Imagine what it
might be like to grow up in a home in which unpredictable periods of sheer terror
and physical abuse were the norm. In this book, the sister of one of the
Netherland’s most notorious criminal and crime boss—Willem Holleeder—describes the
consequences. In brilliant detail, she sheds light on the bizarre interrelationships
between her, her infamous brother, and her sister Sonja, all of whom grew up in
such a home.
“My father
treated his children the same way he treated his wife. He beat us, no matter
how small and defenseless we were. As with my mother, he didn’t need a reason—he
made one up on the spot. That was how he justified his actions. It was always “our
own fault”—we made him do it” …Our behavior at home was exemplary…We were all
compliant good kids who never broke any rules…filled with the smell of booze
and my father’s unpredictability, those days seemed endless. Only one thing was
certain: there would be shouting and hitting.”
Yet when these children
became adults, breaking rules became almost a daily occurrence.
Their father’s
attitude toward women was that he was the “boss.” Every day he’d scream “Who’s
the boss?” and his wife would answer, “You are the boss.” He believed that “…women
were inferior beings, their husband’s property, and whores by nature.” His wife
was not allowed to leave the house for fear she might encounter other men, and
if he came home and she happened to be home, there was hell to pay afterwards.
Yet Astrid became
a lawyer.
Willem started
early in criminal activities , and the family was often intimately involved. He
first became widely know when he and Sonja’s Husband Cor, along with some
others, kidnapped Freddy Heineken—the heir to the Heineken Brewery fortune. Of
note was that their father had worked for the brewery for most of his adult
life.
The Heineken family
ended up paying the ransom; Freddy was released for 35 million Dutch guilders.
Most of it was eventually recovered by the authorities, but not all. Questions
about what happened to the rest eventually led to a falling out between Willem
and Cor. After two previous attempts, Willem eventually had Cor murdered.
During the first one, Cor’s car was shot up – with Sonja and their son in it.
Astrid had been more or less pressured by Willem to serve
him as a sort of consigliere. She would give him legal advice and helped him
keep the rest of the family in line, while he kept her in line with various
threats. As far as the attempts on the life of the brother- in-law, he at first
acted all innocent and “helpful” to the family. He was an expert at manipulating
family members and strangers alike by either turning on the charm or by scaring
the hell out of them.
Gradually Astrid and Sonja figured out that it was Willem
who had put the contract out on Cor, and because Willem seemed willing to kill
even family members, they eventually turned on him.
Although highly mistrustful of the authorities for a
variety of valid reasons (assuming Astrid’s reasons were honestly described) and
constantly fearful for their own lives, they began working with the Dutch
Justice Department. They eventually testified against their brother and helped
put him in prison. He remains there, but the trials of several charges against
him drag on. Both Astrid and Sonja are at present in hiding.
The author knew that Willem has put a contract out on
her and her sister and that their days are probably numbered. She never forgave
him for Cor’s murder. She knows he has put out hits on a significant number of
murder victims, many of whom having been his former partners in crime.
Nonetheless, she still felt guilty about putting her
own brother away. Such is the power of family-of-origin bonds. The last two
sentences of the book say it all:
“The only reason you’re still alive is that you want
to take our lives. But despite that certainty, Wim, I still love you.”
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