This page contains interviews and contributions of eyewitnesses, who were involved in the actual operations.
Mr. Hofstede – Gouda – The Netherlands
 | This interview contains a series of memories of Mr. Hofstede about the Second World War and the period after. He shares his experiences as a child during wartime, the difficult food supply, interactions with German soldiers, food drops, and the influence of the war on his family and environment. Youth during the war Mr. Hofstede was a child during the Second World War and lived in Gouda at Karnemelksloot number 40. He tells how he experienced the war up close as a boy and describes the daily reality of scarcity, danger, and the search for food. Friendship with a German soldier Despite his mother’s warnings, Mr. Hofstede became friends with a German soldier (“Kraut”), who gave him food. This soldier was at the soup kitchen at the Juliana school and when Mr. Hofstede asked this man “Hast du etwas zu essen?”, the “Kraut” had said: “Come back soon and I will prepare something for you”. The very first time he had prepared a large piece of meat. The soldier sometimes acted out a little act where he pretended to chase Mr. Hofstede with a knife and shouted “Schweinehund, du sollst nichts klauen!”, so that no one would notice that he was helping him. The soldier later said he had a wife and children and understood the situation. |
The food drops and the end of the war
- Food drops at the Gouwe
Mr. Hofstede was about 10 years old during the food drops. He saw Lancaster bombers dropping food parcels on a meadow near the Moordrechtse Tiendweg. He went with his father to see where the parcels had been dropped.
The Dutch Resistance (BS) guarded the drops and later distributed the food among the population. - Dangerous encounters
One day he accidentally spat on a German soldier who was walking under his window. The soldier knocked on the door and demanded to speak to him, but he quickly hid.
He was once approached by an SS man who asked him what toys he had? The soldier gave him a Märklin toy train, because Mr. Hofstede indicated that he had no toys to play with.
- Shot by an NSB member
A German in the neighborhood had shot him when he was going home in the evening. Because it was not allowed to be outside after 8:00 PM. He heard a shot and ducked behind a ditch to escape. He crawled across the street, as long as it was safe.
NSB members lived in his neighborhood, including a boy of 18-19 who bullied children. After the war, this boy was tackled by the neighborhood children. Some NSB members were abused by neighbors immediately after the liberation.
His brother’s role in the resistance
- Sabotage of German trains
His brother was in the underground railways ‘*, andwas betrayed and deported to Germany. In captivity, he had to bring food to bloodhounds kept by the Germans. If he would try to eat the meat, he would be shot dead immediately. He survived and returned after the war. After his return his brother was wrongly arrested by the Dutch Resistance (BS), because they thought he was withholding information, which turned out to be wrong: they had arrested the wrong person and he was released.
Daily life in Gouda during and after the war
- Shops and businesses
Mr. Hofstede remembers the many shops in the city, including butchers, grocers and hairdressers. He talked about the drugstores and the laundry. - Children’s pranks and entertainment
Children played with plug shooters and tried to annoy toll collectors by shooting Alder plugs, these trees stood near the toll house.
Because he was not allowed to play with the Catholic children or play football on the field, they stood on a homemade platform behind the goal and had a clog with a nail in it, and as soon as the ball went past the goal, they sabotaged the balls of the Catholic children.
Other boys on the platform went to the railway line to get pebbles, to throw them in a small alley. Mr. Hofstede was a master at shooting pebbles with a catapult or shooting with a bow and arrow. - Swimming pool for German soldiers
Germans had to learn to swim in a swimming pool that was fed by water from the canal. He remembers how these Germans were afraid of water and often cried during swimming lessons, because they had to jump off a diving board.
Reflection on the war and life afterwards
- Feelings about the war
Mr. Hofstede looks back on the war with mixed feelings. He experienced exciting adventures but also saw a lot of suffering. He emphasizes that not all Germans were bad and that some tried to help. A popular saying of those days: “There are bad Germans, we hang them. And the good ones: we hang these somewhere else.” - Lifelong consequences
Later in life he suffered from a hernia which led to an assault by a Feldgendarme, who had a shield with a chain. This was the scum of the scum at that time. These men kicked Mr. Hofstede very hard in the back with a pointed shoe, causing his back to grow incorrectly, with the consequences that this entailed.
On the one hand, his youth was full of adventure, but he also acknowledges the painful memories of violence and hunger.
Overall impression
- Mr. Hofstede’s story gives a detailed and personal insight into the life of a child during the Second World War. He describes the harsh reality of hunger and fear, but also the moments of camaraderie and resourcefulness. His memories of the war show how complex the situation was, with both brutal oppression and unexpected help from individual German soldiers. His experiences, ranging from food drops to sabotage, illustrate the daily struggle to survive in an occupied Netherlands.
Mrs. Hofstede was also present at the interview and brought back her memories.
Mrs. Hofstede tells about her memories of her hometown Capelle aan den IJssel during the war. She remembers that the baker in the village baked bread himself, which made it easier to get food. In addition, the Germans also brought food, so there was never a shortage at home. Her father was a fisherman, who used a special technique with a hoop net to catch large fish. He did this mainly in the IJssel, sometimes also at the Lek. Thanks to these resources, her family always had enough to eat.
Gouda, The Netherlands, 30st January 2025 ( Michel – PE1MR, Lynette – PD4LYN)
‘* During World War II, the term “Underground Railroads” referred not to physical railways, but to secret escape routes and networks that helped people escape from occupied territory (chatGPT)