kolff: de colve: XIII: article (2)
Article taken from De Colve XIII - 2008: The House Nimmerdor (2/2)
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A personal note...From the preceeding it appears that us Kolffs: Grandfather, my Father and me, are the longest residents of 'Nimmerdor'.When my grandparents came there, my aunt Tilly (1899-1970) was twelve years old. She amd my father, who was then one year old, were both born at Amsterdam in the Vondelstraat. My grandfather was a broker in shares in that city. World War I did not affect 'Nimmerdor' much, just some inconveniences: Grandfather "had to leave at 6 a.m. to be on time in Amsterdam!"
Bertie (G.W.) Nix- Kolff, |
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In
World War II the history of 'Nimmerdor' was more tempestious. On
May 10, 1940, 'the big house' (the old name for Nimmerdor) was confiscated
by the Germans. When they left, after a week, the house was ran
down and stripped empty... Grandmother and aunt Tilly lived in one
of the gardeners cottages. We, my father Dick, mother Charlotte,
and me, first lived in a street and later also in one of the gardeners
cottages on the estate. Many times we got military quartered.In
the beginning of 1945 Nimmerdor suffered most: led by Germans Dutchmen
came to dig anti-tank ditches, many pines were cut. Many trees were
also destroyed because their tops got hit by missiles, some of which
we still find.