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.