It was Thursday the 9th of May 1940. The war had been dragging on, but last month Hitler surprised us by taking Denmark and Norway. Since then the military leaves had been canceled quite often and there was more practice with the anti aircraft guns then usually.

I had been studying for a math test. It was about 11 o'clock when I went to bed. I turned on the radio next to my bed and searched for a station with news. I got Radio Cologne. They mentioned that Holland had canceled military leaves and how unnecessary that was as the Reich had no intention to become hostile with its neighbors to the West. An hour later, unknown to me, the first bombs fell on barracks, housing new recruits, just outside the Hague.

I was awakened at 6 the next morning by the sound of anti aircraft and other guns. I was kind of annoyed that they were practising this early in the morning. I got up and looked out of my window. Our house was on a hill and you could look out pretty far. What I saw shocked me. A big bomber with a black cross on it was flying close by. I was very still for a moment, then I ran downstairs to wake my parents and to tell them that we were at war.

We turned the radio on, the news was sporadic and chaotic. They mentioned the midnight bombing of the Hague. They hit the barracks where young soldiers who had just entered the service were housed. There was mention of heavy fighting at the Afsluitdijk, where the Navy had a battle ship and a few other ships. There was also fighting at the inundated parts and the bridges over the big rivers. There were rumors about snipers and airdropped Germans not in uniform.

At 8 o'clock the Queen came on the air with the official confirmation that a state of war existed between the Netherlands and Germany. The next few days went by in a blur. There were snipers. A young girl was killed crossing the street not far from our house. In fact, the soldiers and police thought that the shots had come from our house and came to look. That was terrible, but a little later one of them came back to tell us they had caught the sniper red handed, three houses away from us. I asked what they did with him. Stupid question!

There also was constant anti aircraft fire and German planes flying over. We had brought mattrasses downstairs and slept on the first floor. We also filled every container with water.

Then there came the day that the Queen and her family left for England. The cabinet went also. We always knew that we could not hold out against a superior force like Germany, but the fact of the Queen's leaving made it a stark reality. Of course, even if Holland fell as it was sure to do, there were still the Dutch East Indies, so she really had to go.

The next afternoon the Luftwaffe bombed Rotterdam and wiped out the center of the city. We were in the basement.The noise was so loud,we thought it was The Hague that was being bombed. Later, after it got dark we could see Rotterdam burning from our upstairs windows.

A little while later the radio mentioned that Rotterdam had been bombed and that the Germans had issued an ultimatum for the Dutch to surrender or the next day Amsterdam, the Hague and Utrecht would share Rotterdam's fate. The commander of the Dutch forces, General Winkelman surrendered. That was the beginning of 5 long years of German occupation.

The streets were deserted. Occasionally there were explosions when the Dutch army blew up ammunition depots.

The next day the Germans entered the city. An endless line of armoured trucks, half tracks and tanks with some goose stepping foot soldiers. There were tears, fear and anger and the end of the way of life as we knew it.