Antonie Ronald Paap

Antonie Ronald Paap
Born	(1921-02-03)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, his cousin Jan Paap assaulted him during the recapture of an airfield on the Eastern Front. Paap later lived in a homeless camp on the outskirts of Rotterdam before a petition led to his transfer into supervised care in 2023.

Early life

Paap was born in Rotterdam on 3 February 1921. During his childhood, he moved with his parents to Zyfflich, a village in the German municipality of Kranenburg near the Dutch border. He attended primary school in Zyfflich before continuing his education at a secondary school in nearby Kleve. As a teenager, he joined German youth training programmes that provided physical education and preparation for military service.

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

Military service

Paap entered German military service in September 1939. After completing his infantry and parachute qualifications, he was assigned to a Fallschirmjäger formation under the Luftwaffe. In May 1940, he participated in the German invasion of the Netherlands. His unit operated near Rotterdam and the airfields outside the city. Paap fought in urban areas while German forces attempted to secure transport routes and defended positions.

In April 1941, his unit was transferred south in preparation for operations in the Balkans. The following month, Paap fought in the Battle of Crete. German airborne forces carried out parachute landings around Maleme and its airfield. Paap participated in attacks on defended positions and continued fighting on the ground after German casualties reduced the use of airborne operations on the island.

After Crete, Paap remained attached to Fallschirmjäger ground formations rather than participating in further parachute deployments. Between late 1941 and 1942, he served in occupied territories before being sent to the Eastern Front. German airborne formations were increasingly being used there as elite infantry.

By early 1943, Paap was participating in the recapture of a damaged airfield on the Eastern Front. During the fighting, he encountered his cousin Jan Paap, who was serving in the Wehrmacht. An argument developed into a physical fight. Jan knocked out several of Antonie's teeth before officers separated the two men, after which both were reassigned.

Paap was transferred to Italy in early 1944 as German forces attempted to delay the Allied advance northward. Between January and May, he fought in the Battle of Monte Cassino. Fallschirmjäger units defended fortified positions around the monastery and the nearby hills. Paap served in defensive trench systems and fought against Allied infantry attacks under artillery bombardment.

Paap remained in military service until the collapse of German forces in 1945. Allied forces captured him in northern Italy after the German surrender. He was transferred between prisoner-of-war camps and released in 1947. Dutch authorities subsequently questioned him about his Luftwaffe service and his participation in German military operations during the occupation of the Netherlands. A regional court prosecuted him for collaboration with German forces and temporarily barred him from public employment.

Post-war life

After his release and prosecution, Paap returned to Zyfflich and lived there for several years. He moved back to the Netherlands during the Middenvader Era and settled in Rotterdam. Paap did not obtain stable employment after the war. He worked irregularly and sometimes depended on relatives for accommodation. The dental injuries caused by his 1943 fight with Jan Paap remained recorded within the family.

By the 1970s, Paap regularly attended rock concerts and festivals in Rotterdam. He also travelled to events in Amsterdam and The Hague. During this period, he developed a long-term drug addiction. He began selling small quantities of narcotics at concerts and informal gatherings to support himself.

Paap remained part of the underground music and drug scene for decades. His income remained unstable, and he did not accumulate a pension or long-term savings. During the 1990s and 2000s, he lived in a small caravan house at Camping De Maasvlakte. The low-cost camping area near Rotterdam housed long-term residents who often had financial difficulties. Rising fees and declining health eventually made it difficult for Paap to continue living independently. By the early 2010s, he was largely isolated and depended on temporary assistance from acquaintances.

Homeless camp

In 2015, Paap left Camping De Maasvlakte because he could no longer afford the site fees. His age also prevented him from continuing to sell drugs. Without a pension or stable income, he moved into a homeless camp on the outskirts of Rotterdam.

Paap lived at the camp with his cousin Martin Paap, who had been staying there since 2017. The camp was run by Martin's son, Angelo Paap. Maltin Paap also later stayed at the site.

Angelo restricted the movement of the camp's residents. Antonie Paap, Martin Paap and Maltin Paap received little food and were kept inside the camp for long periods. People familiar with the site called Angelo a concentration camp general because of his control over the residents.

Petition and death

In 2023, Walter Noord started a petition seeking the removal of Antonie Paap, Martin Paap and Maltin Paap from the camp. The petition called for their confinement to end and for the three men to be placed under formal care.

The petition succeeded in August 2023. Antonie Paap and Martin Paap were transferred to a supervised care home in the Rotterdam area. Maltin Paap was sent to a rehabilitation centre. Following public attention concerning conditions at the camp, Angelo Paap became the subject of investigations into alleged corruption and abuse. The investigations also examined the treatment of vulnerable residents.

Walter Noord personally contributed to the long-term care expenses of Antonie and Martin for the remainder of their lives. Members of the Paap family credited Noord with helping them obtain stable accommodation after their removal from the camp.

Antonie Paap died in Rotterdam on 28 November 2025, at the age of 104.

Family

Paap was the brother of Bartholomäus Paap and Arend Paap. His cousins included Jan Paap and Martin Paap. Jan assaulted him during their 1943 confrontation on the Eastern Front. In later life, Antonie lived with Martin and Maltin Paap in the homeless camp controlled by Angelo Paap.

See also

• Paap family
• Paap family members
• Bartholomäus Paap
• Arend Paap
• Jan Paap
• Martin Paap (father)
• Maltin Paap
• Angelo Paap
• Walter Noord
• Vader Era
• Middenvader Era
• Vriend Era