Five Brothers and a War

Woodworking Project

As the war dragged on, Leendert was always seeking ways of keeping his sons entertained. By the end of 1944, Leen was 24 years old, Piet was 23 and Jan was enslaved in Germany. That left 18-year-old Kees and 16-year-old Bertus. As Kees was interested in woodworking, he brought home a Bruynzeel-made puzzle/wood veneer kit, where each piece in the picture had to be carefully cut and glued. The photo below shows the overall picture and the detail below shows some of the veneer pieces. Four days after the project was completed, Leen, Piet and Kees left the city to go “underground”. This was during the Hongerwinter , so food was becoming very scarce. They had to travel into the countryside, evading the Germans. Thus, when Leendert wrote the inscription on the back, he did not know whether he would ever see his boys again. That doubt certainly held for Jan as well, as his future in Germany was far from clear.

van Pelt

In Leendert van Pelt’s hand: “Gemaakt door Kees van Pelt Kerstmis 1944 Gereed” (Made by Kees van Pelt Christmas 1944 Finished)

Five Brothers and a War

Page 509