Photograph of Gerdien and her brothers dressed as gnomes, during anniversary parade in thanks for Operation Manna, 1946
Item Reference : cny02951

Description

Gerdien and her brothers are pictured with other children, dressed as gnomes, at an anniversary celebration of Operation Manna. The banner says 'Thank you for your help'. The people of the Hague have continued to give thanks annually for their reprieve from starvation, and every year have invited the pilots who took part in the relief mission. Gerdien Versteeg and her family were on the brink of starvation, along with millions of other Dutch civilians, in the spring of 1945. Four years of German occupation and a bitter winter had used up all the food and fuel supplies; many had resorted to eating tulip bulbs. In April and May 1945, Operation Manna began to drop thousands of tons of food to the starving Dutch. Allied aircraft, which had once carried bombs over Gerdien's house, now dropped life-saving food parcels.

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