Wall Stone Enne Bruinsma

The monument to Enne Bruinsma, in the back of the church, was erected in memory of the resistance fighter who was killed by the occupying forces during the Second World War.

Enne Bruinsma was born on May 30, 1890. During the occupation, he played a major role in the school resistance, for which he was the contact person for the municipality of Hennarderadeel. He worked closely in this area with the Bolsward town clerk Hendrik Haitsma. As a parent student of the Reformed congregation in Oosterend, Bruinsma was above all the man of the spiritual resistance, who did not make an agreement with the occupier. In his position as a national constable, he often had a very difficult time. In order not to conflict with his conscience, Bruinsma left the police service. He became an inspector at the fuel distribution service in Sneek.

On January 25, 1945, the Sicherheitsdienst raided Bruinsma's home to arrest his son Steffen. Steffen Bruinsma was an employee of the National Organization for Help to People in Hide and was not at home at the time. Enne Bruinsma's anti-National Socialist affiliation was well known and when the SD men of Post Wommels also found wristbands belonging to the Dutch Interior Forces during the house search, Enne was arrested. He was deported to the Neuengamme concentration camp.

When the war came to an end, the concentration camp was evacuated on April 20, 1945. The prisoners were pressed into rail cars and taken to Lübeck. In the Lübeckerbocht lay the remains of the German merchant fleet. On one of the ships, the Cap d'Arcona, 4600 casualties were stored in the holds. The once luxurious passenger ship had become a floating concentration camp. Many prisoners died on board. Bruinsma also died on April 28, 1945. He was buried in the municipal cemetery in Neustadt.

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Source

• Text: Bert Deelman
• Photos: Bert Deelman
• Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 mei