Memorial England Sailors Katwijk aan Zee

On the beach next to the Boulevard in Katwijk aan Zee is a monument to the Engelandvaarders.
During the Second World War, the Engelandvaarders tried to escape from the area occupied by the Germans at the risk of their own lives. They intended to join the Allied forces in England or other Allied territory to take an active part in the fight against the enemy, Germany, Italy and Japan.

The memorial was unveiled in June 2017 by relatives of a World War II England sailor, the Diplomat and Reserve Officer of the Polish Lancers Tolo Saryusz Makowski.

On the Boulevard in Katwijk aan Zee there is an information column with information about the Atlantic Wall and the Engelandvaarders from World War II.

The text reads:

England sailors
Engelandvaarder is an honorary name for the more than 2000 men and women who managed to escape from the occupied Netherlands during the Second World War to join the Allied forces. With great difficulty they reached England. Hundreds of Dutchmen made an attempt but never arrived in England. Many lost their lives in the process. No one knows their exact number

The Atlantic Wall
During the Second World War, the Atlantic Wall (length +/- 6,200 km) was built along the Western European coast. A military defense line that stretched from the Pyrenees in France to the North Cape in Norway. Nazi Germany's goal was to prevent a rapid Allied invasion. The Atlantic Wall had major consequences for various coastal towns, including Katwijk aan Zee.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar & Dick de Bruijne
• Photos: Robert Schreurs (1), Dick de Bruijne (2, 3, 4, 5)