Many may recall Vimy Ridge and Paschendale. For the Koeslag family, originating from Laren in the Netherlands, their recollections evoke the sacrifices and trials of their family and their involvement with the Dutch underground movement in World War ll.
This story was brought to life in detail by the writing talents, determination, and enthusiasm of Jan Braakman of the Netherlands. He wrote the book The War in the Corner, Chronicle of a village in wartime Netherlands. He embarked on a tour of Canada to reconnect with his cousins and to promote the reality of those war days and the family’s heroic endeavours to help downed airmen evade the occupying German forces.
Braakman revelled in visiting schools and elderly homes to share his book. He tells of the similarities in Canada’s Remembrance Day Nov. 11 and the Netherlands Liberation Day May 5. He is grateful to his family and takes pride in thanking Dave Stringer of the Royal Regiment of Canada who helped liberate Laren.
Recently, his journey led him to a gathering of the Koeslag clan from across Ontario organized by Tim Dickert of Ottawa. Dickert is the son of Joanne and Bruce Dickert of London and grandson of Bertha Koeslag of Clifford and Audrey Dickert of Lakelet. About 75 people attended the gathering at the Durham Curling Club.
Many of the family had landed on Canadian soil in 1947 and reunited in Durham in 1949, so this seemed a fitting location for the book unveiling. A social time ensued before and after the reading as the family enjoyed a luncheon, with ample portions of Dutch cheese.
The family had nothing but compliments and thanks for the author who told the tale in exacting detail with descriptions culled from daily entries in his grandmother’s notebook, personal interviews, and extensive research on his trips to the Hague.
The pages revealed the reason for his mother’s tears and the fate of his grandparents Henrick Jan and Dina Koeslag, “two ordinary people living in an ordinary village with seven children who attended church on Sunday, milked their cows, fed their pigs, and worked the land they owned.”
It showed the family emerging as a formidable force developing a system of espionage and intrigue with cunning schemes and calculated risks. It dealt with the possible shame of the German sympathizer who released their location, ultimately leading to their capture and untimely deaths. It showed the impact Henrick Jan and Dina had on the downed American, Canadian, and British heroes of war, the brutality of the imposing forces, the starvation at the concentration camps, the sadness, the suffering, it was war.
A photo wall prepared by Tim Dickert, a book of momentos from Bert Koeslag, and an actual window topper from the original Koeslag farm fascinated the family who yearned for more details of their ancestry after the book reading wet their appetite.
Librarian Henny Derbecker attended the event and secured a signed copy for the Clifford Library. The book is also available on Amazon.com
