Pension Walda

These six townhouses on Pompstationsweg were built in 1907 to a design by architect C.J.M. van Duijne, in the transitional architectural style. Pension Walda was once located at number 56. This was the setting for an important part of the moving true story of Rika van der Lans and Waldemar Nods, which became famous through the book Sonny Boy by Annejet van der Zijl.

Rika, a Dutch woman, and Waldemar, a young man from Suriname, began a relationship in the 1930s that was unusual and controversial for that time. During the war years, they provided shelter to Jewish people in hiding in their guesthouse on Pompstationsweg. Their courageous resistance ultimately led to their arrest by the Nazis.

Although Sonny Boy was later successfully adapted for film, the scenes were not shot in the original building. Instead, the adjacent Hotel Boulevard (number 58) was used, which was given the house number 56 for the occasion.

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Source

• Text: RJArmy.nl
• Photos: RJ Army
• ZIJL, ANNEJET, VAN DER, Sonny Boy, Em.Querido.