Vader Era

The Vader Era was the historical period from 1920 to 1945, following the Pre-Vader Era and preceding the Middenvader Era. It covered the adulthood of the generation later classified as the Vaders. The first nineteen years formed an interwar period, while the Second World War dominated the final six years.

During the 1930s, members of the Noord family, Paap family, Van Hetten family, Hoos family and Schroeter family entered military service or expanded existing family industries. Angelo van Noord, Martin Paap, Humphrey van Hetten, Antonie Ronald Paap and Otto Hoos later served in German military formations. Family companies produced machinery or military components during the war.

The final phase of the era also produced institutions that continued after 1945. Jan Paap formed the Argentine Einsatz on 13 May 1944 and landed on Ravi-Ta in Tanoa on 9 August. The first houses at Vriendendam were built during the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944. The era ended in 1945 after the defeat of the Axis powers and the conclusion of the Second World War.

Periodisation

The Vader Era is dated from 1920 through 1945. Its opening followed the end of the Pre-Vader Era in 1919. The year 1920 marked the beginning of the period in which the generation later called the Vaders reached adulthood and assumed military, industrial or family positions.

The era was not defined by one government or organization. The five principal families remained separate, and De Vrienden did not yet exist. The period is instead defined by the activity of the Vader generation and by the military or industrial structures in which its members worked.

The end date follows the conclusion of the Second World War in 1945. The Middenvader Era began in 1946 and covered the post-war reorganization of the surviving families, companies and settlements.

Background

The opening years of the Vader Era followed the political instability created by the First World War. European governments faced economic disruption and disputes over the post-war settlement. Germany remained under the Weimar Republic until Adolf Hitler became chancellor on 30 January 1933. The Nazi government then removed political opposition and expanded the German armed forces.

The expansion of German military institutions created opportunities for members of the principal families. Angelo van Noord and Martin Paap entered the Wehrmacht in 1934. Humphrey van Hetten joined the Luftwaffe in 1935, while Jan Paap entered the Wehrmacht in 1936. Antonie Ronald Paap began military training in 1938 and entered German service in September 1939.

Industrial development occurred at the same time. Ten members of the Noord family moved to Schaan, Liechtenstein, in 1934 and incorporated Van Noord-Nostrini Industriewerke AG. Its automobile division produced the Van Noord Schaan Tipo A from 1937 to 1939, while its military engineering division developed engines and armoured vehicle components. Schroeter Traktoren, led by Ferdinand Schroeter, maintained civilian and defence-oriented production before the war.

Chronology

1920

• The Vader Era began after the conclusion of the Pre-Vader Era in 1919.

1933

• January
  • 30 January – Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany. The Nazi government subsequently transformed Germany into a one-party dictatorship.

1934

• Ten members of the Noord family relocated to Schaan and founded Van Noord-Nostrini Industriewerke AG.
• Martin Paap entered German military service.
• November
  • 1 November – Angelo van Noord joined the Wehrmacht and began training with Kraftfahr-Abteilung Cannstadt.

1935

• March
  • 16 March – Germany reintroduced military conscription as part of its open rearmament programme.
• Humphrey van Hetten moved to Germany and joined the Luftwaffe.
• October
  • 3 October – The Kingdom of Italy invaded Ethiopia.

1936

• March
  • 7 March – German forces entered the demilitarized Rhineland.
• Jan Paap joined the Wehrmacht.
• November
  • 1 November – Germany and Italy announced the Rome–Berlin Axis.

1937

• July
  • 7 July – Full-scale war began between Japan and China after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident.
• Automobili Van Noord Schaan began production of the Van Noord Schaan Tipo A.

1938

• Antonie Ronald Paap entered military training in Cologne before transferring into airborne training under the Luftwaffe.
• March
  • 11–13 March – Germany annexed Austria.
• September
  • 29 September – The Munich Agreement transferred the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia to Germany.

1939

• April
  • 7 April – Italy invaded Albania.
• August
  • 23 August – Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact.
• September
  • 1 September – Germany invaded Poland, beginning the Second World War in Europe. Angelo van Noord participated in the campaign with the 2. Panzer-Division.
  • 3 September – The United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany.
  • Antonie Ronald Paap entered German military service and joined a Fallschirmjäger formation.
• November
  • 30 November – The Soviet Union invaded Finland, beginning the Winter War.
• Production of the Van Noord Schaan Tipo A ended. Military engineering became the main activity of the Van Noord industrial network.

1940

• March
  • 13 March – The Winter War ended.
  • 29 March – Angelo van Noord arrived at the Abwehr training camp near Asperden and took command of 4./Baulehr-Bataillon z.b.V. 800.
• April
  • 9 April – Germany invaded Denmark and Norway.
• May
  • 10 May – Germany invaded the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. Angelo van Noord commanded the seizure of the railway bridge at Gennep, while Martin Paap served under him in 4./Baulehr-Bataillon z.b.V. 800.
  • Antonie Ronald Paap fought near Rotterdam and its airfields with a Fallschirmjäger formation.
  • Otto Hoos served with the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler during the campaign in the Netherlands, Belgium and northern France.
  • 15 May – The Netherlands capitulated.
  • 28 May – Belgium capitulated.
• June
  • 10 June – Italy entered the war against France and the United Kingdom.
  • 22 June – France signed an armistice with Germany.
  • 24 June – Angelo van Noord received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for the Gennep bridge operation.
• October
  • 28 October – Italy invaded Greece.

1941

• April
  • 6 April – Germany invaded Yugoslavia and Greece. Otto Hoos served in the Balkan campaign with the Leibstandarte.
• May
  • Antonie Ronald Paap fought in the Battle of Crete after his Fallschirmjäger unit was deployed to the island.
• June
  • 22 June – Germany invaded the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa. Otto Hoos served on the southern Eastern Front with the Leibstandarte.
• November
  • 30 November – Angelo van Noord became commander of the 1st battalion of Lehr-Regiment "Brandenburg" z.b.V. 800.
• December
  • 7 December – Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and other Allied positions in the Pacific.
  • 8 December – The United States declared war on Japan.
  • 11 December – Germany and Italy declared war on the United States.

1942

• Angelo van Noord commanded the 1st battalion of Lehr-Regiment "Brandenburg" on the Eastern Front. The battalion operated around Kursk, Voronezh, the Don, the Caucasus, Crimea and the Mius sector.
• June
  • 3–6 June – The United States defeated a Japanese carrier force at the Battle of Midway.
• August
  • The Guadalcanal campaign began in the Solomon Islands.

1943

• During the recapture of an airfield on the Eastern Front, Jan Paap fought his cousin Antonie Ronald Paap. A German officer stopped the fight, and both men were reassigned.
• Angelo van Noord left command of the 1st battalion in March and later served with the expanding Division Brandenburg in the Balkans and Romania.
• Internal disputes began among the owners of Van Noord-Nostrini Industriewerke AG. Sabotage, killings and disappearances followed between 1943 and 1945.
• February
  • 2 February – The remaining German forces at Stalingrad surrendered.
• May
  • 13 May – The remaining Axis forces in Tunisia surrendered.
• July
  • 5 July – The Battle of Kursk began.
  • 10 July – Allied forces invaded Sicily.
  • 25 July – Benito Mussolini was removed from power.
• September
  • 8 September – Italy announced an armistice with the Allies.

1944

• January–May
  • Antonie Ronald Paap fought with Fallschirmjäger forces during the Battle of Monte Cassino.
• Jan Paap deserted from the Eastern Front after bribing Georg Schäfer to assist his escape. He travelled through Spain before reaching Argentina.
• Martin Paap became Great Paap after Jan rejected the expected family succession and left Europe.
• May
  • 13 May – Jan Paap reached Rada Tilly, Argentina, and formed the Argentine Einsatz. The Tanoa Einsatzgruppen later used the same date as its formal establishment date.
• June
  • 6 June – Allied forces landed in Normandy.
  • 22 June – The Soviet Union began Operation Bagration against German Army Group Centre.
• August
  • 9 August – The Argentine Einsatz reached Tanoa and landed on Ravi-Ta. The expedition established barracks, command posts and storage areas before reorganizing as the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen.
  • 25 August – Paris was liberated by Allied forces.
• September
  • Operation Market Garden began in the Netherlands. During the Battle of Arnhem, fathers attached to an SS armoured division constructed houses north of Arnhem. These houses became the first settlement at Vriendendam.
• The NSTAP was founded after Jan Paap's expedition reached Tanoa. It became the political organization of the new regime.
• December
  • 16 December – Germany began the Ardennes Offensive. Otto Hoos served with the Leibstandarte during the campaign.

1945

• March
  • Angelo van Noord became staff chief with the SS-Jagdverbände under Otto Skorzeny.
  • Western Allied forces crossed the Rhine and advanced into Germany.
• April
  • 30 April – Adolf Hitler died in Berlin.
• May
  • 7 May – German representatives signed the military surrender at Reims.
  • 8 May – The German surrender came into force in western Europe. Angelo van Noord destroyed his Soldbuch and obtained false documents under the name Uwe Tering.
  • 9 May – The German surrender took effect under Soviet reckoning.
  • Alessandro van Noord fled from Schaan to Switzerland. He was the only known survivor of the ten-member Schaan branch.
• July
  • Angelo van Noord was released by American authorities while using the name Uwe Tering.
• August
  • 6 August – The United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
  • 8 August – The Soviet Union declared war on Japan.
  • 9 August – The United States dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, while Soviet forces attacked Japanese-held Manchuria.
  • 15 August – Japan announced its surrender.
• September
  • 2 September – Japan signed the formal surrender document aboard USS Missouri, ending the Second World War.
• October
  • 24 October – The United Nations officially came into existence.
• Van Noord-Nostrini Industriewerke AG ceased operating by the end of the year.
• The Vader Era ended. The Middenvader Era began in 1946.

Main developments

Military service

Military service formed the best-documented activity of the principal families during the Vader Era. Angelo van Noord entered the Wehrmacht in 1934 and initially served in motorized reconnaissance. He transferred to the Abwehr in March 1940 and commanded the company that seized the railway bridge at Gennep during the invasion of the Netherlands. He later commanded a Brandenburg battalion on the Eastern Front, served in the Balkans and Romania, and ended the war in the SS-Jagdverbände.

Martin Paap served as an Unteroffizier in Van Noord's company during the bridge operations of 10 May 1940. He remained with the Brandenburg formation after the original battalion was expanded into a regiment.

Humphrey van Hetten joined the Luftwaffe in 1935 after moving from Suriname to Germany. He served in German military aviation before and during the war. He returned to Suriname after Germany's defeat.

Antonie Ronald Paap served as a Fallschirmjäger from September 1939 until 1945. He fought in the Netherlands in 1940 and on Crete in 1941. His unit later served as ground infantry on the Eastern Front. In 1944 he fought at Monte Cassino before being captured in northern Italy after the German surrender.

Otto Hoos served with the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler from 1940 until 1945. His service took him through the western campaign, the Balkans and the southern Eastern Front. He later fought in Italy, Normandy, the Ardennes and Hungary.

Jan Paap joined the Wehrmacht in 1936 and served in France and the Soviet Union. His confrontation with Antonie in 1943 accelerated his break with the Paap family. He deserted in 1944 and left Europe.

Industry

Schroeter Traktoren entered the era as an established manufacturer under Ferdinand Schroeter. Before the war, it maintained civilian production alongside defence work. During the conflict, the company redirected production towards wartime demand and supplied reinforced chassis systems and armoured industrial components.

The Van Noords of Schaan established a separate industrial network in Liechtenstein in 1934. Van Noord-Nostrini Industriewerke AG controlled an automobile company and a military engineering division. During the war, the engineering division supplied engines and drivetrain systems to German-aligned industrial companies through Swiss commercial routes.

Disputes among the Schaan branch began in 1943. Sabotage damaged workshops, while killings and disappearances removed nine of the ten known family members. Alessandro van Noord escaped to Switzerland in May 1945, and the company ceased operating before the end of the year.

Van Hetten family members in Germany worked in aviation and technical programmes during the same period. The family's interest in aircraft mechanics and applied engineering became established during the Vader Era.

Paap succession and Tanoa

The Paap family succession divided in 1944. Jan Paap had been expected to succeed his father as Great Paap, but he rejected the position and left Europe. Martin Paap then became head of the family.

After reaching Rada Tilly on 13 May 1944, Jan formed the Argentine Einsatz through recruitment networks in Patagonia. The movement grew to approximately 3,400 members by August. It recruited former soldiers and technical workers for a permanent expedition outside Argentina.

The expedition landed on Ravi-Ta on 9 August. Its members established the first command and storage facilities before reorganizing as the Tanoa Einsatzgruppen. The NSTAP was founded after the landing to direct political organization inside the emerging regime.

Vriendendam

Vriendendam began during the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944. After the German victory in the battle, a defensive position was established north of Arnhem. Houses were constructed behind the main fortifications for the fathers stationed there.

The houses survived the liberation of the Netherlands because they stood away from the principal defensive works. They were occupied after the war and became the base of the permanent settlement that expanded during the Middenvader Era.

End of the era

The military defeat of Germany ended the European structures in which most documented Vader-generation soldiers had served. Former servicemen were captured, returned to civilian life or concealed parts of their wartime records. Family companies lost access to wartime contracts, and the Schaan industrial branch collapsed.

The Second World War continued in Asia until 2 September 1945. Its conclusion closed the Vader Era. The post-war period shifted attention from military service to reconstruction, family succession and control of surviving property.

The Middenvader Era began in 1946. Vriendendam became a permanent settlement, while disputes over Schroeter Traktoren developed into a central family issue. Jan Paap's organization continued independently in Tanoa.

See also

• Pre-Vader Era
• Middenvader Era
• Vriend Era
• Timeline
• Vaders
• Second World War
• Nazi Germany
• Argentine Einsatz
• Tanoa Einsatzgruppen
• Vriendendam