People in hiding

During World War Two, nearly 500.000 people were in hiding, for fear of death or deportation. It was the worst of times and a game of chess was a good form of distraction.

After the German invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940, life didn’t change much at first. The German occupiers deliberately kept calm to gain the trust of the people. But slowly but steadily they implemented more and more repressive rules, especially for the Jewish population. Still, most people, also the Jews, underestimated the danger of the Nazi rule. Rumors about gas chambers that came into use in 1942 slowly spread around the country. People dismissed them at first because they just couldn’t believe it. The idea of it was too gruesome.

To obey or to go into hiding
Already in 1940 some people went into hiding, mostly the Dutch that were in the rising resistance movement. At the end of this year, a group of students from the city of Leiden, one of which was Soldier of Orange Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema, rebelled against the nationwide firing of Jewish professors.

In 1942 people started to go into hiding on a massive basis. In this year the transportation of more than 100.000 Jews to death camps commenced. These Jews were summoned for work and especially at the beginning of the process, most Jews thought it would be better to obey. Over the years, 25.000 Jews would doubt this decision and try to go into hiding, as did the well-known Frank family.

In 1943 it was the turn of non-Jews. All Dutch former soldiers were ordered to present themselves for imprisonment. Many of the 400.000 soldiers searched for an address where they could go into hiding. The rest of the Dutch men, between the ages of 18 and 35, had to report to be sent off to Germany for work. The Germans were short of manpower since more and more German laborers had to enroll in the army. The occupier had expected to recruit some 170.000 men but not even a third of that number showed up. The remaining number of men went into hiding or was exempt from labor by benevolent doctors or civil servants. So in 1944 the age limit was extended: all 16 to 40 year olds had to report voluntarily for the ‘Arbeitseinsatz’ (literally ‘labor dedication’) or got picked off the streets during raids, to be transported to Germany.

Addresses for hiding
Those in need of a place to hide could report to the LO, the national organization for the aid of people in hiding. This organization of the resistance movement was founded in 1942 and provided false documents and food coupons by robbing distribution offices. The summoned men sometimes hid in their own attics, or in the countryside, where they would get a job as farm hands. It was not so easy for the Jews. Whole families had to disappear and were oftentimes split up and taken to different addresses. The families that took them into hiding took enormous risks. In case the hiding address was discovered not only the Jews would go to the camps. Even so, 10.000 Dutch families opened their doors to the people that needed a place to hide, for humanitarian reasons or in exchange for payment.

A hidden life
Most of the people in hiding stayed inside at all times to prevent themselves from being discovered. They would live in small spaces together with other people, day and night. Food became scarce and beside the fear of discovery, boredom was the worst enemy. Everyone had to keep quiet, even more so when the host family was away from home, to not alarm the neighbors or passersby. They would have whispered conversations and could only walk around on their socks. Flushing a toilet could raise suspicion. The women would occupy themselves with household tasks such as cleaning, cooking and repairing clothes. Abuse of these free housekeepers was frequent.

The people that were in hiding would do all sorts of things to keep themselves busy during the many quiet hours. They played games such as chess, took distant education, read books or did arts and crafts. One of these people made a chess game of clothes pins in his or her hiding place. This unique chess game is owned by the Chessmen Museum. Sadly, all information about its maker was lost and it is not known whether he or she survived the war.

By Marjolein Overmeer