Chapter 4 World War II

Every few years, someone would come to her door and encourage my mother to write an autobiography, offering attractive conditions and promising to write about any topic she wanted.Most of the time it was Evan Lanner, the agent, but they were turned down by their mother every time. As a public figure, my mother is often invited to appear on TV talk shows where she is asked about her films or UNICEF.In these programs, she can talk about her life, work and feelings.Questions about her childhood and her motivations for joining UNICEF always brought back memories of the hardships her family and friends endured during World War II.Some of the things we take for granted today — peace, liberty, and democracy — were luxuries for them back then.She told us how her brother ate dog food because there was nothing else to eat.Others eat tulip bulbs because there are no vegetables.The bread at that time was green, because there was no wheat that could be ground into flour, so pea flour could only be used to make bread.Sometimes my mother needs to lie in bed all day, reading a book to forget the bouts of hunger.

She has always vividly remembered the horrors of the German occupation of the Dutch town of Arnhem, which haunted her throughout her childhood, as she spent most of World War II there.It wasn't until there was hardly anything to eat in the city that they moved to their grandfather's house in the suburbs. Her maternal grandfather used to be the mayor of Arnhem, but in those days, mayor just meant more responsibilities and obligations, not more wealth.When the bombing started, they found it was a very safe place.The surrounding farmers are very enthusiastic and willing to share their crops, poultry and livestock with these refugees from the city.She still remembers that some businessmen took advantage of the war to raise prices wantonly, and the family's money was almost used up, after all, pearl necklaces couldn't fill their stomachs.

At that time my mother did not know Robert Walders, the Dutchman who would accompany her for the last 12 years of her life.In the late World War II, Walders also lived in a village on the outskirts of Arnhem.Later, my mother and he always talked about the anecdote at that time: At that time, a farmer always used the food on his farm to exchange a lot of valuable artworks. In order to avoid being robbed by the Germans, he built a basement. , put those oil paintings and sculptures in it.After the war, he excitedly ran into the basement to sort out his wealth, only to find that the paintings and sculptures had all been soaked in water beyond recognition.

For my mother, European Liberation was also her first exposure to UNICEF. “I was in the Netherlands during World War II, living under the rule of the German army, and had no food at all.” She recalled, “The winter of the last year was the worst, and there was not much food left in the city, and we had to give priority to it. German troops. Although we were not starved to death, I suffered from severe malnutrition because I was always hungry. Fortunately, soon after the war ended, UNICEF and the Red Cross entered our city to support Residents provided food, medicine and clothing. At that time, all the schools became aid centers, and I became the biggest beneficiary like other children. I will remember UNICEF's help to me in my life."

The Netherlands had one of the longest periods of German occupation of any European country, it was one of the first to be invaded by the Germans, and one of the last to be liberated by the Allies.The Allied forces won the final battle to liberate the Netherlands near Arnhem, which was later made into the movie "The Bridge Far Away".A few years later, my mother had the lead role as a blind woman tortured by a psychotic bandit in "A Blind Woman," which my father produced, and which was directed by the director of the previous 007 films of Terrence Young.The British director was the commander of a British tank unit during World War II. When shooting the film, he was surprised to find that my mother lived in Arnhem during World War II, and it was the unit he commanded that shouldered the burden 20 years ago. At that time, the city of Arnhem and many surrounding villages were destroyed by shells, including the house of my mother's neighbor at that time.

This special connection between my mother and Yang made their friendship last a lifetime and spawned many funny stories, Yang always said: "If I ordered to aim a little more to the left then, I would lose my best job now Partner." In fact, in my mother's heart, she was very supportive of the shelling, even though she was one of the targets, because it did bring her freedom.For countless days and nights before, she had watched with fear as the Nazi troops passed through the streets, and after the bombardment, the Germans disappeared without a trace.