Today, May 5th 2025 it is 80 years ago that the Netherlands was liberated from the occupying Germans. This is a story I wanted to write for a long time. It happened around the village I live in. Radio operators from the resistance were involved. The story is well known, but it was difficult to verify all the facts. There was a lot going on at the end of the war and around this story. I shortened it as good as possible remaining only what was going on here.
Work goes on...
This is a story I wanted to write for a long time. It is actually a follow up from one of my blogposts in the past. That story was the first one of three about PA0DR Dirk Rustema who was active in the resistance and a radio operator at that time. Dirk was arrested in August 1943 and brought to Germany to appear in court for his illigal activities at that time. Dirk was lucky and was the only one from a group of prisoners that was convicted to get to a penitentiary. After that happened his friend and former mechanic Albert Zuidhof (code name "Anton") took over the duties in the resistance. Since there was nothing left of the former resistance group "Zwaantje" Anton had to make new contacts. Which he eventually got with someone from the village of Blaricum (coincidence, my place of birth) in the center part of the Netherlands. He obtained a new transmitter with power supply from this contact. Some believe it could be a Paraset V, but this is a transceiver and the historic books tell us it was just a transmitter. The receiver was build with parts obtained from Philips equipment-laboratory through close friend Gerrit Bakker. This receiver had a battery supply which was needed because of the regular electricity grid failure at that time. The equipment was placed in an attic of one of the outbuildings of the pudding factory Atlanta in the city of Groningen. Unfortunately it turned out that the connection between transmitter and antenna did not work, something that was discovered by a radioamateur PA0PC Jaap van der Hul (code name "Radio-Kees") from Hilversum. He solved the problem but things went dangerous and the resistance needed to stop their work immediately. In the mean time the southern part of the Netherlands was already liberated at the time this all happened.
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| The farm, on the background the Eemshaven harbour. Photo made from the decoy towards the farm to show the distance Piet had to run. |
After a moment of inactivity they found another place to place the transmitter. Far away from earlier locations at a farm near Uithuizermeeden, just a few kilometers from my QTH now. This time with "Anton" as radio operator and Gerrit for technical assistance and code-duty (code and decode secret codes). The first contact with the allied forces in the liberated south part of the country was made on 4 Nov. 1944. Several successful messages were transmitted. In the winter of 1944/45 "Anton" was too busy with other duties. In the mean time Gerrit learned morsecode and was already capable of transmitting messages on his own. Through the local resistance they also got weapons to defend themselves, probably not the best idea in the end.
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| The duck decoy, approx 1km from the farm. |
At the end of January 1945 things went smootly. The new location was excellent and radio transmissions went on. They thought they could still share a lot of information in the remaining days of the war. "Radio Kees" and Piet van Dijk from Hilversum came to the farm to help, both were radio operators and technically skilled. And all went well. Till the 6th of February...after they had probably betrayed or have been located by German direction finding equipment. About 30-40 German soldiers came to surround the complete farm so no one would be able to escape. Piet, Gerrit and the farmer Bene tried to shoot themselves a way out. Piet tried to flee to a nearby duck decoy but was shot there, he died at a age of 22. Unfortunately both Gerrit and Bene were seriously injured, they were captured and questioned. They were shot later that year. In the mean time "Radio Kees" was more understanding and had the chance to burn the code book and as much equipment as he could in the woodstove. He was taken prisoner and was subjected to extraordinary torture, unfortunatly he gave a lot of info to the Germans to save his own life. He survived the war but was so exhausted that he died in 1948.
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| Stolperstein (memory stone) in memory of the farmer that died. On the background the farm. |
Verzet in Groningen - ISBN9062430465
https://www.tracesofwar.nl/sights/124393/Stolperstein-Dwarsweg-1.htm
https://droog-mag.nl/2020/ag/nsf-monument.html
https://www.groningen4045.nl/portretten/bene-roelf-westerdijk-uithuizermeeden
https://oorlogsgravenstichting.nl/personen/170370/bene-roelf-westerdijk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolperstein
3 comments:
Thanks Bas for taking the time to put this all together.
73,
Mike
VE9KK
Thanks for the write-up, Bas. A WW2 story, but also a story of human bravery in circumstances most of us can't comprehend. Always amazing.
73,
John
Mike & John, tnx both of you for the nice comments. 73, Bas
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