Five Brothers and a War

Indigostraat Disaster—January 1, 1945

The two side panels list the victims’ names. The center panel reads “in memory of the citizens, who on January 1, 1945 in this place lost their lives through an untimely explosion of a V-2 projectile. It goes without saying that the sounds of that day would be seared into the memories of everyone. But this was only one of the mis-firings that would impact Den Haag. It was the worst example of 12 rockets that landed back on the city from which they were fired. But the impact did not end the suffering. Emergency crews and citizens were kept out of the blast zone as the Germans sent soldiers in to retrieve the rocket parts in order to avoid having them make their way to England courtesy of the Dutch Resistance. Then the dead and injured could be dealt with and treated. If bodies were unclaimed, they were simply disposed into the cemetery across the street. If they were claimed, funerals were arranged, but were extremely frugal affairs. One of Bertus’ friend’s father was an undertaker, and explained that there was not enough wood for coffins, so they were continuously reused after each funeral. A single coffin was used, and after the funeral ceremony, the grave-diggers would open a trap door at the foot of the coffin and the body would fall into the grave. The coffin would then be brought back for the next funeral. Funeral homes also did not exist, though this created wartime hardships during families’ periods of maximum grief. Normally, the home of the deceased became the funeral home, with the body lying in one of the home’s rooms until the funeral service was held in the church or at the cemetery. But with so many people displaced, or their homes destroyed, even this most basic event became more tragic. Whereas funerals used to have processions for the family and friends, by the end of the war, caskets were drawn by a single, emaciated horse. Any family and friends had to walk alongside. Everyone was hungry by this time, and things were getting more unbearable by the day.

the war

Five Brothers and a War

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