HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1985-11-06, Page 211
Crossroads—Nov. 6, 1985
t:L:J&4r, katures.a nd entertainment
Serving over 20,0001hortnes
in Ontario's heartland
Holland, May 1985
Return of the "Perths" to Sneek
By JHOhn H. Martens
Forty years is a long time in the his-
tory of nations and yet even a time-
span of this duration is not always suf-
ficient to completely eliminate feel-
ings of distrust and animosity be-
tween former foes such as Germany
— then Nazi -Germany —and the na-
tions of Western and Central Eugope
which were under its heel in Worltd`
War II.
This fact was startlingly apparent
from editorials and newspaper ar-
ticles appearing in print during the
months of April and May in the West
European press, as we will see.
In those months the liberation of
much of Holland from Nazi terror and
oppression in the spring of 1945, was
commemorated with great ceremony.
There was an unquenchable spirit of
gratitude and affection for the libera-
tors, whether they were young
soldiers and airmen frzm England,
Canada, the USA and Poland or ex-
patriate Hollanders who had joined
the Allied colors.
It was our good fortune to be with a
group of Canadian veterans of the
Perth Regiment, Stratford, Ontario,
many of them accompanied by their
wives. We were thrilled to report on
what happened during the days the
visiting veterans spent in Holland and
to record the rnoods and moments of
nostalgia, and also to take in the
moments of tearful recognition and
fond reunion.
The bonds between Canadian those of the other Canadian visitors. day of the Battle of Waterloo — every
soldiers and the people of liberated We have already mentioned the tone church steeple in the country proudly
Holland were extremely strong. of many press reports and articles ap- flew the Dutch tricolor. Napoleon and
The many scheduled events, official pearing in Dutch newspapers and his cronies have been consigned to the
receptions, solemn celebrations, as magazines in the spring of this year. scrapheap of historical oblivion. One
well as joyful get-togethers, provided Many breathed an air of unmiti- day Hitler and his consorts will join
a wealth of insight into the undi-
minished aura still surrounding the
C nadian image in Holland.
TIME OF REUNION
It is mainly about the Perth Regi-
ment that we write. It seems hest to
limit our descriptions to the exper-
iences of one group of Canadian veter-
ans. In doing so, we thought we would
get a more personal and intimate pic-
ture of the thoughts and sentiments
which lived and still live in the hearts
of these veteransand the people of
Holland who had invited them to stay
in their homes.
In short, the human interest aspect
of renewed transAtlantic contact be
tween a liberated nation and its
rescuers from overseas could, in this
way, be emphasized better than by
trying to present a coherent picture of
the myriads of events going on across
the nation in commemoration of its
liberation in 1945. "Our" group of vet-
erans was by no means the only one in
the country embarking on a trip to the
past. Some 10,000 Canadian veterans
were reportedly scattered throughout
Holland, invited back by a grateful
people.
The experiences of the "Perth" vet-
erans no ,doubt reflect, in general,
Ancient house in Sneek (17th.
or early 18th century)
One of veral marinas in
Sneek.
gated bitterness toward Nazi Ger- them there. But the memory of Hol -
many, or at least expressed senti- land's liberators will long outlast the
ments showing that the wounds of reminiscence of all cruel oppressors
World War II are still festering. But and in the Dutch national conscious -
then Holland suffered grievously. ness there will always be that special
"The greatest crime in human his- niche for the soldiers from overseas
tory" caused the extermination of six who bore freedom and hope on the
wings of victory in that memorable
spring of 1945.
The tone of the Dutch press in the
early spring of this year was one born
Those who tried to rescue or aid of a nation's suffering not yet forgot -
them fared no better. Nor did those ten. It could not be compared to the
tens of thousands who further fell vic- dispassionate and flat reporting in the
tim to the enemy's rage. media in North America, where the
BITTER MEMORIES tramp of Nazi boots and the cries of
All this and more was recalled in the Nazism's victims were never heard.
media, where new and gruesome It remained, all in all, a startling
revelations of the Nazi era were ap- eye-opener to absorb the west
pearing with clock -work regularity. European attitudes toward Nazi Ger-
Despite the passage of time, the Hitler many. •
period continues to fascinate his- PERTHS ARRIVE
torians and laymen alike. In Holland Against this background occurred
alone hundreds of books dealing with the visit to Holland in May of approxi -
this calamitous epoch in human his- mately 50 veterans of the Canadian
tory have appeared in recent months. Perth Regiment and their wives. In
Of course, eventually the time will the early winter months of this year,
come when more immediate concerns the Perth veterans were invited by the
. will agitate mankind, for inexorably city of Sneek in Friesland in the north
the present becomes history and fades of the Netherlands to join in the local
into the background, but that time has celebrations to be held from May 3. to
not come yet with respect to the Cana- May 9.
dian veterans, at least not in much of After the end of hostilities between
Western Europe. Germany and the Allies in early May,
There it seemed as if U.S. President 1945, seven hundred men of the Perth
Reagan's untimely visit to Bitburg Regiment had remained for More
military cemetery in West Germany, ' than six months, quartered or billeted
where a number of S.S. men lie in Sneek, where many ties developed
buried, revealed a startling and sur- between them and the local popul
million Jews, including the lives of
120,000 Dutch Jews, citizens, whose
forefathers had lived in Holland for
generations.
prising lack of historical perspectiv
and insight on the part of his adviser
and the president himself. The sam
can be said of Kohl, West Germany'
chancellor, who was never known fo
his historical perspicacity.
The Bitburg incident was dismisse
just for what it was, a political gaff
by two statesmen with little or no ide
what lives in the hearts of the ordin
ary man, whose father or friends o
compatriot fell victim to the Nazi ex
cesses.
It certaihly did not enhance the
image of the leaders of the two mos
powerful democracies in the eyes o
freedom -loving people.
With that the Bitburg incident is
closed as far as the people of Holland
are concerned. More important mat-
ters were at hand, for even if 40 years
have gone by since liberation days,
much of the population still knows,
cares, celebrates and remembers re-
spectfully.
It may, perhaps, take 150 years or
more for the people to forget. Na-
poleon s fallthe -end of French oc-
cupation of Holland, in 1813, are, after
all, no longer celebrated, although in
our time, every year on June 18 — the
e tion, ties which in many cases were
s extremely durable and as a result of
e which the town council of Sneek of -
s ficially invited the veterans.
✓ When the war was over, there was
insufficient transportation available
d to bring the Canadians home speedily
e but their extended sojourn in Holland '
a must have done more for the mutual
- friendship than anything else. Sneek
✓ meant a place of rest for the veterans
- and although their relatively large
number in a city of only about 13,000
inhabitants brought some initial ten-
t sion and strain on the available living
f space and municipal resources, in due
time a good relationship developed
between • ,the populance and the
soldiers from overseas.
Continued on Page 10
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City Hall of Sneek, Trlesland, the Netherlands, where 700 members
of the Canadian Perth Regiment stayed for C 6 months till the fall of
1945 after the liberation of the country during the previous spring.
STRAIT OF
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