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215 THE OTHERS (1945–1949) On 5 September 1944, “Dolle Dinsdag” or “Crazy Tuesday,” thousands of Dutch Nazis and collaborators fled to the eastern part of the Netherlands as rumors that Allied troops had crossed the border spread. The Allies did indeed liberate the southern parts of the Netherlands, but after their assault on Arnhem failed at the end of September, the situation in those parts of the country still occupied by the Germans deteriorated rapidly. To support the Allied attack on Arnhem, Dutch railway workers called a general strike on 17 September. Amersfoort was the only city in the Netherlands where the Germans threatened the strikers. On several occasions, they blew up their homes in retaliation. The strike continued until the end of the war, and occupation authorities had only very limited success keeping the trains running with German personnel. After September the Germans conscripted tens of thousands of “Spitters” (literally diggers) to excavate defensive lines along the Rhine and IJssel. Everywhere Dutch men went into hiding and Germans conducted major “Razzias” or manhunts to find them. In Amersfoort, the first German Razzia took place on 6 October 1944. The biggest one occurred in Rotterdam, where about fifty thousand men were caught. Some of them passed by the house of Immo and August, who saw neighbors slip them apples and other articles of food. August’s brother Carel was also apprehended, but he was released after a sympathetic Dutch doctor wrote him a sick note. To be on the safe side, he made his way on foot to Amersfoort, where he sought refuge in his brother’s house until the end of the war. Hoping to disrupt the transportation of V-2 rockets, the Allies bombed Amersfoort’s railway yards eighteen times between 3 September 1944 and 25 April 1945. At least forty-four people lost their lives. The Brester home was damaged in the most serious raid on 13 October 1944. Both the liberation of the southern part of the country and the railway strike contributed to the near famine conditions in the rest of Holland. The winter of 1944/45 was also very severe. By January, the daily food ration available had fallen to 460 calories per person. About twenty thousand people died of malnutrition and the cold. Since Immo and August lived on a large thoroughfare, people often stopped by to ask for a place to stay for the night. Carrying bags and suitcases, they were making their way (on foot or bicycle) north and east to try to barter their possessions for food among local farmers. Twice a week Hedda rode her bicycle into the countryside around Amersfoort to call upon patients of August who had offered to give the family a loaf of bread, a bottle of milk, or some potatoes. The Others (1945–1949) 216 On 3 January 1945, Eddy had to leave the Brester home for another hiding place after someone from his home town recognized him. Immo’s notebook, 3 January 1945 Eddy left. Irmgard Brester to her cousin Ursula Meier, Amersfoort, 4 January 1945 What a lovely surprise that was when I was handed your dear letter. Finally a greeting from the homeland again. I am so pleased, although the reason for your letter is so endlessly sad. Dear Ursel, I too think of you a great deal and so often want to be near you so that I could talk to you about our dear Eberhard. [. . .] It is so painful to think that our dear Ohm Eberhard will never again come here. I always had the feeling that our family allowed him to relax and to revive himself. He will be missed very, very much! What provides a degree of consolation and peace is the thought that he was probably spared many difficulties. The truth is that he didn’t have an easy life, and he gave his life for his ideals. It was so nice that you were able to tell me a little bit about our home and our relatives. I don’t hear a thing anymore. We are the only ones left, so we have to stay even closer together; write as often as you can, alright? I am so pleased that we have had chance to connect, and I was told by the emissary that I could send along an answer tomorrow. [. . .] I think of all of you all the time, and the reports of heavy bombing worry me terribly. My poor, cherished Braunschweig! [. . .] Fortunately...

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