1919
was not a good year to start a new life, albeit better than the war
years. The troops returned and brought Spanish flu and PTSD problems.
More young people died of flu throughout the world than died in the
trenches. Spanish flu was fatal to those weakened by poverty, war,
and stress. Both great grandparents survived the flu epidemic but
were unable to find employment. The embargo was lifted on goods
travelling to and from Dutch ports but as Europe passed from maximum
war production and full employment, to unemployment, the peace
dividend did not happen. Bankers and holders of war bonds demanded
repayment pushing all countries except America to bankruptcy.Work
was scarce, wages poor, relief through the church. The poor relief
became more important to the congregation than the church foibles.
Work and survival was a matter of whom you knew not your worth.Rozenburg
had four churches all protestant. One church sang hymns, the other
church thought hymns pagan but sang psalms. The other church thought
any singing was pagan and heretical, but chanted psalms. The last
church neither sang nor chanted hymns, songs of praise, poetry,
prose, including psalms. Any artistic fervour was heresy and they
stuck to dogma according to the holy book (their version of it).
Included was a passage saying Noah had 3 sons one black (lazy) one
yellow (dishonest) and one white (just right, honest and favoured by
god). The fundamental church gave more poor relief so the Klapwijk's
became fundamental evangelical extreme protestants. Neeltje belonged
to that church and believe fervently in all its teachings. Huibregt
had attended all other churches in his time was less dogmatic.1922
was very stressful. Huibregt could find no work. He tended the
church, work tirelessly for no money but food relief. The baker
delivered stale bread as charity and did not charge. The butcher gave
the bones dog owners would not buy, normally full of maggots.
Clothing was from the scrap bags, woollens were unwound and the wool
reused. Cotton squares were sewn together to form checked or
patchwork clothing. In Holland it was not unusual to wear clogs. They
were water proof and could be adjusted with sandpaper. All children
wore clogs as did most adults to work in. Shoes a rarity was for
Sunday, weddings and funerals. When Hubert, (Huibregt junior) was
born in 1923 Neeltje had a difficult and stressful pregnancy. Hubert
grew up a difficult child with a gender question.By
1925 when you grandmother was born Huibregt had found meaningful work
and Neeltje had established herself as a competent seamstress.
Daughter Nelly (Neeltje) was weak and in need of constant attention.
The birth of Jacoba was too soon after Nelly and her mother was
suffering post natal depression. Jacoba was neglected, this neglect
was felt by the child. Mother and daughter were never close. Never
again would Neeltje have children one year apart, from then on, all
children were separated by at least two years.1929
the wall street crash. Holland was plunged into recession but still
tried to maintain the gold standard far longer than any other
country. This political decision brought abject poverty to the
people. By 1930 everyone was suffering. Church poor relief had to
cover more needy people. Those already poor suffered more than most.
Work was temporary, even lower paid and the hours longer. Huibregt
never saw his family, they were asleep before he got home from work,
too tired to wash. Everything was scavenged. They had starvation
supplies of food, but no soap, wax for candles, oil for heating,
polish for shoes or floors, soda for laundry, or clothes pegs.
Washing after beating out in the river was tied up with baler twine.
The mantra for all the children was keep clean, do not play, or soil
clothes. You may remember granny's mantra of keep yourself clean,
this came from the inability to wash or launder when she was young.
The elder children that attended school had clothes to go out in.
Neeltje, Jacoba, Phillipus, and Janietje did no go out of the house
until they were 5 they wore a patchwork fabric sheets wrapped around
them. Granny blames this imprisonment on her lack of navigational
skill, she has never been able to find her way around, even Hilary
had to tell her which way to go in Rye.Huibregt
worked hard, he developed a way to plant crops faster than anyone
else. He could harvest crops with less damage and faster than most.
By 1931 Arie aged 12 was also working the fields full time. Taught by
his father the importance of hard work and honesty they expected to
be retained for the winter. In 1933 all other farm workers had been
laid off. Huibregt and Arie the best workers remained, but hard work
did not save them they were laid off in the autumn. Huibregt realised
that although the farmer owned and planted the crop it was useless
unless harvested properly. The harvester was the lowest paid yet the
fortunes of the farm relied on the seasonal pickers.He
had an idea to ensure work over winter, if he could hire some land
and plant Brussels sprouts, which could be harvested until spring
when work was available. He approached a bank and provisionally
obtained a loan to hire an acre of land. Aunty Fei's husband and his
brother told the bank he was unreliable so he failed to secure the
money needed, although he paid a deposit to the bank. He never
trusted banks or his family again.Out
of work, betrayed by family he sought work in Germany as did Arie.
Adolf Hitler came to power and set Germany to work. These were the
prosperous years of the distasteful regime. Full employment was
achieved, food production increased and questionable land available
to rent.Huibregt
worked in Kaldenkirchen
alone, Artie worked on a farm near Venlo close to the Dutch border.
Arie although close, never returned to visit the family or sent any
money home. Huibregt returned to Holland with money monthly and sent
money in the post to sustain the family.
He managed to borrow a deposit for 12 acres of fertile grade one land by the side of the railway near Walhutte farm. He found it to be far from grade one land but an uncultivated swamp. After a few years of picking and planting seasonal work he was employed at Krefeld Market as a fruit grader. He kept that job in full time work and part time for the rest of his working life. With this funding and hard work he managed to bring the 12 acre land into cultivation. In 1936 he returned home and did a midnight flit with the family leaving huge debts behind him. The family lived in a two bedroom house in Kaldenkirchen, but he managed to rent a two bedroom house at Waldhütte farm run by the Steinfardt family. The elder children (granny and the elder boys) lived at Waldhütte farm. The rest of the family including Nelly and Greta stayed with their mother at Kaldenkirchen.
Every family has some tension, the poorer the family the greater the tension. A large family has more tension than a small family. Parents need special skills to bring up a family properly, no one is trained for it, no one has all the answers. You only do what you think is best at the time considering the circumstances. The Klapwijk's were both poor, a large family and without support of a wider network to advise or help out. Their parents were very Victorian and both were brought up with the belief that children should be seen but not heard. The father was the head of the family, made all the decisions, was obeyed and responsible for discipline. The mother kept the family together, did the love and encouraging. Neither parent should have favourites and should treat all children equally. You may have found by now that is a very difficult project.The head of the family earned the money, and was responsible for allocation of funds. The head of the household had to get to work and pay for work related expenses. What was left over went to the mother for housekeeping and treats. In the Klapwijk family there was not enough for treats or enough to pay the housekeeping bills. The only thing that was paid was the rent, which was paid by the head of the house before other considerations. All money coming into the house either went to the father or mother. All children if paid for odd jobs gave the money to mother who would spend it accordingly. No one kept money for themselves. So when Arie set off on his own and kept all he earned it was a shock to the family. This act of selfishness broke the mould. It was considered normal for parents to look after the children and when they could no longer look after themselves the family would look after them. Children were the old age pension, so when one child broke away and went it alone, the old order broke down. Neeltje never forgave Arie for his selfishness or Huibregt for not bringing him back.Arie found work in Germany but when the family moved to Germany he moved back to Holland, eventually returning to Rozenburg where he married Stiencha. He acted on the idea of his father to rent land, and rented land to grow Brussels sprouts for the winter. Harvesting on other farms and maintaining his sprout enterprise over winter, kept his family going. When the war started and Holland invaded he was conscripted, but discharged before deployed, when the country surrendered. Near the end of the war he was again conscripted only this time by the German army, but never saw conflict. By joining the German army he lost his right to a Dutch passport and was not allowed to leave the country. He was not able to visit his family again until the common market was formed, and passport controls abolished.The defiance of Arie was the watershed, if one child can do his own thing and not support the family why should they?The next conflict was due to Jacoba. As you know she can not cook. The idea that Gerbrand and Hubert could work with Jacoba in the fields and then Jacoba would leave early to cook did not work. They complained that they had to try and cook for themselves, so Nelly was despatched to cook, something she very much resented. Nelly was her mothers favourite because she was a sickly child and Neeltje spent so much time nursing her. Jacoba's inability to cook made an enemy of Nelly, and upset their mother greatly.
During the war the family moved out of Kaldenkirchen to Waldhütte farm. An air raid shelter was built in the field opposite, under a bridge. The stream was diverted through a culvert which gave the family space either side of it. The top corner of the field was requisitioned for an anti aircraft battery. The gun crew pillage the fields for food. The family were poor again. During this time Huibregt befriended the Debunga's a Black poor family. The Germans had no quarrel with blacks and treated them as second class humans, being black they could not disguise themselves as the master race. The Debunga family shared the shelter and were supported by Huibregt throughout the war.The only action they saw was when a hospital train was attacked by spitfires killing hundreds of unarmed wounded civilians and soldiers. At night they could see the towns of Monchengladach and Krefeld burning. Huge flames lit up the night sky.
They could not afford newspapers and the only news available was from the pre-set state radio. Many believed the propaganda but Huibregt read between the lines. He knew the end was nigh and suspected the allied troops were not far off. A rich farmer from Rottweil offered him accommodation and some land, on his farm in exchange for work, and on the condition he brought his whole family. So they loaded a horse cart with all their worldly possessions and set off to make the journey to the Swiss border.Hubert opted to remain on the farm to look after things. The family set off walking, or riding the cart, with the goat tied behind. They had to stop frequently to allow the horse and goat to graze. The journey took months.When they arrived they found the rich farmer was only interested in abusing the daughters, so they set off back. They dodged armed forces, and scavenged for food. It took them longer to get back home. On return they found the Anti aircraft gun moved, the crops eaten, all the glass cloches smashed and Hubert suffering a serious mental illness. The allied army had moved past but not before atrocities were committed in Willich. The victims of Willich were not on the winning side and war crimes are only attributed to the loosing side. The war was over for the family, the peace was harder to deal with.
Hubert was a sensitive child. His mind was always active. He thought deeply and was obsessed with maths. Although not taught traditionally his mind unravelled mathematical problems. Today we would probably say he was autistic. He left school at 12 with difficulty in reading and writing, although he could multiply complicated mathematical problems in his head. He taught granny how to multiply by 11 quickly, and the anomalies of 9, which she has always used. He worked out untaught algebra and loved to see the mathematical pattern in everything. He got on well with granny but no one else because he was not functional and always had his head in the clouds. Today he would be considered as gifted and encouraged to follow pure mathematics or physics. In the 1930s anyone not an all round scholar was considered thick. He achieved poor marks for language, art, literature, history, and geography. He did well in science and was smarter than the teachers in maths thus put down and humiliated.
In Holland unless supported by rich parents or church scholarship you left school at 12. Granny did well at school and considered too smart by half. She was second in the class beaten by one point by the brightest rich child that had home tutoring and support. Granny was not supported, she was a girl, and not expected to do well against the rich children. She also left school at 12 and resented it. Hubert welcomed leaving school to escape the bullying and enjoyed working in the fields where his mind could wonder, and he didn’t have to talk to any one. He tried to talk to his father about the things he discovered but Huibregt could not understand. He did allow him to do the accounts and trusted his calculations that took seconds instead of the hours Huibregt would slave over them.
Sexuality was a problem for Hubert. Today he would have been considered as bisexual, in rural backwaters of religious bigotry he was a freak. I have no idea what your stance is on sexuality, and I may upset your with my beliefs. Sexuality is not just male female it is a wide spectrum from ultra male heterosexual to ultra female lesbian. There is no right or wrong in sex. Each person has the sexual desires their body has developed. Too many of one hormone or too little may cause the person to have sexual desires for male, Female, both, or neither. No sexual desires are wrong between consenting adults and that means puberty not 21, 18 or any other figure plucked out of thin air. Everyone should be treated as a human to their character not their sexual proclivity. I have friends of all shades of sexual behaviour and enemies of all as well.
In Nazi Germany being different was dangerous. In the family Neeltje preached against sexual deviation because it was in the GOOD book. This meant retribution against Hubert. To enforce discipline Huibregt would have to take him in hand. If lenient he risked upsetting the family if harsh he would destroy Hubert. Huibregt tried to find a middle path hence hurt everyone. Huibregt was greatly concerned that Hubert sought and found gay men. Being gay, like mental illness could mean death. He tried to restrict Hubert’s activity, or at least his detection. The presence of military and Nazi gunners on the farm was deeply worrying. He tried to keep Hubert away from the soldiers. Being gay or mentally unstable meant death.
He managed to borrow a deposit for 12 acres of fertile grade one land by the side of the railway near Walhutte farm. He found it to be far from grade one land but an uncultivated swamp. After a few years of picking and planting seasonal work he was employed at Krefeld Market as a fruit grader. He kept that job in full time work and part time for the rest of his working life. With this funding and hard work he managed to bring the 12 acre land into cultivation. In 1936 he returned home and did a midnight flit with the family leaving huge debts behind him. The family lived in a two bedroom house in Kaldenkirchen, but he managed to rent a two bedroom house at Waldhütte farm run by the Steinfardt family. The elder children (granny and the elder boys) lived at Waldhütte farm. The rest of the family including Nelly and Greta stayed with their mother at Kaldenkirchen.
Every family has some tension, the poorer the family the greater the tension. A large family has more tension than a small family. Parents need special skills to bring up a family properly, no one is trained for it, no one has all the answers. You only do what you think is best at the time considering the circumstances. The Klapwijk's were both poor, a large family and without support of a wider network to advise or help out. Their parents were very Victorian and both were brought up with the belief that children should be seen but not heard. The father was the head of the family, made all the decisions, was obeyed and responsible for discipline. The mother kept the family together, did the love and encouraging. Neither parent should have favourites and should treat all children equally. You may have found by now that is a very difficult project.The head of the family earned the money, and was responsible for allocation of funds. The head of the household had to get to work and pay for work related expenses. What was left over went to the mother for housekeeping and treats. In the Klapwijk family there was not enough for treats or enough to pay the housekeeping bills. The only thing that was paid was the rent, which was paid by the head of the house before other considerations. All money coming into the house either went to the father or mother. All children if paid for odd jobs gave the money to mother who would spend it accordingly. No one kept money for themselves. So when Arie set off on his own and kept all he earned it was a shock to the family. This act of selfishness broke the mould. It was considered normal for parents to look after the children and when they could no longer look after themselves the family would look after them. Children were the old age pension, so when one child broke away and went it alone, the old order broke down. Neeltje never forgave Arie for his selfishness or Huibregt for not bringing him back.Arie found work in Germany but when the family moved to Germany he moved back to Holland, eventually returning to Rozenburg where he married Stiencha. He acted on the idea of his father to rent land, and rented land to grow Brussels sprouts for the winter. Harvesting on other farms and maintaining his sprout enterprise over winter, kept his family going. When the war started and Holland invaded he was conscripted, but discharged before deployed, when the country surrendered. Near the end of the war he was again conscripted only this time by the German army, but never saw conflict. By joining the German army he lost his right to a Dutch passport and was not allowed to leave the country. He was not able to visit his family again until the common market was formed, and passport controls abolished.The defiance of Arie was the watershed, if one child can do his own thing and not support the family why should they?The next conflict was due to Jacoba. As you know she can not cook. The idea that Gerbrand and Hubert could work with Jacoba in the fields and then Jacoba would leave early to cook did not work. They complained that they had to try and cook for themselves, so Nelly was despatched to cook, something she very much resented. Nelly was her mothers favourite because she was a sickly child and Neeltje spent so much time nursing her. Jacoba's inability to cook made an enemy of Nelly, and upset their mother greatly.
During the war the family moved out of Kaldenkirchen to Waldhütte farm. An air raid shelter was built in the field opposite, under a bridge. The stream was diverted through a culvert which gave the family space either side of it. The top corner of the field was requisitioned for an anti aircraft battery. The gun crew pillage the fields for food. The family were poor again. During this time Huibregt befriended the Debunga's a Black poor family. The Germans had no quarrel with blacks and treated them as second class humans, being black they could not disguise themselves as the master race. The Debunga family shared the shelter and were supported by Huibregt throughout the war.The only action they saw was when a hospital train was attacked by spitfires killing hundreds of unarmed wounded civilians and soldiers. At night they could see the towns of Monchengladach and Krefeld burning. Huge flames lit up the night sky.
They could not afford newspapers and the only news available was from the pre-set state radio. Many believed the propaganda but Huibregt read between the lines. He knew the end was nigh and suspected the allied troops were not far off. A rich farmer from Rottweil offered him accommodation and some land, on his farm in exchange for work, and on the condition he brought his whole family. So they loaded a horse cart with all their worldly possessions and set off to make the journey to the Swiss border.Hubert opted to remain on the farm to look after things. The family set off walking, or riding the cart, with the goat tied behind. They had to stop frequently to allow the horse and goat to graze. The journey took months.When they arrived they found the rich farmer was only interested in abusing the daughters, so they set off back. They dodged armed forces, and scavenged for food. It took them longer to get back home. On return they found the Anti aircraft gun moved, the crops eaten, all the glass cloches smashed and Hubert suffering a serious mental illness. The allied army had moved past but not before atrocities were committed in Willich. The victims of Willich were not on the winning side and war crimes are only attributed to the loosing side. The war was over for the family, the peace was harder to deal with.
Hubert was a sensitive child. His mind was always active. He thought deeply and was obsessed with maths. Although not taught traditionally his mind unravelled mathematical problems. Today we would probably say he was autistic. He left school at 12 with difficulty in reading and writing, although he could multiply complicated mathematical problems in his head. He taught granny how to multiply by 11 quickly, and the anomalies of 9, which she has always used. He worked out untaught algebra and loved to see the mathematical pattern in everything. He got on well with granny but no one else because he was not functional and always had his head in the clouds. Today he would be considered as gifted and encouraged to follow pure mathematics or physics. In the 1930s anyone not an all round scholar was considered thick. He achieved poor marks for language, art, literature, history, and geography. He did well in science and was smarter than the teachers in maths thus put down and humiliated.
In Holland unless supported by rich parents or church scholarship you left school at 12. Granny did well at school and considered too smart by half. She was second in the class beaten by one point by the brightest rich child that had home tutoring and support. Granny was not supported, she was a girl, and not expected to do well against the rich children. She also left school at 12 and resented it. Hubert welcomed leaving school to escape the bullying and enjoyed working in the fields where his mind could wonder, and he didn’t have to talk to any one. He tried to talk to his father about the things he discovered but Huibregt could not understand. He did allow him to do the accounts and trusted his calculations that took seconds instead of the hours Huibregt would slave over them.
Sexuality was a problem for Hubert. Today he would have been considered as bisexual, in rural backwaters of religious bigotry he was a freak. I have no idea what your stance is on sexuality, and I may upset your with my beliefs. Sexuality is not just male female it is a wide spectrum from ultra male heterosexual to ultra female lesbian. There is no right or wrong in sex. Each person has the sexual desires their body has developed. Too many of one hormone or too little may cause the person to have sexual desires for male, Female, both, or neither. No sexual desires are wrong between consenting adults and that means puberty not 21, 18 or any other figure plucked out of thin air. Everyone should be treated as a human to their character not their sexual proclivity. I have friends of all shades of sexual behaviour and enemies of all as well.
In Nazi Germany being different was dangerous. In the family Neeltje preached against sexual deviation because it was in the GOOD book. This meant retribution against Hubert. To enforce discipline Huibregt would have to take him in hand. If lenient he risked upsetting the family if harsh he would destroy Hubert. Huibregt tried to find a middle path hence hurt everyone. Huibregt was greatly concerned that Hubert sought and found gay men. Being gay, like mental illness could mean death. He tried to restrict Hubert’s activity, or at least his detection. The presence of military and Nazi gunners on the farm was deeply worrying. He tried to keep Hubert away from the soldiers. Being gay or mentally unstable meant death.
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