Chapter One

Monday, May 13, 1940

I will write down the crazy things that have happened in the last few days. On May 10, 1940, the long-expected war with Germany started, when the Germans invaded Holland. Around 4:00 am we were wakened by a tremendous noise. At first I thought we were hearing a weird thunderstorm, then Father came running up the stairs into our bedrooms and rushed us into our small vegetable cellar between the vats of sauerkraut, beans, potatoes, etc. There was little room for us all. It felt as if thousands of planes came roaring over, and we heard bombs fall. Minutes later there was a tremendous explosion (we found out later that the bridge at Brakkenstein Street had been blown up by the Dutch military); a moment afterward, another deafening explosion occurred, probably the Waal traffic bridge, which had the longest span in Europe. I don't know if they succeeded. They did it so the Germans could not move quickly through Holland's waterways.

Tuesday, May 21, 1940

The Germans emptied all the Dutch warehouses and stole everything. It's a good thing that the Dutch people have stashed away all kinds of imported foods like coffee, teas, rice, and oils, knowing that once the Germans invaded us, those goods would be impossible to find. Mother hired a welder, who made tin cans for these products to keep the mice out and to keep them fresh. Mother went today to our grocery store to see if there was anything left for her big family, but the enemy had also emptied our shops. They are now picking up the Dutch scientists