The Hunger Winter: Occupied Holland 1944-1945

by Henri A. van der Zee

Germany invaded the Netherlands in the spring of 1940. Life in occupied Holland was hideous enough, but for the Dutch the worst was yet to come. After the Western Allies lost the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944, the Dutch provinces north of the Rhine and Waal Rivers were in the hands of the Germans, and to the south fighting raged for months. In the winter of 1944–45, just as other parts of Europe were being liberated, the Dutch seemed forsaken by the Allies, who bypassed Holland on their drive to Berlin. That last winter of the war, with its severe food and fuel shortages, was a terrible one for the Dutch people, who also suffered from episodes of Nazi terrorism. In some provinces there was nothing to eat but tulip bulbs and sugar beets, and eighteen thousand Dutch civilians actually starved to death. Henri van der Zee, who was ten years old that winter, remembers what happened to his people.

Genres: History, War, Nonfiction, World War II

347 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was, for obvious reasons, not an easy book to read. And as I am now living in Holland, it was somewhat strange to imagine places I am familiar with under the bleak conditions which existed during the horrible winter of 1944-1945. Reading histories like this give insight into the personality of a people that still have memories of hardship I can't even imagine; I can even understand more clearly their adoration of the current queen, whose grandmother, in exile, became a was champion of a starving nation. The author of the book was just a child during that winter, but his memories are vivid, and supplemented by extensive research. I recommend this book.

[Neil Mudde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having been born in Holland 1939, there is only a slight recall of German Soldiers being marched through our town on their way to where?, thinking how sad and frightened they looked, I understood very little about war, but being more concerned about people being treated fairly, off course it was not until several years later when I learned to read that I learned of the atrocities done to people of Europe by the German's, they certainly taught us a great deal in our Christian School system about hatred, and unfortunately very little about love or forgiveness.
The Hunger Winter is one of those personal experienced happenings during the war as reviewed by a young boy. Times were horrific, even though there seemed to have been word of the advancing allies however the winter of 44 was the worst, even in an agricultural country like Holland there was precious little to eat, the underground, of which several of my Uncles belonged was going strong, they were involved in this at risk of their own lives, they organized and took care of guns being dropped in fields, sending people to and from different hide outs, always on the alert of Nazi sympathizers, NSB'ers. some of whom did not come off too well after the war.
A movie was made of this movie, which for some reason or other I have not been able to obtain in Toronto, and am awaiting a cousin who lives in Holland to mail this to me. All in all an interesting story.

[T · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Dutch Father lived through the Hunger Winter of 1944/45 as a 13-year-old boy. He was residing in The Hague with his family, who, fortunately, all survived (despite my Oma being accidentally shot in the leg by the Allies). I wanted to read this book to try and gain some understanding of what my father (an optimist at heart) might have experienced living under nazi occupation as a boy. He later migrated from Holland to Australia (in his 20s), but sadly died when I was quite young, so I never had the opportunity to ask him about his wartime experiences as an adult.

This book, as heartbreakingly difficult as it was to read at times, went a long way in enlightening me as to the events that took place throughout the occupation and that last winter, not just on a personal and local level, but also on the broader, political world stage. I appreciate the extensive research that the author has presented here as well as his own personal insights and experiences, being only a few years younger than my Dad was during that unimaginable time in history. So thank you, Henri A. van der Zee, for filling in some of the blank pieces of my family history that my beloved father was unable to.

[Martha Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

World War II books/novels always fascinate me. So hard to understand how this could have been alowed to happen. This book was loaned to me by a friend that actually lived during the winter of 1944 - 1945.

[Anne Vandenbrink · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the winter of 1944–45, just as other parts of Europe were being liberated, the Allies bypassed Holland on their drive to Berlin. A brutal time for the Dutch people who had to endure Nazi terrorism and severe food and fuel shortages. The book details all the political bickering amongst the Allies and the turmoil amongst the German high command as well as the people's struggles for survival. My Father was in the Dutch Resistance in Gouda. I grew up hearing stories of my Father's near misses of being captured by the Nazis. I have so many questions I wish I had asked my parents while they were still alive, but this book filled in some gaps for me. Extremely detailed and well written by a survivor.