Date of birth:

May 17th, 1902 (Aalten/Gelderland, Netherlands)

Date of death:

January 23rd, 1945 (Apeldoorn/Gelderland, Netherlands)

Buried on:

Dutch War Graves General Cemetery Aalten
Grave: 713.

Nationality:

Dutch

Resistance fighter

Johannes (Joop) der Weduwen was a beloved general practitioner in Aalten. On 23 January 1945, he died near Apeldoorn after being shot at by an Allied plane, at least according to the reading of the German authorities.

Joop der Weduwen was born in Aalten on 17 May 1902. He studied at the Gymnasium in Doetinchem, later at the University of Utrecht, where he took his doctor's exam and then obtained a doctorate in medicine. He proved himself a worthy successor to his father and settled here as a doctor.

From the beginning of the war, Joop der Weduwen became involved in the resistance in the Achterhoek region. He actively offered help to people wanted by the Germans. His family included two young men who refused labour service. When English planes were shot down and the crew injured, he offered them medical assistance. For a raid on the distribution office in Borculo, his car was ‘stolen’. He helped Jewish people in hiding at various farms in the area. He also played a role in the foundling of the Jewish baby ‘Wíllem Herfstink’ near the house of resistance leader ‘Ome Jan’ Wikkerink.

In the last winter of the war, Joop der Weduwen felt closely associated with the forced labourers who had to do their slave work under inhumane conditions, especially in Camp Rees. That camp was located just across the border in Germany. As a representative of the Dutch Red Cross, he negotiated with Peter Röhrig, the commander known as the executioner of Rees, to take away the sick and wounded.

He tried to transfer as many people as possible to Aalten, where ‘Huize Avondvrede’ on Hogestraat had been set up as an emergency hospital. Many were also transported by the GP's car to the Emergency Hospital in Harreveld. Some of the sick temporarily stayed at his home and then went into hiding.

On 19 January 1945, Dr Der Weduwen, accompanied by two SS men from camp Rees, left for The Hague for an official meeting with senior German officers and the mayor there. On behalf of the Red Cross, he pleaded for better conditions for the forced labourers, many of whom came from The Hague and Rotterdam. The men had to spend nights on the bare floors in draughty and damp wooden sheds, had meagre clothing and were barely fed. To improve their inhuman existence somewhat, he asked for straw bags, among other things.

During his journey back to Aalten, on 23 January 1945, the car he was in was taken under fire by an Allied fighter plane near Apeldoorn at around five in the afternoon, at least that was the reading of the German authorities.
His lifeless body was found severely mutilated in a dry ditch, where he had tried to take cover. He had lost a lot of blood and died on the spot. The car was undamaged. There were strong rumours that the Germans carried out a deliberate attack on him because he had become too troublesome. Joop der Weduwen lived to be 43.

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