This year marks 80 years since the liberation of the Netherlands and the end of World War II. Hundreds of people kept diaries during the war years, documenting their everyday experiences: housewives, mayors, shopkeepers, doctors, Eastern Front fighters, prisoners, and students. Employees of Rijkswaterstaat also noted what they experienced during the occupation.
In his diary, lock keeper Springer recounts how he worked on a floating Rijksbok during the last months of the war to repair bridges, maintain locks and weirs, and clear ships to make the Maas navigable again.
Diving Under
‘The heavy fighting in Normandy’ headlined the Zuidhollandsch Dagblad on July 14, 1944. It was the day when Springer received permission from the head of service to work on the bok, which was located at the lock and weir of Belfeld, and to go into hiding. Thanks to bok skipper Toon Drenth, he lacked nothing at his hiding address: ‘From Corrie, my fiancée, Toon brought things that a person needs. He also provided a small radio. It fit perfectly in the water well, with potatoes and peels on top. With a mirror in the cuckoo, we looked over the deck and kept an eye on things. This way, we listened to the English station.’
Crazy Tuesday
On September 5, he had to moor the bok below lock Sambeek: ‘We completed the job with lock personnel and porters. From lock master Simissen, I was allowed to use the loudspeaker cables to get 220 volts on board. Those days we were glued to the radio. Antwerp was liberated and the Allies reached Breda.’
The news of an impending liberation buzzed through the country. On this day, later known as Crazy Tuesday, flags were raised, and people celebrated wildly in the streets. But the cheers were premature. The news that the Allies had entered the country turned out to be nothing more than a rumor. After this day, the NSB apparatus largely collapsed. Many fled to Germany, and the remaining part fell apart due to internal disagreements. Nevertheless, the German power was not yet broken.
Cleanup Plan ‘Maas’
Months passed. The south of the Netherlands was liberated. A harsh winter followed. The western part of the country suffered from great hunger. Only in the spring of 1945 did Springer receive orders to return to the bok. The cleanup plan ‘Maas’ was launched. On March 23, he was back on board.
Netherlands Liberated
While the population celebrated the liberation of the Netherlands en masse and exuberantly on May 5, Springer and his crew worked on weir Sambeek and the railway bridge of Gennep. All this under difficult conditions: ‘Sometimes we were with 14 men on board and had to row with the oars we had. There was a shortage of food and clothing, and the diving suits leaked like a sieve.’
Flying Rivets
In early June, they began clearing the passage between the bridge of Venlo and that of Roermond. It was a tough job because both bridges were destroyed: ‘We had to break the bridge remnants into pieces on shore. The 4 main beams were destroyed with 10 kg of dynamite per beam. It made a huge bang. Many complaints came in. It was claimed that rivets had landed at the railway station.’
Maasbracht Harbor
After the bridge, we moved on to weir Linne. ‘After this, we could start regulating,’ wrote Springer. ‘This was of great significance for Maasbracht, where about 250 vessels had been sunk by the Germans. Together with bok Hercules, we sawed a container from SHV (Coal Trading Association) of about 2000 tons, which lay crosswise in the harbor entrance, into 3 pieces with a chain. The Maasbracht harbor was liberated. After a few more days of work on the bok, I started my interrupted lock duties on August 7.’