Click on the link below for Photos taken at the dinner André Hosted for some of the Liberator's of Maastricht on September 12, 2009 (Thanks to John and Ineke)
Visit With Rieu is More Important Than The Book
UPDATE On: ►Elsa White's Story of Maastricht's Liberation Elsa Hanöver (White) is certain, "My father built your first violin. He was the owner of the music store in Maastricht", she tells André Rieu.
Even without this knowledge the violinist and orchestra leader admits that he loved the “blackmail" by this 87 year old lady. She wrote Mayor Leers informing him that she was wanting to travel to Maastricht to partake in the 65 years celebration of the liberation, under one condition: that she could meet André Rieu.Rieu interrupted his Concert Tour in Germany to host a luncheon with the veterans in his Castle.
This weekend a book about Hanöver was released: "Else Hanöver, War years in Maastricht". During the war (1940-1945) she was a secretary to Nazi Party Member and Mayor Peeters and she passed all municipal secrets on to his predecessor Michiels van Kessenich. During the liberation time she showed the Americans "suspected buildings", since she knew where explosives were stored. That's how several bombs were disarmed.
The resident of Florida (Hanöver) established a deep friendship with the first American liberator Wilson White. After the war they kept in contact and married 38 years later. Regretfully White did not live to see the release of her book. Hanöver is very proud of the book, but views André Rieu as the highlight of her visit.I hope he will soon come to Jacksonville and when he sees me, will say just like Luciano Pavarotti once did very spontaneously: “Hi Elsa!!”
No comments:
Post a Comment