European Journal 1939
Introduction
In June 1939, my mother, Helen Gould, along with her fellow teacher, Ruth Young, and a group of their cycling friends, set out on an American Youth Hostel bicycle trip through Europe.
That trip was a journey through the last calm days before the terrible storm that was World War II.
They planned a two-month bicycling trip through Holland, Germany, Switzerland, France, and England, organized by the American Youth Hostels. Their group was a mix of Americans. They were full of youthful excitement, eager for the experiences that lay ahead, blissfully ignorant of the history they were about to pedal through.
This work combines Helen and Ruth’s daily journal entries with a summary of the day’s News From Europe that chronicles the continent’s march towards war.
Travel from the U.S. and Arrival in Holland
June 29 – July 10, 1939
June 30 1939
July 1 1939
July 3 1939
July 4 1939
July 5 1939
July 6 1939
July 7 1939
July 8 1939
July 9 1939
July 10 1939
Crossing Photos
Holland and Germany
July 12 – August 1, 1939
July 11 1939
July 12 1939
July 13 1939
July 14 1939
July 15 1939
July 17 1939
July 19 1939
July 20 1939
July 21 1939
July 22,1939
July 23,1939
July 24,1939
July 25,1939
July 26,1939
July 27,1939
July 28,1939
July 29,1939
July 30,1939
July 31,1939
August 1,1939
Switzerland
August 2 – August 12, 1939
August 2,1939
August 3,1939
August 5,1939
August 6,1939
August 7,1939
August 8,1939
August 9,1939
August 10,1939
August 11,1939
France & Return to Holland, England
August 13 – August 29, 1939
August 14, 1939
August 15, 1939
August 16, 1939
August 17, 1939
August 18, 1939
August 19, 1939
August 20, 1939
August 21, 1939
August 23, 1939
August 24, 1939
August 26, 1939
August 27, 1939
August 28, 1939
August 29, 1939
Return Voyage
August 30 – September 5, 1939
August 30, 1939
August 31, 1939
September 1, 1939
September 2, 1939
September 3, 1939
September 4 1939
September 5, 1939
Conclusion
The carefree summer bicycle tour had concluded, but the world the travelers returned to was irrevocably changed. Their personal journey, which began with excitement and youthful adventure, ended with the somber, historic news of the outbreak of World War II. The diary captures a unique moment in history, showing how an immense global conflict was first understood not as a headline, but as a chilling radio broadcast heard in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, marking the abrupt end of an era. The diary, therefore, becomes more than a travelogue; it is a time capsule, preserving the exact moment when a summer of discovery collided with the dawn of a global catastrophe.
Many years later, in August of 1986, Ruth Young added this passage to her diary:
“I have just reread the last few pages of my journal, recalling the tragic events of my last week in England. Just as vivid in my memory today are the weeping, praying people in Westminster Abbey fearing the inevitable outbreak of war – and this was 47 years ago. Our ship, the Dutch Veendam, traveled without lights on a zig-zag course. One night a warship came suddenly upon us (British, I think). The Dutch flag was raised quickly and flood-lighted. Just as quickly the ship disappeared. I had made a collection of German, French newspapers recording those last weeks of August 1939 (which someone “lifted”?). There was absolutely no mention whatsoever in the French newspapers of the rapidly moving events!!”