Stigter is one of the Wieringers, but not part of the group. He was docile, but also quirky, religious and helpful. “So there are more diaries from Wieringers about that time, but he is not mentioned in anyone. He was also an admirer of Germany. He thought the people was nice and the country beautiful. He was not wrong, but a bit naive in that area. That might play.”
The work on and around the railway was heavy and the search for food and safety, with all bombing, a constant concern. “It shows an image that the war is not black and white. He meets people on the street that helps lifting things. He often gets a piece of bread with butter or sausage. And if his dentures break during a bombing, it will be repaired again by the local dentist.”
Monk work
Stigter wrote with little knowledge of language, he ended up as a common man in the middle of the great violence. Von Wolzogen Kühr took a year to decode all the texts and make it a coherent story. “I really sucked the story immediately. He writes it down so nicely. The man knew nothing about grammar, but he was a fantastic storyteller without him knowing it himself.”
The book is now available at De Wieringer Boekhandel, Museum Jan Lont and via email from the writer himself, [email protected]and costs 10 euros.