Article by Mary Mills German Teacher and USHMM Mandel Teaching Fellow Woodstown High School, New Jersey, United States
Translation by Sebastian Klug and Hauke Praetzel German Exchange Students at Woodstown High School
Mary Mills and Exchange Students, Sebastion and Klug
In 1934, an international boarding school was founded by Friends (Quakers) from England, Germany, and America, in cooperation with the small, but vigorous, Netherlands Yearly Meeting. The school was located in a former castle named Eerde in Ommen, Netherlands, about 30 kilometers from the German border. To escape the atmosphere of hate in Germany, many German Jews and liberals sent their children to this school. The Society of Friends (Quakers) founded this school in the spirit of love and tolerance and intended it to be a haven especially for students and teachers from mixed marriages or families that had converted to Christianity.
On April 4, 1941, a little less than a year after the German conquest of the Netherlands, the school celebrated its seventh birthday, and although the imprisonment of the music teacher Billy Hilsley, a British citizen, was a hindrance, the school managed to put on three plays in April, all comedies! In May of 1941, the steps of the castle echoed with sounds coming from the rehearsals, and subsequent productions of, As You Like It. As the summer wore on, things became grim. Eerde was ordered by the Nazis not to accept new students for the school year 1941-1942, and by September 1, 1941, there were 17 Jewish children at Eerde. They were separated from their peers and sent to De Esch, a section of the school set aside by the Nazis for Jewish students. A Jewish faculty member, Elisabeth Schmitt, was put in charge of these children. Five children went into hiding and survived. Twelve were taken to Vught on April 1, 1943, when Overijssel was cleansed of Jews. From Vught, they were transported to Auschwitz, where they died, some on westward, forced, marches, after the closing of Auschwitz. I encountered The Little Gardeners' Album in the collection of Hidegard Feidel-Mertz, while doing research in Germany on Hans Albrecht, the leader of the German Quakers from 1927 to 1947. The following is a translation of excerpts from an account written by children who attended the Quaker School Eerde. In this account, the children describe the activities of a gardening club they established. The members of this club called themselves "The Little Gardeners" and their account The Little Gardeners' Album, covers the period 1934-1941. The following two excerpts describe the planning of a party by the Little Gardeners and the party itself. The most striking aspect of both excerpts is the total lack of fear on the part of the children in a country that had just been overrun by the German military. Perhaps the phrase, "in spite of the circumstances," is a reference to the war which had just struck the Netherlands. From the description of the party put on by the children, one would never suspect that they were living in an occupied country in war-torn Europe:
Little Gardeners' Meeting on June 15, 1940 At this meeting, the main problem was the Little Gardeners' Party. After a long discussion of the pros and cons, we agreed to have it in the following way: We want to celebrate our Little Gardeners' Party, in spite of the circumstances. Only Little Gardeners will be invited for coffee and cake. This way, we'll avoid having to invite the whole school, which would really make a lot of noise. We'll invite the same people as usual. After coffee and cake -- spiced with the recital of poems and musical pieces -- plays and charades will be performed; these can only be presented by Little Gardeners, but may be watched by everyone. Only one piece will not be performed by us. We will also have betting games, but only Little Gardeners can take part in them. It'll be something like that. Unfortunately, due to cost, we cannot publish our planned Weed-Mirror. Then, we closed the meeting. 1941: Little Gardeners' Party Recently, it's been rather humid, and we expected a thunderstorm. Because of the heat, the party didn't begin until 5 o'clock in the evening. We began with a procession through the Little Gardeners' flower beds. After that, it was time for cake and coffee, which we ate in the hall, because of the heat. The tables were decorated with flowers, and pennants were fastened to the lamp and run across the room. Now Franz von M. made a speech that was very funny and contained many references to Mr. Wild. Then we ate. There was cocoa, cakes and chocolate. All the while, there was singing and a little play was staged, The Weeds Don't Die. In the play, all the flowers withered; but the weeds didn't. While we were having a good time singing, it suddenly began to rain. Mrs. Neuse ran out to bring her baby inside. Wulf ran out to save the booths that had been erected in front of the gate. From this point, the party went differently than planned because of the rain. The shooting- and throwing-booths that were supposed to have been in front of the gate were in the Dutch room and in Petersens' room. There, you could win currants. There was also a fortune booth. In the gymnasium, there was a roller coaster, and in the music room, there was a horror chamber. Then, there was the flower procession. The people who had decorated their bikes drove around the circular flower bed first. Later came decorated carts and wagons. Especially nice was a horse wagon where Olga and Kurt Warschauer were disguised as farmers. Almost all the vehicles got a prize. The prizes were awarded after the flower procession. The roller coaster was very well made; we drove a wagon through the dark gymnasium. The wagon made rather sharp turns. Now and then, the light was turned on. We heard cries and water was squirted. Then, it was dinner as usual. Afterwards, since it had gotten a bit drier, we had a circus outside. Olaf appeared in a number as our bodybuilder. Then, because of the rain, we went into the gymnasium, where the circus was continued. Peter Collm, the circus director, apologized for the delay, because it was a while until the next number started. Wulf, Olaf, and Maarten performed as athletes. After a suspenseful boxing round, Schmeling (Olaf) against Louis (Wulf), there was a dance group, the Tila Girls. They were scared away by a white horse and a red horse. The horses danced folk dances, neighed, and reared up on their heels. During the intermissions, Hermann and Richard Neuse appeared as clowns. After the circus, everyone got ice cream and went to bed quite spent, but with a full tummy and a happy face.
At this meeting, the main problem was the Little Gardeners' Party. After a long discussion of the pros and cons, we agreed to have it in the following way: We want to celebrate our Little Gardeners' Party, in spite of the circumstances.
Only Little Gardeners will be invited for coffee and cake. This way, we'll avoid having to invite the whole school, which would really make a lot of noise. We'll invite the same people as usual. After coffee and cake -- spiced with the recital of poems and musical pieces -- plays and charades will be performed; these can only be presented by Little Gardeners, but may be watched by everyone. Only one piece will not be performed by us. We will also have betting games, but only Little Gardeners can take part in them. It'll be something like that. Unfortunately, due to cost, we cannot publish our planned Weed-Mirror. Then, we closed the meeting.
Recently, it's been rather humid, and we expected a thunderstorm. Because of the heat, the party didn't begin until 5 o'clock in the evening. We began with a procession through the Little Gardeners' flower beds. After that, it was time for cake and coffee, which we ate in the hall, because of the heat. The tables were decorated with flowers, and pennants were fastened to the lamp and run across the room. Now Franz von M. made a speech that was very funny and contained many references to Mr. Wild. Then we ate. There was cocoa, cakes and chocolate. All the while, there was singing and a little play was staged, The Weeds Don't Die. In the play, all the flowers withered; but the weeds didn't. While we were having a good time singing, it suddenly began to rain. Mrs. Neuse ran out to bring her baby inside. Wulf ran out to save the booths that had been erected in front of the gate. From this point, the party went differently than planned because of the rain. The shooting- and throwing-booths that were supposed to have been in front of the gate were in the Dutch room and in Petersens' room. There, you could win currants. There was also a fortune booth. In the gymnasium, there was a roller coaster, and in the music room, there was a horror chamber. Then, there was the flower procession. The people who had decorated their bikes drove around the circular flower bed first. Later came decorated carts and wagons. Especially nice was a horse wagon where Olga and Kurt Warschauer were disguised as farmers. Almost all the vehicles got a prize. The prizes were awarded after the flower procession.
The roller coaster was very well made; we drove a wagon through the dark gymnasium. The wagon made rather sharp turns. Now and then, the light was turned on. We heard cries and water was squirted. Then, it was dinner as usual. Afterwards, since it had gotten a bit drier, we had a circus outside. Olaf appeared in a number as our bodybuilder. Then, because of the rain, we went into the gymnasium, where the circus was continued. Peter Collm, the circus director, apologized for the delay, because it was a while until the next number started. Wulf, Olaf, and Maarten performed as athletes. After a suspenseful boxing round, Schmeling (Olaf) against Louis (Wulf), there was a dance group, the Tila Girls. They were scared away by a white horse and a red horse. The horses danced folk dances, neighed, and reared up on their heels. During the intermissions, Hermann and Richard Neuse appeared as clowns. After the circus, everyone got ice cream and went to bed quite spent, but with a full tummy and a happy face.
Thanks to student Derek Hsiang for his transcription.