Then in Zoetermeer: ​​this is how the Hunger Winter went for Zoetermeer residents

At the end of the Second World War, we in the Netherlands were faced with an enormous shortage of fuel and food. During the Hunger Winter, thousands of Dutch people died of hunger and cold. How did this period in Zoetermeer go?

Self-sufficient Zoetermeer

The municipality of Zoetermeer was generally regarded as ‘self-sufficient’, due to the large presence of market gardeners in our municipality. However, half of the Zoetermeer residents were not horticulturists by trade and therefore had to obtain vegetables in a different way. Vegetables therefore fell outside the coupon system, which had been in operation for a number of years. When the Germans blocked the transport of food to the west in 1944, the food supply was further threatened. Deliveries were further limited by frozen waterways.

The hunger winter in Zoetermeer

How did the hunger winter go in Zoetermeer? According to sources, nobody seems to have died of starvation in Zoetermeer. That is special, because in the Netherlands as many as 20,000 people starved during this period. However, the worst hunger was suffered in urban areas. Many city dwellers therefore went to the countryside to see if the farmers had something to eat. Zoetermeer was often on their route, especially for people traveling from The Hague or Rotterdam. Unfortunately, the trip to the countryside was not safe. Germans took stuff and food and even shot at civilians from the air. At least two people from Zoetermeer died: Riek van der Wees and 12-year-old Appie van Straaten. Besides the fact that food could sometimes still be obtained in Zoetermeer, our municipality was also a resting place for travelers. People were taken care of in the savings bank building on the Dorpsstraat and meals were provided.

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Emergency hospital

In January 1945, an emergency hospital was also established in Zoetermeer. This was located at Stationsstraat 69, in the Mayor’s House. The hospital employed two doctors, two qualified nurses, five students and an assistant. Farmers in the area supplied the hospital with potatoes, wheat, legumes and carrots. Nutricia also supplied milk. The hospital was in operation until mid-May, treating a total of 24 patients.

Pea soup in the Dorpsstraat

We also read in a source from Gilde Zoetermeer that a Zoetermeer cafe owner named Ton van Fraassen contributed to provide food for hungry compatriots. He gave people a cup of pea soup for a quarter. He made this soup from ingredients he gathered here and there: leftover peas from farmers, meat confiscated by the resistance and improvised foods such as sugar beets and flower bulbs.

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Operation Manna

Fortunately, the situation improved from April 1945. On April 29, Operation Manna began: the Allies began – after consultation with the Germans – to drop food. On May 8, the Canadian troops entered Zoetermeer. They gave away food from their own food rations. The hunger winter came to an end. Yet it took several years before food stamps were completely abolished.

Sources: AD, Guild Zoetermeer, Memory of Zoetermeer, Zoetermeer Active