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Show Former Dutch prisoner of war relates experiences A special treat was in store for Cadmus members at their April meeting as the Education Committee Com-mittee had invited Kitty DeRuyter, a former prisoner of war during World War II, to be their speaker. Mrs. DeRuyter was introduced by Glenna Oveson, following a beautiful vocal solo, "Love One Another," by Micky Oliphant. This song very appropriately echoed the theme for the meeting. Mrs. DeRuyter was born in Indonesia, In-donesia, one of seven children with DutchIndonesian lineage, and began her early life as part of a happy, well-to-do family on a rubber and coffee plantation. Indonesia In-donesia was a Dutch Colony with a population of about 170 million people. Kitty's family was Christian and enjoyed family prayers and hymns with a spiritual thought each morning. Her best friend was her nanny, who told her she was a "child with a destiny." She graduated from the University of Amsterdam and came to the United States in 1957, settling in Hartford, Conn. She was converted to the LDS Church and eventually came to Utah to make her home. She and her husband have four children and seven grandchildren. Kitty is the , Credit Manager at Amfac Electric in Salt Lake City. This very brief outline only touches the surface of Kitty's life but by sharing her journal with Cadmus members they were made aware of the dramatic experiences she has endured. On May 10, 1940, Holland was invaded by Germany and Kitty's mother began to make preparations for her family should trouble extend to Holland's colony. The family built a bomb shelter, prepared food storage and other necessities, including in-cluding a medical bag. All of this preparation was used when Japan did invade Indonesia. Kitty's father was a leader in the resistance force and had to leave his family with their mother. They were put under house arrest and kept virtually prisoners in their home. They lived from their supplies and their mother prepared them for whatever would come into their lives. When Kitty's father surrendered to protect his family he was taken prisoner and at 3 a.m. one morning the rest of the family was arrested and put in concentration con-centration camps. As they knelt in family prayer for the last time that morning, the children were instructed by their mother to love their enemies and to forgive them. She taught them to find strength from the teachings of Christ. Kitty told how her family was sustained by their bible teachings, prayers, and the love they felt for each other, even though they were separated. She also told how the faith of her mother made it possible for them to endure terrible suffering, deprivation, and even the torture of their mother. Because of this strength of character lives were saved in miraculous ways. Kitty told the touching story of her ninth birthday when her nanny was able to come close enough to the concentration camp to bring Kitty her special rag doll she had left behind on the morning of their arrest. Before the nanny was able to make her escape, she was shot to death and Kitty came to understand the sacred teachings of Christ as this woman gave her life out of the love she felt for Kitty. Kitty shared the great joy the prisoners felt on D-Day as American soldiers came out of the sky to liberate them. She told how she would never forget their smiling faces and how handsome they looked to her. She was 10 years old and said she fell in love with all of the parachuters. She was particularly par-ticularly influenced by one young soldier they gave comfort to before he died of his wounds. He was an LDS boy from Kansas and after the war Kitty's mother was able to contact his family to let them know how brave and honorable their son had been. Liberation of Holland from Germany and the end of the war did not end their struggle as Indonesia declared independence from Holland and war broke out against the Dutch. Former friends became enemies and as the family was reunited after their release from the camps they learned their father was in Holland for medical treatment and one brother was dead. They left Indonesia to all be together in Holland. Kitty's father died soon after they arrived from his war wounds and torture. But one day as Kitty was playing with her rag doll she felt something and discovered her mother's jewels sewed inside the doll, put there by a loving nanny. This act of foresight provided the destitute family with the funds to allow them to be educated in Holland. Kitty concluded her history by telling how Pres. Eisenhower invited in-vited refugees to immigrate to the United States in 1957 and Kitty decided to come even though she had just been married and it was almost two years before her husband could join her. She also told of their conversion to the LDS Church and how healing it had been for her to write down her experiences ex-periences and to tell people about them. Her journal has allowed her to face her experiences and to overcome the scars left by them. She expressed her love and feelings of responsibility as a citizen of the United States of America and concluded by reminding members that, "Where much is given much is expected." Cadmus Vice Pres. Dot Smith, conducted and welcomed members and guests to the meeting and Bea Hayes opened the meeting with prayer. Edna Holdaway was the hostess with Jeanne Adamson as co-hostess. co-hostess. Other guests attending were Laura Cromer, Avis West and ."lickey Oliphant. |