DUTCH ESCAPEES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 1 November 1943, Page 4

DUTCH ESCAPEES

MANY REACH BRITAIN VITAL INFORMATION BROUGHT. ABOUT CONDITIONS UNDER NAZIS The Dutch nation has been enriched by a new form of courage—escape fiom occupied Holland. This, in turn, has enriched the Dutch language with a new word: “Engelandvaarder,” the' name given to Dutchmen who have succeeded in escaping from Holland to England. Literally, the word means: “Englandmakers,” the men who make their way to England by sea from Hol-, laud, writes Wolfe Preger, in the Ne-i therlands Indies’ Government Information Service. Thousands have already done so. Many more have undertaken the hazardous voyage without reaching England. Those who failed paid with their lives. These people are not mere fugitives. They are freedom-loving volunteers in the battalions of the free. They represent the unbroken fighting spirit of the Dutch,nation and, as such, are received by Queen Wilhelmina in person. She receives them as loyal sons who have risked their lives to regain, their own freedom so as to be able to. fight for the liberation of their country. Each has his own tale to tell, each one adds to the story of the tyrants’ oppressive measures, of the people’s grim opposition. Through them the Queen and .the Government learn of, 'conditions in the country. And this enables them to take the steps necessary for their amelioration the moment Holland has been liberated. Many of these “Engelandvaarders” have joined the Netherlands Forces on, land, sea or in the air. Others are carrying supplies to the Allied Forces in Sicily, Italy, the Near East and elsewhere. Frequently the courage displayed and the efforts made to reach England are so outstanding that they arc decorated with the Bronze Cross. Early last May a well-known lawyer, Jacob Albertus Wilhelmus Burger eluded the'vigilance of the Gestapo and after a series of breath-taking adventures arrived in London bringing with him invaluable information. He was decorated with the Bronze Cross on August 13 and, because of his knowledge of conditions ruling in Holland today, he was appointed Minister without Portfolio in the Netherlands Government in London and charged with work connected with post-war reconstruction.

According to a cabled report from London of September 3, one of these “Engelvaarders” during an interview, expressed himself to a representative or the Netherlands paper “Free Netherlands,” published in London, in the following words: “Together with another “Engelandvaarder” I had the honour of being received by the Queen. We sat sipping our tea in a simple, homely fashion, the Queen seated between us like a mother among her sons. She listened to our stories of life in the motherland. It was an unforgettable afternoon for me for it was then that it dawned on me that as individuals we were not important but only as the eyes and voices of our oppressed people. Through our eyes others are enabled to see the tragic scene of our devastated country, through our reports, fantastic though they might sound, the dreadful truth is realised of the sufferings and shameful indignities to which we in Holland are daily subjected. For that reason alone may we sit with our Queen and talk to her as once we talked to friends.” The Spanish wars of liberation enriched the Dutch language with the phrase: “The See Beggars.” a name of which the Dutch have been justly proud for more than three centuries. This modern war of liberation has coined a new Dutch phrase and modern Dutchmen are equally proud of the term: “Engelandvaarder.”