In 1943, three young Dutch men—Gerrit Henneken (19), his brother Jaap (18), and their friend Dirk Keijzer (19)—became part of the millions of men and women subjected to forced and enslaved labour in Nazi Germany. What followed was a harrowing tale of hardship, endurance, and ultimately, liberation by the American Army in March 1945.
Seven decades later, Peter Henneken AM, Gerrit’s son, went in search of his father’s wartime story. The result is a deeply personal and moving account of survival, friendship, resistance, and the struggle for freedom. The work not only honours Gerrit, Jaap, and Dirk, but also gives voice to the countless Dutch men who were forcibly taken to work under brutal conditions during the Nazi occupation.
Peter Henneken was born in Zoetermeer, the Netherlands, in 1948. In 1955, at the age of seven, he migrated with his family to Australia, part of the wave of Dutch migration from a country still recovering from the devastation of World War II. The family first settled in Melbourne and later moved to Brisbane in 1965, where Peter still resides with his wife Christine.
The early death of Peter’s father in 1972, at just 48 years old, left a lasting sense of loss and longing. This sense of absence shaped Peter’s life and inspired his search for the untold parts of his father’s story. Proud of both his Dutch roots and his adopted Australian homeland, Peter made significant contributions through his long career in the Queensland public service while keeping his family’s history alive.
This powerful and heartfelt account is a valuable addition to the body of literature on Dutch forced labourers in Nazi Germany and to the broader Dutch-Australian migration narrative. It speaks to the resilience of those who survived the war and the legacy carried by their descendants.
The DACC Library holds this work as part of its collection, where it serves as an important resource for those interested in Dutch wartime experiences, migration history, and the enduring bonds between the Netherlands and Australia.
