In This Hour

A Story of World War II and the Floods of 1953 “That’s a rather rough expression, brother Melse — ‘traitor.’ How could you call someone a traitor if he’s simply obeying the government? I would rather not hear such language from the mouth of an elder.” “I maintain that such work as building bunkers is treason against our land,” repeated David Melse. “The bunkers have a definite purpose: when armies come to liberate us from the power of the Germans, the bunkers are supposed to hold them back. Each bunker could help sink one of the naval vessels approaching our coast. And on those vessels are our friends — perhaps even our own soldiers. Reverend, you should think carefully what those bunkers represent.” Rev. Verhulst shook his head. “You people have completely the wrong idea about those bunkers. Do you really believe that Germany will one day sink to its knees before England? If you do, you’re completely mistaken, brother Melse. Germany will take control of all of Europe and will never let itself be overthrown. Germany is much too powerful to be defeated. Moreover, if you had listened carefully to last Sunday’s sermon, you would know full well how I think about these matters. The apostate covenant people spent seventy years in the grip of Babylon, and I’m sure that our time under foreign domination will not be any less.