Overview

For nearly a decade, Erik van Loon has championed the visibility of women's stories through the annual Women's Day Rotterdam Award and his advocacy in national media. Whether naming the Rotterdam Swim Trophy after Marie Mastenbroek or dedicating the 2026 Four Days In May commemoration to ""Women in War,"" his mission has remained the same: to ensure these voices are heard. To coincide with his third international Four Days In May commemoration on 11 till 14 May 2026 -spanning London, Hawkinge, Dover, Dunkirk, Antwerp, and Rotterdam- he decided to write forty letters to women in war, retelling the story of World War II through their eyes. The creation of his book was a journey that spanned nearly a hundred days. He delved into history to find forgotten women whose lives he has carefully reconstructed in forty personal, often painfully heartfelt letters. To write them, he traveled to the very places where these women once lived, spoke with their relatives, and consulted archives, academic papers, and countless books. His goal was to capture the many facets of the war through their lived experiences. These letters speak of both horror and resilience, transforming distant history into short intimate stories that honor the profound courage many of these women carried. Letters. B. Josephine Baker, singer and dancer - Saint Louis, US Peggy Banham, shoe maker - Rushden, UK Marianne Baum, resistance leader - Strassbourg, DE/FR Frieda Belinfante, composer - Amsterdam, NL Gilberte Borgers, widowed mother - Lokeren, BE Lise Borsum, socialite - Oslo, NO C. Carla Capponi, secretary - Rome, IT Yvonne Cerneau, receptionist- Maisons-Laffitte, FR Augusta Chiwy, nurse - Mubavu, CD D. Marie Dolezalová, schoolgirl - Lidice, CZ Maria-Louise Deckers, nun - Tongeren, BE E. Elisabeth Eidenbenz, teacher - Wila, CH Mollie Evershed, nurse - Sussex, UK Marie Jospehine Evrard, nun - Aywaille, BE F. Dorothy Anyta Field, nurse - Lower Kingwood, UK Denise Flouquet, high school student - Malo-les-Bains, FR G. Georgia, mother - Distomo, GR Berendina Grolleman, housewife - Hasselt, NL H. Kitty van der Have, youngster - Rotterdam, NL Maria van Hoeck, cleaner - Antwerp, BE Claire Hollingworth, war correspondent - Knighton, UK I. Noor Inayat Khan, musician and illustrator - Moscow, RU J. Lin Jaldati, singer and dancer - Amsterdam, NL Andrée de Jongh, nurse - Schaarbeek, BE M. Louise Magadur, hairdresser and shop owner - Pont-Croix, FR Lee Miller, model and photographer - Poughkeepsie, US N. Ellen Nielsen, fishmonger - Kopenhagen, DK P. Dina Pronicheva, puppet player - Chernikov, UA R. Élise Rivet, nun - Draria, DZ Rosie de Riveter, worker - Pittsburgh, US Marguerite Rouffanche, grandma - Oradour-sur-Glane, FR S. Maria Mathilde Hubertina Scheen, nun - Roermond, NL Sophie Scholl, student - Forchtenberg, DE Faye Schulman, photographer - Lenin, PL/BY Irena Sendlerowa, social worker - Warsaw, PL Simone Sequin, farm girl - Thivars, FR Joukje Smits, teacher - Rotterdam, NL Settela Steinbach, child - Buchten, NL T. Gillian Tanner, youngster - Cirencester UK V. Rose Valland, art historian - Saint-Étienne-de-Saint-Geoirs, FR Rosalie Maria Vandroogenbroeck, nun - Lennik, BE Simone Veil, school girl - Nice, FR W. Orli Wald, organiser and courier - Bourell, FR X. Qian Xiuling, scientist - Yixing, CN

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