The Holocaust
Abominable in every way, the Holocaust involved some of the most undeniably heinous acts of human evil to occur during the war.
Antisemitism and other racial and religious bias’ were present in Europe long before Hitler and the Nazis began to take actions to remove those they deemed “less than human.” But what started out as whispers on the streets and rude glances in the stores, slowly evolved into a genuine hatred for a people who simply wanted a place to call home. The Jewish people, however, were not the only ones persecuted during the Holocaust. Jehovah's Witnesses, the physically and mentally disabled, homosexuals, some of the Slavic peoples, and the Roma (gypsies) were also brutally treated by the Nazi forces. The Holocaust began taking form before the war years, and continued until the war was over. During this time, six million Jews were murdered in Europe. Six million; that’s two million more people than the entire population of British Columbia. And that’s not even including all the other non-Jewish people who were vehemently persecuted. The Holocaust was particularly merciless in the Netherlands. But even in the midst of this atrocity, their were ones who rose above the evil around them. Some of the brave and heroic dutch citizens who saw this flagrant horror for what it was, offered their homes as places of refuge for those in need of a hiding place. Corrie Ten Boom and her family are some of the most well known good Samaritans to do this. They put their lives on the line to help total strangers because they knew it was the right thing to do, and that God would be with them through it all. |
The Hunger Winter
The winter of 1944-1945 was a terrible time in Dutch history. Due to the after effects of a recent railway strike, tight food restrictions, and the dismantling of railway tracks by Germans, food became very difficult to come by for those living in the city in Western Holland. City dwellers would go to great lengths to attain morsels of food, such as selling their belongings to farmers with extra provisions, and even then one rarely received enough to satisfy their hunger. To make matters even worse, South Holland (now liberated), was no longer shipping coal to its Western counterpart. Fuel sources were eventually cut off all together, which left people scrambling to find ways to keep themselves warm during a bitterly harsh Winter. It is estimated that over 20,000 people starved to death during this time that can be accurately described as horrendous.
Charles Bouchard - A Canadian Veteran
Charles Bouchard, a Canadian, joined the army as a young man in his late teens. He was placed in Italy, in the 3rd Canadian Infantry Brigade, attached to the Royal 22nd Regiment, which he later fought with. During this time, Charles narrowly avoided death on multiple occasions. When speaking about the war years, he recalls vivid memories of bullets whizzing past his head “When you heard a whistling in your ear, it meant a bullet had come close. That happened to me a lot.”
Charles was in Holland during the “Hunger Winter” of 1944-1945. He was one of the many Canadians who strove to help the Dutch people. Though it is unclear whether or not he fought against the Germans during the Dutch liberation, he did aid the people of the Netherlands by delivering food to the starving civilians. When the war ended and he returned to Canada, Charles was surprised at the treatment that many of the soldiers received upon returning home. Left with only the clothes on their backs, they were thrust into a society that didn’t know how to accept them. The following is a quote from Charles describing life post world war two. “For some, it may seem funny to say this, but we felt like we had been parachuted into a world that didn’t understand us anymore and that grudgingly accepted us. That’s how they made us feel. Then there was also indifference. When we weren’t being criticized, people were completely indifferent. You went to war, so what?!” Not only were veterans treated in a manner that lacked severely in respect for their brave actions, they were also left struggling to find jobs. Because most of them had gone off to fight in the war before finishing their educations, job options were few. Charles Bouchard is just one of the many brave Canadians who fought overseas to protect the civil liberties of many Europeans. Though he may not have obtained the recognition he deserved then, we can, even today, remember our Veterans for the heroes they were and make sure that their great sacrifice is never forgotten. |
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