Anton Stenwijk: A Tragic Hero

Complexity is what ultimately helped Anton to accept his traumatic past; he gained clarity about the murder of his family once he realized how complex the situation truly was, clarity that he did not have due to his naiveté and innocence at the time of the assault. Not only did this complexity give Anton clarity when it came to the assault, it also became evident that blame could not be placed on one sole individual.

The Assault touches on many different aspects of a very traumatic night during the second world war, in which all but one member of the Steenwijk family were murdered by the German Field Police. Anton Steenwijk was the only survivor from that fateful night in 1945; he was a mere twelve years old at the time. His age and his innocence

At first, Anton could not comprehend why they had to murder Pleog where they did, if they had chosen another location his family would have been spared. Takes had said, “We had chosen that spot because it was the most secluded and the easiest to get away from. And we had to get away, for we had a few more scum like that on our list.” (Mulisch, pg.113). The resistance was not known for violence, so the fact that they had decided to kill Ploeg and others must have meant that these people were truly dangerous and better off dead. According to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) the Dutch resistance “operations consisted primarily of organizational and networking functions, as well as gathering intelligence on the occupation forces.” (Bentley, Stewart). Not only did the resistance gather intel on the enemy but they conducted “the hiding and sheltering of Netherlands Jews and young draft-age Dutch men and women by other Dutch...” (Bentley, Stewart). This proves that although out of the ordinary, violence from the resistance was sometimes necessary at such a dark time. If Anton were older when this event unfolded perhaps he would have better understood the logic behind the murder, he would have better understood the resistance and their motive. Children are often shielded from certain aspects of the conflict happening around them, but now since Anton is grown he has a

As a child, Anton understood what the Kortewegs had done to his family; they had framed the Steenwijks. Yet again complexity comes into play when Anton meets Karin Korteweg at a peace demonstration and Karin tells her side of the story. When looking at complexity it may seem that it only does as it implies: complicates things. But in this case, it is valuable to Anton. The Kortewegs are yet another example as to why Anton cannot place blame on one group of individuals. There are always different side to the same story, that is certainly the case when it comes to Karin Korteweg. Her father had motives for wanting to move Pleogs body in front of the Steenwijk’s house, whether they were reasonable is another question. After absorbing all this new information Anton knows that the Aartses were “hiding Jews” (pg.183) in their home. The Aartse family was different than the rest of the neighbourhood perceived them to be; they were closed off as a safety precaution. There is a lesson to be taken from that, you can never fully understand a situation until you know all the details of it. During the second world war, any Jewish people that had “left their designated residential area, will be punished to death.” (Death Penalty for Aiding Jews). Not only would those innocent people die “but the same penalty applies to anyone who knowingly provides refuge (a hiding place) to