This page contains interviews and contributions of eyewitnesses, who were involved in the actual operations
Mr. and Mrs. Schenk – Gouda – The Netherlands
Mr. and Mrs. Schenk grew up in The Hague during World War II and as children experienced the 1944-1945 hunger winter and the 1945 food drops. They share their memories of the extreme food shortage, daily life under occupation, and the relief after Allied food aid.
- Food situation and survival during the hunger winter
 | “You didn’t realize it at first, but during the last war years the food supply became worse and worse”. Hot food could be obtained from the soup kitchen and that was not very good, it was often watery, like soup. Mr. Schenk’s father was a baker and was occasionally able to arrange something, but food remained scarce. Mrs. Schenk’s father was a civil servant and did have no access to extra food. He even rode a bicycle with solid tires to Anna Paulowna. At the Hoornbrug in Rijswijk, at a checkpoint, many people were stopped. People who wanted to pass the checkpoint were then stripped of their belongings and had done the walk for nothing. Many families traded items with farmers in exchange for food. Mrs. Schenk’s mother traded her linens and household textiles for food, but the returns were often disappointing. One emotional moment was when her father came home with only a small bowl of cream butter after an exchange, to which her mother burst into tears. |
Black trade and barter played a big role after the food drops. Sugar, coffee, and cigarettes were sold on the black market, and acquaintances/friends would visit around dinnertime, hoping to get something to eat. Children were often the first to be fed, while their parents starved themselves.
- Food drops in April-May 1945
On April 30, 1945, as a 7-year-old, Mr. Schenk first saw the food drops over Ypenburg. He was just coming out of Sunday school when he saw low-flying bombers and the noise startled him, it was a “pocketing noise.” The planes were flying extremely low, but when waving at the planes, it seemed like the planes were waving back with their wings.
The planes dropped flour, corned beef, pork, powdered milk, and pea flour. Although this was a relief, much of the food arrived damaged. At a later time, American planes came and dropped from higher altitudes, tearing bags and distorting cans. There also seems to have been one casualty from unfortunate food package drops.
Mrs. Schenk has in her memory that small purses were also thrown out of the sky, but whether she made this up herself or whether it was really the case, she cannot recall.
Food was collected at central locations and then distributed through distribution points. However, it took a while before everything was distributed.
The mood in the city changed because of the drops. People gained new hope and felt that the end of the war was near. The Germans no longer dared to intervene and kept quiet.
| German occupation and fear of raids The war years were dangerous, especially for young men. German raids caused many men between the ages of 16 and 50 to be rounded up for forced labor in Germany. Mr. Schenk his older brother (then 17 years old) was arrested and deported to Germany. He was first imprisoned in the old zoo in The Hague, which was used by the Germans as a temporary prison. His parents had been informed through a secret message that their son was being held. Mr. Schenk’s parents were shocked when Bezuidenhout was bombed and they thought their son was still there, but fortunately, he had been transported to Germany by then. Eventually, he was released by the guards, and from East Germany, he returned on foot via Limburg to the Netherlands. Upon returning home, he brought as a gift: a toy jeep for his younger brother, which is still kept. |  |
- After the war: scarcity and reconstruction
Despite the liberation, food remained scarce for a long time. The government had “government bread,” which was cheap but not tasty. People still had to stand in long lines to get food. Mr. Schenk’s sisters stood in every line they came across in hopes of getting some. Fish was a luxury. Cigarettes were also very addictive back then and became an important medium of exchange. Many people gave up their food stamps to get cigarettes. At the drop of the Americans, there was gum, chocolate in tins (kind of tins of up to 50 pieces), and cigarettes.
There were also cigarette racks, on which there were various sayings:
- There is no man, who cannot smoke.
- A satisfied smoker is not a troublemaker.
- Review and reflection
Mr. and Mrs. Schenk look back on the war with mixed feelings. As children, they found the war exciting at times, with planes in the sky and soldiers in the streets. Mr. Schenk collected and saved gun casings and other war souvenirs when he was young.
Only later did they realize how hard it was for their parents. The war taught them to be thrifty and to respect food. They now look with amazement at how easily food is wasted.
They hope that such a war, or even a modern war, will never happen.
Gouda, The Netherlands, 31st January 2025 ( Michel – PE1MR, Lynette – PD4LYN)