.
[32] Pronunciation: Kareltje = Kah-rul-chuh.
[33] Pronunciation: Peerke = Payr-kuh; Remus = Ray-mis.
[34] The Dutch surname, Krijger, translates as ’Warrior’.
[35] Pronunciation: Fake Krist = Fah-kuh Krihst; Cor van Stam = Kor fun Stum.
[36] See http://virtueletochten.noord-hollandsarchief.nl/?pp_id=115&pc_id=20 for more information. The assassination was the subject of the 1986 Dutch movie De Aanslag (The Assassination), which received the Oscar for best non-English film. See http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090576/
[37] Pronunciation: Hongerwinter = hong-er-vin-ter. Dutch: ‘Hunger Winter’.
[38] Pronunciation: Bouts = Bowts.
[39] Pronunciation: Miente = Meen-tuh.
[40] Pronunciation: Barrie = Bah-ree; Jopie = Yoh-pee.
[41] The records show him listed as getting on the train but not present on the disembarkation list.
[42] After the war, the Dutch people meted out their own punishment for collaborators and ‘Moffenmeiden’ (women who had had ‘relations’ with the Nazis), who were rounded up and publicly humiliated by having their heads shaven and painted orange. Some were lynched or otherwise punished without trial; those who were known to have worked with the Waffen SS were used to clear minefields, suffering losses accordingly. Many were later sentenced by court for treason.
[43] Pronunciation: Ge van Buuren = Hay fun Byur-in (G is a guttural h).
[44] ’Dagboek in Oorlogstijd’ by Kurt Lewin, alias Christiaan Gans; foreword dated 17 February 1995, now available online.
[45] The Dutch Resistance ‘National Assault Group’, a group of about 750 members conducting sabotage operations and occasional assassinations in 1944.
[46] Dolle Dinsdag was on the 5th September.
[47]http://www.bol.com/nl/s/boeken/zoekresultaten/Ntt/Herfstreis+naar+Dantzig/search/true/searchType/qck/N/8299/sI/true/sA/300/sc/books_all/index.html