Colourised PIECE of JAKE

28/05/2026

Mobilization 10 NOVEMBER 1939 | BELGIUM

Belgian Infantrymen of the First Regiment Carabiniers admire an
Imperia LA-7, a Belgian-made convertible.

During the Second World War, cars were no longer produced at the Imperia factory in Nessonvaux, in the province of Liège.

The Germans requisitioned the complex to use it as a repair workshop for army vehicles.

The carabiniers carry leave bags for personal supplies,
indicating that they are going on leave or returning from it.

Researched and handcoloured by Colourised PIECE of JAKE

( part 1) Photo: Amsab

21/05/2026

17 APRIL 1945 | BERGEN-BELSEN | GERMANY
This utterly emaciated man, no more than a living skeleton,
busy delousing the rags that pass for his clothing, is what the members of the No. 5 Army Film and Photographic Unit find when they drive into the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp on the Lüneburger Heide on April 15, 1945. They are not prepared for it; the liberation troops are advancing near Hanover and expected to find an abandoned army encampment.

At that time, nearly sixty thousand prisoners were still living in Bergen-Belsen, who were in roughly the same state as the extremely weakened man in the photo. Bodies lay everywhere, hundreds of them, some piled up in freshly dug mass graves.

Cameraman Mike Lewis captured it on film reels.
His footage is among the most gruesome ever shot. Lewis would later tell about it in a documentary. They were the most terrible moments of his life. He adds that he never wanted to see his own footage again.

Colourised Piece of Jake

Photo: IWM

07/05/2026

MAY 1945 | THE HAGUE | NETHERLANDS
Ready for the retreat, German Luftwaffe soldiers willingly allow themselves to be photographed by Menno Huizinga, who no longer needs to keep his camera hidden in a cheese crate. The defeated are still in good spirits; one even sticks out his tongue.

Their truck with trailer stands, fully loaded with stolen goods, on the Conradkade, along the Verversingskanaal, between the Groot Hertoginnelaan and the Houtrustbrug. But with all those bicycles, and the rest of their loot, they will not get very far. They will undoubtedly lose them on the way back to Germany at one of the strict Allied checkpoints.

Photographer Huizinga, born on Ameland, made a name for himself
before the war as a corporate and advertising photographer. During the war, he photographs openly for the Dutch Air Protection Association and secretly for the Intelligence Bureau of the Dutch
government in London. When he goes spying, his Leica disappears into the wooden cheese crate with a peephole.

As a ‘picture reporter of the occupation’, Huizinga extensively documents daily life between 1940 and 1945. After the liberation, he focuses primarily on photographing art and culture, and he dies as early as 1947, at the age of 39, in Amsterdam, of unknown cause.

Colourised PIECE of JAKE ( part IV)

Source: NIOD

14/03/2026

Our Liberation-event in my hometown! Please share the hell out of it!

In april 1945 staken Canadese troepen bij Wilp de IJssel over tijdens Operation Cannonshot, een cruciale militaire actie die leidde tot de bevrijding van Dev...

27/02/2026

Ze kwamen thuis, maar hun verhalen bleven achter. Tussen 1945 en 1962 werden ongeveer 280.000 Nederlandse militairen uitgezonden naar Nederlands-Indië, waarvan minimaal 12.000 Limburgers. Toch sprak de Nederlandse overheid niet over oorlog, maar over politionele acties. Ook bij terugkomst bleef het...

14/01/2026

A U.S. Army corporal medic pulls a wounded soldier through the deep snow in Luxembourg by using a sled-litter, Battle of the Bulge, January, 1945.

Colour by Jake / Colourised PIECE of JAKE

13/01/2026

JANUARY 8, 1943 | WOKING | GREAT BRITAIN
An imam leads the prayer at the funeral of Adipati Soejono, Dutch minister without portfolio (responsible for Dutch Overseas Territories) in the Gerbrandy war cabinet.

In the Islamic section of Woking Cemetery, southwest of London, a delegation of sailors from the Royal Netherlands Navy pays their last respects to the only Indonesian minister ever to serve in the Dutch government. Soejono, a decendant of a Javanese regent family, will go down in history as "the tragic minister," a moderate nationalist who tried in vain to convince his fellow ministers of the need to allow the Indonesian people to be "complete masters in their own house."

In 1940, Soejono, regent of Java, became a member of the Council of the Indies, the highest advisory body to the Governor-General, then Jonkheer Alidius Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer. After the surrender to Japan in March 1942, Soejono managed to escape to London via Australia, where he became the closest advisor to Minister of Colonies Huib van Mook.

He ushered the Javanese regent into the cabinet, hoping to gain Indonesian support for his political ideas regarding the post-war role of the Netherlands as a colonizer. Moreover, Van Mook believed that having an Indonesian minister in the cabinet would make a good impression on his ally, the United States, with his anti-colonial sentiments. After all, it would seem that the Dutch and Indonesians were equal when a non-white overseas compatriot like Soejono could pe*****te the very highest echelons of government. Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy is also pleased with his Indonesian minister, although the wartime prime minister has difficulty with his Muslim beliefs.

"Because Muslims," ​​the Reformed Gerbrandy once said, "are firewood for hell." But he also calls Soejono "an excellent man, wise and modest."

At his first cabinet meeting, on June 10, 1942, the Indonesian cabinet member is greeted with applause. Soejono expresses his expectation that he will be able to collaborate "fruitfully" with his colleagues.

He receives applause for this as well. But when the applause dies down, Soejono faces the bitter reality. The new minister repeatedly points out that the desire for independence is not only felt by a few radical politicians, but by large segments of the 'Indo' society and certainly also by the uneducated masses. But Gerbrandy dismisses Soejono's plea for Indonesian self-determination as "untimely."

The majority of the cabinet remains steadfast in its belief that Dutch authority in the Indies must be restored after the war, much to the frustration and sorrow of Soejono, who died suddenly of a heart attack on January 5, 1943. His loved ones would later testify that his failed cabinet mission caused him a fatal heartache.

What the tragic minister is spared is the knowledge that his son Irawan, a student in the Dutch resistance in , was shot dead at the age of 24 while trying to escape a raid.

Colour by

Source: Nationaal Archief

̈

24/12/2025

DECEMBER 1944 I SAN BENEDETTO I ITALY
Master Sergeant Laron E. Golden from Arkadelphia, Arkansas, Hq., 1st Armored Division, Fifth Army, shares his Christmas package with Italian children.

From food shortages to evening blackouts, it was far from Christmas as usual during WWII.

On the home front, Christmas luxuries became increasingly hard to come by. This was a time when even the necessities were scarce - by 1940, most foods were rationed. Although the tea and sugar ration was increased around Christmas time, families had to substitute ingredients in order to prepare festive meals.

The same was true for presents. During the Second World War, homemade gifts which embodied the ‘make do and mend’ spirit became popular. From 1941, presents couldn’t be wrapped in the traditional way, as the Ministry of Supply prohibited the sale of wrapping paper to conserve paper supplies. Unsurprisingly, there was a general move away from frivolous presents, like makeup and jewellery. Instead, people gave and received more practical items during wartime, reflective of the nation’s change in priorities. Soap was one of the most popular Christmas gifts as well as home-made gloves, loveletters, cake and candy.

Laron Eldon Golden was Honorably Discharged from service with the First Armored Division on October 21, 1945 with the rank of Colonel. He passed away on January 25, 1998 at the age of 77. He lies in rest at Carter Cemetery in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.

Colourised PIECE of JAKE

Photo by Hartman. 3131 Signal Services Corps

Caption: https://www.findmypast.co.uk/blog/discoveries/wwii-christmas and https://www.facebook.com/100064703681472/posts/-wwii-uncovered-christmas-1944-laron-e-golden-of-the-1st-armored-divisionmaster-/1296131152553662/

18/12/2025

DECEMBER 1944 | MALMEDY, BELGIUM
After the Malmedy Massacre on 17 December 1944, two Black soldiers carry off an American victim. That's what most Black soldiers were good for: recovering bodies and digging graves.

On December 17, when Adolf Hi**er launched his desperate offensive on the Western Front in the Belgian Ardennes, SS troops at Malmedy committed a massacre, mowing down a group of about a hundred American POWs with machine guns. Black soldiers were then ordered to carry the murdered soldiers to their graves.

In 1944, in an attempt to recruit Black soldiers, the American army released the propaganda film "The N e g r o Soldier."
In it, a Black reverend preaches patriotism and pretends that apartheid does not exist in the US. The reverend lists the achievements of Black people in sports and science for an America where equality prevails.

And continues: “The tree of liberty bore these fruits. It is a mighty tree deeply rooted in America. Everyone in the world admires that tree, except the N***s, fascists, and Japanese. But how surprised they will be when, besides white men, black, brown, and yellow men, every one of them a true American, land in Berlin and Tokyo.”

The US sent eleven million soldiers to WWII, and no fewer than 1.2 million of them were African-American. But the “N e g r o soldier” served in the second rank, where, with a few exceptions, he performed support duties.

Colourised PIECE of JAKE

Source: (Part III)

05/12/2025

1944, DECEMBER I WIJCHEN I THE NETHERLANDS

In Wijchen, on the 21 Baron D'osystraat, (Saint Nicholas) and a host of children hitched a ride with Canadians on a . In the background 'the Old Mill', dating from 1799 is clearly visible.

The folkloric 'Sinterklaas' on 5 December celebration suffered greatly under the occupation, but in 1944, Saint Nicholas was welcomed back to the liberated areas to bring presents for the Dutch children. However, the ports were still blockaded, and the usual arrival on a white horse and by steamboat was not an option. Alternative arrivals were organized, with making his appearance in or on a military vehicle, such as in .

The Eindhovensch Dagblad announced the arrival of Saint Nicholas as follows: "No matter how great the difficulties, I cannot refuse your invitation to come to to bring a nice surprise to the children of poor families, the children of the victims, the children of the evacuees, and children in hospitals and institutions."

Saint Nicholas also announced that he would probably arrive by plane. "It's short notice, but my help 'Piet' will make sure there's a Dakota." You can expect me, so tell all your friends!.’

Calls are placed in regional newspapers to search for old toys and donate them to families who can’t afford to buy presents. In Eindhoven, women from the St. Nicholas Committee are going door-to-door collecting money. The committee urges: ‘Not a penny for these brave collectors who are trying to enable us to help approximately six thousand of our poorest still have a Sinterklaas celebration. Guilders and more guilders. Dig deep from your wallet when they knock on your door.’

In the still-occupied provinces of North and South Holland, and Utrecht, children are also being remembered on December 5th. Bread coupons can be exchanged at the bakery and grocery for 'taai-taai': a 100-gram slice of tough, sticky treat for one ration of bread. This is an exception to the cookie ban imposed earlier in 1944.

Colourised PIECE of JAKE

Photo: Getty

FYI: Children always loved the character and appearance of 'Zwarte Piet' back in the day, in recent years most of the Netherlands fased out Pete's black face for obvious reasons. And still, 'Piet', who's face can be any colour of the rainbow nowadays, is the childrens' favorite character during the Sinterklaas celebrations.