The Assault (2012) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Anton's family was murdered because the Korteweg neighbors secretly moved the body of the assassinated collaborator Fake Ploeg into the Steenwijks' yard. When the Nazis investigated Ploeg's death, they discovered the body on the Steenwijk property and retaliated by killing Anton's parents and brother and burning down their house. Anton survived because he was not home when the massacre occurred.

• anton steenwijk
• family killed
• fake ploeg
• nazi retaliation
• haarlem

After Fake Ploeg was assassinated, the Korteweg family, who were collaborators, desperately needed to conceal the body to avoid Nazi punishment. They chose to move the corpse to their neighbors' yard, presumably hoping the Steenwijks would be blamed or that it would divert suspicion from themselves. This act of cowardice directly led to the tragedy that destroyed Anton's family.

• korteweg family
• fake ploeg
• body hidden
• collaborator
• haarlem

Fake Ploeg was a notorious Dutch collaborator who worked with the Nazi occupation forces during WWII. He was assassinated in January 1945 in Haarlem by resistance fighters. His death triggered the violent chain of events that resulted in the deaths of Anton's family, as the Nazis conducted brutal reprisals against civilians in the area.

• fake ploeg
• dutch collaborator
• wwii
• resistance
• assassination

When Nazi authorities transported Anton to Amsterdam after his family's murder, their convoy was ambushed. A German soldier chose to protect the orphaned boy, sacrificing himself in the process. This act of defiance and humanity from a German soldier demonstrated that not all occupying forces were complicit in the Nazis' crimes, and it marked a pivotal moment that allowed Anton to survive.

• german soldier
• convoy ambush
• amsterdam
• sacrifice
• anton survival

After the massacre, Anton was imprisoned at a local police station where he spent time in a dark cell. An unseen young woman prisoner offered him comfort during his trauma. Later in life, Anton gradually pieces together memories and works with Cor Takes to uncover her identity, though the summary leaves this somewhat ambiguous due to the fragmented nature of his recollections.

Foreshadowing: Early in the film, Anton receives comfort from an unseen presence in his cell, a moment that hints at his psychological resilience.

• prison cell
• young woman
• comfort
• trauma
• memory

Anton encounters Fake (played by Grégori Derangère), the son of one of his former schoolmates who coincidentally shares the same name as the collaborator Fake Ploeg. Unlike Anton, who was orphaned by the war, Fake's family, despite being collaborators, managed to rebuild their lives after the war. Fake initially denies his father's role in the tragedy and blames communist resistance fighters instead, though he eventually acknowledges his guilt.

• fake
• son
• schoolmate
• haarlem
• guilt
• collaboration

After moving to Amsterdam to live with his aunt and uncle, Anton grows up to become an anesthesiologist. The profession may hold symbolic significance, working with unconsciousness and pain control could reflect his psychological need to manage and suppress his traumatic memories. The summary notes he finds initial solace in his work while still struggling with the ghosts of his childhood.

• anesthesiologist
• career
• amsterdam
• trauma
• memory

In 1981, Anton returns to Haarlem for the first time since 1952 and visits a monument honoring his parents and 29 others who were killed in retaliation for Fake Ploeg's assassination. The monument serves as a stark reminder of the brutal reprisals that targeted civilians during the Nazi occupation and represents the heavy burden of history Anton carries.

• monument
• haarlem
• parents
• memorial
• 1945

Cor Takes is a veteran of the Dutch resistance movement against fascism. At a 1966 funeral, he becomes Anton's confidant, engaging in discussions about justice, morality, and the truth behind Ploeg's assassination. Their conversations blur the lines between fact and fiction, as Takes' recollections are themselves unclear. Cor helps Anton grapple with the moral complexity of wartime actions and the ambiguity surrounding his past.

• cor takes
• resistance
• veteran
• wwii
• truth
• justice

The Provo movement was a Dutch anti-establishment movement that emerged in the 1960s. The film uses this historical context to show how post-war Dutch society was transformed by various political tensions, including the Cold War, anti-nuclear protests, and radical counterculture movements. These cultural shifts provide the backdrop against which Anton continues his personal journey of uncovering the truth.

• provo movement
• 1960s
• dutch
• counterculture
• cold war

Anton's decades-long struggle to uncover the truth about his family's murder represents the broader theme of how trauma reverberates through generations. His passive method of discovering facts, through serendipitous encounters rather than active investigation, reflects how the past often resurfaces unexpectedly. The film suggests that while Anton gains some understanding and empathy through his final conversations, true closure remains elusive, highlighting the complex and often unjust nature of history.

• justice
• truth
• trauma
• memory
• closure
• history