Discover the story of Neeltje Schuit-Dorresteijn and her memories of Alkmaar during wartime.
Neeltje Schuit-Dorresteijn was just a small five-year-old girl when the liberation of Alkmaar took place. She does not remember the chocolate, chewing gum, or riding along on an armoured vehicle, as many children might. What stayed with her was a ring that was pressed into her hands: an SS ring, the symbol of one of the most feared terrorist organisations of the Nazis.
Neeltje lived in Alkmaar opposite a bunker that the Germans had built, a hub for telephone connections of the Atlantic Wall. One day after the liberation, she saw a procession of German soldiers leaving the city. Suddenly, one soldier walked up to her and pressed the ring into her hands. Before she realised what was happening, the soldier had disappeared and her mother had already taken the ring. “I will keep this ring safe for you,” her mother said. For the young girl it was still incomprehensible, but her mother understood that the ring carried a burden that Neeltje should not have to bear at that age. The ring became a silent witness to the war, but also to her mother’s protection and care.
Only years later, when Neeltje fully understood the meaning of the symbol, did she receive the ring back from her mother.
She knew that the two lightning bolts on the ring stood for an organisation that had cost many lives and caused fear. Neeltje still remembers fragments of daily life during the war: how her sister would hide completely in the curtains at the sound of bombs, or how her mother would warn her father when he hid in the nearby factory. These were moments of fear and caution, intertwined with the everyday life of a family under occupation.
After the war, the ring remained a special memory. At first Neeltje would sometimes show it, but soon it ended up in an egg cup, far away from curious eyes. When Museum Bunker Alkmaar, in the old telephone bunker opposite her childhood home, opened its doors, Neeltje felt that the ring belonged there. A symbol of remembrance and history, in a place where visitors can learn about the war, the occupation, and the personal stories that took place there.
Disclaimer & source attribution: The stories have been provided by the participating locations and involved volunteers of Bunkerdag and are based on the personal memories of those involved. These are subjective and may differ from historical facts or be experienced differently by others. No rights can be derived from the content.