大象传媒

On the whole, Friesland, being an agricultural area, did not suffer as badly as other parts of The Netherlands.
I cannot remember much trouble between the town's people and the German soldiers. As a woman, it was safe to go out on your own, even at night. One very cold winter's evening, the snow was so thick that you could not tell where the pavement ended and the road began. Walking home from work, I slipped and fell. Two soldiers on patrol helped me up and got me on my way home without any fuss.
But shortages did occur and got progressively worse. Eventually, rationing was brought in. Foods were scarce, especially milk, potatoes, meat and bread. People had to grow their own vegetables in the gardens. Farmers had to slaughter most animals for food. Jewellery was sold, indeed anything worthwhile was sold to buy food as money was short. Winters were much harsher than now, so trees were cut down for fuel, my father even cut down his beloved apple tree. Another product which was very scarce was soap.
People improvised, for example, flower bulbs took the place of onions.
My father, Bernard Nota, worked at a company whose trademark was the Magpie, a cheese export company,which later became part of 'The Frico', still in existence today. It traded mainly with Britain. Cheeses travelled by barge from the farms to the warehouse, mainly edams with some goudas. They then went to Harlingen for shipping to Leith, Scotland.
My father was the warehouse manager. Part of his reponsibilites was to ensure that the cheeses were correctly stored and turned weekly. As he was over 50, he was allowed to carry on with his job. Other men, under 50, were sent to Germany to work in the munitions factories.
A German officer was placed in charge of the factory. He had had business experience and my father had to work closely with him. The cheeses, once for export to Britain, were now sent to Germany or to the occupying army.
But, my father did have some tricks of his own.
He owned an old, long coat. When he came home wearing it, we knew something special might be present. If his work was involved with the loading and unloading of barges on the canal, not everything went to its supposed destination. In his long coat, we had sewn in some extra inside pockets in which cheeses, and occasionally meat, were put. Having 11 children to support, these were a welcome addition to our well - being.
Wax from the cheeses was used to make candles. Like others we improvised. The copper tubes used in my father's fishing rods, for the handles or to join the sections of the rods together, were removed. They were cleaned. Cotton was crocheted to make thread for the wicks. One person would hold the tube with a protective cloth, one would hold the wick steadily in the middle while hot melted wax was carefully and slowly poured into the copper tube. Once cooled, these candles served for light, which meant that we could have time to sew, repair clothing or just play cards in the evenings, if only for a short time.

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