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Object of the Month – June 2025
A cradle in wartime
This seemingly simple wicker travel cradle is a silent witness to the impact of war on ordinary families.
It belonged to the Klaassen family from Breskens and was used for their newborn son, Andries Willem (André), who was born on July 4, 1944.
Less than three months after his birth, Breskens was heavily bombed by the British Air Force on 11 September 1944. The goal was to prevent the withdrawal of German troops across the Western Scheldt. The port of Breskens played a key role in this escape route. The military effect was limited, but the toll on the civilian population was disastrous. The town center of Breskens was largely destroyed, and 184 people lost their lives.
Fleeing with a child
Among the refugees were Eliza (Eli) Klaassen (born 11 January 1916), his wife Isabella Maria (Bella) Klaassen-van Didden (born 30 August 1918), and their little André. Everything was lost in the bombing—except for a few diapers and this travel cradle, in which André had been sleeping. Holding the cradle in their hands, they fled to Schoondijke, where they were temporarily sheltered in a bunker.
The journey continued to Terneuzen, where they found shelter with Eli’s sister, and then on to Eindhoven, where Bella’s mother lived. There, they spent the final winter of the war. It was only after the liberation that the family returned to Zeeland. Eli found work at the Royal Company De Schelde in Vlissingen. On 11 June 1948, their second son was born: Eliza (Eli) junior.
Love, loss, and silent sorrow
The cradle does not stand alone; it is a tangible reminder of a deeply personal wartime experience.
The 1942 wedding card announcing Eli and Bella’s marriage, and the 1944 birth announcement with a photo of baby André, show the young family in hopeful times. That hope was brutally disrupted by the violence of war.
The Klaassen family, who came from a lineage of inland shippers, was hit hard. Several family members were seriously injured or killed in the bombing. Many suffered lasting physical injuries, and little was said about the trauma. As in so many families of that era, the wartime past remained silent for a long time.
A small object with a big story
But this cradle does speak. It tells of fleeing with nothing but your child in your arms. Of protection, resilience, and the beginning of a new life after a devastating event. It is a small object with a big story.
