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Draft:Arie Kloostra

Arie Kloostra ( 6 March 1918 – 21 October 1998 ) was a Dutch communist and resistance fighter in World War II .

Pre-war period

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[ edit | edit source ] Arie Kloostra was born in Herpt as the son of Tjerk Kloostra and Josina Kooijman. The family eventually had twelve children. His profession was furniture upholsterer at Pander. He and four of his five brothers became Communists. Kloostra fought as a volunteer in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War . He suffered gunshot wounds to his arm and chest, which were treated by Gerrit Willem Kastein . As a result of his participation in the Spanish Civil War, he was stripped of his Dutch nationality in 1939 , making him stateless . After returning from Spain, he regained his job as furniture upholsterer at the Pander furniture factory in The Hague .

Resists

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[ edit | edit source ] During World War II, Kloostra became active in the resistance immediately after the Dutch capitulation . The national leadership of the CPN had issued a directive that there would be no armed resistance for the time being. In The Hague, this directive was not heeded and a militant small resistance group was formed within the much larger Hague communist resistance group. The militant group included Gerrit Willem Kastein , Cornelis Simonis, Sally Dormits and his brother Tjerk Kloostra ; the latter two regularly carried a firearm with them from the start.

Invasion of the Soviet Union

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[ edit | edit source ] In the summer of 1940, Kloostra discovered that thousands of Schneekufen , aircraft landing gear for landing in the snow, were being made in the furniture factory. They were intended for Junkers-52 transport aircraft . He immediately realized that this was a preparation for a winter war and that this could only mean an attack on the Soviet Union . He immediately passed the message on to Nico Wijnen , who was part of the leadership of the Communist resistance group in The Hague. Wijnen passed it on to the contact person with the central party leadership, Herman Holstege , who passed the message on to the Amsterdam communist Daan Goulooze . Goulooze did not know whether to attach any value to the message. Goulooze was the second most important man in a Russian espionage group that would later be called Die Rote Kapelle by the Germans . The leadership was in the hands of Leon Trepper , who lived in Brussels . Goulooze consulted with Trepper, who advised to immediately send the message by radio to Moscow . Goulooze operated several secret transmitters in Amsterdam and sent the message to Moscow. (After the war, Kloostra realised that the skis had been intended for the invasion of Norway).

After 1945, there was a long-standing debate among historians about whether Stalin knew of an invasion by Germany and whether the Germans were prepared for a winter war. From this course of events, both can be answered positively. Because the Germans had already prepared the deployment of Pander before the invasion of the Netherlands, Pander was approached shortly after the Dutch capitulation in May 1940 with a ready-made design and a schedule for delivery, it must be concluded that Germany had decided to attack the Soviet Union quite soon after the conclusion of the Molotov-Von Ribbentrop Pact . It is possible that this had already been decided at the time of the conclusion. [source?]

Arrest

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[ edit | edit source ] Kloostra went into hiding due to the mass arrest of communists in the period early June-September 1941. In 1943 he was arrested due to betrayal by a hairdresser, who dyed his hair black to continue her resistance work under a false name during the period in hiding. On his way to his restaurant he sensed danger and tried to flee from a shooting arrest team. He ended up in a doorway where he rang several doorbells for help in vain. Unfortunately, no one answered, which resulted in his arrest.

After his arrest, Arie Kloostra was transferred to the Scheveningen prison and from there to Vught camp. On 26 May 1944, the brothers Arie, Johan and Reinder Kloostra were transferred from Vught to Dachau , where their brother Jan (coming from 't Nacht und Nebel camp Gross-Rosen in Poland) had already been held for almost two years. All four brothers survived the war.  Their other brother, Tjerk , was shot dead by the Germans on the street in The Hague. A street in The Hague is named after him.

After the liberation of Dachau camp on April 29, 1945, he left for home in an organized bus with other prisoners. ( Herpt , 6 March 1918 – Epse , 21 October 1998 ) was a Dutch communist and resistance fighter in World War II .

Pre-war period

edit

Arie Kloostra was born in Herpt as the son of Tjerk Kloostra and Josina Kooijman. The family eventually had twelve children. His profession was furniture upholsterer at Pander. He and four of his five brothers became communists. Kloostra fought as a volunteer in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War . He suffered gunshot wounds to his arm and chest, which were treated by Gerrit Willem Kastein . As a result of his participation in the Spanish Civil War, he was stripped of his Dutch nationality in 1939 , making him stateless . After returning from Spain, he regained his job as furniture upholsterer at the Pander furniture factory in The Hague .

Resists

edit

During World War II, Kloostra became active in the resistance immediately after the Dutch capitulation . The national leadership of the CPN had issued a directive that there would be no armed resistance for the time being. In The Hague, this directive was not heeded and a militant small resistance group was formed within the much larger Hague communist resistance group. The militant group included Gerrit Willem Kastein , Cornelis Simonis, Sally Dormits and his brother Tjerk Kloostra ; the latter two regularly carried a firearm with them from the start.

Invasion of the Soviet Union

edit

In the summer of 1940, Kloostra discovered that thousands of Schneekufen , aircraft landing gear for landing in the snow, were being made in the furniture factory. They were intended for Junkers-52 transport aircraft . He immediately realized that this was a preparation for a winter war and that this could only mean an attack on the Soviet Union . He immediately passed the message on to Nico Wijnen , who was part of the leadership of the communist resistance group in The Hague. Wijnen passed it on to the contact person with the central party leadership, Herman Holstege , who passed the message on to the Amsterdam communist Daan Goulooze . Goulooze did not know whether to attach any value to the message. Goulooze was the second most important man in a Russian espionage group that would later be called Die Rote Kapelle by the Germans . The leadership was in the hands of Leon Trepper , who lived in Brussels . Goulooze consulted with Trepper, who advised to immediately send the message by radio to Moscow . Goulooze operated several secret transmitters in Amsterdam and sent the message to Moscow. (After the war, Kloostra realised that the skis had been intended for the German invasion of Norway).

After 1945, there was a long-standing debate among historians about whether Stalin knew of an invasion by Germany and whether the Germans were prepared for a winter war. From this course of events, both can be answered positively. Because the Germans had already prepared the deployment of Pander before the invasion of the Netherlands, Pander was approached shortly after the Dutch capitulation in May 1940 with a ready-made design and a schedule for delivery, it must be concluded that Germany had decided to attack the Soviet Union quite soon after the conclusion of the Molotov-Von Ribbentrop Pact . It is possible that this had already been decided at the time of the conclusion. [source?]

Arrest

edit

Kloostra went into hiding due to the mass arrest of Communists in the period early June-September 1941. In 1943 he was arrested due to betrayal by a hairdresser, who dyed his hair black to continue her resistance work under a false name during the period in hiding. On his way to his restaurant he sensed danger and tried to flee from a shooting arrest team. He ended up in a doorway where he rang several doorbells for help in vain. Unfortunately, no one answered, which resulted in his arrest.

After his arrest, Arie Kloostra was transferred to the Scheveningen prison and from there to Vught camp. On 26 May 1944, the brothers Arie, Johan and Reinder Kloostra were transferred from Vught to Dachau , where their brother Jan (coming from camp Gross-Rosen in Poland) had already been held for almost two years. All four brothers survived the war. [ 1 ] Their other brother, Tjerk , was shot dead by the Germans on the street in The Hague. A street in The Hague is named after him.

After the liberation of Dachau camp on April 29, 1945, he left for home in an organized bus with other prisoners.

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