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The heart-breaking images of starving and beaten people
Everett Cromwell of Birchtown, Nova Scotia, was one of ten
siblings who came of age during World War II and one of four
brothers who served in the European theatre. After ten days
crossing the Atlantic from Halifax, Nova Scotia, private
Cromwell arrived in Glasgow, Scotland as one of thousands of
Canadian troups who would take part in battling Hitler’s
armies. He was promoted to corporal soon thereafter.
Cromwell left Glasgow on December 23, 1941, on his way to
become part of the Normandy invasion and one of the
remarkable historical events of the war. As the only black
member of the part of the 2nd Division, his journey would
take him quickly through France, less quickly through
Belgium and very slowly through the Netherlands, pushing the
German troops occupying the northeast back to the sea and
driving German troops in the west back into Germany. The
Liberation of Holland will always be one of the most
important moments in the history of World War II for
Canadian Soldiers and others. As a result of their efforts,
the German invasion of the Netherlands was reversed and the
Dutch people were freed once more. |
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Canadian troops had been fighting in France, Italy,
Belgium, and in Germany since the D-Day landing. These
troops, including Cromwell’s division, were moved to
the Netherlands to push the German troops back into Germany.
“We supplied several platoons with rations, ammo and
fuel,” Cromwell reports, “including the Black Watch, the
Queens Own Rifles and French commandos.” The conditions in
The Netherlands, according to Cromwell, were deplorable. The
Dutch people had been starved over the course of a winter,
known as the "Hunger Winter". Canadian pilots dropped food
packages from the air to the intense relief and joy of the
Dutch people and as the Canadian troops liberated town after
town, they were faced by the heart-breaking images of
starving and beaten people crying and applauding in
gratitude for their rescue.
“The people were virtually starving,” he added, “and they
welcomed us with such absolute joy it was hard to
believe.” Cromwell stayed on in Europe as part of the
victorious occupation force and was the last of the four
Cromwell brothers to return to Canada. He and his wife
Elizabeth are active in Nova Scotia in the Black Heritage
Society. |
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