HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2016-11-17, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2016.
Mooy remembers aunt's, father's WWII contributions
A museum -quality collection
Herman Mooy, who was born in the Netherlands, recently shared the story of his aunt, Emmy
Van Taack, and his father, Reinier Mooij, with The Citizen. Emmy and Reinier were
instrumental in helping people trapped behind enemy lines, during the occupation of the
Netherlands in World War II, reach freedom and safety. The collection of historical documents,
photos and newspapers he has on his aunt will be travelling with him to a museum in the
Netherlands next year to record the efforts of his family and others who fought the Nazis. (Denny
Scott photo)
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
This Remembrance Day marked a
solemn occasion for Herman and
Marlene Mooy of Blyth — the first
Remembrance Day since Herman's
aunt Emmy Van Taack (nee Vroege),
a Dutch war hero, passed away.
Mooy, who moved to Blyth four
years ago, recently told The Citizen
about his father, Reinier Mooij
(anglicized to Mooy), and his aunt
Van Taack who were members of the
underground during the Nazi
occupation of the Netherlands in
World War II, and explained how, in
his motherland, the war is
remembered much more vividly than
it is here in Canada and how
Canadians are honoured every year
throughout the country.
Van Taack and Reinier worked
against the occupying Germans
through subterfuge, espionage and
rescuing both persecuted Jewish
peoples and allied soldiers caught
behind enemy lines.
Reinier passed away in 2005 at the
age of 88 while Van Taack passed
away May 25 of this year at the age
of 91.
Interred at Mount Pleasant
Cemetery in Toronto, Van Taack was
the focus of media attention for
years after the war as she made it her
goal for people to remember what
happened under the yoke of Nazi
oppression during World War II.
That media attention intensified,
especially in the Netherlands, when
she passed away earlier this year.
Mooy has a collection of newspapers
and television videos showcasing his
aunt as she was recognized for her
efforts.
Reinier was an administrator at a
police station prior to the occupation
and after the Nazis moved in, he
remained at the station,
administering ration cards for the
Nazi regime while working for the
underground at the same time.
However, not everyone was
working to undermine and
overthrow the Nazis, and Reinier's
work with the underground was
revealed by someone either under
duress or for their own gain. After
being outed, he found himself on the
run.
Until his betrayal, Reinier and his
underground cell worked with other
cells to liberate those trapped behind
enemy lines. After being identified
as a member of the underground,
however, Reinier found himself
seeking shelter from the Nazis just
like those he had once helped out of
the country.
Hiding under the floor at a friend's
house, Reinier was soon faced with a
difficult situation. A betrayer had
discovered his hiding place and
brought the Nazis to the home. After
a first sweep, the Nazis and the
betrayer started to leave after not
finding anybody.
Unfortunately, the betrayer was
adamant about Reinier being there,
repeating over and over again that he
was sure he was in the home.
"By the time they got to the end of
the driveway, however, they decided
to do a second sweep," Mooy said.
"My father decided to try and make
a run for it."
Unfortunately, his flight would be
cut short by two bullets in his hip,
which would land Reinier in a
hospital that the Nazis made sure he
wouldn't leave.
"His bullet wounds were infected
and they weren't sure if he would
live or not," Mooy said.
Live his father did, though, and,
thanks to a pair of socks given to him
by a guard who had to be convinced
they weren't part of an escape plan,
he was able to escape from the
hospital despite his injuries.
After finding refuge with a
Catholic nun, he eventually made his
way back to his friends who hid him
from the Nazis. However, due to his
injuries, his days of working for the
resistance were over.
Fortunately, his sister-in-law Van
Taack, who was a mere 14 years old
at the time, was also a strong part of
the underground.
Whether by retelling or by print,
provided by underground printing
presses, Van Taack was getting the
word out about German positions,
plans and the actions of the
underground.
Van Taack, in a transcript of her
experiences throughout the war
presented at the Royal Canadian
Military Institute (RCMI) in 2004,
explained that her mother was
always ready to help people during
the war, even if they were sought by
the Germans.
"She did not hesitate," she said.
"That was the start of our family's
involvement."
From there, Van Taack said that it
didn't take long before fugitives
from the Germans were being
provided with identification and
ration cards through a network of
people in the community.
Van Taack spoke of the "secret" or
"hidden" village, a location with
dozens of underground hiding spots
built to hide Jewish people, Allied
pilots and soldiers and other
fugitives from the prying eyes of the
Nazis.
"Up to 80 people found a hiding
place for a longer or shorter time,"
she says of the village. "It was
extremely difficult to keep an
undertaking like this a secret. The
people hiding there were not allowed
to leave the grounds, but they had to
receive supplies. Spies were
everywhere."
Despite some intense practices to
keep the village hidden, which
included never approaching the
space from the same route twice as
to not leave trails and hiding
deliveries whenever possible, the
location was eventually discovered.
Thanks to early warnings, however
most of the people in the village had
already escaped prior to the arrival
of the Nazis.
Van Taack was a courier, ferrying
messages to and from members of
the underground as well as gathering
information from a hidden radio (as
radios were forbidden under the
Nazis) which would then be spread
through the villages.
She told the tale of "Uncle Tom's
Cabin", a hidden location that
housed pilots and paratroopers who
fell behind enemy lines. The site
became her responsibility, and she
had to find food and supplies for the
eventual five soldiers housed there.
During this period, Mooy was
born to Van Taack's sister. The
Germans sought both Mooy and his
mother as a means of flushing out
his father and so Mooy's first weeks
alive were spent in a box on the back
of his mother's bike moving from
safe house to safe house under the
cover of dark.
"The Germans were petrified of
the dark," Mooy said. "We had to go
house to house, night after night
until we found safety."
Through her own brushes with
betrayal, Van Taack was eventually
detained, though a bout with Scarlet
fever saw her moved to less secure
location which proved to be the
opportunity she needed to escape
with help from her family and a
sympathetic nurse.
After some tense weeks hiding
who she was, Canadian forces
starting pushing through the
Netherlands, liberating what had
been taken by the Germans. Van
Taack said she remembers the
Canadians coming through the
highways, their tanks and waving
soldiers a more -than -welcome sight.
She was the last of her friends who
worked to undermine the Nazi
occupation of her homeland, the
others either not escaping the
Germans or passing away after the
war.
Van Taack's final words in her
address at the RCMI are about the
Canadians who liberated her country
and how they will never be
forgotten.
"Every year on April 1, I go back
to Holland to commemorate and
celebrate the end of World War II in
May, 1945," she said. "On April 19,
when my village was actually
liberated, we lay wreaths for the
Canadians."
Van Taack goes on to explain how
May 4, which is Remembrance Day
in the Netherlands, is marked by
flags at half mast and people
walking to their local cenotaphs.
May 5 is marked as Liberation Day
when the country remembers all
those who fought to make their
homeland free and whole again.
Mooy travelled to the Netherlands
for the 50th anniversary of the end of
the war in 1995 and said it was an
amazing experience. He and his
family went to the Apeldoorn
parade, which features Dutch
veterans and citizens who lived
through the occupation as well as
honoured guests, like representatives
of Canada.
"Canadians are welcomed
everywhere," Mooy said. "There is
this reverance for anyone with a
Canadian flag on their back"
Mooy's own family is also
honoured because of the work they
did during the war. He said, during
his visits, he was honoured for
simply being his father's son,
leading him to understand how well
thought of his family was
for the sacrifices they made during
the war.
In a commemorative book that
was put together by Herman's wife
Marlene, there is one hand -made
flower, crafted from fabric, that one
young boy was passing out, which
Mooy says shows how connected the
youth of the country are with what
happened decades ago.
"Remembrance Day here is great,"
he said. "There, though, people lived
through dark days and they didn't
know how or when they would end.
It's a different experience."
Next year, the Mooys will be
making their way to Holland once
again to mark the passing of
Herman's aunt and to honour the
woman who saved many.
Tools of the trade
Emmy Van Taack and Reinier Mooij, aunt and father of
Blyth's Herman Mooy, respectively, needed falsified
documents, shown above, to work in the underground
during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.. (Denny Scott
photo)