hunger
‘There’s absolutely nothing, nothing at all. Hunger is a terrible feeling! And it doesn’t go away, it’s there night and day.’ – Jack de Zwart, hungry child.
Most of the south of the Netherlands was liberated by the autumn of 1944, but the Allied advance had stalled, and major cities in the west were still occupied. The Germans forbade food shipments to these areas and shops had almost nothing to sell. Portions shrank and sugar beets and tulip bulbs were sold instead of potatoes.
In northern provinces such as Friesland there was plenty to eat, even more food, in fact, than in previous years, because hardly any agricultural products had made it to the west. In desperation, parents sent their malnourished children ‘to the farmers’. This huge operation involved numerous Dutchmen and women who joined forces to save the children from starvation. The children travelled to the unknown on ships, buses, trucks, trains, and even on foot or by bike.
the shelter in Friesland
‘They very quickly dressed me in farmer’s clothes, with farmer’s clogs, and a farmer’s sweater. And I've learned Frisian in no time. I called myself Pauke Vlietstra, because I really wanted to belong. I made some really good friends there.’ - Paul van Vliet, hungry child.
Once in Friesland, the children had to adapt to their new surroundings. The long malnourished children had to carefully get used to eating proper food again. They also had to adapt to their foster family, life in the countryside and struggle with the Frisian language. But by the end of their stay, many of these children called their foster parents ‘heit’ and ‘mem’.
frisian perspective
‘We were never hungry here. There was always enough. Papa grew vegetables and potatoes in our garden and we fetched milk from local farmers. Once we had food from the soup kitchen in Berltsum, red cabbage, and I thought it tasted horrible.’ - Hiltje Terpstra, daughter of foster family.
Hungry Children. The shelter in Friesland tells the gripping story of the starving evacuees who were cared for in Friesland. The exhibition centres on the adventures of three hungry children from western Netherlands and the stories of three Frisian families who were involved in caring for hungry children. At the end of the exhibition, visitors can record their own story about the ‘Hunger Winter’. Hungry Children. The shelter in Friesland connects to Naar de boeren, kinderevacuaties in de Hongerwinter (To the farms! Child evacuations in the Hunger Winter), an exhibition in the Dutch Resistance Museum in Amsterdam that ends on 12 April 2015.
The Fries Verzetsmuseum is part of the Fries Museum.
The Fries Museum is co-funded by the Ir. Abe Bonnema Foundation, Friesland Province, the Northern Netherlands, EZ / Kompas and BankGiro Lottery.
