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as a Girl Guide in 1945
On the 6th of May the German Army capitulated. The war in Europe was over! The whole country was jubilant. There
were still German soldiers around. People hurled abuse at them and spat at them and there were tragic incidents when some
30 people were killed the day after the war ended.
Although the war in Europe had come to an end, Japan would not surrender.
They continued with all their might. Every person over the age of six was mobilised into the war effort. Universities and
schools were closed. America set Japan an ultimatum - surrender or face the consequences. Japan did not surrender and on 6
August 1945 America dropped an atom bomb on Hiroshima and another one three days later on Nagasaki, killing around 300,000
people. On September 12 Japan surrendered.
The world was changing. In San Francisco, 25 countries signed the
Charter of the United Nations, and in the U.S.A. the first computer was installed. It used as much energy as a locomotive
and took up several classrooms.
Slowly life returned to normal. My father returned home but my parents split up and got
divorced. I went back to school but left at 15 to start work. Food and clothing, petrol and fuel for the stove were still
only available with coupons. The Scout and Guide movement, which had been banned during the war, started up again and I joined
the Girl Guides .There were still many things to settle. Indonesia wanted independence; it had in fact declared its independence
when the Japanese left in 1945. Dutch soldiers were sent out to restore (Dutch) law and order which resulted in war with the
Indonesian population.
The action lasted two years, after which Holland withdrew its troops and acknowledged an independent
Indonesia under the rule of President Sukarno in 1949. In America the U.N. split up Palestine into two parts - Israel for
the Jews and Palestine for the Arabs.
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