Kisses from Hanna
by
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29 Sept. '45 - Singapore Dear Ruth, You will be very wondered to hear something from me from this part of the world. This is just to inform you of me still being alive. I have been prisoner of war for 3 1/2 years now and you will no doubt hear of what that meant. But I must confess that I have been pretty lucky. I was taken prisoner in Bandoe in April '42. After a lot of moving over the island, I left the island of Java 4 Jan '43 for Singapore. We were bound for Japan as technicians, but for some reasons the ships did not want the officers. So most of the officers stayed in Singapore and apart from the amount of food which gradually diminished until a bare minimum was reached just before the capitulation----.
Later on I'll give you more particulars about my adventures and about others. For no doubt you are anxious to hear something. So far I did not hear anything neither from Holland nor from Java. The last message from Holland as far as I remember was Nov. '41 and was dated March '41.
Have you further messages?
But now Hanna. She was free at first (in 1942), but later on all European women were put into camps in different towns of Java. The treatment was different in all these camps depending upon the Jap commander. Some were very, very bad; women with children were forced to work on the 'savah' (field) for 7 hours day after day! And that in the tropics.! But about my Hanna. I know nothing so far. The last message I got was dated 8 Mar. '45. It was a plain postcard with sentences so it does not mean anything. I got this card on her birthday the 19th of August. But now we are very anxious to hear something from Java.
It is still very bad especially with the Middle of Java. We are here in a more spacious camp waiting for an opportunity to return. But shipment is very limited as you no doubt heard so it will be quite a time before we can go back. Well, Ruth, I hope this letter reaches you in due course. I am so anxious to hear something about your war experiences. As soon as I know something about Hanna, I'll write you immediately. My address is at the back, but I'll repeat it-2nd Lt. A. J. W. Muijser RNT, No 2 R.A.P.W.I., HQ S.E.A.L., Wilhelmina Camp, Singapore. Greetings and Love, Aad 28 November '45 - Singapore Dear Ruth, Just a short letter to inform you that I received your letter. I'll give you the latest news about us.
Hanna is now in Batavia. Her address is Palace Hotel. But I shouldn't advise you to write to her for any day can she come over to Singapore, either to join me here or to go to Holland probably with me too. For I think we all shall go back to Holland in the course of the next month.
I asked for repatriotism for her. That is a long story actually, but I will try to make it as short as possible. I wormed myself into a job here i.e. I succeeded in making some Japanese radio transmitters which were in the camp here work again and this transmitter is working now traffic between Batavia and Mingaque. We were told that when you had a job here that your family was allowed to join you in due course. But that was prevented by the British who feared too great an influx in Singapore. And so I'm still waiting.
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About the Book
They were just two teenage girls when they began writing during the Great Depression. These letters from Hanna (in Holland) to Ruth (in the United States) date from the early 1930’s to the late 1970’s . They include World War II experiences that Hanna suffered, as well as illustrate what life was like in the world during this period. This is a story about a friendship that impacted both lives and that will bring tears to the eyes of the reader. During 1940 and 1941 – after the Nazi invasion and the near destruction of Rotterdam – Ruth acted as a liaison between Hanna and Aad, then in Java, and their families back in Holland. The war made it impossible for any correspondence between the families. However, Ruth was able to communicate with each. Hanna later said, "Ruth held the threads of our families in her dear hands." Historically true and poignantly personal, these letters ranged from trivial to world-shaking events – from box suppers and school activities to Nazi occupations and Japanese prisoner-of-war camps. Neither girl could have foreseen how important each would be to the other when Ruth selected Hanna’s name from a list of potential pen pals.
About the Author
Jean Ellen Reynolds, Ph.D. is a former teacher and administrator in Carterville, Il. She earned her degrees from Southern Illinois University. Carol H. Cross is a retired elementary English/Social Studies teacher (E. St. Louis, Alton, and Carterville in Illinois plus N. Haven, CT) with an MS Ed. Both are grandmothers, European travelers, and friends as well as colleagues.
When the authors had the opportunity to perserve this story for the enjoyment and edification of the present and future generations, it was a labor of love. Young people have said, "We knew there was a war and that concentration camps existed, but this book makes it so personel." As teachers Cross and Reynolds are dedicated to sharing the past in the hope of preventing similar tragedies in the future. They also want to encourage more joyful international relationships through pen pals (e-mailing?) to further the understanding of people in other cultures.