After 82 years, author solves the mystery behind remains of resistance fighter in WWII

After more than 80 years, the remains of a Dutch resistance fighter who went missing in 1941 have been identified. It is the jaw of Ernst Moltzer, who, as deputy director of the Amsterdam gin and liqueur manufacturer Lucas Bols, resisted deliveries to the Nazis during the Second World War. This was reported by the publishing house De Geus, which published the book “Bol's Secret” by Martin Hendriksma.

The jaw was fished out of the water in 2003 by fishermen from Texel, six kilometers off the coast of Petten in Noord-Holland. The DNA of the jaw was added to the DNA database for missing persons. In the spring of 2023, according to De Geus, the police, together with Hendriksma, launched an investigation into Moltzer's descendants and the resistance fighters Kees Kolff and Dick van der Flier, with whom he disappeared. This resulted in a match in August.

Hendriksma was researching the Moltzer family and the wartime past of the Bols company for his book. The Moltzer family had owned Bols since the end of the 19th century. Bols' deliveries to the Germans led to a conflict between Ernst Moltzer and his uncle and nephew in the management at the beginning of 1941. Ernst, the deputy director at the time, was suspended and joined the resistance, according to De Geus.

The suspended deputy director had taken part in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin as a sailor. On the evening of February 14, 1941, he sailed with Kolff and Van der Flier in a small boat into the North Sea, bound for England. However, they never arrived there.
The book “Bol's Secret” was presented on Friday at the Royal Amsterdam Rowing and Sailing Association De Hoop, where Moltzer is an honorary member.

With the identification of Eritz Moltzer, the family now knows about his fate during the Second World War. On Saturday, his remains were buried in the presence of the family at the national cemetery in Lönnen, NOS reported.