Henk Temmink

On May 7, 1945, a small group of children (I estimate we were between 7 and 14 years old) and I went from Balistraat via the Plantage to Dam Square. I was a little boy of almost seven and a half myself. Because there was such a huge crowd on Dam Square, there was little for us to see. We therefore kept walking to other spots to see if it was better there. We also followed the cheering that could suddenly be heard every now and then. Due to that constant moving, it was also difficult to stay together. Suddenly, shots were fired. I was in the quadrant near the Nieuwe Kerk and the Palace Wing at the time. I briefly lay behind a post with a small group, but when that group started running away, I went along into Mozes en Aaronstraat, onto Nieuwezijds, and then into Raadhuisstraat. In blind panic, I ran across one (Herengracht) possibly two (Keizersgracht) bridges, turned left, and fled into the first house I came across with an open door. I stayed in the hallway there for several hours. Because I had lost the group from Balistraat, I no longer knew the way home from that spot. Strangers brought me back to the Indische buurt towards evening.

Henk Temmink
June 26 2013