Martinus Antonius Johannes Paap
Martinus Antonius Johannes Paap (8 November 1877 – 7 November 2000) was a German military officer and member of the Paap family who served in both world wars and reached the rank of Generalfeldmarschall in February 1945. He entered the Prussian Army at the age of 15 after falsely claiming to be 18. During the First World War, he fought on the Western Front and received the Pour le Mérite after temporarily taking command of a battalion during the Third Battle of the Aisne.
Martinus resigned from military service in 1919 because of his opposition to the post-war restrictions imposed on Germany. He returned in 1933 and later held divisional, corps and army commands during the Second World War. On the Eastern Front, his forces captured Tula and Kashira before advancing to the Vidnoye sector south of Moscow on 1 December 1941, making his command the German force led by a general that advanced closest to central Moscow. He later commanded German forces in Normandy and the Netherlands. In September 1944, he directed the German recapture of Arnhem during Operation Market Garden.
Martinus succeeded his father, Antonius Martin Paap, as Great Paap on 2 November 1940. He relinquished the title to Martin Paap I after his post-war conviction in 1948. After being released from imprisonment in 1954, he settled in Vriendendam and founded the Wehrmacht-Veteranenverein Vriendendam. He died there on 7 November 2000 at the age of 122.
Early life
Martinus was born in Kleve on 8 November 1877 to Antonius Martin Paap and Amalie Schroeter. His father was an architect and later became Great Paap.[1]
In 1893, Martinus enlisted in Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 56 at the age of 15. He falsely stated that he was 18. He adapted quickly to army service and progressed through the enlisted ranks.
His actual age was discovered after he had turned 18. Martinus was caught having sexual intercourse with a 34-year-old civilian Kantinenwirtin at the barracks, leading his commanding officers to examine his records and discover the false birth information used at his enlistment. He was allowed to remain in the regiment because of his service record.
Martinus was later selected for an officer commission. He became a Leutnant around 1906–1907 and had reached Oberleutnant by the beginning of the First World War.
Military career
Martinus served in the German Army from 1893 until 1919. After fourteen years outside military service, he returned in 1933. His second period of service continued until the German surrender in May 1945.
First World War
At the beginning of the First World War, Martinus served with Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 56 on the Western Front. He fought during the Battle of Liège and subsequently took part in the Battle of St. Quentin. His service during the opening campaign resulted in the award of the Iron Cross, 2nd Class.
On 15 September 1914, Martinus was involved in fighting at Berry-au-Bac. French artillery struck buildings near his detachment, and a collapse separated him from the remainder of his men. With his direct route back to the German position blocked, he moved through damaged buildings and encountered six French soldiers.
Martinus shot several of the soldiers at close range before the encounter developed into hand-to-hand fighting. During the final struggle, he lost his grip on his rifle and suffered a bayonet wound across his upper arm. He overpowered the final soldier and returned to German positions alone.
His officers initially doubted his account. German troops later searched the damaged buildings and found the six French soldiers in the area Martinus had described. The incident contributed to his receipt of the Iron Cross, 1st Class. His wound was later recognized by the award of the Wound Badge in Black.
Martinus subsequently fought during the First Battle of Ypres. In 1915, he remained on the Western Front and served in Champagne before taking part in the Second Battle of Ypres.
In 1916, Martinus fought at the Battle of Verdun. During operations around Mort-Homme, his company came under a French artillery bombardment that included gas shells. The company commander was killed during the bombardment. Martinus assumed command as an Oberleutnant and reorganized the remaining troops while the position was still under attack.
When French infantry subsequently attacked the damaged German line, Martinus directed its defence and organized a local counterattack. He was promoted to Hauptmann and received the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords for his conduct at Mort-Homme.
Martinus remained on the Western Front during 1917 and served during the Second Battle of the Aisne. In 1918, he took part in the German spring offensive. During the Third Battle of the Aisne, his battalion commander became a casualty and Martinus assumed temporary command.
He reorganized the battalion before leading it across the Aisne under fire. The battalion captured a fortified French position on the opposite bank and continued advancing. Martinus remained in temporary battalion command through the remainder of that phase of the offensive. He subsequently received the Pour le Mérite.
Resignation and return
Martinus left military service in 1919. He regarded the reduction of the German Army and the military restrictions imposed after the war as a disgrace. He declined to pursue a position in the reduced Reichswehr.
He remained outside the military until 1933. After the Nazi government came to power, Reichswehr Minister Werner von Blomberg sent Martinus a personal letter asking him to return to military service as the German Army began expanding. Martinus accepted and was recommissioned as a Major.
In 1935, Paul Hausser approached Martinus about joining the SS-Verfügungstruppe. Martinus rejected the offer and remained in the Army.
By March 1936, Martinus had reached the rank of Oberstleutnant. He commanded a battalion during the remilitarization of the Rhineland on 7 March. Martinus had opposed the Rhineland restrictions since leaving the Army in 1919 and pushed his battalion forward aggressively during the operation.
One of his company commanders, Bruno van Noord, argued that the advance should be slowed because of the possibility of a French military response. Martinus ordered him to continue. When Bruno refused, Martinus immediately relieved him of company command and reassigned him to a subordinate battalion staff position. Bruno retained the rank of Hauptmann and returned to company command later in 1936.
In March 1938, Martinus commanded I./Infanterie-Regiment 61 during the Anschluss. His battalion entered Austria through Tyrol. When part of the column became immobilized by road congestion, Martinus left his staff vehicle and went forward through the halted formation. He personally reorganized the movement until the road was cleared.
Martinus remained with I./Infanterie-Regiment 61 during the German occupation of the Sudetenland in October 1938. He was promoted to Oberst the following month.
Poland and France
Martinus served during the Invasion of Poland in September 1939. His performance during the campaign resulted in the award of the 1939 Clasp to his Iron Cross, 2nd Class.
From 30 September until 30 November 1939, Martinus temporarily commanded the 7. Infanterie-Division while the division was transferred from Poland to the Lower Rhine. He then remained on the Western Front during the winter of 1939–1940.
On 1 March 1940, Martinus was promoted to Generalmajor and appointed commander of the 31. Infanterie-Division. When the German offensive in the west began on 10 May, his division advanced through Belgium. Martinus returned to the area around Liège, where he had fought as a junior officer in 1914, before continuing with the division into France.
During fighting on the Aisne in June, the division's first attempt to establish a crossing failed under French resistance. Martinus went forward to the regimental command posts and changed the attack plan. He shifted the artillery support and concentrated the second crossing attempt at another point.
The renewed assault established a bridgehead. Martinus committed further infantry across the river and expanded the position, allowing the division to resume its advance. He received the Clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st Class during the campaign and was subsequently awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
After the French armistice, Martinus visited Julien van Noord in Paris. Julien had been his closest friend since the beginning of the century, and the two had maintained their friendship through visits and correspondence.[2]
Martinus remained in command of the 31st Division during occupation duty in France. He was promoted to Generalleutnant on 1 September 1940. Later that month, the division was transferred by rail to occupied Poland.
Soviet Union
Martinus commanded the 31. Infanterie-Division when Operation Barbarossa began on 22 June 1941. The division participated in the opening fighting connected to the Battle of Białystok–Minsk.
During a Soviet breakout attempt near the Zelvianka in late June, Martinus moved forward from divisional headquarters to a threatened regiment. He subsequently continued to a battalion command post close to the front. Soviet infantry penetrated far enough to threaten the headquarters itself.
When two Soviet soldiers reached the position, Martinus drew his service pistol and killed both of them. He returned to directing the divisional reserves after the immediate threat had been cleared. The Soviet penetration was subsequently contained.
During the Battle of Smolensk, a Soviet attack on 25 July broke through part of the sector held by Infanterie-Regiment 82 and reached the regiment's rear. Communications were disrupted, and part of the regiment temporarily lost contact with divisional headquarters.
Martinus rejected a broad withdrawal. He redirected divisional artillery against the penetration and moved reserves toward the threatened sector. Panzerjäger-Abteilung 31 was committed against Soviet armour. Martinus went forward to the headquarters of Infanterie-Regiment 82 and later moved to one of its battalion positions.
The regiment retained the positions it still held while the divisional reserve attacked the Soviet penetration from the side. By the end of the fighting, the breakthrough had been contained and contact between the regiment's battalions had been restored.
In August, the division established a defensive line southwest of Roslavl. During the Roslavl–Novozybkov offensive, Martinus concluded that the Soviet attacks opposite his sector had exhausted themselves. Around 10–12 September, he received authorization for a limited pursuit.
Martinus continued beyond the expected objective after the first Soviet positions collapsed. His division advanced approximately 40–50 kilometres beyond its previous line and established an exposed forward position west of Bryansk. Higher headquarters ordered him to halt the advance.
Martinus argued against abandoning the ground and received permission to hold the position until neighbouring formations caught up. The division defended the salient for approximately a week while artillery and antitank weapons were moved forward.
When Operation Typhoon began on 30 September, Martinus resumed the advance from the forward position. His division reached the Bolva ahead of its expected timetable and forced a crossing before a complete Soviet defensive line could be established.
Around 19–20 October, Martinus reached Belyov and began operations against the Oka. He ordered immediate reconnaissance of the river. Assault infantry crossed during the night using boats and improvised crossings, after which engineers improved the route across the river.
Martinus continued northeast toward Odoev. After receiving authorization for a limited exploitation of the bridgehead, he pushed through Odoev and reached the Krapivna sector around 23–24 October. His supply lines had become heavily extended by this point, and higher headquarters ordered him to stop. Martinus obeyed and used the pause to move artillery and supplies forward.
The advance resumed toward Tula. Between 25 and 28 October, the 31st Division fought toward the Upa and established a bridgehead across the river. By 29 October, Martinus had reached the western approaches to Tula.
The division attacked from the west and southwest when the main German assault on the city began on 30 October. Its infantry penetrated part of the Soviet defensive belt and reached the western built-up area. By 1 November, Martinus held a foothold inside the city.
Fighting continued during the first week of November. Martinus expanded the western penetration and directed additional troops through it while German pressure continued from the south. Soviet resistance inside Tula became increasingly fragmented. On **6 November 1941**, forces under Martinus captured the city.
After the capture of Tula, Martinus permitted Sonderkommando 7b to enter the city and did not interfere with its arrests and killings. His own command also implemented the Commissar Order against captured Soviet political commissars. These actions later formed part of the post-war proceedings against him.
Martinus resumed the advance on **8 November**, two days after Tula fell. The 31st Division advanced north through the southern approaches to Moscow. Despite losses and increasingly difficult supply conditions, it captured Kashira on **15 November**.
Following the capture of Kashira, additional German formations were coordinated with Martinus's advance. A senior command conference was held there on 17 November, after which the offensive resumed on 18 November.
Martinus advanced through Stupino before reaching Mikhnevo. Soviet resistance increased as his command approached Moscow. He continued north and captured Domodedovo on **29 November 1941**.
On 30 November and 1 December, Martinus formed a reinforced forward grouping from the least depleted elements of his command and continued toward the capital. His forces reached the Vidnoye sector on **1 December**. Martinus moved forward with the leading regimental headquarters. His command had advanced closer to central Moscow than that of any other German general during the campaign.
Martinus was promoted to General der Infanterie on **2 December 1941**. He was also given temporary control of an enlarged formation known as Gruppe Paap, built around the 31st Division and attached supporting units.
The Soviet counteroffensive began several days later. Martinus concluded that the forward position could not be held and began a phased withdrawal on 5–6 December. He used reinforced rearguards to keep the withdrawal routes open while the main formations moved south.
His forces withdrew through Domodedovo before falling back through Mikhnevo and Stupino. Martinus then evacuated Kashira and continued toward Tula. Despite severe winter conditions and continued Soviet attacks, most of his organized force escaped the exposed salient without being encircled.
Martinus received the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross in December 1941 for his advance toward Moscow and the subsequent withdrawal.
Corps and army command
On **20 January 1942**, Martinus left command of the 31. Infanterie-Division and became commanding general of the XXXXIII. Armeekorps. He inherited the corps during the continuing Soviet winter offensive.
Martinus directed a fighting withdrawal toward the Yukhnov and Spas-Demensk area. He abandoned positions that could no longer support one another and concentrated the corps around defensible transport routes. Local counterattacks were used to reopen roads when German formations were threatened with isolation.
By April 1942, Martinus had stabilized the corps front around Spas-Demensk.
On **15 July 1942**, he was appointed commander of the 2. Armee. He took command while fighting around Voronezh was still underway. Martinus completed the immediate operations there and then concentrated on establishing the army's positions along the Don.
During the following months, he kept part of the army out of the immediate front line as an operational reserve. He repeatedly used those forces against Soviet penetrations and opposed attempts to remove the last mobile reserve from his command.
In late October 1942, Martinus was targeted in a planned partisan assassination while travelling by staff car through the army rear. Two Soviet partisans opened fire on the vehicle and killed his driver. A bullet grazed Martinus during the attack.
Martinus left the vehicle and returned fire with his service pistol. He killed both attackers before additional German personnel arrived. His wound required treatment but did not remove him from command.
After Operation Uranus began in November, pressure increased to transfer remaining German reserves toward the crisis farther south. Martinus resisted the removal of his last mobile formations because he considered his own section of the Don front dangerously exposed.
His concerns became important during the Voronezh–Kastornoye offensive in January 1943. Soviet forces threatened to encircle large parts of 2. Armee. Martinus concluded that continued obedience to the existing stand-fast orders would trap much of his command.
He therefore began withdrawing exposed formations before a general retreat had been authorized. His retained reserves were used to hold open the principal withdrawal routes. Large amounts of equipment were lost, but a greater part of the army escaped the developing encirclement.
Martinus was relieved of command on **3 February 1943** because he had ordered the withdrawal without authorization. He was placed in the Führerreserve for several weeks.
Western Front
On **20 March 1943**, Martinus returned to active command as commander of the 15. Armee in France. The transfer removed him from the Eastern Front while retaining him at army level.
Martinus spent much of 1943 inspecting the defenses of the Pas-de-Calais and reorganizing the army's reserves. He resisted attempts to commit every available formation directly to the coast, believing that the army needed forces capable of responding after the location of an Allied landing became clear.
In December 1943, Martinus accompanied Erwin Rommel during an inspection of 15. Armee's coastal positions. The two agreed that the existing coastal defenses required improvement. Martinus implemented additional defensive works but continued to argue for retaining a mobile reserve behind the coast.
Martinus and Rommel developed a good working relationship despite differences over the exact deployment of reserves. Martinus was promoted to Generaloberst on **1 January 1944**.
During the first months of 1944, Martinus became increasingly convinced that the Allied invasion might take place in Normandy. He believed that the obvious geographical advantages of the Pas-de-Calais could themselves be used to keep German forces concentrated there while the main landing occurred farther west.
When the Normandy landings began on **6 June 1944**, Martinus quickly concluded that Normandy was the main invasion. He requested permission to transfer formations south and began preparing units near the southern boundary of his army for movement. The 346. Infanterie-Division began moving toward Normandy on 7 June.
On **28 June 1944**, following the death of Friedrich Dollmann, Martinus was transferred from 15. Armee and appointed commander of 7. Armee in Normandy.
During the first half of July, Martinus concentrated on the deteriorating German position around Saint-Lô. By 17 July, he considered the exposed positions there untenable and requested permission for a controlled withdrawal. German forces began evacuating the most threatened positions before Saint-Lô fell on 18 July.
On 24 July, American bombers struck the Panzer-Lehr-Division sector during the aborted opening of Operation Cobra. Martinus interpreted the attack as preparation for a much larger offensive. He authorized the withdrawal of headquarters elements and portions of the most exposed reserves during the night.
The main bombardment on 25 July still caused heavy losses, but more of the local command structure survived. Martinus used the remaining organized reserves to establish positions farther south while withdrawing damaged formations from the breakthrough area.
During the following days, Martinus concentrated his surviving mobile forces around the approaches to Villedieu-les-Poêles. By the end of July, he had temporarily contained the immediate American drive toward Avranches.
Because Avranches remained under German control, the historical counterattack toward the town was not required in the same form. Martinus retained his remaining armoured formations as local reserves and used them against Allied penetrations.
The position became increasingly difficult to maintain as Allied pressure grew elsewhere in Normandy. Martinus began moving artillery, wounded personnel and transport away from the Avranches sector on 8–9 August.
On **10 August 1944**, he ordered a planned withdrawal from Avranches. German rearguards remained while the principal formations moved east. The town fell after the withdrawal, approximately eleven days later than it otherwise would have.
By **12 August**, Martinus concluded that continued defense farther west would expose 7. Armee to encirclement around Falaise. He began moving transport and headquarters elements east before receiving authorization for a general retreat. Combat formations followed on 13–14 August.
The withdrawal was already well underway by the time a broader retreat was authorized on 16 August. Martinus concentrated on keeping the routes through the Falaise area open and moved most of his surviving formations east before the Allied encirclement closed. Heavy weapons and vehicles were lost, but most of 7. Armee avoided destruction inside the pocket.
Netherlands
On **5 September 1944**, Martinus left 7. Armee and was appointed Wehrmachtbefehlshaber in den Niederlanden. He moved to the Netherlands while German forces were attempting to restore a coherent front after the retreat through France and Belgium.
When Operation Market Garden began on **17 September**, Martinus quickly identified the bridge at Arnhem as the main objective of the British airborne landing. He ordered available forces toward the city and moved his headquarters closer to Arnhem.
During 18–20 September, Martinus coordinated German forces attacking the British positions around the northern end of the bridge. Reinforcements were directed into Arnhem while the British force at the bridge became increasingly isolated.
On **21 September 1944**, forces under Martinus fully retook Arnhem and cleared the remaining British position around the bridge. He subsequently redirected available units toward the remaining British airborne perimeter at Oosterbeek.
After Arnhem had been retaken, Martinus inspected a defensive position north of the city on 21–22 September. Houses were being constructed behind the defenses for fathers attached to an SS armoured formation. The buildings later became the first houses of Vriendendam.[3]
The surviving British forces at Oosterbeek withdrew during the night of 25–26 September, ending the battle.
On **10 November 1944**, Martinus was appointed commander of Army Group H. His command covered the Netherlands and the northwestern approaches to Germany.
Kleve and the Rhine
In early February 1945, Allied forces launched Operation Veritable against the German positions around the Reichswald. The fighting brought the front directly toward Kleve, Martinus's birthplace.
Martinus went to the Kleve sector after the Allied offensive began on 8 February. During 9–11 February, he remained close to the front as the German defenses were forced back toward the town.
By this stage of the war, Martinus routinely carried an MP 40 during forward inspections. When the local position began breaking under Allied pressure, he entered the fighting with the infantry and used the weapon while continuing to issue orders through nearby staff personnel.
Martinus refused repeated requests to move farther behind the front while Kleve could still be defended. During the fighting on 10–11 February, he was struck by a shell fragment in the upper torso. The wound was treated in the field, and Martinus remained with the defenders until the German position in Kleve was abandoned.
On **12 February 1945**, Martinus was promoted to Generalfeldmarschall. He also received the Swords to his Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves.
After the loss of Kleve, Martinus began preparing Army Group H for a withdrawal toward the Rhine. From mid-February, headquarters elements and equipment not immediately required at the front were moved east of the river.
By late February, Wesel had become one of the principal evacuation points for his command. Martinus kept infantry and artillery west of the Rhine to delay the Allied advance while depleted formations were progressively withdrawn.
When Allied forces closed the remaining German bridgehead in early March, Martinus accelerated the evacuation. The bulk of his surviving formations crossed between 4 and 8 March. Martinus remained west of the river until **9 March**, when he crossed after most organized rearguards had withdrawn.
The Allied Rhine assault began during Operation Plunder on 23 March. Martinus established a forward command post in the Wesel sector while the German positions were subjected to heavy artillery and air attack.
On 24 March, Operation Varsity placed Allied airborne forces east of the Rhine. Airborne troops cut a road being used by Martinus and his staff, leaving his group temporarily isolated.
Martinus already had his MP 40 with him and joined nearby German troops attempting to reopen the road. He took part in the fighting until contact with the remainder of his command was restored. The incident brought him close to capture.
After reaching another functioning headquarters, Martinus concluded that the Allied Rhine bridgehead could no longer be eliminated. He ordered further withdrawals into northwestern Germany.
On **7 April 1945**, Martinus became Oberbefehlshaber Nordwest, giving him overall command of the remaining German forces in northwestern Germany and the Netherlands.
Surrender
By the beginning of May 1945, Martinus considered further resistance in northwestern Germany militarily futile. He authorized negotiations for the surrender of his command.
On **4 May 1945**, Martinus personally travelled to Lüneburg Heath and met Bernard Montgomery. He signed the surrender covering the German forces under his northwestern command.
Martinus returned to his headquarters after the signing and transmitted the ceasefire orders. The surrender took effect at 08:00 on **5 May 1945**, ending his military service.
He had entered the German Army illegally as a 15-year-old in 1893 and ended his military career as a Generalfeldmarschall more than 51 years later.
Great Paap
Martinus's father, Antonius Martin Paap, died on **2 November 1940**. Martinus succeeded him as Great Paap on the same day and inherited responsibility for the Book of Paap.
Martinus intended his younger son, Jan Paap, to succeed him. Jan rejected the prophecy contained in the Book of Paap and opposed the religious responsibilities associated with the title.[4]
During the Second World War, Jan formally rejected the expected succession and severed his relationship with Martinus. He subsequently rejected the wider Paap family as well.[5]
Martinus nevertheless remained Great Paap during the remainder of the war and the first years of his Allied captivity. After his conviction on **28 October 1948**, the title passed to Martin Paap I. Martinus accepted his elder son's succession and did not attempt to reclaim the position after his release.
Martin and Martinus remained close. Martin visited his father during his imprisonment when possible and later assisted him after his release.
Personal life
While still a young soldier, Martinus maintained a sexual relationship with the older civilian Kantinenwirtin whose presence at his barracks led to the discovery of his false enlistment age. She later gave birth to his daughter. Martinus continued to support and see the child after ending his relationship with her mother.
Around 1901–1902, Martinus met Julien van Noord in Paris through a French reading group. Julien became his closest friend. They continued visiting each other after Martinus returned to the Dutch-German border region and corresponded regularly. Their disagreements over Julien's writing sometimes continued for months by letter.[2]
Around 1903, Martinus met Elsbeth Kranz while eating alone at a restaurant in Cologne. After meeting Elsbeth, he ended personal contact with his daughter's mother except for matters concerning the child.
The woman later arrived at Martinus's home demanding to see him. Elsbeth had not previously known about the relationship or Martinus's daughter and became angry after learning about them. She later accepted Martinus's continued relationship with his daughter.
Martinus and Elsbeth married approximately two years after meeting. In 1905, they stayed temporarily in Rotterdam. Their son Martin Paap I was born there on 3 September.[6] The family returned to Germany in 1906.
Their second son, Jan Paap, was born in Warendorf on 21 January 1919.[4]
Imprisonment and later life
After the surrender of his command in May 1945, Martinus was taken into British custody. He was detained with other senior German officers and was later held at Special Camp XI in Wales.
Investigators examined his Eastern Front commands. Particular attention was given to the implementation of the Commissar Order and his conduct following the capture of Tula.
Martinus was subsequently transferred for proceedings in the High Command Case at Nuremberg. On **28 October 1948**, he was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to **12 years' imprisonment**.
He did not serve the full sentence. Martinus was released in **1954**, at the age of 76.
Following his release, Martinus moved to Vriendendam. He had previously visited the area during the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944, when the buildings that became the first part of the settlement were still under construction.[3]
Later in 1954, Martinus founded the **Wehrmacht-Veteranenverein Vriendendam**, known in Dutch as the Vriendendamse Wehrmachtveteranenvereniging. He became its first chairman. The association brought former Wehrmacht personnel together and assisted members with contact between former comrades and veterans' affairs.
Martinus remained chairman until **1965**. He then became honorary chairman and retained that position for the remainder of his life.
After settling in Vriendendam, Martinus also became regularly involved with the Martinoskerk, the church built by his father in 1887. His public activity increasingly centred on the veterans association and the church after his military career and imprisonment had ended.
Martinus repeatedly attempted to re-establish contact with Jan Paap during his later life. He sent letters and attempted to reach Jan through relatives. Jan refused the attempts and maintained his break with Martinus and the wider Paap family.
His relationship with Martin Paap I remained close throughout the post-war period. Martinus continued to be consulted on family matters even though he no longer held the Great Paap title.
Death
Martinus remained in Vriendendam for the rest of his life. He continued as honorary chairman of the Wehrmacht-Veteranenverein Vriendendam and remained connected to the Martinoskerk, although his public activity decreased with age.
He died in Vriendendam on **7 November 2000**, aged **122 years and 364 days**. His death occurred one day before his 123rd birthday.
See also
- Antonius Martin Paap
- Martin Paap I
- Jan Paap
- Julien van Noord
- Great Paap
- Book of Paap
- Martinoskerk
- Wehrmacht-Veteranenverein Vriendendam
- Vriendendam
- Paap family
- Paap family members
References
- ↑ "Antonius Martin Paap". Antonius Martin Paap. Vrienden Universe Wiki.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Friendships". Julien van Noord. Vrienden Universe Wiki.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Battle of Arnhem". Vriendendam. Vrienden Universe Wiki.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Early life". Jan Paap. Vrienden Universe Wiki.
- ↑ "Military service and departure from Europe". Jan Paap. Vrienden Universe Wiki.
- ↑ "Early life". Martin Paap (father). Vrienden Universe Wiki.