Loading...
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 10 o' 111101V11.0 f4 N a ---TO ENGLAND ALLIED BOMBERS' ROUTES • NORTH SEA Oft4ir S Route ugh the through April Netherlands 1 Nt • ay 1945 HOLWIERD.E NANJUM o p0 (RONINGEN ;j FRIESLAND .� MAKKUM ,� • - SNEEK i i i ® EMDEN DELFZYL GERMANY . p1AR`ERWYKHOLTEN AMSTERDAM ROTTERDAM NYMEGEN BELGIUM ARNHEM WAR. THEATRE IN THE NETHERLANDS SPRING 1945 NORTH SEA 1111, IIAllty - w� '11 Va01111� 11/A oana 141/1411,141014 141/1411,14101141/1411,141014 I141/1411,1410141/1411,141014V I,1(r1 �♦ 0'00 111YINIJo)1 `� 110 r„Nol ric�M,rN ue1N... l';nn ., D,, NMARK WAR MAP of GREAT BRITAIN and ' NORTH WEST EUROPE ILLUSTRATING THE ROUTE OF "THE FIGHTING PERTHS” FROM THEIR MOMENT OF ARRIVAL AT LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND ON THE 17th OF OCTOBER, 1941 1 TO THE CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES AT DELFZIJL IN THE NETHERLANDS ON THE 8th OF MAY, 1945. 1 NAT 1011 0100 D111 01M 11V0001 1j,r04w 0e+1.0(0y(M1pr0 1111 1.•... 044.4% 1401111, � 0j 10 a.1 HOLLAND 10h� 10 M101(N /1 rr /y *10 I1 GERMANY • 1 POLAND • 10 CZECHOSLOVAKIA `04. 1 ti. .(1101111 0 0 ATLANTIC 0 OCEAN 01101 P41111 e AUSTRIA FRANCE m1000.. 4 SWITZERLAND 1 HUNGARY YUGOSLAVIA BAY OF BISCAY (M011rNa11011 'Ma((MIO PUIo 6/111,11.1.1,114.4. (00/11 0 11010011 IVO, 0 DIC 44 04010 (1011100 `I Vrn el(:1;1, 01C 11 Ia00N1 (101,0 11 1101 11 9 (t111v11 �ArIC•E„a°T•11 eauole,1�• f1'11'2)71 H� � e011ee,4q 0: J1�--��. 1I1 10,0 r1e[1 0`1 I 00 Nq1 TYji11 ar�1e1 S ! \J 1,0 J' er1e001 CORSICA •1111111.0:::17:1:11‘01v.1470:11 _ l 0 MO 01.111 1011 1 O 0 SARDINIA TYRRHE.NIAN SEA 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 GIBRALTAR BA!'E' RTC 'ELANDS *4 SEP ®,�°°° PNow P11®'7-i'l4 ,00 sj1'( (0N • 4 CHRISTMASES 111uwtrwted by .Ywok NY 'Dont f r