The Apple Eater

The Apple Eater

(excerpt) May 9,1940: the Koning Family, Arnhem

Nine years ago Mark had come to the Netherlands [from the US] to visit his sister…his upstairs room overlooked Arnhem’s largest park, Sonsbeek. From this room he watched a slender woman with thick auburn hair pushing an elderly woman in a wheelchair. One day he introduced himself…. and Nella invited him to her tennis club. …..Mark could not remember when he actually fell in love with Nella but they began to discuss a future together.

 

During an evening walk] Mark rounded the corner…..This is my home now. My family, my country, whatever happens, we go through it together. Inside, once more, Mark felt calmer. Quietly he slipped into bed beside Nella. ……[She] cuddled into his outstretched arm. “That was a long time [to go for] a glass

of milk.”

“I had a devil of a time finding a cow”.

Mark slept. He slept so soundly that, when the first bombs fell, he heard nothing.

Elske ran into her parents’ bedroom:”Mamma!, Pappa!”. Nella pulled her frightened daughter into the bed beside her. A sharp whistle, the third in the last few minutes….an explosion rattled the windows…..Elske’s voice quavered. “Bombs Mamma? Real bombs??

The screaming projectiles came in rapid succession and the house trembled as the bombs thundered.

“Can the bombs hit our house?”

Hansje screamed Nella got out of bed. “Let’s hope not!

For two days the German Army streamed into Arnhem on motorcycles and in trucks. The constant roar on the nearby Velperweg became a monotonous drone.

May 11, 1940

On Monday, Mark went back to work but, the schools were closed. Nella….took the tram into town with Nico and Elske. She felt reassured to see stores open and the bustle of Dutch people in the center of the city.….nothing seemed changed except that German military personnel roamed everywhere….Arnhem citizens eyed the Nazis warily…. Elske and Nico. [appeared] awed by the severe uniforms and black, shiny boots.

August 15 1940: the Wieringa family, Amsterdam

The studio was up three flights of stairs in a dark and narrow building…..A worktable stood…..tools hung on a wall rack…..and sculpting instruments stood near the table. Josylyn turned on a lamp above a nearly finished wood sculpture which stood on a stool. “Hello Apple Eater Friend….Father, I keep thinking that he is going to say something.”…..Light bathed the reddish brown face of the wooden lad. His hand held an apple near his mouth – a momentary action frozen in time.

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Jitse looked at his wife anxiously. “How do you think [all this] will affect your work?”……

“I was shocked that word had gotten around. “You’re Jewish, aren’t you,”[my superior] asked me. “When I told him I was, he steered me away from the other workers. ‘Mevrouw Wieringa,” he said in a confidential tone…..”l wish you well but, I cannot let you work for us now. Too many people know and disapprove”……

“But Father, what if she has to hide or, we all have to?”Joslyn asked, “where will we all go?”

Jitse turned to his daughter. “I’ve considered that. The studio is a remote place. It is not an official residence because it has no address, and no mail is ever delivered there. Your mother has only been there a few times so people [who might inform on us] do not make the association between the two of us. I’m planning to make it comfortable enough for us all to live in, if necessary and, it’s large enough for an extra family. We need to think about helping others any way that we can.”

December 8 1940 the Koning family, Arnhem (note: one day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor)

Nella met him [Mark] at the door and, he put his arms around her. She kissed him and leaned her head against his shoulder. They walked inside where the children stood in the kitchen……

“We’re Americans too, Pappa. Are we enemies of the Dutch people now?”

“Technically yes, Nico but, I don’t feel much like an enemy, do you?”

“No. Are we also technically enemies of Germany?”

“Well yes, but then, haven’t we felt that way all along?”

The two younger children had gone to bed, Nella was knitting and Mark and Nico were assembling a jigsaw puzzle when a loud banging on the front door startled them. Full of apprehension, Nella started for the door.

“Wait Nella, don’t go alone”. Mark got up and together they walked to the hallway. The knocking continued, this time, even louder. Slowly, Mark opened the door. Two tall men in black NSB (Dutch Nazi) uniforms stood on the front steps.

They removed their hats politely as one man said, “Mark Koning?” Mark nodded. “We have orders to take you with us.”

“Won’t you come in gentlemen?” Nella asked with a calmness she did not feel. The officers stepped inside and Nella closed the door.

“On what charge?” asked Mark.

You are an American.”

Nella leaned against Mark. “Is this a crime?”

“These are our orders. Please come with us.”

"Where to, if I may ask?”

“The police station.”

…….Nella headed for the stairs. “I’ll go upstairs and throw some [of your] things together into an overnight bag.”

Elske and Hansje bounded down the stairs. “where are you going Pappa?” Elske clung to him and stared at the officers……..

Nella closed the door after they left. Her body felt drained. Upstairs, she undressed and crawled into the empty bed.

October 5, 1942 (note: Mark is set free and is now home)

“Nella has been telling me that it is difficult to buy sufficient staples in the stores.”

Lincoln glanced at Vivienne. “We know of several farmers in the area who would be happy to swap food for money or clothing or other items…..In fact, there is a pig farmer near Heren, which is just an hour by bicycle. Take along items [of value]…..and they’ll exchange for pork, bacon and grain.”

April 16, 1943 Wieringa Family, Amsterdam

“Someone has found your parents studio, Joslyn. When I stopped by last night the place was ransacked, no sign of your parents or of the Rosendaals. I have no idea where they are right now, but I know that another train leaves for Germany from the main station at two o’clock tomorrow.”

Joselyn felt a shock go through her body. “Where are they going?”

Gerrit hesitated. “People are being told Poland, where they are going to be with other Jews. There is supposed to be a designated community for European Jews.”

“That’s [Poland] where my mother is from. I want to go too. Can I meet them tomorrow?”

“No Darling. They knew you would ask if it came to this, but they made me promise that I would not allow you to follow them.

“But how bad can it be? At least we could all be together.”

“No one knows where they are really going. Your parents would only worry if you came along.” Joslyn laid her head on Gerrit’s shoulder and cried. “My father too? He’s not even Jewish.”

“He has been helping, not only your mother and the Rosendaals, but a lot of Jewish people. They definitely want him.”

September 5 1944 (Koning family, Arnhem)

Day and night Nella and her family listened to the thundering of Wehrmacht trucks traveling northeast along the Velperweg, retreating? The sky too was filled with the constant roar of English reconnaissance planes. They flew overhead during daylight now.

A few days later, unable to stem her own curiosity, Nella left the children with Emma and walked along the Velperweg to her father and mother’s house. She witnessed horse drawn carts clattering through the streets, but many [German] men walking slowly, wearily. The wounded hobbled on crutches or with a stick – the sad faces - and realized that many of those in uniform were mere children, fifteen perhaps, faces still smooth and only a few years older than Nico.

September 15 1944

Nella awoke to an eerie silence……all German women pregnant or with small children were ordered to leave Arnhem……They heard rumors of allied advances…..The price of freedom could be terrible….should Mark hide or even the whole family?

September 17 1944 (historical note: Battle of Arnhem)

When they arrived home, Mamma opened the back fence latch……a cloth was still on the patio table. Elske and Rico put on plates of ruck, margarine and jam. Mamma poured glasses of watery milk. Another air raid. Low flying [English] planes screeched overhead…..splintering noises rumbled close by…..around them walls ripped and tumbled. Elske’s mouth felt dry and her heart pounded against her chest. Hansje cried…..”Mamma I can’t see.”

Mamma picked up Hansje. “Let’s go! Nico, hang on to Elske…..Tante Emma yelled, “They’re alive! Oh thank God! Nella, come here please”…….Lieneks’s high pitched voice faded as they ran through the alley, “Nico! Elske!Hansje!”

April 10 1945 (in a northern village where the family had fled after the battle of Arnhem)

The next few days Germans swarmed the village and the English flew overhead. Villagers felt apprehension yet, excitement. Some townspeople climbed on their rooks and waved to the British planes.

“Fools!” said others.

 By the following Sunday, the Germans who had overrun the village…..were gone.

There was no sign of English planes, either, and the quiet in the village felt eerie. The next morning the church

was unusually crowded.

“Why so many people, Mamma?” Elske asked.

“I’m afraid Mamma.”

“So am I darling. So is everyone.”

 The minister paid little attention to what he was saying, because he was listening; they all were - listening,

anticipating, hoping, fearing.

A soft rumble at first. Then louder. People spilled from the pews and into the street.

Outside, Mark ran ahead waving his arms. “Canadians”…..“The Canadians are here!”

Nella grasped the arms of her children and ran along with the crowd……A large green tank lumbered into view followed by another and another.

Hansje tugged at her arm. “Is the war over, Mamma?”

Nella’s voice caught in her throat. “Yes, over” she cried, “it’s over!”

'Mieke’ Tazelaar