Five Brothers and a War

Hongerwinter (“Hunger Winter”)

Many people had these improvised stoves, called Majo Kacheltjes (*Majo Furnaces”). They came in a number of inexpensive variants. They all uses some form of wood for fuel, and all had to be vented into a chimney. Often people chopped up doors, cabinets and furniture to get the wood they needed.

van Pelt

As the van Pelts worked to survive the last months of the war, they acquired a “Majo”. Because Marie had “squirreled away” food items during times of relative plenty, there was food to be cooked on the little stove. As importantly, Leendert’s connections to the lumber industry were also crucial as he could come by small pieces of wood that were easy to store and burn in their Majo. Marie was able to warm up some meat and vegetables with a spoon of pure fat. While it wasn’t enough to fill their stomachs completely, it did mean that their lives weren’t in imminent danger. Tens of thousands of others were. To preserve energy, people went to bed when it got dark and did not arise again until the sun did.

Five Brothers and a War

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