Walking in the Achterhoek A long-distance trail runs through the Achterhoek, connecting to the international route. This trail starts at the German border, passing through ’s-Heerenberg on its way to Vorden. There, the route splits towards Gorssel (with a connection to Zwolle) and Holten (with a connection to Groningen). In addition to this trail, there is a regional trail — a circular walk through the Achterhoek — as well as several themed walks. The Second World War left indelible traces in the Achterhoek. Each trace tells its own story — sometimes big, sometimes small. The leading roles belong to the victims and heroes of that time. Along various impressive routes, you will get to know the people and their stories.

The Netherlands

1._catharinakerk_erfgoedcentrum_achterhoek_en_liemers.jpg

Unexpected final chord 

Justus had done business with German entrepreneurs for years and could not imagine that the Germans would harm them. But their twelve-year-old daughter Maud was ill. The doctor warned that she would not survive the journey. She was taken into hiding. Her sisters, Sonja and Jenny, also went into hiding. Justus and Marianne reported as ordered and were deported to Sobibor, where they were murdered in the gas chambers on 11 June 1943.&nbsp;Maud After nine months in hiding in Eindhoven, Maud's location became unsafe. She was moved to a new hiding place, first in Doetinchem, then in Gendringen. Resistance members transported her at night on the back of bicycles. Three months later, she was moved again, this time to Sinderen.She didn’t stay there long either. Eventually, she ended up in a so-called “pilot’s hut” in the Idinkforest near Varsseveld, where she was reunited with her two sisters for the first time. But the hiding place was discovered by the son of an NSB member. Shortly afterwards, the Grüne Polizei raided the site. But, the girls had left the day before.Homecoming After the liberation, Maud and her sisters returned to the bombed-out town of Doetinchem. They were shocked to find their family’s furniture shop and half the street in ruins. Strangers were living in their old home, and all their belongings were gone. They had nothing left. Later, they found the family piano in Villa Ruimzicht, which had been used by the Germans during the occupation. The girls eventually found shelter in an overcrowded house. With time, they came to realise that more than half their family had not survived. Of the 180 Jewish residents of Doetinchem, only 56 lived through the war.

The Jewish furniture maker

On the Doetinchem herdenkt website, you can read several personal stories about these war victims: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.doetinchemherdenkt.nl/oorlogsgraven-Loolaan">www.doetinchemherdenkt.nl/oorlogsgraven-Loolaan</a>WWII Information and Documentation Centre Loolaan The Doetinchem Remembers Foundation operates an information centre in the auditorium at the cemetery. The foundation’s mission is to preserve the memory of the Second World War. One of the ways it does this is by collecting and sharing personal stories and historical events so that they can be passed on to future generations.If you would like to visit the information centre, please contact the foundation in advance. More information: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.doetinchemherdenkt.nl/INFORMATIECENTRUM">www.doetinchemherdenkt.nl/INFORMATIECENTRUM</a>

War Graves - Doetinchem

In early September 1944, the building was requisitioned by the Germans. Just four days later, the feared Sicherheitsdienst took control of the complex. They imprisoned hundreds of resistance fighters from across the country, along with Allied soldiers. Many were declared Todeskandidaten without any form of trial. Seventy-one men spent their final hours here: on 2 March 1945, 46 of them were executed, followed by another 25 six days later.A month earlier, on 1 February, 94 men had been transported to Neuengamme concentration camp. Of these, only seven returned alive. Seventeen others survived by jumping from the train en route.As the Allies approached the Dutch border, Hitler’s orders called for the execution of the remaining prisoners. However, on 27 March 1945, 57 women and six men were deported to Westerbork instead. Two weeks later, the women were forced to walk the infamous Women’s March. After the war, it became clear that 80% of their husbands or partners had not survived.Following the liberation, De Kruisberg was used to detain 1,300 members of the NSB and others from the Achterhoek region suspected of collaboration.The prison pavilion contains 34 single cells, each measuring 3 by 5 metres. During the war, however, four, five, or even six people were often crammed into a single cell. The oldest prisoner was allowed to sleep on the bed; the others had to make do with straw sacks on the floor. The windows on the canal side were painted white to prevent prisoners from seeing outside. Today, the Doetinchem Remembers Foundation shares the stories of resistance fighters and Allied soldiers who were held at De Kruisberg. The stories of (alleged) NSB members and collaborators are also told. To visit during opening hours, please register via the website: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.doetinchemherdenkt.nl/Bezoek-kruisberg">www.doetinchemherdenkt.nl/Bezoek-kruisberg</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;

Locked up in The Kruisberg

In July 1940, the German occupiers seized the now-imposing villa and established a signal-tracking centre there. From this location, they actively searched for resistance transmitters. Once a signal was detected, they would deploy a mobile tracking unit to locate it. Fortunately, the resistance often outmanoeuvred these efforts by frequently relocating their transmitters.From 1944 onwards, the villa also served as a regional air defence centre for the Luftwaffe, known as a Klein-Flugwachkommando (Klein-Fluko). It became a key node in the Luftwaffe’s extensive communications network in the occupied territories. Prior to this, the command post had been housed in a barracks in the Kattennest forest area north of Doetinchem.Klein-Fluko was part of the Kammhuber Line, the German radar-based air surveillance network in Western Europe. The Luftwaffe developed a system to track aircraft via radio signals with precision. This tracking was carried out at various centres, including some north of Arnhem, all connected to the Diogenes bunker near Schaarsbergen — a massive concrete structure built in 1943 to coordinate German air defences.In its central hall stood a large frosted-glass map depicting the Netherlands, parts of Belgium, and Germany. Around forty Luftnachrichtenhelferinnen(female Luftwaffe communication auxiliaries) worked there, processing radar data. In the event of an enemy approach, the information was immediately relayed to Deelen Airfield, where German fighter aircraft were kept on standby. &nbsp;

Flugwachkommando at Ruimzicht 

It was here, at the end of 1940, that headmaster Van der Horst was instructed to dismiss two Jewish teachers: Jaap Cauveren, who taught classical languages, and Henri Hoek, who taught mathematics, physics and chemistry. The next morning, the pupils staged a protest in front of the school. With tears in their eyes and fists clenched, they refused to enter the building. Although Jewish teachers were dismissed across the country, protests at secondary schools were extremely rare, only two are known: one here in Doetinchem and one at the Vossius Gymnasium in Amsterdam. Headmaster Van der Horst was summoned to The Hague to account for his actions. He received only a reprimand. Both teachers were later deported to extermination camps, where they were murdered.

The Jewish teachers

They came to Doetinchem to arrest the father. Annie was not at home. Johan was, together with Michel Groenteman and another Jewish person in hiding. The Germans arrested Michel and Johan. Neither of them would survive the war, nor would little Samuel.Three months after the raid, Annie provided shelter to 14-year-old Robbie Cohen from Amsterdam. She kept him hidden until the liberation.Yad Vashem Award Annie and Johan Lebbink hid five Jewish people in their home. In 2009, Annie was posthumously honoured with the Yad Vashem award. She had passed away four years earlier, at the age of 93.The award comes with the honorary title Righteous Among the Nations, the highest distinction bestowed by the State of Israel. It is awarded to non-Jews who risked their lives to protect or rescue Jews during the Second World War. Of the 20,000 awards granted worldwide, 5,000 have been given to people in the Netherlands.

Courageous Brother and Sister 

During the occupation, the news is determined by the Germans and the company finds itself in a fix. To keep the company afloat, Kees Misset made many concessions and donated large sums of money to the NSB and other related organisations. He also buys up empty houses of deported Jewish residents. His wife maintains several intimate relationships with German soldiers, and their only daughter is engaged to a Waffen-SS officer. Consequently, many consider Kees Misset to be ‘Deutschfreundlich’ while his staff are grateful to him for preventing them from being sent to Germany for the ‘Arbeitseinsatz’ (compulsory labor).The mysterious vanIn early 1945, the Germans place a green van in Misset's garden and stretch a camouflage net over it. This does not escape resistance fighters. They think it is a radio van that picks up signals via boxes hanging from the tower of the Catharinakerk. They relay this information via the PGEM telephone to the Allies in Nijmegen, which has now been liberated. So, when British planes drop the first bombs in Kees Misset's garden on 21 March, the resistance is convinced it is a deliberate attack. Flight reports of the planes, however, reveal that the pilots thought they were flying over German Isselburg.The arrestOn the day the city is liberated, members of the Internal Armed Forces (The amalgamated resistance organisations) capture Kees Misset. He is taken on a cart to the police station and then imprisoned in Detention and Residence Camp De Kruisberg. His wife and daughter are also imprisoned there. Kees is released in December but is placed under house arrest. This is followed by a sentence from the Press Council. This includes a seven-year ban on working in the press. Embittered and lonely, he dies in February 1947 as a result of a brain haemorrhage.

The publisher, his family, and their German contacts	

The metal debris flies through the city. Captain Willem Voltelen from Doesburg is hit and does not survive. He is the first war casualty in Doetinchem. The blowing up of the bridges proves futile in retrospect: the Germans do not come from the south but move from east to west.In September 1944, the Allies enter the Netherlands. They liberate the area below the great rivers. Above them, the Germans stand their ground: they manfully dig defences along the Rhine, IJssel and around the cities. Here too, near the Oude IJssel, there is a trench system. And again, the same fallacy is made, this time by the Germans: when the Allies approach on the 1st of April 1945, the Germans blow up the bridges to hinder the Allies. Again pointless, because the Allies are also coming from the east.

Strategic object

While making phone calls, they are careful because they are afraid of being tapped. The telephone operators who make the connections may be listening in. In 1942, all telephone owners have to fill in an Aryan declaration. All Jews thus lose their connections. The following year, only ‘kriegswichtige’ devices are allowed. On 1 April 1945, the Germans blew up the telephone exchange so that the Canadians could not use it during their advance.Eavesdropping fearAmong resistance fighters, there is also a fear of being bugged. This fear disappears when the resistance can make phone calls outside the public PTT network. This can be done through an illegal telephone network established by the Central Intelligence Service (CID), a resistance group that deals almost exclusively with illegal telephone and message traffic. It is a nationwide network consisting of a concatenation of numerous networks, lines and systems. It also includes the service telephone network of the Provinciale Geldersche Electriciteits Maatschappij (PGEM).

The PTT telephone exchange	

He is also a member of the voluntary fire brigade, so he is not called up for the ‘Arbeitseinsatz’. Moreover, because of this position, he is still allowed to take to the streets during curfew. To give the impression in the evening and at night that he is out and about as a fireman, his fireman's helmet hangs from his handlebars, but his inside pocket never lacks a pistol.The Doetinchem resistanceDuring the first two years of the occupation, there is hardly any resistance. After Jews were deported, scarcity and repression increased and more and more men had to go to Germany for the ‘Arbeitseinsatz’, resistance grew, and resistance increased. In Doetinchem, five groups emerge with their own commanders. They lead a large number of resistance fighters divided into groups of eight on average. The members generally only know the members of their own group. This avoids putting the other groups at risk in case of arrest or betrayal.

The optician in the resistance

It takes a while before the wood lying around the church also catches fire. The wood comes from properties hit two days earlier. Then the fire spreads to the church. Residents form two long lines in an attempt to put out the fire with buckets of water. But to no avail. Burning, the spire breaks in two. One falls into the nave, the other crashes into the street with thunderous noise.

The Catharina Church

At the end of the war, the allied air forces were continually bombing German towns, cities and strategic targets, in the hope that it would bring Germany to its knees more quickly. However, civilian targets in the Netherlands were often hit, which is what happened in Doetinchem on 19th, 21st and 23rd March 1945. The people of Doetinchem were taken completely by surprise. The historical town centre was damaged irreparably and the town hall, synagogue and St. Catherine’s Church went up in flames. In total, 120 buildings were destroyed, 143 people were killed and hundreds wounded.Were the bombings intentional, or were they a mistake? No one really knows, yet the people of Doetinchem had their suspicions. The first attack (on 19th March) was meant to hit two strategic targets: a factory that made parts for aeroplanes and a communications station. These targets had been identified by the resistance, but the bombs missed both. The second attack (on 21st March) was apparently a mistake. The actual target was the German town of Isselborg, just over the border. Another explanation could have been an allied air force’s attempt to free the roads of German resistance from the air, considering the German occupiers had built substantial reinforcements in Doetinchem for sabotaging the allied advancement.The German troops were quite happy with the situation and took advantage of the bombings. They used the ruins of the town to hide in and blocked off the entry roads with old tram carriages.The resistance managed to save a few bridges before they were blown up and on 2nd April, after some heavy fighting, Doetinchem was liberated by the Canadian Army. The town centre was eventually rebuilt, but it had lost its heart and soul.

Allied bombings

The City Museum Doetinchem offers more than a collection and exhibition. The museum revolves around storytelling. The volunteers at the museum are good storytellers and would gladly escort you through the museum.