Hereby my story, possibly I complete it later on, and if you have any questions I will answer them as good as I can.
I have never done any research or if I can find further information, except the NIOD (Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide) I don’t know where to search.
I was on May 7 1945, almost 4 years old, one of the victims and still facing with the consequences from it. On May 7 1945 we were, my father, mother and I, on a transport bike from Tuindorp Oostzaan, my mother on the back and I in front in a crate, going to the Dam to celebrate. We stood in the neighbourhood of the Nieuwe Kerk, I don’t remember much. I still think, all the time, that there were jeeps with soldiers passing by, my father denies that, but on the photos I see that there were several jeeps present.
When the shooting started my father picked me up, maybe he picked me up standing in the crowd, and we run away towards the Nieuwedijk. If I’m right a doorwindow from Woltering was smashed in, or my father has done it. When we got inside my father and I got hit, my father had a wound in his thigh and I had a wound somewhere around my knee, an important nerve has been blown away.
By entering we stepped over a dead boy from about 10 years old, as far as I know the boy was put aside. Inside at Wolters the wounds were bandaged, by using curtain fabric. After some time my father and I were taken away by an ambulance to the Binnen Gasthuis and from there to the Wester (Wilhelmina) Gasthuis.
My mother was expecting my sister, born in September, has lost us for some time but thanks to the help of scouts she found us again. In the evening my mother went home by foot and on the back of an bicycle from a neighbour, furthermore there were some terrifying moments as a consequence of armed German soldiers among others at the Central Station.
In the following years, until 1954, i have been laying 4 a 5 time in the Wilhelmina Gasthuis to be operated, there has been an attempt to recover my blown away nerve, the ankle is partly fixed, because the wounded right leg is growing less, the growth in the left leg delayed. In 1992 the ankle from the right leg is completely fixed.
PS
Last week I reacted on the fact that there are calls also to commemorate the Germans on May 4, I don’t think so, never!
Gradually I can understand that there also were guys who were forced and did not voluntary participated to this war, besides you have to pay attention with lies, think of Horst Tappert.
Commemorate on Dutch soil is allowed but not on May 4 and minimal a month after our commemoration.
Our holiday land is Norway, to get there you had to travel through Germany, and the first time I passed, in those days present, the border I was feeling quiet anxious.