BRAVE FACE

The inspiring WWII Memoir of a Dutch/German Child

Frits’ Adventures in De Woude

When Frits was a teenager, he took his bicycle to De Woude, a small island reachable only by ferry. He was to work that summer on the largest farm on the island. He slept high in the loft where the hay was stored. Part of his job was ferrying the steer down this...

A Poem I Wrote Many Years Ago

Het was op een Zaterdagavond in Maart, Op dansles leerde een jongen een meisje kennen, Zijn hart ontvlamde; zij was zijn liefde waard, Hij wilde haar dat echter niet bekennen. Maar een hart laat zich nu eenmaal niet dwingen, Amor won alweer terrein, Zijn hart bleef...

My Husband was Born in the Congo

My husband was born in Leopoldville, the Belgian Congo, later called Kinshasa, Zaire, from two Dutch parents. The world had gone through a world war, followed by a recession. Work was hard to find, but Frits’ father found work in the Belgian Congo as a supplier...

The Blue of the Sky

Near the Oranje Hotel prison in Scheveningen,  there was a lovely park. It was called Klein Zwitserland. The grass was green and soft. No fire ants, like where I live now. I used to walk there and lie down, looking up at the trees and imagining that I was lying on top...

Frits in the Army

In those days, there was conscription of all young males of 18, with the usual exceptions. Frits did not qualify for any exception. He was not very pleased to enter the armed forces. I am not sure what the pay was, except that it was enough to buy a daily packet of...