Football during World War II

Resistance Museum

Amsterdam 29

4

2009 • 11

4

2010

Football during World War II

But the measures introduced by the German occupying authorities also had an impact on football. Shortages,

air-raid prevention, anti-Jewish measures and raids made it increasingly diffi cult for football to continue. The world of football under occupation refl ected society as a whole. This exhibition uses the example of football to show the diffi culties the Dutch faced in their daily lives.

1. Football continues

“Football was more popular than ever

during World War II. Football was a

distraction from the miseries of war.

It’s something I understand all too

well. I was born in Yugoslavia, where

war raged for many years. The city

where I was born, Belgrade, was under

constant bombardment. Even as the

bombs were falling, I wanted to go

outside with my father to train. It was

a way to forget our worries and allowed

me to continue to work on fulfi lling my

dream.”

Miralem Sulejmani, football player

1.1 Football provided a welcome distraction during the diffi cult war years. The matches were the weekly highlight for many people. The German occupying forces allowed the football to continue, as they believed that people who were involved in sports would not join the resistance movement. To gain control of the many football associations and clubs, the Germans set up a single football association. The KNVB became the new unifi ed association under the name Nederlandsche Voetbalbond (Dutch football association - NVB). The Germans banned the K for ‘Koninklijk’ (royal). Karel Lotsy, who had been prominent in Dutch football for many years, was appointed as chairman of the NVB in May 1942. He managed to get a lot out of the German occupiers. Douwe Wagenaar from football club De Volewijckers says: “During the war, you needed certain favours from the Germans, if you wanted to play football, like shoes, balls and oil for lawn mowers. He took good care of things like that.”

1.3 In 1942, Karel Lotsy, together with Joris van den Bergh, wrote the book De mysterieuze krachten in de sport (The mysterious forces in sport). It was the fi rst standard work about sports, and dealt mostly with football.

1.4 The executive of the Dutch Football Association, with Karel Lotsy second from the left at the table. 1.5 “We are trying to act as normal. We will act as

normal again. So we will also play sports, we will once again play …. football.”

Ad van Emmenes, sports journalist at the Sportkroniek, in the offi cial magazine of the Dutch Football Association, May 1940.

1.6 Sports journalist Ad van Emmenes with Karel Lotsy to his right.

1.7 “At the beginning of the war, the Germans united all associations into a single organisation, so they would know exactly what was going on in football. They were pleased we were playing football. If we played in the Olympic Stadium in 1943 or 1944, there were 50,000 people in the stands.” Jaap van der Leck, coach of De Volewijckers 1.8 “We played football for ourselves. You have to

imagine that you’re confronted with the war the entire week (…). And there were no newspapers either. Well, except those full of German

propaganda.”

Wim Koek, keeper of ADO Den Haag

1.9 German soldiers in the Feyenoord stadium ‘De Kuip’. They could get half-price tickets for the matches.

1.10 Propaganda photographs. The Dutch army fought the Germans from 10 to 15 May. Following the surrender of 15 May 1940, every Dutch soldier was effectively a prisoner of war. The occupying forces soon organised friendly matches between German and Dutch soldiers. The occupying authorities hoped to emphasise the brotherhood between the German and Dutch nations. After a few weeks they even released the Dutch soldiers. They hoped the Dutch would choose the side of Hitler-Germany. 1.11 Football players had to carry a Dutch Football

Association identity card at all times and show it on request.

1.12 School football matches also continued. The season’41-’42 was won by the team from the Amsterdam graphic design college (Amsterdamse Grafi sche School - AGS).

1.13 “We always cycled to Hilversum to watch football. The teams were ‘Hilversum’ and ‘’t Gooi’, both fi rst division teams at the time. There were seats in the stadium, but they were only for the rich people, and then there were the stands, where all the supporters were mixed together. It was just great fun. There was a huge racket during the matches. That was partly because of the rattles we used to spur on the players.”

Arie Bos, supporter of SC ‘t Gooi

1.14 A packed Kuip stadium during the ADO-Hermes D.V.S match, season ’42-‘43.

Contents

Football continues

1.

3

Wartime violence

2.

4

Shortages

3.

5

Persecution of jews

4.

6

Collaboration

5.

7

Forced labour

6.

8

Resistance

7.

9

Winter of famine

1

8.

0

Liberation

1

9.

1

Netherlands - Germany

1

10.

3

Football and society

1

2.Wartime violence

“On 11 September 1944 – I was still a

baby – our village, Breskens in Zeeland,

was bombed by allied airplanes. We

had been warned by the air-raid alarm

and were safely at a farm outside the

village. My father and brother returned

home to fetch some things, when the

bombs came. They sought refuge with

other villagers in a warehouse. My

father leaned over a baby to protect it.

After the bombing had ended, it turned

out that my father and brother had been

killed. The baby survived.”

Willem van Hanegem, coach

2.1 Loud sirens warned of upcoming air raids. Everyone had to fi nd a safe place, even during football matches. These were often false alarms, so many people stopped reacting to them. The Amsterdam football team De Volewijckers played a match against Heerenveen in the Ajax stadium on 26 March 1944. Supporter Tip de Bruin: ‘Eleven minutes after the match had started, the sirens went off (…), but the spectators didn’t move. A calm voice asked the fans to vacate the stands. Everyone stayed where they were (…), and then the match was cancelled.”

2.3 “If the sirens went off during matches, I was always pretty scared. There would often be some level of panic.”

Bob Janse, right midfi elder for Hermes/DVS from Schiedam

2.4 From: Offi cial Programme Ajax stadium 2.5 On 14 May, the Germans carried out major air

bombardments on the city of Rotterdam and more than 800 people were killed. Allied bombs also hit targets in the Netherlands during the occupation, hitting important targets such as Schiphol airport and the Amsterdam port. Cities near the German

2.6 “Ajax had to play against Excelsior. When we arrived in Rotterdam, we were told we would not be going to the stadium immediately. A bus had been arranged to take us on a tour of the devastated city centre. Everyone was shocked by the devastation we saw. The men didn’t feel like playing the match any more, and the stands were completely silent. We lost that match, I can’t remember the score. Back in the train, there was none of the elated atmosphere that was common after away matches. The men didn’t play cards and there was very little talk.”

Frieda Schubert, the wife of Jan Schubert, player for the Ajax fi rst eleven.

2.8 Going to the evening training sessions was diffi cult, because the streets were pitch black. Allied pilots had a hard time fi nding their way over the Netherlands if everywhere was dark. So street lights were banned and windows had to be blacked out with thick curtains or black paper. Shielded bicycle lights only let through a small amount of light. Ajax player Gé van Dijk: “The black-out measures made it diffi cult to go out in the evenings. I didn’t go to the Ajax club evenings in café Suisse very often, because it was so diffi cult to get there.”

1.15 On 19 August 1940, Feyenoord won the Dutch championship with a 2-0 win over Heracles. Team captain Bas Paauwe being carried around on the shoulders of this teammates.

1.16 During the years of occupation, the football competition was divided across fi ve districts: West I, West II, East, South and North. The winners in the fi ve districts, the district champions, played each other in a winners’ competition for the national title.

3.Shortages

“Football improved my fi nancial

situation a lot. We certainly weren’t

a rich household. Nobody earned

money with football during World War

Two, and there was no such thing as

professional football. Players would

be happy with the extra meal they

would sometimes get during training

sessions.”

Ruud Gullit, coach

3.1 There were shortages of all sorts of things during the occupation. Many products were only available in exchange for vouchers. For instance, you could only buy food and clothes if you had the right vouchers. These vouchers were distributed among the people. Football players were lucky. Jan Bens, a player in the Feyenoord fi rst eleven during the war, says: “We were privileged. We would always get a meal after the training, because Feyenoord took care of that. I didn’t experience hunger during the war, while there were people dying of starvation. As Feyenoord players, we had an advantage. The baker and the butcher, who were Feyenoord fans, often gave us something extra.”

3.2 A long line of people waiting outside the Quick sports shop in Nijmegen. The Germans no longer allowed the football shoe maker to make leather shoes. Quick became the only store in the region to receive a permit to sell clogs.

3.3 “By refereeing lots of matches, I was often given extra food, butter vouchers or bread vouchers. Sometimes I went home with fi ve kilos of potatoes.”

Dirk Nijs, referee from Rotterdam

3.4 Dutch Football Association notifi cations and measures relating to the shortages

1940

The NVB handled the distribution of football shoes. •

There were 33 pairs of shoes for every 100 players and they had to last for at least three years.

1941

NVB handled the distribution of football outfi ts. •

Football shorts and shirts could be obtained in exchange for a textile voucher: Eight points for a pair of shorts, 20 points for a shirt.

The paper shortages meant clubs were no longer •

allowed to publish their magazines.

The German occupiers made everyone hand over •

their metal objects, because metal was needed

for the war industry. The NVB reported that this did not apply to sports trophies such as cups and medals.

The German occupier claimed land to be used for •

food production. The NVB reported that this would not happen to football pitches.

1942

The Amsterdam district failed to get permission •

to replace goal nets with chicken wire, because it would be too dangerous. The nets had to be repaired for as long as this was possible, or play would have to continue without nets. The NVB arranged for a repair man in connection with the ‘pressing balls issue’.

1943

Because of weakening bodies, the NVB gave the •

players permission to play with a lighter ball: a number four instead of a number fi ve.

1944

The football competition was suspended due to •

the railway strike and the winter of famine. 3.5 “I wanted to buy real football shoes with the

shoes voucher. At the time, you still had those old-fashioned boots with steel noses. They had leather studs with three small nails. My parents didn’t like it, but the cobbler still gave me those boots for the shoe voucher. This meant I couldn’t buy normal shoes, but I didn’t care. I’d wear clogs.”

Jan Hobby, junior member of DWS in Amsterdam

3.6 “During the war, my father was one of the founders of the Emmeloord Sports Club. The fi rst ball was paid for with fi ve pounds of butter, which could only be bought using vouchers at the time. He was also responsible for the materials at the club. After the match, the balls would be hung from the ceiling to dry above the heater. Balls would regularly have leaks. This meant taking out the inner ball, repairing it, putting it back in and re-infl ating the ball. The outer ball would also be sewn if the stitching came loose.”

Guus Avis, Emmeloord

3.7 Sports journalist Ed van Opzeeland still remembers clearly how he would play football as a child with “that unbelievably heavy ball with the irritating lace that would stick out and often get in your eyes”. 3.8 “There was almost nothing for sale. Our balls were

infl ated pig’s bladders, which we get from the Keuninhg butcher shop. We didn’t play with a real leather ball with laces until a few years after the liberation.”

Thom Mercuur, Heerenveen

4.0

“Jews were allowed to do less and less

during World War Two. From 1941, they

were no longer allowed to play football

at a club. Jews were even banned from

going to watch football matches. If I

had lived then, my career would have

been over, because I’m Jewish.”

Daniël de Ridder, football player

4.1 “In 1941, from one day to the next, I was told by Quick in Nijmegen that as a Jew I was no longer allowed to play there. My membership was cancelled. I was devastated,” says Louis de Wijze. In 1942, Louis was imprisoned in the Westerbork transit camp in Drenthe. From there, more than 100,000 Dutch Jews were transported to camps in eastern Europe in overfl owing cattle trains. Most were murdered in the gas chambers at Auschwitz and Sobibor. Others were forced to work and often treated so badly that they also died. “Destruction through labour’, the Nazis called it. Yet even in the camps, football was played. Louis says: “In Auschwitz, I had to carry bags of cement. It was very hard work (…). I heard there was to be a football match. I couldn’t believe my ears and made sure I could play in it. For the fi rst time in a long time, I didn’t feel like a number or an invisible member of the herd. I scored two goals and we won the match 3-2.” .

4.2 The main measures against Jews in sports

30 August 1941

Jewish referees were no longer allowed to referee sports matches.

15 September 1941

Jews were no longer allowed to go to sports facilities. The NVB orders all football clubs to put up a sign ‘Verboden voor joden’ (no entry for Jews).

1 November 1941

Jews were no longer allowed to be members of (sports) associations or go to sports matches. 4.3 “I remember receiving a note from the NVB,

signed by Karel Lotsy. He sent a note to all Jewish referees. The note said that, as a Jew, I could no longer act as referee.”

Leo Horn, Jewish referee

4.4 “There was a lot of fear that they would raid our club. Because the Germans knew full well that a lot of Jews played at our club. Dozens of people from our club were rounded up in the Jewish quarter. Sometimes you had a match and a lot of people would not turn up and the match would be cancelled. People became afraid. There was a

constant fear of what would happen. Nobody cared that football was suddenly off-limits for Jews.” Michél Agsteribbe, member of HEDW

4.5 One of the HEDW squads.

4.6 “I kept going to Ajax for as long as possible, until it became too dangerous. Suddenly there was a sign that said ‘No access for Jews’ and because I just happened to belong to the chosen people, I could no longer go there. (…) I spent a year in hiding with various people and always followed Ajax in the newspapers.” David van Minden, member of Wilhelmina Vooruit and an Ajax fan

4.7 Jew Herman Menco from Winterswijk was living in hiding with football player Sjaak de Bruin in Rotterdam in 1942-1943. Occasionally, with bleached hair, he would be smuggled into the De Kuip stadium among the crowds. A great outing but a very dangerous one, too, because of potential raids.

4.8 “My Jewish father was a huge Ajax fan. We would go to the stadium together every Sunday. Once Jews were no longer allowed to go to matches, I would go alone. It was horrible. If Ajax had won, I would whistle the club song when walking into our street. If I wasn’t whistling, it meant we had lost. My father would always be waiting eagerly by the window to fi nd out the result. If we had lost, he would have no appetite that evening.”

Pelle Mug, Ajax fan

4.9 Jew Han Hollander was football reporter for AVRO radio. He did not go into hiding, as he thought he would be safe due to the fact that he had a certifi cate signed by Hitler, which he was given during the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Hollander was still arrested and murdered in camp Sobibor, together with his wife and daughter.

(4.9.1 of 4.14 ipv 4.5) Joop Levi sent letters to his uncle Jacob from camp Westerbork. He wanted to be kept up to date on the results of the The Hague football clubs. On 13 July 1943, he and his parents were deported to Sobibor and murdered.

4.10 Football clubs with a lot of Jewish members, such as HEDW in Amsterdam and De Ooievaars in The Hague, had to withdraw from the competition. Other teams also had to do without players. The Wilhelmina Vooruit club magazine, Onze Revue, wrote in 1941:

“Last Sunday was a very dark page in the history of WV: defeats and players who didn’t turn up (…). Numerous players simply failed to didn’t turn up, both among the juniors and the apprentices.”

4.11 HEDW team. Barend Noordberger, shown kneeling bottom right, wrote on the back of the photograph: “All the Jewish football friends before the war.”

4.12 Members list Wilhelmina Vooruit for the 1941-1942 season. After the war, the club secretary put crosses in front of the names of those members who did not survive the war.

5.0

“There were people who chose the side

of the enemy during the occupation.

They became members of the NSB, the

national-socialist movement, which

supported the Germans.”

5.1 ADO Den Haag was known as an NSB club during the war. Most Dutch people saw the NSB members as traitors. Herman Choufoer, left-back player for ADO at the time: “Sometimes hateful comments from opponents would make you realise that they considered ADO an NSB club. That was because a player in our fi rst team began openly expressing his support for the NSB. It was Gerrit Vreken. Sometimes he would travel to away games in his uniform. I can still picture him in his black boots now.”

5.2 Gerrit Vreken was unemployed and was called up for labour duty in Germany in 1940. His uncle, who was a member of the NSB, told him he would be better off reporting for the Arbeidsdienst (labour service). This would allow him to stay in the Netherlands. The Arbeidsdienst was set up by the Germans to fi ght unemployment and to demonstrate to the Dutch how just good national-socialism was. Vreken: “I was 18 and knew nothing about politics. It allowed me to stay in the Netherlands and continue to play football with ADO. (…) If you wanted to stay in the Arbeidsdienst after the fi rst year, you had to join the NSB as a sympathiser. I thought about it for a long time. But I was in trouble, so what could I do? For me it was always an escape route.”

5.3 Football team ADO, season ‘42-’43. Standing top left Herman Choufour, with to his right Gerrit Vreken. Seated bottom left goalkeeper Dolf Niezen.

5.Collaboration

4.13 Football team Camp Westerbork, with Louis de Wijze to the left on the top row.

5.4 “In a club with more than one hundred people, three made the wrong choice: player Gerrit Vreken, the secretary and an honorary chairman. Our team at ADO was referred to as the Hitler eleven until long after the war had ended, but that is really going too far. Even as teammates, we too sometimes had problems with Vreken. There was often an icy silence when he entered in his uniform. We didn’t like passing the ball to him then.” Dolf Niezen, goalkeeper at ADO

5.5 “One time, a few of our supporters travelled with us to The Hague with the intention of beating up a few ADO supporters whom they knew to be NSB members. It resulted in serious fi ghting in the stands.”

Douwe Wagenaar of De Volewijckers from Amsterdam

5.6 From left to right: an ADO training session in the season ‘42-’43, supporters after the team won the district title in 1941, the national title in 1942 and the national title in 1943.

Below: photo album, published when the club won the national championship in the season ‘42-’43. 5.7 ADO became known as the NSB-club, but there were NSB members playing at other clubs, too. Harry Pelser was one example. He played in the Ajax fi rst eleven from 1939 to 1944. His father Joop played for Ajax before the war and was a member of the club executive. The Pelsers were a true NSB family. From 1942, father Joop worked for the German bank Lippman Rosenthal & Co, founded by the occupying authorities to steal Jewish property. Harry was also a member of the NSB. A teammate says: “He was a member of the party and I saw him read the NSB newspaper Volk en Vaderland (folk and fatherland). But the teammate adds: “Harry didn’t betray people.” Harry later said that in his family joining the NSB was a logical move. His mother signed him up.

6.Forced labour

Hague, was very popular before the war. Between 1924 and 1934, he played more than 50 matches for the Dutch national side. In addition to playing football, he was a doctor. During the war years, he rapidly lost popularity. As early as in the fi rst months of the war, Jewish patients were no longer welcome in his practice. Van der Meulen joined the NSB in September 1940. In 1941, he joined the

6.0

“These days, it is perfectly normal for

a football player or manager to work in

Germany, just as I did with teams like

Schalke 04 and HSV for many years.

Dutchmen also played in Germany

during World War Two. How was that

possible, as Germany was the enemy

after all?”

Huub Stevens, manager

6.1 In 1943, all Dutch men aged between 17 and 40 were called up to work for the war industry in Germany, including football players. One of the most popular players to be called up was Bram Appel. “I received a letter stating that I had to pack my bags and report to the Hollands Spoor train station the next day for transport to Berlin. If I failed to appear, my parents would be arrested.” Bram Appel departed. In Germany, football competitions were organised between the workers at the various factories. Later, matches were organised between the workers from different countries. Bram Appel: “Those national matches in Germany drew huge crowds, and were almost always sold out. (…) The matches were a big distraction for the men working over there. (…) I scored 57 goals in 1944.”

6.2 Call-up for forced labour

6.3 Many men did not respond to the call up for Arbeitseinsatz (forced labour). From 1943 onwards, the Germans organised raids to pick up young men and send them to Germany. Football stadiums were very good locations for those raids; there were lots of men and it was it diffi cult for them to escape. Bob Janse, right mid-fi elder at Hermes/DVS in Schiedam: “Watching football matches became more and more dangerous. In 1943, the deciding

the Sparta pitch. I remember the panic when a raid took place during that match. A lot of people were rounded up that day.”

6.4 After the match between PSV and Longa, the Germans conducted a raid targeting the 20,000 spectators leaving the stadium, 27 February 1944. 6.5 “Our street was part of the route to the Olympic

Stadium. There was always a jolly busyness on the Sundays when there were football matches. One Sunday in 1943, the German soldiers and SS offi cers came and closed off the Stadionweg. A raid! Peaking through the net curtains of our living room window, we saw the Germans place a machine gun across the road. I grabbed my father’s camera and when one of the soldiers had turned away, I took a photograph. My mother was crying with fear, because if the soldier had looked back, I could have been arrested for espionage.”

Jules Schweppe

6.6 “You were going to a country is at war, which was a bit scary. (…) I had my football boots in my bag. I told my father I was taking those with me. A good move son, he said. I also had a shirt and shorts with me. And socks, the blue and white ones of Eindhoven. I thought to myself, if I get a chance to play football, I’m taking it.”

Noud Bierings, football player for Eindhoven

6.7 The Nederlandse Arbeidsfront (Dutch labour front) organised the football matches and other activities for the Dutch workers in Germany, including the national side matches between the forced labourers from different countries. “Football meant everything to me. It was the only thing we had in Germany,” says Cor van Tongeren. He was invited to play a national match against Serbia. The foreign teams were also expected to do the Hitler salute. Luckily, this was not monitored very closely. Van Tongeren: “You already hated the Germans, so you’re not going to do the Hitler salute. It just Vrijwilligers Legioen Nederland (Dutch volunteer legion) to fi ght for the Germans. After training in Germany, he became an army doctor at the war front. Many Dutch volunteers died, Van der Meulen survived.

5.9 ADO booked its greatest successes during the occupation. The club won the district title in the ’40-’41 season and won the national title the next two seasons.

6.8 The Netherlands – Czech republic (3-4) in Berlin, 6 August 1944.

6.9 Foreign drafted labourers who played football well were asked to play in the German competition. This meant better food and better football matches. But the players were also expected to do the Hitler salute at the start of the matches. Noud Bierings played for Hertha BSC in Berlin: “You knew that salute was coming. I was really worried.

7.Resistance

7.0

“There was virtually no organised

resistance against the German

measures in the football world. There

were individual football players, like

my father who played for SC Varsseveld,

who joined the resistance. He worked

as head of the distribution offi ce. That

allowed him to get food vouchers to

hundreds of people in hiding.”

Guus Hiddink, manager

7.1 The Volewijckers from Amsterdam-Noord became known as a resistance club. That was largely because of the two brothers Gerben and Douwe Wagenaar. Gerben, left midfi elder and team captain, became a key leader in the resistance. He was wanted by the Germans, so he could no longer play football. Led by his brother Douwe, who was club chairman, the Volewijckers players showed their anti-German colours. On 3 August 1943, they played a match against VUC in orange shirts instead of their green and white club shirts. Says Douwe: “I was arrested immediately after the match. (…) After three days I was released again.” The club ensured that the players did not have to work in Germany. Douwe: “One of our members worked at the labour offi ce. If one of our boys was under threat of being called up for forced labour, he would put their cards to the back of the box again.” Manager Jaap van der Leck remembers how a young man walked into the dressing room after a match against ADO in 1944. “There was a sudden raid and he was afraid he would be arrested. We got him to safety using the laundry basket.”

7.2 “There was no real organised resistance in the sports world. (…) In those days, you took refuge in sports, so to speak. You thought the war was bad,

You were too afraid. In fact, you were sticking your head in the sand.”

Jaap van der Leck, manager of De Volewijckers

7.3 “If there was ever any suggestion that we should stop playing as a sign of resistance, there would be immediate protests from the players. Football was the only diversion they had.”

Bob Janse, right midfi elder at Hermes/DVS

7.4 In 1941, Leo Horn, being a Jew, was no longer allowed to referee matches. He adopted a false identity and became active in the resistance. As doctor Van Dongen, with the staff of Aesculapius mark on his bicycle, he got dozens of people in hiding to safety. Later he joined the armed Amsterdam resistance group Stanz. With this group, he took part in a spectacular attack on a German ammunitions truck. The loot consisted of guns, grenades, uniforms and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

7.5 The Stanz resistance group from Amsterdam-Zuid during an instruction session on plastic explosives. Leo Horn is seated in the middle.

7.6 Jan Wijnbergen played football for the Ajax fi rst eleven. In 1941, he got involved in the resistance movement. “After I had distributed what later turned out to be the appeal to join the February strike, I was asked to deliver things or make contacts more often. I was still playing for Ajax at the time, but that combination became impossible eventually. I often had to cancel football training. Ajax were obviously not pleased with that.” Eventually, Wijnbergen stopped playing football. “I was convinced that the resistance work was more important than playing football.”

7.7 Most sports journalists continued their work under the German occupation. Kick Geudeker, who founded the weekly magazine ‘Sport in en om Amsterdam’ (Sports in and around Amsterdam) in I decided to see what Appel did. He did a sort of half-hearted salute, using only his forearm. I did the same thing. I think the Germans understood that to some extent, because I never heard them complain about it.”

6.10 The Dutch team of forced labourers during the match between the Netherlands and Flanders (4-5), 14 June 1943 in Berlin. Bram Appel is standing fi fth from the right.

HONGERWINTER

Bob Uschi, who worked for Het Volk and later for De Telegraaf newspaper. With his German passport, Uschi was well-equipped for courier work.

7.8 Arie de Jong was the treasurer for football club Unitas in Gorinchem. When he joined the NSB, the Unitas members decided not to re-elect him in September 1943. Unitas member Huub Sterkenburg put forward a different candidate who was elected by a large majority. The NSB supervisor of the clubs in the region decided that Unitas had to appoint De Jong anyway and that Sterkenburg had to be ejected from the club membership. Karel Lotsy, the most powerful man in football during the occupation, warned Unitas they would have to obey if they wanted to continue as a club. But Unitas refused. The NSB supervisor repeated his demands in April 1942, but Unitas refused to comply. Arie de Jong was subsequently appointed as “authorised agent” at the club. This meant he had complete authority. Virtually all Unitas members cancelled their membership in protest.

8.0

“There was great famine in the western

part of the Netherlands in the fi nal

winter of the war. A lot of people died

of hunger, including many children.

The football competition had come to a

virtual standstill. My club, Heerenveen,

invited dozens of young Amsterdam

football players at the time. They came

to Friesland to stay with guest families

and get their strength back.”

Foppe de Haan, manager

8.1 There was virtually no football played during the winter of famine. The competition ground to a halt. People’s main concern was to fi nd food and fuel. Even goalposts and stadium seating were used as fi re wood.

Jan Hobby from DWS went to Friesland to regain his strength. In Heerenveen, the youngsters from Amsterdam were greeted with a plate of porridge, which they devoured. The hearty Friesian food was too much for many of the little players. Jan Hobby remembers: “After eating one spoonful of gravy I immediately had to go to the toilet with diarrhoea because it was far too greasy for me. And one time I walked away from the table because my foster brother Piet complained during the meal. (…) I knew what it was like to be hungry.”

7.9 Booklet from 1947 about the resistance at Unitas and a reaction to it from the KNVB.

7.10 Fan mail for the popular football player Daan de Jongh, forward at ‘resistance club’ De Volewijckers.

7.11 Caricature of Daan de Jongh, forward at De Volewijckers, drawn in 1944 by Bob Uschi, who was involved with resistance newspaper Het Parool. 7.12 Notebook with handwritten reports on De

Volewijckers matches by forward Daan de Jongh. 7.13 De Volewijckers from Amsterdam-Noord – known

as the resistance club– had its most successful period during the war years. The club was promoted from the third to the fi rst division in 1941, moved to the top division in 1943 and, in 1944, not only became district champion but also national champion, pushing its biggest rival ADO out of the top spot.

8.2 In September 1944, the Dutch government in exile in London called for a railway strike. They wanted the transports of German soldiers to be stopped because the allies wanted to carry out airborne landings near Arnhem. The Germans stopped food transports in retaliation. And travel became impossible. Ad van Emmenes, editor in chief of the Dutch Football Association magazine: “For me, it was the end of my trips to matches. (…) The railways resisted and then there was nothing.” For a while, De Volewijckers team used a horse and cart to travel the country and play friendly matches as national champion. But almost nobody wanted to play football any more because of the famine. Bob Janse, right midfi elder at Hermes/DVS in Schiedam says: “It was almost impossible to travel any more. The strange thing was that there was also virtually no football played in fi elds or in the streets any more, as if football had had never been played there before.”

8.3 Publication from the illegal newspaper Vrij Nederland about the consequences of the railway strike.

8.4 German propaganda emphasised that the railway strike only caused misery and famine for the Dutch population. It did not affect the Germans too much, because their troops were transported in German trains. The strike still continued until the liberation.

8.5 Transport of children during the winter of famine. They travelled across the IJsselmeer to the provinces of Friesland and Groningen in the holds of cargo ships.

8.6 Referral from a doctor for one of the young football players who was sent to Heerenveen:

“Willem Kuppers is malnourished, though otherwise healthy. A move outside the city is urgently necessary.”

8.7 Bertus Moehring of football club Blauw-Wit was one of the young football players chosen and allowed to go to Heerenveen. Bertus stayed with Jan Lenstra, the brother of the famous player Abe Lenstra. Once the children had regained their strength, they returned to football. Bertus played a match against Heerenveen’s fourth junior team. In a letter to his parents, he wrote: “We won the match 3-2 and I even scored a goal.”

8.8 Jan and Jeltje Lenstra with their daughter Minnie in front of the farmhouse where Bertus Moehring stayed.

8.9 To show their gratitude for the help Heerenveen had given the young players, the Amsterdam clubs gave the Heerenveen football club a tableau made of tiles shortly after the war. The Friesian foster parents received a print of the picture. 8.10 “We had an offi cial Amsterdam team of

C-grade juniors, which regularly played against

a Heerenveen B-juniors team. (…) Abe Lenstra put together and coached the Amsterdam team. (…) We looked up to him immensely, because he was very well known in 1942, when I joined Ajax. He was a star player who could do anything. (…) Despite his instructions, we always lost to the Heerenveen boys, although they were close matches. (…) That was largely due to physical differences. We were pretty emaciated when we arrived in Heerenveen. We really had to get our strength back.”

Robbie Been, youth player at Ajax

8.11 Abe Lenstra, star player at Heerenveen and coach of the young players from Amsterdam.

8.12 Robbie Been with his little brother Otto, Amsterdam 1940.

8.13 “When I left for Heerenveen, we were in the middle of the winter of famine. People fainted in the streets, and there was almost nothing to eat. At home, we would sometimes be fed tulip bulb soup and my mother baked biscuits from sugar beet pulp, which tasted horrible even if you were hungry.”

Robbie Been, youth player at Ajax

8.14 Homemade sugar beet grater.

8.16 The remains of the ADO stands after the winter of famine.

9.0

“I was born on 4 May 1945. In the fi nal,

harsh months of the war, there was

no more football: there was so much

hunger and so many shortages. But

immediately after the liberation on 5

May - I was cheering in my cradle –

teams were immediately formed again

and they played against the allied

liberators.”

Jan Mulder, football analyst

9.1 The fi rst post-war international match was played between the Netherlands and an English military side in June 1945 in De Kuip stadium. It attracted 60,000 spectators. Top football player Faas Wilkes: “These days it is completely normal to have a full stadium. But in those days, in 1945! There were no trams yet and only the occasional train. You

9.Liberation

hardly saw any cars on the roads. The whole city of Rotterdam was devastated. People came to the stadium on foot, on bikes with no tyres or wooden tyres. Basically, any way they could. It was an unforgettable match.”

9.2 Immediately after the Netherlands was liberated on 5 May 1945, there were football matches again, against teams of allied troops. Robbie Been was sent to Heerenveen during the winter of famine and celebrated the liberation there. “I remember matches from those days between Heerenveen and British teams from the Royal Navy, the Highlanders and the RAF. They often had real professionals playing for them, but Abe always stood out. I didn’t get back to Amsterdam until July, travelling on the boat from Lemmer.”

9.3 On 13 May 1945, a team of allied troops played a team from Leeuwarden at the Sportpark Cambuur stadium. The Friesians won the match 3-2.

The photograph shows the allied team.

8.Winter of famine

9.4 Feyenoord supporter Frans Appels attended the fi rst post-war international match with Faas Wilkes in De Kuip stadium. The playing of the Dutch national anthem, the Wilhelmus, is one thing he will never forget. “Everyone stood and sang along. After all, it was the fi rst time in fi ve years that we could sing it without danger of punishment. I had tears in my eyes. Of course, nowadays, it is diffi cult to imagine that it was as important as it felt at the time.”

9.5 Faas Wilkes, after the liberation.

9.6 Karel Lotsy, chairman of the Nederlandsche Voetbalbond, attended the fi rst post-war central training session of the Dutch national side, on the VUC pitch in The Hague.

9.7 In August 1945, a football match was organised in Amsterdam as a benefi t match for the devastated city of Arnhem. The ticket price had to be paid in goods.

9.8 Shortages remained until long after the liberation. The Ajax fi rst eleven posed dressed in old shirts from English team Arsenal on 15 May 1947. Seated on the left is Rinus Michels.

9.9 In May 1945, Amsterdam football teams played a competition in the city’s Olympic Stadium. The winners received a small bottle of jenever (Dutch gin) in a little orange clog from the Bols distillery. 9.10 Members of the NSB and SS were punished by the

courts after the war. They were often also ejected from their football clubs. Special ‘purifi cation’ committees judged the behaviour of the football players. They could suspend or withdraw the membership of members and managers. The football players in this exhibition also had to justify their actions:

The goalkeeper for the Dutch national side, •

Gejus van der Meulen, who was an SS doctor during the war, appeared before the Bijzonder Gerechtshof (extraordinary court) in Amsterdam on 21 June 1947. He was sentenced to eight years in prison. The football world turned its back on him completely.

On 6 March 1947, Ajax executive Joop Pelser, a •

member of the NSB who worked for a bank which confi scated Jewish possessions, was sentenced to more than three years in prison by the Tribunal founded specifi cally to judge war crimes. The purifi cation commission at Ajax withdrew his membership of the club.

Ajax player Harry Pelser, son of Joop Pelser, •

together with many NSB member, was detained at the Amsterdam Levantkade. Afterwards, he was forced to grow potatoes in the Noordoostpolder for 14 months, wearing the same sweater and trousers for the entire period. “My right shoe was broken, I had to fi x it with pieces of string. Other

me up.” Harry was never punished by the Ajax purifi cation committee. He never again dared to talk to his father about the war again. “That period created wounds that have never healed.”

Together with many dozens of NSB members •

from The Hague, Gerrit Vreken was detained in the building of the Christian technical school. He was interrogated after a month. “That was my chance to make it clear that I had done nobody any harm and I was released.” The ADO football club suspended him and his voting rights were taken away for ten years.

Bram Appel, like all other forced labourers in •

Germany who had played in a German team, was suspended until 1 January 1947. “I was furious about that. I was reprimanded, while Lotsy himself could simply go and watch matches in Germany.” On 27 October, Karel Lotsy appeared before the •

national purifi cation committee for sports. In a lengthy written defence, he explained that he had in fact wanted to prevent national-socialist infl uence in football. The committee was convinced of his ‘healthy patriotism’. Much later, Historians argued that Lotsy, who had after all been actively involved in the exclusion of Jews from sports, had been judged very leniently indeed.

9.11 Gejus van der Meulen, on 21 June 1947, before the extraordinary court in Amsterdam.

9.12 The Jewish referee and resistance worker Leo Horn, went on a driving tour with members of his resistance group during the liberation celebrations. In the photograph on the left, he can be seen standing in the front of the car. After the liberation, he became a guard at the internment camp for NSB members in Amsterdam, where Harry Pelser was also detained. The photograph above shows Leo Horn second from the right, wearing a helmet.

9.13 A design for a commemorative stone for the members of Unitas in Groningen who were killed in the concentration camps because of their resistance work. The stone was never made. 9.14 A few Jewish survivors decided to keep football

club HEDW going. This had been discussed even in camp Auschwitz. Maurits van Thijn says: “In Auschwitz, I kicked a stone around. Bert Thal saw that and said: ‘I can see that you have played football or can play’. I said yes. He said: ‘If we get out of this camp, you should come and play for us, at HEDW.’” Michél Agsteribbe says about the inaugural meeting: “It was a meeting where many people cried. A lot of the guys were gone of course. About 90 percent were gone. But we founded the club again anyway, with a lot of new people.” Sixteen-year-old Jacques Granaat also joined up: “Everyone who was left went to HEDW. That was the club to join if you were a Jewish boy.” This is how HEDW became bigger and more Jewish than it ever was before the war. A monument was

10.0

“Football matches between Germany

and the Netherlands remained

emotionally charged for a long time

after the liberation. That was all down

to World War Two. Marco van Basten’s

deciding goal during the 1988 European

Championships had great symbolic

value, partly because of the trauma of

1974.”

Frits Barend, television programme maker

10.1 In 1956, the Dutch and German national sides played a friendly match in Germany. It was a special match, because it was the fi rst time since the war and Germany were the World Cup holders at the time. There were 40,000 spectators in the stadium. Abe Lenstra: “We became quite emotional when the national anthem was played. Roel Wiersma stood next to me. He took my hand and squeezed it. Abe, he said, we will win today. I knew why he said that. I knew what he felt. What was going through him, through all of us. We were all charged up.”

The Netherlands won 2-1. Abe Lenstra, one of the Netherlands’ most famous football players, scored both goals. Thousands of Dutch supporters who had travelled to the match, shouted his name: A-be, A-be, A-be. It was an historic victory: the former enemy was beaten.

10.2 The Dutch team, before the match between the Netherlands and Germany on 14 March 1956 in Düsseldorf. Abe Lenstra is standing fi fth from the left.

10.3 The fi rst goal from Abe Lenstra (not pictured) against the Germans, 14 March 1956.

10.4 After the match between the Netherlands and Germany, Dutch players were borne aloft on shoulders. Abe Lenstra is second from the right.

10.Netherlands - Germany

Netherlands played the fi nal against Germany. As in 1956, it was an emotionally charged match. Minister Tjerk Westerterp was in the stadium. “Among the Dutch spectators in the grandstand, I felt a sense of ‘we are going to right World War Two this afternoon’. (…) Many Dutch people hoped to achieve through football what we had failed to do during the war: beat the Germans. Willem van Hanegem, who played in the match, says: “As far as I’m concerned, you cannot dig a hole deep enough for those Germans. (…) That hatred, that has always been there. For reasons that everyone is aware of and that still haven’t gone away.” The Netherlands lost 2-1. Hans van Breukelen, who later became goal keeper for the Dutch national side, remembers he was full of feelings of revenge and cried sitting in front of the television in an orange shirt, with tears also for “the horrors and the terror visited by the Germans during World War Two in the Netherlands”. 10.6 The Dutch team, World Cup 1974.

10.7 The Dutch team, European Championships 1988. 10.8 Marco van Basten in action during the semi fi nal

between the Netherlands and Germany, European Championships 1988.

10.9 In 1988, the two arch rivals met again, during the semi fi nal of the European Championships on 21 June in Hamburg . The Dutch wanted revenge, for 1974 and for the war. Orange supporters in the stands sang loudly: “In 1940 kwamen zij, ’88 komen wij, holadijee, holadijoo (they came in 1940, here we come in ’88). Goalkeeper Hans van Breukelen, talking about what he calls the best match of his football career: “Something had to be put right to my mind. (…) We were determined to walk of the pitch the winners and we did. In the last minute, Marco van Basten put the winning 2-1 on the score board and we went crazy. I have never seen a group of players react so strongly and so exuberantly. We celebrated together with the 30,000 Dutch supporters in the stadium. We had been freed of all our feelings of unease in one fell swoop.”

Journalist Simon Kuper: “On the Tuesday night when the Netherlands beat West Germany by 2-1 in the semi fi nal, millions of Dutch people went out into the streets to celebrate the moral victory. It was probably the biggest public gathering since the liberation.”

11.0

“People from different backgrounds

meet through football, sports and

games. Children learn to live with

each other and accept each other.

On the pitch, it makes no difference

whether you’re rich or poor, boy or

girl, or whether or not you were born

in the Netherlands. Many football

clubs and well-known football players

make efforts to help young people

advance via sports; in the Netherlands,

but also in the Third World.”

Mohammed Allach, football player and founder of MaroquiStars

11.1 Football unites people

11.2 Mohammed Allach founded the MaroquiStars foundation in 2003 in an effort to involve Moroccan youths more in society via football. Allach: “You cannot clap with one hand, is an old Moroccan saying that indicates the need for cooperation. (…) Professional football players play an important role in the way we operate, as role models and to communicate norms and values, among other things.”

11.3 The originally Moroccan football club Chabab from the Amsterdam Slotervaart neighbourhood is successful. The enthusiastic chairman,

Mahomed Moussa wants to achieve more than just football. “We want to prove that different nationalities can work together perfectly well in this large club. I tell the children at the club: you can only succeed if you accept your responsibilities and go for it. We will not deny our origins, but we are Dutch fi rst and foremost.” Sporting Maroc, another Amsterdam club, often hits the headlines because of violence, intimidation and suspensions.

11.4 FC Chabab celebrating after the 1-0 victory over DWS, which put the club in the fi rst division. 11.5 “In the football team, my son Oussama plays with

boys from all sorts of cultural backgrounds. The football pitch really is a meeting place for them.” Ahmed Zeamari

11.6 E1 of WV HEDW. Bottom row, second from the right: Oussama Zeamari.

11.7 Sports presenter Humberto Tan grew up in Amsterdam’s Zuidoost neighbourhood. He knows what it is like to live in a disadvantaged area. He founded the Dutch Street football Union to give youngsters from those types of areas an opportunity to get together in a positive way: “Tournaments were organised in 36

neighbourhoods. In Amsterdam, the neighbourhoods of Zuidoost, Zeeburg and Slotervaart took up the initiative.”

11.8 Football offers people opportunities

11.9 The 2010 Football World Championships will be held in South Africa. The Dutch organisation Stars in their Eyes wants to create opportunities for South African youths. Managers and top players from Dutch teams coach South African footballers and support them in the fi ght against poverty and crime. Eleven-year-old Nkosikhone “Vice” Mayekiso from Cape Town: “I love football because it helps me stay away from bad things, like becoming a gangster. When I grow up I want to play for a big professional team like Feyenoord in Holland.”

11.10 Johan Cruyff sets up kicking fi elds – Cruyff Courts – to help kids play and live together. “Children are the future and our children have the right to grow up in safety and health. We have to make sure they can. Sports and physical exercise are incredibly important in children’s development, just as important as learning to read and write.” There are also courts in South Africa, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, Morocco and Great Britain.

11.11 Tile from the Johan Cruyff Foundation. Anyone who buys a tile supports the foundation. 11.12 The Stichting Meer dan Voetbal (More than

Football foundation) organised the Dutch Homeless Cup for the fi rst time in 2008. Sixteen teams of homeless people from the Netherlands participated. The Rotterdam team won and were given the chance to travel to Melbourne to play for the World Cup. Captain Vincent Gard feels stronger for the experience: “I hope that, once we come back to the Netherlands, I can make a real go of it,. With a new job, a home and everything that goes with that.”

11.13 Clarence Seedorf set up the Champions for Children foundation to help disadvantaged children in his country of birth, Surinam. In 2001, he had the Clarence Seedorf Sports complex built and he founded the Para Junior League for young footballers. Seedorf hopes to keep the kids on the right path through football.

11.14 Ibrahim Kargbo grew up in Sierra Leone, a country torn apart by civil war. He played in the national youth team and currently plays for Willem II in the Netherlands. Kargbo has been lucky. “I must have lost hundreds of friends I played football with and who had to join the army.” Kargbo uses the money he earns playing football to help his native country, together with aid organisation CARE. “I bought a piece of land in Freetown where I want to build homes and schools for children.” In 2008, Kargbo was awarded the Football for Peace Award.

11.15 Football shows you where you belong 11.16 Some professional football players are faced

with the choice which country they should play for. Ibrahim Afellay says: “I was fl attered by the request to play for the Moroccan national team. But I think it would be best for me to play for the Dutch national side.”

Karim EL Ahmadi: “In Afellay’s case, everyone had an opinion. I understand that he chose to play for the Netherlands. My instincts told me to choose Morocco.” Some players have so many doubts that they change their minds. Like U˘gur Yildirim, who played for the Dutch national side in 2005 and later went on to play for Turkey. Yildirim: “I have always felt very Turkish. A Turk who grew up in the Netherlands. I am glad about that, because I was able to establish my name as a football player in the Netherlands. But I prefer to live in Turkey.”

11.17 Ibrahim Afellay, 2005.

11.18 Tibet is under Chinese occupation. Many Tibetans have fl ed to India. They formed a national football team there to focus attention on Tibet’s right to independent existence. In 2008, the team visited the Netherlands. Captain Tenzin Namgyal: “We want to tell the truth. People have been fl eeing to India for forty, fi fty years to live in exile, because China violates human rights.” Coach Kelsang Dhundup: “The most important thing is to support peace through sports, not so much the winning in itself.”

11.19 Football strengthens national sentiments. When it comes down to it, the entire nation gets behind the Dutch national side. A supporter says: “During the 1998 World Cup, the match against Mexico was my fi rst ‘Orange’ international match in a stadium. I will never forget that. We were all dressed as Mexicans, with sombreros and ponchos. But all orange, of course.”

11.20 “I am a huge fan of PSV. My room is covered in scarves and posters of the best club in the Netherlands. Since PSV usually with the national title, I wear my shirt and scarf to the matches with pride.”

Bart, 11 years old.

11.21 You play football with respect

11.22 “Football is a team sport. If everyone respects their opponents, and their team mates too, football will never be war.”

Kees Gerbrands, referee

11.23 The campaign “What do you do to keep football fun?” is aimed at keeping football fun. Marco van Basten: “Football is important to kids. These days kids spend a lot of time in front of a television or behind a computer. If you’re playing sports, you are off the streets, you learn to deal with winning and losing. In addition, and particularly in team sports, you learn that you have to help each other to achieve a good result.”

11.24 Poster KNVB campaign, 2009.

11.25 FC Twente helps ‘young drop-outs’ with the project Scoren door Scholing (score through education). Young people are given ten weeks of lessons at the club’s training centre. Of the 130 drop-outs, 85% fi nd a new purpose: education or a job. Rodney Bloks: “When the players turned up to train, we went to study. The goalkeeper, Sander Boscker, talked to us about grabbing this opportunity. That made an impression. Thanks to FC Twente, I managed to follow an internship as a teacher in a junior school. I know exactly what I want to do now.”

11.26 Sander Boscker, goal keeper at FC Twente 11.27 The Schilderwijk neighbourhood in The Hague

is changing for the better. The Sporttuin in The Hague is helping. Five hundred pupils from 10 different schools are members and are given extra sports lessons. Karin Striekwold, director of the Het Startpunt junior school: “A few years ago we were always beaten at tournaments and the children didn’t know how to behave themselves. But from the moment we began to win tournaments and the children were getting compliments for sporting behaviour, everything changed.”

11.28 “I have been playing in boys’ teams since I was six. It’s much more fun and I get better because of it. Sometimes the boys don’t like losing to a girl. Then they will start calling me ugly names. I think they should respect a girl who plays against boys.”

Eefje, 13, Sporting ’70 D1.

11.Football and society