Growing Up In Nazi-Occupied Belgium | Memoirs Of WWII #9 

Years back I stayed in a french guest house run by an old lady originally from Brussels. I commented on her good English , she looked me straight in the eye and said she'd secretly learnt it during the occupation as she new the British would rescue them one day. She wanted to say thank you in their own language and even today the Dutch , belgians and danes hold the allies in high regard for this reason .

im crying after each and every episode. and im a grown ass man.

what this channel is doing is incredibly important

I cant imagine just how wholesome it was for those GIs to see this little girl trying so hard to help them.

"As young as we were, we knew they were the enemy". Thats awful, that a child can understand that sad reality.

Honestly, this episode might be one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen. She has the pictures of the men who liberated her, the letters in her notebook and the stories. Then to hear that some of them died in the upcoming battles... this was a sad one but a happy one.

I just found a letter from my father to my mother from Belgium in 1945. Incredible.

I was just in Belgium and it, and it’s people, are just lovely as can be. Our time there was too short, but we’ve so much to see. We’ve been through France, Belgium and Luxembourg so far on a Beyond Band of Brothers tour and it has been a life changing experience. Don’t let the fear of not speaking French stop you from making a trip like this. You will be treated with great kindness and patience. Use the google translator in the rare times there aren’t English speaking people in shops or restaurants. Make the trip if your are from the USA. The people here are truly beautiful and thankful that the USA exists.

I'm from Belgium. My parents were 13 when our country was invaded. They evacuated to France in May 1940, and came back a few months after. They grew up under German occupation. My mother and grandmother were particularly afraid, because my grandfather had left for England to join the Belgian army there. In early September 1944 they were liberated. And my grandfather returned. My father joined the Belgian army on his 18th birthday, the 30th of April 1945... In spite of V-E day he was sent to Northern Ireland for training (he became an ATk gunner - 6 pounder). They were training to go to the Pacific, but then war ended before he completed training. My father passed away 12 years ago, but my mother is still alive, and shares her wartime memories with me.

What you guys are doing, telling their stories, is absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much, it’s really opened my eyes and my heart. I cry at every video you guys put out and it just makes me so grateful for the people who fought and died for our freedom. ❤️

"Nobody was fat in those days, I tell you.) Lol.

I’ve shown my daughters this interview. I think it’s important they understand what happened, how it happened & how they must show kindness to everyone they meet in life. Their own Grandfather helped in liberation of Belgium & I think now they understand their past. Thank you

Thank you to the most gracious lady in Belgium for sharing your story and your kindness with our soldiers!

There was a perfect veteran for this channel, he was a pilot in the air cav in WWII, heavily decorated..Raymond Vasquez ofRancho Cucamonga out of 5 friends he was the only to come home..hes passed on now but i know he would have gave a hell of a story.

This is one of my favorites, she's so real. Every single American should watch these, people take so much for granted these days. Those men fought so the whole world could sleep at night.

1:07 that woman waving to her children then proceed to cry is very touching and sad. Hopefully they got reunited...

Absolutely beautiful work. I cannot express enough how much these videos have meant to me. 38 year old man with tears in his eyes at the computer. My Grandfather was a Bristol Beaufighter pilot during ww2 and never spoke about his experiences as they were too traumatic for him to recall. My father told me last week that his memoirs are to be published soon in an aviator magazine. Couldn't be more proud. Keep up the fantastic work my friend.Paul

I wish I'd seen this channel before, my father survived the hunger winter in Holland and I'm sure he would have been more than happy to tell his story on this channel as he told it to me and my sister, sadly he passed away a year ago but I still cherish those stories as a reminder of how bad it was and how he survived because of the brave airmen that did the fooddrops over The Netherlands during the war. Every year I pay my respects to those fallen in the line of duty to liberate Europe, I'll never forget what they did for my family so my father could live to reach the respectable age of 81.

My grandfather is a WWII Veteran. For 3weeks my grandfather was in the hospital due to complications with his gallbladder. And these videos always kept reminding me of what he has done during WWII. This past Monday we finally brought him home. And I’m glad I’m able to get more stories from him before his time comes. I’m am grateful to be in his presence and to have him for 28 years of my life. And I feel like it’s my job to pass on his legacy to my daughter, nephew’s, and nieces so they can know the great man there great grandfather is, and the sacrifices he made.

I’m 36 years old, I’ve two daughters. I’ve tears running down my face watching this. I can only but imagine thank goodness what they must gone through. Unimaginable worry, fear, 5 years old. So much innocence. God bless.

I am from Belgium. Thank you so much for making these video's. To all the people saying my generation (born 1995) does not know and respect what those soldiers have been trough. You are wrong.

This is still America. It's that spirit that steps up to face challenges, at home and abroad. What an excellent video

Thank you. I'm afraid that there's a new generation that doesn't have clue what was given for their freedoms.

This chanel needs more attention

Yet another awesome installment in an awesome series. Thank you so much Josh!

Strangely enough, Its often in the hardest of time you find the sincerest and rarest of human kindness. Beautiful stories.

They dont teach WWII history any more in most schools in the U.K. and I think this is a travosty and MAJOR discrace and dishonour to the veterans that survivrd and who gave the ULTIMATE sacrifice......

This is one of the few channels that I constantly check for uploads. These videos are so moving and fantastically emotional. Keep up the amazing work!

What a great story, makes me proud to be an American. Love the end, you can tell how much those guys meant to her and all the people of Belgium. Definitely want to visit the country and go to that cemetery.

A nother great story! And as a Europian this kind of story's always brings tears to my eyes knowing i am in my early 30's and those brave young man in there 20's or not even 20 never made it to there 30's. For my grandparents freedom. Nothing but respect.

This story brought tears to my eyes. In the face of evil and tragedy I think it’s a beautiful thing when complete strangers come together and share their own sense of friendship and family with one another. Keep sharing the stories the world needs to know The value of a kind and caring heart

Wow, wonderful story. Nelly had love and gratitude in her young heart, and so did her Family.

i'm only 16 and i know how my generation is forgetting the truth. i will continue to speak these survivors words and make sure that it is never forgotten

Just about every single one of these videos bring tears to my eyes, but this one got to me especially hard. When she talked about asking her mom and then seeing the picture of her with the G.I. at the end.😭

Sir, as a 15 year old collector of ww2 artifacts. I must thankyou for the incredible job you are doing. Every video and every story you share with me i get chills down my spine and tears in my eyes. The past needs to be remembered, not forgotten

I live in Florence oregon one of the highest population of elders in the state and I have always loved what you are trying to do, if you are interested I can go ask around for survivors of wwii and see if they are willing to share their story. They will all be gone before we know it and I'm proud other people like me want to keep them alive, even if it means through story. If you can email me I'd love to hear your ideas on the subject

Brought tears to my eyes. God bless you for Chronicling this wonderful story.

I cry every time I watch these amazing videos. I hate I didn’t know more about my grandfathers war struggles. The things I complain about are so embarrassing compared to these survivors. I am so lucky and blessed, we all are.

i had to hold my tears at the end of the video.....We will never forget what they did for our country, biggest respect from us for there service and sacrifices. A 39 year old Belgian living in freedom cause of them thx

I am brazilian girl and i love hear about this kind of historys. Thank you for your work, is so important for all of us meet them and realized the important they are, really thank you !!

The fact that she can still pull out positive memories from such dark times is comforting to me

Thanks for the upload

Excellent interview

thank you so much for these videos!

Very very good video mate! You did it so well. Good job

Fantastic video and channel..

I love these videos and they never cease to make me cry!! Today's kids have NO IDEA what these people and our soldiers went through.. so sad.

Great videos. great work. Thank you.

my great grandpa was in the 5th armored in WW2 in france to germany, his dad"s home country

AMAZING channel !

So very touching. I love your channel

Really love what you guys are doing!!

That was a really great video! It's nice to see the war through this lens

Thanks for this great series !

This was amazing. All your work is amazing. Thank you!

This one had me crying all the way through it. Incredible humans are everywhere

Awesome job, Josh

This is an outstanding channel, had to subscribe. Thank you for bringing this history to our homes.✌️

You guy's are amazing, Thank you josh for what you're doing. I subscribed immediately while watching the my first video today since then I have watched about 7 more and everyone touches me I have never teared up while watching like I have while watching on every one of your videos, I'm truly thankful for what you guys are doing and it's incredible. I have always wanted to hear these stories from our veterans and I have always believed that these stories should be persevered for future generations to learn from. Keep up the amazing work guys and I'll definitely be supporting anyway I can I wish I could work with you guys and get to meet some of these amazing heroes. God bless our Veteran's our Patriots and from the bottom of my heart Thank you for your Service. I wish I could have been there with you.

Your channel deserves so many more subs. These stories, and your work are incredible. Thank you.

Damn this was so amazing and well put together , Absolutely beautiful!

Thank you for putting this together Josh. I also thank all veterans that serviced and are serving

Chills. Hell of a breakthrough i got here. Thanks for sharing it!

Josh, great job again! Hearing her story and perspective was interesting and admirable. Wow.... 😎

Wow. Tanks for sharing. I’m not crying ... 😥

My grandma (Oma) & Opa a survived German occupied Holland. My Oma turns 92 soon. She's still alive. There is an interview with them both before my Opa passed from years ago regarding their experience. It's pretty extraordinary. They never liked talking about it, but eventually a few stories here and there. She has 10 children, 35+ grandchildren , and many great grandchildren. She's amazing.

Thank you for ur dedication and hard work of finding these ppl. Great video none are boring

What you guys are doing here is great thank you more people need to know about what you are doing thank you for making this great series keep up the good work.

Thank you so much for making this video series. These stories should always be told and never go quiet

The beauty of this, is, vets can talk about it. Giving children chocolate. These pictures of this event, is so simple... that it brings tears to my eyes. My grandfather was not so keen on talking about it... I later found out why, the family that took HIM in, were later killed for their aide to him, he never forgave himself. My grandfather(my fathers step father) was quite abusive when he came home from war. But he was a God fearing man, and that part of him stayed until he died about 10 years ago. I loved him. He taught me how to tie my shoes, how to open a door for a lady. I love and miss him, from the bottom of my heart thank you for these stories.

Such a wonderful story. I love military history and will watch every single video. Thus should be a series on The History Channel. Great job!!

What you guys are doing is incredible. I've said it on an earlier video but this is the only RU-vid channel I subscribe to and the only one I ever will subscribe to.

That was just beautiful ... thanks for sharing. It really gets normal to me to cry in every video you put online. These stories are all so touching... insane Job again, keep doing it please. Love from germany and love to the lovliest woman in belgium ;)

This channel is amazing, truly amazing hearing these stories. They really were the greatest generation ever

It’s good a channel like this exist so we still have some memory of these hero’s in many years from now. Thank you for making this channel!

Great episode, i'm loving this channel

What excellent work you guys are doing Memoirs of WWII. Such pure and beautiful human emotion you show in these videos.

Dammit I cry almost every episode but this one hit me right in the feels. Thanks you!

Thank you so much for sharing stories. Tears running down my face. I love what you all have done.

Absolutely beautiful. Incredibly made. This moved me in the deepest way as few things do.

I can not believe what a good channel this is, this is just wonderfull for anybody who loves to hear about history! Already watched every video multiple times!

I love what y’all are doing keep it up

My personel highest respect for what you do!!! Thank you!

This one really got me. What a wonderful lady, to bad she and her family went through that.

That was very touching. I have many past relatives who served in WWII and most of them died in battle.

Thank you Josh! That was a heart warming story.

That was probably my favorite of your videos yet. Shows the heart behind the men that went overseas to fight evil.

Amazing channel! Thank you for taking the time to create a space where veterans can share important stories that should never be forgotten.

Thanks for posting this truly heartwarming video. I hope this channel does much to reawaken friendship between Belgians and Americans...and all our friends in Europe. So much was sacrificed by so many...we can't let the friendships fade.

Thank you for this video as it hits close to home. My mother was a little girl in Holland during WW II and she and her parents shared stories like this with me. All of the allied men and women who were involved in the ETO are heros to me. God bless each and everyone of them.

Just started watching and i am loving the stories

Not going to lie,I cried in this episode.This episode was the most heart touching of them all!

This is amazing. You have to make more of these! I know you are young but I went into journalism in college and what I wanted to do was do interviews with vets in 2001 before they are all gone. Thank you for doing this.

This channel is so amazing. It really makes me proud to have a grandfather who fought on the western front. I absolutely love these videos and how you guys are showing what these brave men did to ensure our freedom. The newer generation needs to take note of history and what was sacrificed for the world we have today. Thank you guys so much for making these incredible videos!

the notebook with the soldiers' notes is a treasure & a priceless remembrance. thank you for sharing this wonderful story

Thank you so much for what you are doing here. I can't say it enough. Wonderful work. God Bess.

Precious. Chokes me up. Thx

This is my favorite one so far! Before I knew it, tears. 😭 Such a valuable channel. These should be shown in schools.

What a wonderful lady. Brings tears to my eyes. Thank You for sharing this episode.

My favorite part of each and every month is your upload. Thank you so much for what you do!