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After the war ended in Holland, Maarten van Rossum discovered that the German soldier who killed his 17-year-old son Hans had been captured and was awaiting execution. The young soldier, Friedrich Weber, was 19, conscripted, terrified.
Maarten went to the prison. Guards expected revenge. Instead, Maarten asked to see the boy who killed Hans. He brought Friedrich clean clothes, cigarettes, food.
"My son was 17. You were 19. Both children sent to kill each other by old men who never fired a shot," Maarten told him.
Maarten testified at Friedrich's trial, spoke against his execution. Friedrich was released. He later said "Mr. van Rossum gave me back my soul when I thought it was gone forever."
Maarten built two coffins that year - one for Hans, buried with full honors, and one for his own grief, which he buried with the war.
Heartfelt WWII Stories
True accounts of courage, sacrifice, and the enduring human spirit during humanity's darkest hour
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The Father Who Built a Coffin for His Son's Killer
"Forgiveness stronger than hatred"