The copyright for both the texts and the images belongs to the Vrijheidsbos Geesteren Foundation, which created this route.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

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Freedom Route Geesteren 

It was on this farm that Jantje Esselink grew up. In 1950, he was a mischievous little boy with a lovely curl in his blond hair. He attended primary school and dreamed of becoming a gardener. Jantje often played with his brothers, Chris and Wim. One summer day, Jantje found something in the ditch that looked like a goose egg and put it in his pocket. He and his brothers began a game they called “hammering on the hairspit.” They cheerfully tapped on what they thought was a goose egg, but it wasn’t an egg at all. It was a large hand grenade. Suddenly, there was an enormous bang. Jantje’s mother and sister rushed outside and found Chris lying on the ground, badly wounded. Little Wim stood frozen, hands clamped over his ears. And Jantje... Jantje was dead. He was only eight years old.Chris EsselinkWim sustained no physical injuries. Chris spent about five weeks in the hospital. A specialist from the hospital in Enschede visited him every day. In September, he returned home, but by then he was still unable to walk. To allow him to get some fresh air, a deckchair was placed outside for him. Chris had trouble settling in; he had lost his playmate. He wandered around alone once he was able to walk a little. During his recovery, he kept pulling at his left leg. He walked with a slight limp. His parents and the surgeon wanted him to continue rehabilitation, but Chris said, “I can do everything anyway, play football, go ice skating.” For the rest of his life, he could and would never complain about his physical condition again.

The playing Jantje Esselink

Antonia Tichelman-Geerdink, affectionately known as ‘grandmother Antonia’, was 91 years old and lived in the hamlet of De Kulsdom on the farm called Stroomboer. In April 1944, hundreds of British planes were flying towards Germany. One of them was hit by a German fighter plane and had to drop its bombs to stay airborne. By terrible misfortune, one of the bombs landed directly on Stroomboer. Antonia, who had been sitting quietly by the stove, was buried under the rubble. She was seriously injured and taken to hospital in Enschede, where she died a few days later.&nbsp;On the farm ’t Wes in the neighbouring hamlet of De Respelhoek lived Gerrit Hiddink,&nbsp; a true resistance hero. He feared nothing and hid Jewish people as well as British, Canadian and Russian soldiers on his farm.There was even space for a two-year-old boy who had been abandoned in a pram on the side of the road. The Hiddinks gave him the hiding name ‘Tonny van ’t Wes’. After the war, when Tonny was five years old, he was reunited with his Jewish father, who had also survived. In 2021, Tonny was traced again. His real name turned out to be Simon de Winter. After 77 years, he was reunited with the Hiddink family. Sadly, things ended tragically for Gerrit. In June 1944, a German raiding van entered the yard. Gerrit calmly approached the soldiers, spoke with them, and managed to prevent a house search. However, he was taken for questioning and sent to Camp Vught. Later that year, he was transported in a cattle wagon to Sachsenhausen concentration camp near Berlin, and then on to the Neuengamme penal labour camp near Hamburg. Gerrit died in February 1945, just three months before the liberation. He was 43 years old.Simon de WinterIn 2020, a search began to uncover more about what had happened to Gerrit Hiddink. During that investigation, people realised that “Tonny van ’t Wes”, &nbsp;the little boy once hidden on the Hiddink farm, might still be alive.&nbsp;An appeal was placed in the New Israel Weekly, and after some time, a man named Simon de Winter got in touch. He revealed that he was indeed the foundling Tonny. Simon lives in Teteringen, a small village near Breda, but he is originally from Enschede.&nbsp;On 5 May 2022, he was reunited with the Hiddink family, together with his own children and grandchildren. After 77 years, it was a deeply moving and beautiful tribute to Gerrit Hiddink, the brave resistance hero who once gave him shelter.

Resistance hero Gerrit Hiddink and grandmother Antonia

As you walk the Freedom Trail, you will find signs with QR codes along the way that tell you more about these individuals. These codes are placed at or near the places where they lived or went into hiding in Geesteren. Co van den Brink, a military policeman in hiding, and Jaap Rijsdijk, another person in hiding who died under tragic circumstances, are also commemorated as war victims from Geesteren. When you walk the Memorial Path, you will come across QR codes marking the location of the Jewish Meijers family’s home and the hiding places of Co and Jaap in our village.Vrijheidsbos (Liberty Forest)The village of Geesteren created a commemorative forest, Vrijheidsbos Geesteren, in honour of 75 years of freedom in the Netherlands. The forest integrates remembrance, education, recreation and nature. The idea for this forest emerged following research into the 12 World War II victims from Geesteren.Today, the Liberty Forest also offers the opportunity for people to plant memorial trees of their own. This way, the forest continues to grow into an inspiring and peaceful place for everyone.

Six war victims 

The Meijers family lived at Esweg number 3, which you can see when you walk along the Memorial Path. Father Bernard, mother Eva, and sons Manuel, Philip Levie, and Henri took active part in village life, from school celebrations and the Orange Festival to the local militia. The boys attended the public primary school in Geesteren, and all the family members were part of the synagogue in Borculo. During the war they briefly went into hiding in, yes you heard correctly, a chicken coop. But it soon became too dangerous, and above all, they wanted to stay together as a family. So they made the heartbreaking decision to return to their home on Esweg.At the end of August 1942, Manuel married Sofia van Gelder from Enschede. The newlyweds moved in with the Meijers family on Esweg. In a raid in October 1942, they were all forcibly taken by the Germans. From there, they were transported via Camp Westerbork to Auschwitz. Far too young, all six were murdered there in quick succession.Neighbour boysJan Nijland was the boy next door and the same age as Manuel. They were best friends and often got up to a bit of mischief together. For example, Manuel would sometimes take a chicken from his parents to the Jewish butcher in Borculo to be slaughtered according to kosher rules, a service that cost 10 cents. One day, Jan and Manuel came up with a plan. Jan said: "Bring the chicken to me, I’ll slaughter it, and we’ll split the 10 cents between us." And so they did. This worked a few times, until one day the Jewish butcher asked Father Bernard: "Don’t you eat chicken anymore?" That was the end of the neighbourhood boys’ little secret.

The Jewish Meijers Family

One of the farms you can partly see to the right of the woods is the ‘Kunneman’ farmhouse. During the war, Jan Westra was in hiding there with the Berendsen family. Today, this farm is home to Wine Farm Kunneman. Jan arrived at Kunneman via the neighbouring village of Gelselaar. At night, he was well hidden in a hole beneath straw in a haystack, half underground.On a hot summer night in 1944, around ten men in SS uniforms, armed with heavy weapons, entered the farmhouse and asked about those in hiding. Jan was arrested, along with four other people who had been in hiding in Gelselaar. He had been betrayed – shockingly, by another person in hiding. The likely motive? Jealousy: the betrayer had been seeing a girl from Gelselaar who had left him for another man in hiding.Jan Westra was sent to Camp Amersfoort and later transported to the penal labour camp of Neuengamme near Hamburg, where he died. According to the official record, the cause of death was diarrhea. Jan Westra was only 21 years old...A NoteDuring his transport to Camp Amersfoort, Jan managed to throw a note out of the train for his parents. Remarkably, it reached them later. Jan’s brother, Kees, survived the war. He went on to marry Mineke Wannink from Gelselaar. One of their sons was named after Jan. The tree planted in memory of Jan Westra in the Liberty Forest is a linden tree, a symbolic choice, as justice was traditionally dispensed under a linden tree.

Freedom Route Geesteren

Photos

Sites and stories along the route

The playing Jantje Esselink

Resistance hero Gerrit Hiddink and grandmother Antonia

Six war victims

The Jewish Meijers Family

Jan Westra, a person in hiding