About my father’s diary
My father wrote his diary with full awareness of the enormous historical significance of the events that befell him. The diary has evolved into a compelling account of daily life in the camp, detailing every aspect of both physical and mental survival. In the first months, his descriptions were imbued with a sense of disillusionment and powerlessness. Later, he adopted a more proactive stance—he did everything he could to make the best of the situation, learning from both his own experiences and the stories of his fellow prisoners, who hailed not only from the Netherlands but also from England.
The second winter was particularly harsh and often left him in a sombre mood. During that period, securing enough food became his overriding preoccupation. Yet he acted not solely in his own interest, but did everything in his power to also care for his friends. From February 1945, it became clear to him that liberation was near; consequently, he meticulously gathered material for his diary, determined to take his experiences home with him after the war. Following the liberation by the Russian troops, he did not hesitate and, together with a few friends, set off on his journey home—undeterred by the many roadblocks along the way.
After the war, my father resumed his life precisely as he had intended. Initially, he began by typing out the diary but soon decided to set aside the collected material. Like many of his fellow ex-prisoners of war, he never again spoke about his captivity. Although their fate was in stark contrast with that of the Jews, the ex-prisoners always felt that, as a group, they were continually overlooked. They had been held captive under threatening and often abysmal conditions – simply because they were conscripted soldiers at the outbreak of the war.
Karel Verhulst
Where to buy
The book contains 324 pages of text and is for sale on-line and at international bookshops with ISBN 9781445755489.