When the Germans blew a few large holes in the dike on April 17, 1945 and the water of the IJsselmeer entered the polder, Sieb’s parents fled with their children and a few families to the terp.
His mother with the bread bin under the arm containing the important papers, Sieb remembers. It would only be for a few days, they thought. But days were weeks. Sieb has no bad memories of it. The children enjoyed themselves on the island.
The moment they heard that the war was over, he will never forget. A flag out the window of the former Domeinkantoor in Middenmeer was the sign for the residents of the Terp that the liberation was a fact.