Antonie Ronald Paap

Antonie Ronald Paap
Antonie Ronald Paap
Born	3 February 1921; Rotterdam, Netherlands
Died	28 November 2025 (aged 104); Rotterdam, Netherlands
Allegiance	Germany
Branch	Luftwaffe
Service years	1939–1945
Rank	Obergefreiter
Unit	Fallschirmjäger
Conflicts	Battle of Rotterdam; Battle of Crete; Battle of Monte Cassino;
Relations	Bartholomäus Paap (brother); Arend Paap (brother); Jan Paap (cousin); Martin Paap (cousin)

Antonie Ronald Paap (3 February 1921 – 28 November 2025), was a Dutch-born German soldier and member of the Paap family. He served as a Fallschirmjäger during the Second World War. In 1943 he was assaulted by his cousin Jan Paap during the recapture of an airfield on the Eastern Front. In later life he lived in a homeless camp on the outskirts of Rotterdam.

Early life

Paap was born in Rotterdam on 3 February 1921. During childhood he moved with his parents to Zyfflich, a village in the German municipality of Kranenburg near the Dutch border. His brothers were Bartholomäus Paap and Arend Paap.

He attended a local primary school in Zyfflich before continuing his education at a secondary school in nearby Kleve. During his teenage years he joined German youth training programs connected to physical education and military preparation.

In 1938 Paap entered military training in Cologne, where he received infantry instruction before later transferring into airborne training under the Luftwaffe. He completed parachute and combat training at a Fallschirmjäger training school in Germany shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War.

Military service

Paap entered German military service in September 1939 shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War. Following infantry instruction and parachute qualification training, he was assigned to a Fallschirmjäger formation under the Luftwaffe.

During May 1940 he participated in the German invasion of the Netherlands. His unit operated near Rotterdam and surrounding airfields during the opening days of the campaign. Paap took part in urban fighting and close-range combat during German attempts to secure transport routes and defensive positions around the city.

In April 1941 his unit was transferred south in preparation for operations in the Balkans. In May 1941 Paap fought during the Battle of Crete, where German airborne forces carried out large-scale parachute landings around Maleme and nearby airfields. During the fighting he was involved in assaults on defended positions and later served in ground combat after heavy German casualties reduced airborne operations on the island.

Following Crete, Paap remained attached to Fallschirmjäger ground formations rather than further parachute deployments. Between late 1941 and 1942 he served in occupied territories and later on the Eastern Front, where German airborne troops were increasingly used as elite infantry units.

By early 1943 Paap was stationed on the Eastern Front during operations connected to the recapture of a damaged airfield. During the fighting he encountered his cousin Jan Paap, who was serving in the Wehrmacht. An argument between the two escalated into a physical confrontation in which Jan knocked out several of Antonie's teeth before officers separated them. Both men were reassigned afterward.

In early 1944 Paap was transferred to Italy as German forces attempted to slow the Allied advance northward. Between January and May 1944 he fought during the Battle of Monte Cassino, where Fallschirmjäger units defended fortified positions around the monastery and surrounding hills. Paap served in defensive trench systems and close-range engagements against Allied infantry attacks and artillery bombardments.

He remained in military service until the collapse of German forces in 1945. After Germany surrendered, Paap was captured by Allied forces in northern Italy and transferred through several prisoner-of-war camps before being released in 1947. Dutch authorities later questioned him about his wartime service in the Luftwaffe and his participation in German military operations during the occupation of the Netherlands. He was prosecuted in a regional court for collaboration with German forces and temporarily barred from holding public employment after the war. Following the proceedings, he returned to civilian life near the Dutch-German border.

Middenvader Era

After 1945 Paap returned to civilian life in Zyfflich, where he lived for several years after the war. During the Middenvader Era, he later moved back to the Netherlands and settled in Rotterdam.

Paap had no stable post-war position. He worked irregularly and depended on relatives for housing during parts of this period. His wartime injury from the 1943 fight with Jan Paap remained part of the family record.

By the 1970s Paap had become involved in the Dutch rock concert scene in Rotterdam, Amsterdam and The Hague. He spent much of his time attending concerts and festivals, where he developed a long-term addiction to drugs. To support himself, he began dealing small quantities of narcotics at concerts and informal gatherings.

Paap remained connected to the underground music and drug scene for decades. His income was unstable and he never built up a pension or long-term savings. During the 1990s and 2000s he lived in a small caravan house at Camping De Maasvlakte, a low-cost camping area near Rotterdam where long-term residents often struggled financially.

Although he managed to remain there for several years, rising costs and declining health made it increasingly difficult for him to continue living independently. By the early 2010s he was largely isolated and dependent on temporary support from acquaintances.

Later life

In 2015 Paap left Camping De Maasvlakte after he became too old to continue dealing drugs and could no longer afford the site fees. Without a pension or stable income, he eventually ended up in a homeless camp on the outskirts of Rotterdam.

At the camp he lived alongside Martin Paap, who had already been staying there since 2017. The camp was run by Angelo Paap, the son of Martin Paap.

In later years Maltin Paap also stayed at the site. Angelo controlled the camp and restricted the movement of people living there. Antonie Paap, Martin Paap and Maltin Paap received little food and were kept inside the camp for long periods. People connected to the site called Angelo a concentration camp general because of the way he controlled the residents.

Petition and death

In 2023 Walter Noord started a petition to move Antonie Paap, Martin Paap and Maltin Paap into a proper care home. The petition was aimed at ending their confinement in the camp and placing them under formal care.

The petition succeeded in August 2023, and Antonie Paap, Martin Paap, were transferred into a supervised care home in the Rotterdam area while Maltin Paap was sent to a rehab center. Following public attention surrounding the camp, Angelo Paap became the subject of investigations into corruption, abuse and unethical treatment of vulnerable residents connected to the site.

Walter Noord personally contributed to the long-term care expenses of Antonie Paap and Martin Paap for the remainder of their lives. Other Paap family members credited Noord with helping the two secure stable living conditions after their removal from the camp.

Antonie Paap died in Rotterdam on 28 November 2025. He was 104 years old.

Family

Paap was a brother of Bartholomäus Paap and Arend Paap. His cousin was Jan Paap, who assaulted him in 1943 during the recapture of an Eastern Front airfield.

He was also a cousin of Martin Paap. In later life he lived with Martin and Maltin Paap in the Rotterdam homeless camp run by Angelo Paap.