Hidden Past
His grandfather and mother knew Danny Vera. And especially his grandfather, Jan van den IJssel, was a “remarkable man”. At least, that seems to have been the case, Danny explains. “I get that from stories. I did experience it, but that was until I was nine. I don’t think a nine-year-old boy can imagine: my grandfather is remarkable.”
Jan van den IJssel has done a lot in Middelburg, says Danny. “There was also a time when I sat next to someone in the pub who said: ‘You’re one of Van den IJssel, aren’t you?’ And then I either got a beer or a blow in the ass.”
Grandfather
His grandfather’s image piques Danny’s curiosity and he wants to know more about it. The historians who help Danny with his search for the past therefore first delve into the history of Jan van den IJssel. “We found something,” the first historian explains. “It comes from the Central Archives for Special Legal Procedure. That is an archive for people who have been investigated for unpatriotic actions.” Danny is shocked by this. “That doesn’t sound good.”
But fortunately what is in the file seems to be not too bad. Although Danny’s grandfather was investigated for collaboration with the NSB during the Second World War, the accusations turned out to be unfounded. Jan van den IJssel even had a “fiery hatred of everything that had to do with the NSB.” And that was not by chance. The historian sends Danny home to read the file of his great-grandfather, Jan’s father, in peace. And that file turns out to be a lot less tender.