Family Environmental History

June 14, 2022 By: Brett Mathews

All four of my grandparents were first century European immigrants to Canada either during or post WWII. Three were from Holland, the other from either Poland or Ukraine, that Grandma is not sure about as the chaos of the war confused borders and she was young and fleeing. My Opa grew up in Apeldoorn, Holland. I know the most information about this grandparent so this paper will focus on him, then my mother, then myself. He was about 14-18 (oldest child of 10) during the years of Nazi occupation, his father was one of the leaders of the Jewish Rescue Committee. The majority of this paper will focus on how the environment around my family affected this time. As there is an abundance of articles written on this, the information is plentiful. 

The city of Apeldoorn was fairly large, did not have many natural water sources apart from a canal, had countryside, soft dirt, farmland which could support livestock, many gardens, got quite cold in the winter, had some houses built on slants due to small hills. This will all be shown to be important for the history of my lineage. As food was rationed out at very low rates during the time of occupation (1941-1945) my family and the Jews in their home were often hungry. My great opa took my opa’s bike out to the farm on the countryside one day with pouches hanging off the side, he got two piglets to place into these pouches. Since having any source of food other than rations was not permitted this had to be done in secret, the issue was that as my Great Opa was biking home there was a roadblock and the Germans would likely hear the pigs squealing and then killed him. Thank god for farmers who had maple syrup, they put this on piglets’ faces which kept them busy licking and not squealing for hours, allowing him to get home safely. These two pigs were able to grow to eating size hidden in the backyard and helped keep the family of 12, as well as the multiple Jews that would be in and out of the home, alive. It was because the land was able to sustain the life of pigs in the backyard that these people survived. 

The house was built on a slight slant because of the small hills around. This allowed the house to have hiding spaces underneath the floorboards before hitting the ground. This is where Jews would hide when the Nazis raided the home. The land again allowed my family and the Jews to survive. 

There was countryside with long grass that my Opa could hide in and maneuver to other houses to move babies from house to house as needed for safety. This also allowed them to bring leftover food to other houses without being seen. This long grass helped keep many people alive. 

The flat and more dirt covered land was made into a concentration camp, this is where my great opa spent much time. It was built over 40 kms from the opa’s house. The long and lonely walk back from the concentration camp almost took my Great Opas life. It was because the land around their house was not flat and was currently being used that he had to walk home so far and almost passed.

The neighborhood being able to sustain gardens was also something that kept many people alive. One obvious reason for this is the food that sustained people in secret. The other is that one day my opa was running from Nazis after refusing to help build a fence to stop the Canadian forces from entering their town. As he ran off he was able to jump a fence and hide behind a raised garden bed, this garden bed stopped him from a beating or possibly death, it is a reason that I was ever born. 

The cold winters almost claimed the life of the Jewish baby that they claimed as their own during the war. During this same year, there was also a famine on the land, which cut rations back even more. This led to the death of many, luckily none in the household of my Opa. 

The Canadian forces arrived at half of the town 10 days prior to where my Opas house was because of a canal. During these 10 days, many people were killed, this canal is the reason my Opa almost died. During these 10 days, my family was able to dig a massive hole in their backyard that fit them, some Jews, and their neighbors, adding up to 23 people in total. This hole kept them alive, the fact that they had a backyard big enough for this and that the soil was soft enough to dip this deeply may have saved all of these lives.

It is clear that the environment where my Opa grew up affected the survival of many, it is the reason he survived and had my mother, and it is the reason I am alive. 

He then immigrated to Vancouver because so much of Holland was a wreck and the economy was destroyed. He and my Great Opa started a carpeting business and bought a house on Victoria Drive on the east end of Vancouver. (which the Jewish Community ended up surprising them by paying their mortgage in full). This house was surrounded by other houses and many neighborhoods. This usage of the land into a suburb is why the carpeting business sustained my Opa for his whole life, this is where my mom grew up and what paid for her upbringing. 

My mom then moved to Kelowna when she had children, the land of Kelowna provided me with many privileges that currently shape who I am and how I spend my time in the Fraser Valley. The mountains were used for skiing and mountain biking, the lakes for fishing, the grasslands used for golf, and our backyard was used for growing veggies and farming bees. 

The land is the reason I am alive, it is why my Great Opa now has 155 descendants, it is why there are countless Jews who survived the war, it formed how I played and grew up. I am thankful for how the land has affected my family, and how my heritage has used the land to help others in horrible times.

Bibliography:

Hulstein, Ray. “The Quiet Dutchman.” The Christian Times. November 27, 2005.