Carolien van Lierop from Anna Paulowna assigned herself the task of bringing her aunt’s war diaries to the general public. She, Annie van den Berg (1912-1996), started recording daily life during wartime in 1941. It provided a shoebox full of memories to show later generations what it was like during the occupation. Now, almost 85 years later, that will actually happen thanks to generous donations from all over North Holland.
“The collection went like a fire brigade,” says Carolien van Lierop. She started raising 15,000 euros in October last year. That money quickly came together, so that a book will now be sold at a reasonable price. “We started with family and friends here, but we also received money from people in Amsterdam, for example. Museum Oud Anna-Paulowna helped with applying for subsidies and the Hollands Kroonse Uitdaging also helped pay.”
Bombers and shooting
The special thing about the diaries is that they describe ‘normal’ life. And that those ordinary days could sometimes be very dramatic, but also very cheerful. It concerns the crash of bombers to the shooting at a dance hall in which a fellow villager is killed. But also about card evenings with coffee gathered together or weddings that were celebrated.
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