? ? ?Probably, because of the fighting, it had not been possible to warn?every British subject in Rotterdam individually and, anyway, my?grandmother did not have a telephone. Perhaps there had been an?announcement on the radio, but I had not heard it. Anyway, that?would have made no difference. In the frame of mind I was in,?I would not have left even if I had received a warning. In my eyes that?would have meant abandoning the sinking ship. Besides, I would not?have left my grandmother alone in those dangerous times. That this?was a very short-sighted point of view, I was soon to find out. Before?the end of the year, I had come round to exactly the opposite.

【也許，由于戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的原因，不可能對(duì)鹿特丹的每一個(gè)英國公民都單獨(dú)發(fā)出警告，而且，我的祖母沒有電話。也許廣播里有通告，但我沒有聽到。不管怎樣，有與沒有并沒什么區(qū)別。我當(dāng)時(shí)想的是，即使接到警告我也不會(huì)離開的。在我看來，那就意味著要棄家而去。此外，在那些危險(xiǎn)的日子里，我不會(huì)把我的祖母一個(gè)人留下的。我很快就發(fā)現(xiàn)，這是一個(gè)非常狹隘的想法。到這年底時(shí)，我的想法已經(jīng)完全相反了?！?/span>

? ? ?If we schoolboys had hoped that the war would bring any changes in?the old-established school routine, we were soon disappointed. A week?after the invasion, my school, which was undamaged, opened its?doors again and a month later, on the usual date, we sat for our exams.?In spite of my secret hope that the war might deliver me from this?ordeal, I had nothing to fear and passed with good marks to everyone's?satisfaction.

【如果我們這些小學(xué)生曾希望戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)會(huì)給傳統(tǒng)的學(xué)校生活帶來任何改變的話，我們很快就失望了。戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)一周后，我的學(xué)校，完好無損，重新上課了。一個(gè)月后，在正常的日期，我們參加了考試。盡管我暗自希望戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)能把我從這場(chǎng)磨難中解救出來，但我并沒有緊張，并以優(yōu)異的成績通過了考試，讓每個(gè)人都對(duì)我很滿意?！?/span>

? ? ?To recover from all the shocks, it was arranged that my?grandmother should spend the summer months with my uncle Tom,?the grain merchant, who lived in a small village not far from the town of?Zutphen and I would go with her. That part of Holland is very?beautiful, hilly, with lots of forest, many old castles, fine country?houses and small historic towns. I liked staying with my uncle, with?whom I got on well, and who would take me with him in his car on his?visits to farmers and millers with whom he had business to transact.

【為了從所有的打擊中恢復(fù)過來，我決定讓我的祖母和谷物商人湯姆叔叔一起度過夏天，他住在離祖特芬鎮(zhèn)不遠(yuǎn)的一個(gè)小村莊里，我和祖母一起去。荷蘭的那部分地區(qū)非常美麗，多山，有許多森林，許多古老的城堡，漂亮的鄉(xiāng)村房屋和歷史小鎮(zhèn)。我喜歡和我叔叔呆在一起，我和他相處得很好，他會(huì)開車帶我去拜訪他要做生意的農(nóng)民和磨坊主。】

? ? ?I had been there about a fortnight when one warm afternoon, as I?was lazing in the garden with a book, the elderly village constable?came to see us. Very apologetically he explained that he had just?received instructions to arrest me as a British subject and take me to?Rotterdam. He was unable to tell me what would happen to me and?kept on saying how sorry he was, but orders were orders. We had to leave?early the next morning and his proper course was to lock me up?in the local police station. In deference to my uncle, however, he would?allow me to spend the night at home if we promised not to take?advantage of this.

【我在那兒呆了大約兩個(gè)星期，有一天下午天氣暖和，我正拿著一本書懶洋洋地躺在花園里，村里一位上了年紀(jì)的巡警來看我們。他非常抱歉地解釋說，他剛剛接到指示，要把我作為英國公民逮捕，并帶我去鹿特丹。他無法告訴我接下來會(huì)發(fā)生什么，只是不停地說他很抱歉，但命令就是命令。第二天一早，我們不得不離開，他的正確做法是把我鎖在當(dāng)?shù)鼐炀?。然而，為了尊重我的叔叔，如果我們保證不利用這個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)逃跑，他會(huì)允許我在家里過夜?！?/span>

? ? ?This totally unexpected development brought great consternation?in the family. Looking back now, it seems astonishing that this event?was so totally unexpected. On the contrary, we should have foreseen it?and taken evasive action in time. The fact is that my family, and?indeed I myself, were so used to regarding me as an ordinary Dutch?boy that the thought that I might be interned as a British subject?simply never occurred to us. As it was, since my uncle had promised?the constable that I would be ready to accompany him the next?morning, it was now too late to do anything. To my grandmother,?especially, it was a big blow. I tried to console her and give myself?courage by suggesting that it might be just a question of reporting and?that when they realised I was just an ordinary schoolboy, they would?let me go. The next morning the constable came to fetch me and, so as?not to make it look as if I was some young hooligan who had been?taken in custody, he had put on civilian clothes. On arrival in?Rotterdam he took me straight to police HQ. There I was told that, in?accordance with instructions received from the German authorities, I?was to be interned as a British subject.

【這一完全出乎意料的事態(tài)發(fā)展給全家人帶來了極大的驚愕。現(xiàn)在回想起來，這件事竟然如此出人意料，實(shí)在令人吃驚。其實(shí)，我們應(yīng)該預(yù)見到這一點(diǎn)，并及時(shí)采取規(guī)避行動(dòng)。實(shí)際上，我的家人，甚至我自己，都習(xí)慣于把我看作一個(gè)普通的荷蘭男孩，我們從來沒有想過我會(huì)作為一個(gè)英國公民被拘留。然而，既然我叔叔已經(jīng)答應(yīng)警察，我將準(zhǔn)備好第二天早上陪他去，現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)來不及了。尤其是對(duì)我的祖母來說，這是一個(gè)很大的打擊。我試圖安慰她，并給自己勇氣說，這可能只是一個(gè)報(bào)告的問題，當(dāng)他們意識(shí)到我只是一個(gè)普通的學(xué)生時(shí)，他們會(huì)讓我走的。第二天早晨，警察來找我，為了不把我弄得像個(gè)被抓起來的小流氓，他穿上了便服。一到鹿特丹，他就直接把我?guī)У骄挚偛俊Ｔ谀抢镂冶桓嬷?，根?jù)德國當(dāng)局的指示，我將作為英國公民被拘留?！?/span>

? ? ?In the course of the afternoon my aunt came to visit me. She was in?tears. What seemed to shock her most was that, in accordance with the?regulations, they had taken my tie away. She brought me cherries and?a change of clothes and took the opportunity of giving the policemen?present a good piece of her mind. She told them in no uncertain terms?what she thought of Dutch officials who carried out German orders?and locked up little boys, a category to which in her eyes I still?belonged.

【在這個(gè)下午，我的姑媽來看我。她淚流滿面。最使她震驚的是，按照規(guī)定，他們把我的領(lǐng)帶拿走了。她給我拿來了櫻桃和一套換洗的衣服，并利用這個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)把警察們痛罵了一頓。她毫不含糊地告訴他們，她對(duì)那些執(zhí)行德國命令、把小男孩關(guān)起來的荷蘭官員的看法，在她眼里，我仍然是一個(gè)小男孩?！?/span>

? ? ?I spent the night in a police cell and the next morning was taken by?two Dutch detectives by train to Schoorl, a small village on the coast,?north of Amsterdam. At the station a sergeant of the German Security?police was waiting for us and took us in a police van to the nearby?camp. There my passport was taken away from me, my small bag?searched and my name registered in the books. I was then taken to a?hut, already crowded with young Frenchmen and Englishmen, and?assigned a bunk.

【我在警察的牢房里度過了一夜，第二天早上，兩個(gè)荷蘭偵探乘火車把我送到了斯庫爾，這是阿姆斯特丹北部海岸上的一個(gè)小村莊。在車站，一名德國安全警察的警官正等著我們，并把我們用一輛警車帶到附近的營地。在那里，我的護(hù)照被沒收了，我的小包被搜查了，我的名字也登記在了登記簿上。然后，我被帶到一間已經(jīng)擠滿了年輕的法國人和英國人的小屋，給我安排了一個(gè)鋪位?！?/span>

? ? ?Though I soon became accustomed to my new circumstances, I felt?at first quite apprehensive. The worst excesses had not yet taken?place, but sufficient was known about German concentration camps to?chill the heart of anyone who entered their gates as an inmate. The?fact that this particular camp was guarded by Waffen SS, with the?skull and crossbones on their caps, did nothing to reassure me. As it turned?out life in the camp was not as bad as I had expected. All the?inmates were French or British subjects. Those under twenty were?put in a separate hut under a young and aggressively fit SS sergeant?who made us do everything at the double. Much of the day was taken up?by roll calls, scrubbing our hut, keeping the compound clean and?peeling potatoes. The food was adequate. We were civilian internees?and the Germans were well aware that thousands of their own nationals?were interned by the British authorities in all parts of the?world so they observed the rules of international law.

【雖然我很快就適應(yīng)了我的新環(huán)境，但起初我還是感到相當(dāng)不安。最嚴(yán)重的暴行還沒有發(fā)生，但德國集中營的情況已經(jīng)足夠讓任何進(jìn)入集中營的人感到心寒了。這個(gè)營地是由武裝黨衛(wèi)軍守衛(wèi)的，他們的帽子上有骷髏頭和交叉的骨頭，這讓我很不安。事實(shí)證明，營地的生活并不像我想象的那么糟糕。所有的囚犯都是法國或英國的公民。二十歲以下的人被關(guān)在一個(gè)單獨(dú)的小屋里，由一個(gè)年輕而強(qiáng)壯的黨衛(wèi)軍中士指揮，他讓我們做任何事都要加倍。一天的大部分時(shí)間都在點(diǎn)名、擦洗小屋、保持院子清潔和削土豆皮。食物是足夠的。我們是被拘留的平民，德國人很清楚，成千上萬的本國公民在世界各地被當(dāng)局關(guān)押，所以他們不得不遵守國際法的規(guī)則?！?/span>

? ? ?I had been in the camp about two weeks when the news came of the?fall of France. Naturally this had a most depressing effect, though?most of us, even among the French, felt that this was by no means the?end and that Britain would go on fighting. The Germans, on the other?hand, were convinced that all was over bar the shouting. In a few?weeks, they boasted, they would land in England and quickly bring?the war to a victorious end.

【當(dāng)法國陷落的消息傳來時(shí)，我在集中營呆了大約兩個(gè)星期。自然，這產(chǎn)生了一種令人沮喪的影響，盡管我們大多數(shù)人，甚至是法國人，都認(rèn)為這絕不是結(jié)束，英國還會(huì)繼續(xù)戰(zhàn)斗。而另一方面，德國人確信一切都結(jié)束了，不停大喊大叫。他們吹噓說，在幾周內(nèi)，他們就能登陸英國，很快就能取得戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的勝利?！?/span>

? ? ?One evening in the fourth week of my internment, immediately?after dinner, the sergeant called everyone in the youth hut out and?lined us up in the courtyard. He then ordered those who were under?eighteen years of age to take a step forward. About five of us,?including myself, did so. He told us that as we were not yet of military?age and the war was nearly over, it had been decided to release us. We?could return home the next morning.

【在我被關(guān)押的第四周的一個(gè)晚上，一吃完晚飯，中士就把青年宿舍里的所有人都叫出來，讓我們?cè)谠鹤永锱抨?duì)。然后他命令那些不滿18歲的人向前邁一步。包括我在內(nèi)，我們大約有五個(gè)人這樣做了。他告訴我們，由于我們還沒有到服兵役的年齡，戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)也快結(jié)束了，所以決定釋放我們。我們可以第二天早上回家?！?/span>

? ? ? I was by now accustomed to camp life and had begun to make good?friends among my fellow prisoners. Though thrilled at the unexpected?prospect of freedom and of seeing my family again, I felt sad to leave my?new friends behind to an uncertain fate. Much later I heard that a week?or so after my release all French subjects had been set free. The?British were kept. They stayed in the camp till the beginning of the?winter when the Germans, realising no doubt that the war would not?be over as soon as they had expected, moved them to another camp in?Eastern Silesia where they remained until they were liberated by?Russian troops in the spring of 1945.

【到現(xiàn)在為止，我已經(jīng)習(xí)慣了營地的生活，并開始和其他囚犯交起了好朋友。雖然我為這意想不到的自由前景和再次見到家人而激動(dòng)不已，但要離開我的新朋友去面對(duì)一個(gè)不確定的命運(yùn)，我感到難過。很久以后，我聽說在我被釋放一周左右后，所有的法國人都被釋放了。英國人被留了下來。他們被關(guān)押到了冬季的開始,當(dāng)?shù)聡艘庾R(shí)到這場(chǎng)戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)會(huì)變得持久,他們被移動(dòng)到在西里西亞東部的集中營,這些英國人直到1945年春天被蘇聯(lián)軍隊(duì)解放。】

? ? ?The family was sitting in the garden drinking tea when quite out of?the blue I walked in. I got a hero's welcome though I had done?nothing heroic. Many neighbours and friends called to hear my?experience which I had to tell over and over again. In those early days of?the war, it was still something new among the Dutch to have been?arrested by the Germans. Not much time would pass before it became?a common?occurrence and the tales -of those who survived and?returned differed tragically from mine.

【一家人正坐在花園里喝茶，我突然不聲不響地走了進(jìn)來。我受到了英雄般的歡迎，盡管我并沒有做什么英雄的事。許多鄰居和朋友打電話來聽我的經(jīng)歷，我不得不一遍又一遍地講述。在戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)初期，被德國人逮捕對(duì)荷蘭人來說還是件新鮮事。沒過多久，這件事就成了家常便飯，而那些幸存下來并回來的人的故事，則比我經(jīng)歷的要悲劇得多?！?/span>

? ? ?The summer passed and the Germans were clearly making no?headway with their invasion of England. The Battle of Britain had?been fought and the RAF emerged victorious. Rumours were?circulating in Holland that the Germans had concentrated large?numbers of ships and landing craft in the estuary of the Scheldt. It?was even said that an invasion attempt had actually been made, but?that it had been foiled at sea by a wall of fire. Whatever the truth of all?this was, one thing was certain: the Germans would not be able to land?in England that autumn. On the BBC, to which it was forbidden?to listen, we heard the stirring speeches of Churchill. These gave us hope?and strengthened our resolution to resist.

【夏天過去了，德國人對(duì)英國的入侵顯然毫無進(jìn)展。英國戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)已經(jīng)打響，英國皇家空軍取得了勝利。在荷蘭流傳著這樣的謠言:德國人在斯海爾特河口集結(jié)了大量的船只和登陸艇。甚至有人說，他們確實(shí)曾企圖入侵，但在海上被一道火墻挫敗了。不管這一切的真相是什么，有一件事是肯定的:那年秋天德國人將無法登陸英國。在禁止收聽的英國廣播公司上，我們聽到了丘吉爾激動(dòng)人心的演講。這些給了我們希望，增強(qiáng)了我們抵抗的決心。】

? ? ?There was thus every prospect that the war would not be over soon.?There was also every prospect that when I became eighteen in?November the Germans would intern me again. I was determined that?this should not happen and I was fully backed in this resolve by my?uncle. He had among his acquaintances a farmer who lived in a small?hamlet called Hummelo, some 20 miles from Zutphen in the depth of?the country. This man agreed to give me a small room in his house and?let me live with his family in return for a small payment. Another?friend of my uncle's, the burgomaster of the village where he lived,?provided me with a real Dutch identity card in a fictitious name. If?there were any enquiries about me from official quarters, he would?report me as missing. With these precautions, we felt I stood a good?chance of keeping out of the hands of the Germans who, anyway, were?unlikely to waste much effort to find me.

【因此，戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)很有可能不會(huì)很快結(jié)束。還有一種可能性是，當(dāng)我11月滿18歲時(shí)，德國人會(huì)再次把我當(dāng)人質(zhì)。我下定決心不讓這種事發(fā)生，我的叔叔也完全支持我的決心。在他的熟人中，有一個(gè)農(nóng)民住在一個(gè)叫哈梅羅的小村子里，離祖特芬大約20英里，是在鄉(xiāng)村深處。這個(gè)人同意在他的房子里給我一個(gè)小房間，讓我和他的家人住在一起，以換取一小筆報(bào)酬。我叔叔的另一個(gè)朋友，他住的那個(gè)村莊的市長，給了我一張用假名寫的真實(shí)的荷蘭人身份證。如果公務(wù)人員問起我，他會(huì)報(bào)告我失蹤。有了這些預(yù)防措施，我們覺得我很有可能不落入德國人之手，不管怎樣，他們不太可能浪費(fèi)太多精力來找我?！?/span>