Local accounts say Henk came under German suspicion because of objects associated with the aircraft, including a parachute and rubber dinghy. The accounts differ about whether he was detained during a return to the wreck or after a search uncovered material. The 1970 retrospective places his arrest on 13 February 1945; other records and interpretations need comparison before the precise sequence can be stated as definitive. [4,5,22; October 2026 update] The local narrative says Gerrit went to the German authorities after being told he could collect his son, despite knowing he himself was wanted, and was arrested. This is an important family story, but it rests chiefly on later accounts. A 1954 war-grave questionnaire independently supports his arrest at Elburg and detention at De Kruisberg, without establishing the precise dialogue or motive. The LO history records arrest on 13 February on suspicion of pilot assistance. [6,7,22,46] Later biographies place Gerrit first at the Koning Willem III barracks in Apeldoorn and then at De Kruisberg prison in Doetinchem. The surviving 1954 administrative record confirms De Kruisberg but does not give his cell, exact arrival date or complete transport sequence. These are outstanding questions, not facts to reconstruct from assumption. [7,19,22,46]
Chapter 4 of 10
