Abwehr: German intelligence service.
Dolle Dinsdag: Mad Tuesday. September 5, 1944, when the Dutch believed they were about to be liberated by the Allies. The Dutch celebrated while many Nazis and collaborators fled to Germany.
Engelandvaarders: Dutch refugees who escaped the Netherlands during WWII and reached England by sea or by land. Of the 1,700 who were successful, the majority joined the armed forces in the fight against the Nazis.
Gelderland: One of the twelve provinces making up the Netherlands.
Green Police: German occupation police in the Netherlands and other Nazi-controlled countries. Officially the Order Police or Ordnungspolizei (Orpo for short), they were quickly nicknamed the Green Police after the color of their uniforms.
Guilder: The primary currency of the Netherlands at the time of this novel.
Hauptmann: Officer in the German Army, SS, or SD, similar to a captain in the U.S. Army.
Leutnant: Officer in the German Army, SS, or SD, similar to a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army.
Luitenant: Officer in the Dutch Army, similar to a lieutenant in the U.S. Army.
Mam: Dutch word for mom.
Mejuffrouw: Dutch courtesy title for an unmarried adult woman, similar to “Miss” in English.
Mevrouw: Dutch courtesy title for a married adult woman, similar to “Mrs.” in English.
Moffen: Derogatory Dutch nickname for the Germans.
Moffrica: Derogatory Dutch nickname for Germany.
Mynheer: Dutch courtesy title for an adult male, similar to “Mr.” in English.
NSB: Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging or National Socialist Movement. A Dutch political party aligned with the Nazis.
Oberleutnant: German Army officer, similar in rank to a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army.
Obersturmbannführer: An officer in the SS with a rank similar to a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army.
Onderduiker: Someone in hiding. The literal translation from Dutch is “under diver.”
Onkel: German word for uncle.
Oom: Dutch word for uncle.
Opa: Dutch word for grandfather.
Pap: Dutch word for dad.
Razzia: A roundup. In this novel, it refers to roundups by the Nazis or their collaborators to find enemies, undesirables (such as Jews), or able-bodied people to be conscripted for involuntary labor.
Reichskommissar: A government title used by Nazi Germany, most often for the senior leader of an occupied nation. During the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, the reichskommissar was Arthur Seyss-Inquart.
Reichsmark: The primary currency of Germany at the time of this novel.
Sicherheitsdienst (SD): German Security Service, an intelligence agency for the SS and Nazi party.
Soldat: An enlisted man of the lowest rank in the German Army.
Sturmbannführer: An officer in the SS, with a rank similar to a major in the U.S. Army.
Tante: Dutch word for aunt.
Unteroffizier: Junior noncommissioned officer in the German Army, similar to a corporal.
Utrechtseweg: One of Arnhem’s major roads. Westerbork: A camp in the Netherlands. Originally, the Dutch government established it as a refugee camp for Jews fleeing Germany. After the Nazi invasion, Westerbork gradually shifted to a transit camp where Jews stayed for varying amounts of time before being deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, Sobibor, Theresienstadt, Bergen-Belsen, Ravensbrück, and Buchenwald. In addition to Jews, Dutch resisters and other people the Nazis deemed enemies were sent to Westerbork. Deportations to death camps ended in September 1944. Westerbork was liberated by Canadian troops in April 1945.
A. L. Sowards 