{"id":7034,"date":"2024-10-30T12:41:15","date_gmt":"2024-10-30T12:41:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bevrijdingsmuseumzeeland.nl\/borssele\/"},"modified":"2024-11-12T09:27:11","modified_gmt":"2024-11-12T09:27:11","slug":"borssele","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bevrijdingsmuseumzeeland.nl\/en\/borssele\/","title":{"rendered":"Borssele"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Eyewitness Story: Arjaan Guiljam <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Arjaan Guiljam from Borssele is twelve years old when the war breaks out. The moment remains vivid in his memory: \u201cOn 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\u2019s when we knew: those are Germans.\u201d 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. <\/p>\n

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. \u201cWith blanks; they sounded just as loud. It was deafening,\u201d says Arjaan. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t

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Sabotage against the Germans <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Arjaan works as a stable boy for a farmer, but sometimes he has to work for the Germans too. \u201cI 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,\u201d 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\u2019t cut through the wood properly. \u201cA German passed by and said, \u2018Der Arbeiten Gut,\u2019 but we were doing nothing.\u201d <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Danger and Liberation <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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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\u2014an experience that leaves a deep impression on him. The residents are forced to evacuate, and Arjaan ends up at his uncle\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n

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. \u201cThen I could say: I was the first to meet the Allies.\u201d <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Arjaan Guiljam<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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With the arrival of the Canadians, Borssele was liberated. Arjaan remembers the moment as if it were yesterday: \u201cAnd everyone from Borssele, Christian or not, we all danced.\u201d <\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Eyewitness Story: Arjaan Guiljam Arjaan Guiljam from Borssele is twelve years old when the war breaks out. The moment remains […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6910,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[133],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-eyewitnesses-wwii"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t