Five Brothers and a War

The Lammerse Family

Jeannette Lammerse grew up in difficult circumstances, having lost her mother at the age of four, when the photograph on the left was taken. After they were forced from their Scheveningen home, and also from the thriving butcher shop Jan Lammerse ran, Jan became despondent. He had no home, no business, no income, and no prospect for improvement. Jan Lammerse, Jeannette and her two sisters moved in with his eldest married daughter in a flat with one bedroom, a kitchen, bathroom and WC. It was small even for two people. He developed an ulcer, was hospitalized for several months and died in 1944. At sixteen, Jeannette had lost both parents and was cared for by one of her older sisters. The Atlantikwall had claimed another victim, though no official records would ever reflect that fact.

van Pelt

The corner of the Velpsestraat and the Nunspeetlaan in Den Haag where the Lammerse family gathered when they were “displaced”. Jeannette’s sister had a one bedroom corner apartment on the top floor of this building where everyone had to make do.

Five Brothers and a War

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