Two Experiences, One Family

Jasper Klaassen had been fascinated by World War II from a young age. His interest began when, at the age of eight, he received a soldier’s helmet from his aunt. Using his imagination and simple materials to play with, he pretended to be a soldier. Additionally, he discovered the books of Loe de Jong at his maternal grandparents’ house, which further fuelled his passion for history. His fascination eventually led to an impressive collection of war memorabilia, consisting of hundreds of items both at home and at school.

His family history played a major role in his interest. Both sides of his family had experienced and processed the war in different ways. His mother’s family lived in Angeren and initially noticed little of the occupation. Jasper’s maternal grandfather managed to evade the Arbeitseinsatz and carried out small acts of resistance, such as puncturing the tires of German vehicles. It was not until September 1944, when Operation Market Garden began and the Betuwe Front formed, that the situation became more serious. The family was evacuated by the Germans and had to leave their home. Later, in December 1944, the Germans flooded the area as part of Plan “Stork” (“Ooievaar”) to hinder the Allies. When they returned, their home was destroyed. Up until that point, this family had experienced the war as relatively calm, for them the liberation brought destruction and chaos instead.

Jasper’s father’s family in Haalderen had a completely different wartime experience. In September 1944 Haalderen found itself in the middle of the front line. An American paratrooper described how the village emptied as a result of intense fighting. From 26 September onward, fierce battles took place between the Allies and the Germans. On 29 September a heavy German counterattack occurred, during which Jasper’s paternal grandfather’s first wife lost her life. Due to this traumatic event, the family rarely spoke about the war. Jasper’s grandfather fled with his children through the front lines to Bemmel but never spoke about these events afterward. It was only when Jasper was in his twenties that he discovered the true story of the loss in his family.

This contrast between the two sides of his family showed how the impact of the war could vary greatly, even between villages only five kilometers apart. While one side experienced relatively little hardship during the occupation and suffered only at the time of liberation, the other side faced loss and destruction directly. These different experiences impacted how the families later spoke about the war. In the family where the pain was felt deepest, silence prevailed.
Jasper felt a moral duty to continue telling the stories of the war, especially as the generation that experienced it firsthand was slowly disappearing. As a history teacher, he tried to keep these stories alive so that future generations would not forget how devastating the war was and the different ways people coped with this past.

Interview with Jasper Klaassen
by: Luuk Huiden and Mette van der Elst