Pastoor Verbaak was a Dutch Roman Catholic military chaplain (pastoor) serving at Atjeh during the Aceh War in the 1880s who, according to Brooshooft’s Brooshooft (1886), was held in exceptionally high regard by the entire Indies army for his tireless self-sacrifice in comforting the sick and wounded.
Work at Atjeh
Writing at the end of 1886, Brooshooft complained that the activities of the Red Cross (Vereeniging “Het Roode Kruis”) had “considerably slackened” in their efforts to alleviate the sufferings of the Dutch soldiers at Atjeh after the departure of their earlier “excellent delegate” von Fultzingslöwen. He contrasted this with the unqualified praise due to the officers and men of the medical service, and continued:
“Maar meer dan iemand anders wellicht heeft, tot leniging der smart en vertroosting van duizenden ongelukkigen, bijgedragen een dier mannen, die door hun edel gedrag de jammeren van kerkelijke verdeeldheid doen vergeten, de wegens zijne onvermoeide zelfverloochening hem door het gansche Indische leger hoog vereerde pastoor Verbaak.”
(“But more than anyone else, perhaps, one of those men who by their noble conduct make one forget the miseries of denominational division has contributed to the relief of suffering and the comfort of thousands of unfortunates — Pastoor Verbaak, highly revered by the entire Indies army for his tireless self-denial.”)
Verbaak is thus remembered in Dutch Aceh-war literature as one of the outstanding clergymen of the conflict, whose work transcended sectarian boundaries and was acknowledged across the army.
See Also
- Fultzingslöwen
- Red Cross
- Royal Netherlands Indies Army
- Atjeh War
- Demmeni
- Beri-beri epidemic in the Atjeh garrison
- 1886
Source
Brooshooft, Mr. P. Geschiedenis van den Atjeh-oorlog 1873–1886. Utrecht: F. B. van Ditmar, 1886, Hoofdstuk X, p. 279 (p. 297 of the OCR).