Family shares the extraordinary life of Dutch war prisoner

Sunny South News Photo Submitted HONOUR: Jacob Van Seters is seen here on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 2026.

By Kristine Jean
Sunny South News

As Canadians pause to remember the service and sacrifice of Canadian war veterans this Remembrance Day, one local family is remembering the extraordinary life of Dutch war prisoner and former Coaldale resident, Jacob “Jake” Van Seters.  

Van Seters passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Sept. 25, 2026, at the age of 104, having spent 67 years in Canada. 

At 21, he was arrested in the Netherlands, was imprisoned at Kamp Amersfoort, deported to Nazi Germany as a forced labourer, and was eventually liberated in April 1945. 

After surviving imprisonment and forced labour in Nazi Germany during the Second World War, Jake Van Seters returned to the Netherlands, married Agniete (Iet) Korsten in 1946, and rebuilt the family grain-milling business in Dirksland. In April 1959 a devastating fire destroyed much of his mill and he made the decision to emigrate to Canada in September of that year, at the age of 37 with his wife and their five children.

The family initially settled in Lethbridge where Jake worked in construction and then for a window and door manufacturer. In 1960, he joined his brothers Cor and Hugo to establish Pro-Motors Ltd., an imported-car dealership in Lethbridge and, in 1974, the brothers and Dutch businessman Pieter Compaan founded Intercontinental Truck Body (ITB), manufacturing innovative aluminum truck bodies. They established their plant in Coaldale, where Jake served as general manager until his retirement in 1993. 

A book on Van Seters life, entitled ‘Fear No One’, was written by one of his grandsons, Neil Van Seters in 2010. That book and a follow-up book called “Live By Faith,” written by Neil’s brother Nathan Van Seters, shares about Jake’s harrowing war-time experiences and his extraordinary journey to a new life in Canada, including his time in Lethbridge and Coaldale.  

Four of five of his children still live in the area, along with many of his grandchildren. 

Neil Van Seters is sharing more details of his grandfather’s experiences during the Second World War, thanks to the advancement of AI technology, which helped him and his brother conduct deeper research around their grandfather’s experiences during the war.  

“In the last year we have uncovered probably at least 10 times the evidence and information that I uncovered back in 2009-2010,” said Van Seters, noting with increased digitization of war materials and the massive increase in search capabilities, they found “treasure troves” of the trail of their grandfather’s trip and evidence of all places he was at.

“We even found his identity card from the camps. The amount of evidence that we uncovered, that really added colour to where he had been, was substantial,” he added.  

Van Seters originally travelled to the Netherlands and Germany in early 2010 and made a return trip earlier this fall in 2026, with his brother and father. 

“After my grandfather had passed away, we went back and retraced his steps and did a much more thorough visit than I had done in 2010,” explained Van Seters, noting the significance of sharing his grandfather’s story – including his extraordinary legacy that encompassed a thriving family business, generations of descendants, and a testimony of faith, perseverance and gratitude. 

“I realized how important the story was for our family legacy and we had a brief recount of his experiences from 1946 …. but I thought for the sake of my future children and for the sake of my nieces and nephews, that it was important to get the story while he was still here and could still have coherent conversations.”

Van Seters said his grandfather was also very interested in sharing his story – a story of survival, faith and freedom. Despite having everything taken from him in the camps, following the war, Jake Van Seters lived the rest of his life without bitterness.  

“I think part of his legacy is sharing his story that you can go through these experiences, as horrible as they are, but if you have faith and a higher purpose, that you can survive and thrive,” said Van Seters.  

His grandfather’s strong faith got him through the darkest days and many struggles during the war. 

“It was something that happened to him, that he went through, but he lived the rest of his life with hope and thankfulness for the blessings that he received,” said Van Seters, adding the more they learned about his grandfather’s escape from camp, the more they understood how fortunate he was to survive. 

The title of the book “Fear No One” gets its name from the Van Seters family crest motto – ‘Deum Timendo — Neminem Timeo’ – Latin words that mean “Fearing God, I Fear No One.”

“That family crest and that motto was so important to him as he went through this experience,” said Van Seters. 

A quote from an interview with Jake Van Seters, shared on the website reads “I said I had no fear, but that’s not because I was so brave — but because I fear the Lord and I know I was always in His hands.”

The website http://www.fearnoone.net also includes a short film – an AI-generated re-creation which was used to rebuild a large portion of Jake’s experiences using AI animation. It is a powerful tool noted Van Seters, that allowed the family to see what his grandfather had experienced during the war. 

The website also shares a section of thoughts for future generations. 

“These (words) were some of the most important things for him that he wanted to share from his experience,” said Van Seters. 

Van Seters said Remembrance Day has added meaning for him and his family – it is a time to also reflect on the experiences of his grandfather during the Second World War. 

“The experience my dad, my brother and I had going back and tracing his footsteps – for us, that’s the ultimate remembrance because we walked where he walked, we saw what he would have seen and we had so many local people go way out of their way to help up in that journey,” said Van Seters.  

Ultimately, his grandfather’s story is one of faith, hope and perseverance – that helped Jake overcome tragedy and unfathomable circumstances. 

“His story is not that he went through these things, his story is that he went through these things and then lived the most brilliant, fulfilled life,” said Van Seters. “So that you can overcome the horrible circumstances of your existence and experience and still live a blessed, full life.”