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Eyewitness Story: Arjaan Guiljam
Arjaan Guiljam from Borssele is twelve years old when the war breaks out. The moment remains vivid in his memory: “On May 10, we were lying in bed and heard noise. German planes flew low overhead, with crosses on the fuselage and swastikas on the tail. That’s when we knew: those are Germans.” Shortly afterward, intense fighting takes place near Kapelle, where French soldiers bravely fight against the advancing Germans but are ultimately taken as prisoners of war.
The first year after the capitulation is relatively quiet in Borssele. German soldiers come to rest from the front and hold exercises in the village, crawling through gardens and along houses. “With blanks; they sounded just as loud. It was deafening,” says Arjaan.
Sabotage against the Germans
Arjaan works as a stable boy for a farmer, but sometimes he has to work for the Germans too. “I actually preferred working for the Germans. With the farmer, you had to get things done, but with the Germans, the less you did, the better. That was sabotage,” Arjaan says with a laugh. He intentionally does his work slowly for the Germans, like digging holes as slowly as possible. When sawing trees, he and a friend turn the saw blade around so it doesn’t cut through the wood properly. “A German passed by and said, ‘Der Arbeiten Gut,’ but we were doing nothing.”
Danger and Liberation
As the Allies approach, it becomes increasingly dangerous in Borssele. Arjaan witnesses bombs falling and, after one explosion, helps rescue two women and two children from a collapsed house—an experience that leaves a deep impression on him. The residents are forced to evacuate, and Arjaan ends up at his uncle’s farm, where German officers’ horses are kept. His love for horses is momentarily forgotten when a German soldier slaps him for petting one of the animals.
On the night of October 25 to 26, 1944, the Allies bombard the coastline. Arjaan remembers the hundreds of shells and the tension in the shelter. Soon after, the Germans retreat, destroying an intersection in the village. Arjaan goes to see on his bike and discovers that the liberators, the Canadians, can be seen in the distance. He races over to them and receives a pack of cigarettes and a piece of chocolate. “Then I could say: I was the first to meet the Allies.”
Arjaan Guiljam
With the arrival of the Canadians, Borssele was liberated. Arjaan remembers the moment as if it were yesterday: “And everyone from Borssele, Christian or not, we all danced.”
Read below the story of Arjaan Guiljam, a boy from Borssele who found a unique way to resist by deliberately working slowly and poorly for the Germans. His story is a testament to resilience, ingenuity, and the joy of liberation, which he celebrated together with his fellow villagers.