April 8th 1940,

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April 8th 1940,

Dear Diary,

Life is the same as usual in Rotterdam. My wife, Lisa and son Jack, are doing fine and my job at the harbour is going well. However a new threat seems to be lurking in the distance, one we have not had to deal with for a long time…war.

It is now just over a year since the Germans took their first victim, Czechoslovakia in March 1939. Since then I have heard that the German war machine has churned its way through Poland, Denmark and Norway and as nobody has yet succeeded in stopping them, I fear places like Holland, Belgium and France are next. However, we have not taken sides, Holland is a neutral country and up to now we have been living peacefully under good-old Dutch rule.

May 13th 1940

 Dear diary,

My worst fears have come true. I heard this morning on the wireless that Germany officially declared war 3 days ago. Rumour has it that German planes are currently flying over Holland full of bombs and troops, sweeping through Holland at a terrifying rate. I myself have not yet been directly affected but I know it’s only a matter of time and so I am taking no chances. My family and I are making preparations to leave Rotterdam tomorrow. We will head for the country and hopefully find refuge in my brother Frank’s, farm in Arnhem. I’ve told Jack that we are going to visit his uncle just like we used to do, for I cannot bear to tell him the truth. I plan to stay with Frank until I feel it is safe to move back into Rotterdam.

May 14th 1940

Dear Diary,

I have just witnessed a horrific event, one so terrible it is hard to put into words and one which will doubtless haunt me for the rest of my life. Early this morning, as my family and I left our house, we were able to note a faint rumbling in the distance. We made nothing of it and set off for the train station, which would send us north towards my brother’s farm. However, as we walked, the rumbling seemed to become louder and more distinct, and small black spots could be seen on the horizon. I am not an expert on aircraft but I knew that those spots were German planes heading straight for us and moving very fast. I did not tell my wife or son, but instead quickened my pace. The planes continued to draw near at a frightening speed and the ominous rumbling continued increase. Within 10 minutes I was sprinting as fast as I could, desperately trying to get as far as possible from the huge aircraft which were passing over us.

Suddenly there was an earspliting bang and something very strange followed. A seemingly wall of air hit me hard in the back, knocking jack over and causing my ears to ring. I was stunned, and started to help Jack up who had hit his head hard on the stone. As he got up I turned my head and saw to my horror that the church had been hit and had toppled over. I suddenly realised that my family and I were in serious danger and we hurried on, making sure that we headed away from the German bombers. As we moved further away from the centre of the city, more bombs continued to drop and screams mingled with terrified sobbing could be heard from within. I wanted to help but I did not want risk leaving my wife and child alone. We continued on our way, not able to take our eyes off the heart-rending sight which lay behind us. Our city was being obliterated before our own eyes. Huge fires had sprung up out of nowhere and the smell of burning flesh was slowly creeping up our noses. Within less than half an hour, our city had been reduced to a pile of rubble. It may not seem long, but it felt like an eternity, watching the small bombs fall from the plane’s hatches, and then watching the huge amount of destruction they caused. The German planes flew over our head and off into the distance and we were left standing on the road, in one of the few parts of Rotterdam that had not been bombed. I told my family that we should go back into the city to look for survivors and so we headed back into the city, which was now a heap of rubble and dead bodies. The silence in the city was eerie, compared to the deafening noise of screaming, bombs and planes.

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We were able to free some bodies, but most we found were dead. For the rest of the day we worked to keep the survivors alive while ambulances arrived. By then it was already dark and me and my family were exhausted. I cursed the Germans over and over and went to ask one of the doctors at the scene whether any of our Dutch planes would be doing that to German cities. He replied “Haven’t you heard? We’ve surrender…”

My heart sank, even though I knew that we were no match for the Germans. “From now on” I ...

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