Five Brothers and a War

Indigostraat Disaster—January 1, 1945

The van der Lecqs were visiting with their old friends on Monday, January 1, 1945. In the late afternoon, a little after five o’clock, they said their good-byes and began their short walk back to their Tomatenstraat home. As the visit proceeded, and unbeknownst to them, about 3 ½ km away in Ockenburgh (about 1 ¾ km past the Margrietstraat) a German launch crew was preparing to fire a V-2 rocket either to Antwerpen or London. At 5:15 pm, Bertus heard the roar of a rocket being readied for liftoff, and he ran to the third floor to watch through the back window. He saw the rocket slowly rise above the trees of the Meer en Bos park. It initially rose off the launch platform with the customary roar far louder than continuous thunder. But after it had risen a short distance, it began to roll over—rather than continuing upward and westward, it was now heading horizontally to the north, and right to the heart of Den Haag. It continued on its path at full throttle, but then began to tumble end over end, creating terror for everyone in the city as the noise was being distributed in all directions. Seconds before impact, it crossed over the Eik en Duinen (“Oak and Dunes”) cemetery—where Leendert would be buried less than three years hence, Marie would be buried in 1970 and six years thereafter, where Leen would be buried. Leen’s wife, Rita, was also buried in the same plot. .

van Pelt

Five Brothers and a War

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