Passages From the Book
Monday, 6 November 1944. Today there has been bombing and shooting everywhere nearby (the clouds of smoke blew over the vegetable garden). This afternoon I was just on the driveway on my way to see if I could get my laundry done when the planes began to dive again, and artillery firing came from the woods. I turned around and fled back to the house. Juus had closed the shutters to protect the window-panes because everything shook so badly. When it was quiet again, she said, “Now you can go.” And I didn’t want to look like a coward so I went – but oh, I was so scared, so scared ….
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Sunday, 21 January 1945. Outside it snows and snows. It’s a bitter winter, high snow, hard frost. This morning Bob and Jet Hudig arrived here on skis with little Ferand in the sled. They brought a bottle of milk and a piece of meat! Jet, who expects a baby in May, was stiff from the skiing and left her skis here, so that this afternoon Marianne and I went to Anderstein [where the Hudigs lived] to return the skis. I went on the skis, and Marianne pulled our sled. But quite soon I tied the skis on the sled and walked companionably with Marianne. We got 6 pounds of rye [the grain] and also 6 pounds for Annetje and came home through a heavy snowstorm via inner paths. It was exceptionally beautiful in the be-snowed woods and even though we constantly heard heavy artillery firing in the distance, and now and then the bang of a V-1 or V-2, it was still beautiful.
I’ve now (evening) wrapped each of the children in a blanket in a little nest, with a coat around their feet. It’s terribly cold in the bedroom.