AMSTERDAM
Dear Miss and Toon
Firstly, many congratulations on Robert's birthday. How old is he now? 15 or 16? I am so curious to know how he is getting on, I always thought he was such a nice boy. He will surely still remember me? I have not forgotten how he cried when Toon came to fetch him and Miesje from Bilthoven because of the war. He cried real tears, just as I did. Yes, next time I see the children they will all be grown up, that is if I ever see them again.
The rounding up of menfolk still continues. In Rotterdam there was relatively little trouble. In the Hague it did not go so well. How it will go here I don't know. Most will go underground, and those who give themselves up, will probably escape later. The trains from Rotterdam could not go further than Haarlem owing to the rails having been damaged. The men were packed into goods waggons like herrings in a tin. After several hours of standing like that, the citizens of Haarlem arrived with all sorts of food and provisions for them. During the night they were shunted into sheds until the rails were repaired. They were treated like cattle.
Last Sunday, November 26th, the English dropped bombs on the buildings housing the Gestapo in Euterpestraat. They were originally two splendid schools, which to build alone cost 30,000 guilders each. There was a General there at the time, discussing the recent "round ups". I think he was injured. Mrs v.d. Wielen lives on the corner of Euterpes and Beethovenstraat, very near the schools, and she was alone in her house with her grand daughter when the bombs fell. Fortunately when her daughter arrived she had the front door keys and was able to let herself in. She found her mother and child clinging to each other in the bathroom. All the windows were blown in, in the front part of the house, and her daughter had them all boarded up as quickly as possible. Her mother refuses to leave the house, and remains in the back room. She is afraid all her possessions will be stolen if she leaves. Ap's mother and Aunt also live in the Beethovenstraat, and their house was blown in at the back. Fortunately Ap happened to be with them at the time, and he was able to get his Aunt, who's an invalid, downstairs. Later the house keeper took her in an invalid chair to Ap's house. I don't know how they would have managed if Ap had not been there. They were all boarded up, and the Aunt having returned, they now live in the front of the house. Luckily those people who were affected by the bombing have had their electricity restored. And thus one continues to live from day to day.
We cannot get butter anymore; there is only a home made mixture available which consists of oil, vegetable fat, and flour, if you don't like it, then you eat your bread dry. In the early days we got 2200 gms bread per week.
NB this letter is continued in letter 035.
