In 1995 the Netherlands and the Royal Canadian Legion celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands.
Selma Kater and Sidney Smith had met and married in Doorn in 1945, following the Liberation.
Sidney passed away in 1990, five years before the anniversary.
Selma attended the celebrations with her sister Hetty Kater Outlet. Selma had previously returned to Holland, but it was the first time for Hetty.
It was an emotional time.
When Selma met her future husband, she and her sister Hetty were living in a cottage at Drift 40 (in the background at left). When they married, Hetty stood up with them.
Sidney and Selma had returned to Holland on a holiday in 1968, and she would have felt his presence during the 50th Anniversary celebrations in 1995. But, once again, it was just Selma and Hetty.
The Liberation of the Netherlands created a bond with Canada that grew even stronger in the following years as many Dutch emigrants chose Canada. My mother’s sister Hetty came to Canada in 1947 with her husband and, in 1948, her brother Albert brought his family to Canada.
A friend reminded me of another book and, after a brief search, I found Holland and the Canadians. It has no date but was completed shortly after the Liberation by a Canada-Netherlands Committee using text and 150 pictures. My brother and I likely looked at the pictures, but I have no memories of my parents discussing this book with us. They rarely spoke of the past.
Holland and the Canadians with 150 pictures
I had not looked at this book for years, and now I see the pictures with heightened emotion. I have been to Holland and walked some to those streets, and I was immersed in my mother’s early life while writing Dutch Letters and Canadian Memories. Now, I feel the full impact of the pictures. Life before the war was still visible when I visited my mother’s homeland.
Schevengeningen seaside resort near the Hague before the war and in 2015. Windmills that dotted the landscape were still working at Kinderdijk in 2015
The images of war tore at my heart, reminding me how much the people had suffered, especially towards the end of the war.
Waiting was hard. Trips of hundreds of kilometers in search of food put women and old men in the front line of the war against hunger.
Fearing invasion from the Zuiderzee, the Germans flooded the prosperous villages of the newly claimed Wieringermeer.
A food armistice on the Dutch front re-kindled hope of survival when planes came flying over the main cities to drop food parcels. Food envoys left the Canadian area for the still occupied German-starved territory, and the port of Rotterdam was cleared to allow food ships to enter. Is it any wonder the Candian troops were met with such joy and the Liberation of the Netherlands has never been forgotten.
The streets of Amsterdam were jammed to welcome the first Canadian troops to reach the capital.
My mother and her sister, who had been liberated in 1945, attended the 50th Anniversary in 1995.
Unfortunately my father, who had been part of the liberating force, had passed away in 1990.
Paths Taken 