War Memorial Drachten

The monument in the Van Haersmapark in Drachten (municipality of Smallingerland) consists of three war memorials: a general, a Jewish and a gypsy monument.

The general war memorial was erected in memory of 17 fellow citizens who died as a result of acts of war during the years of occupation.

- Geert Jan Blauw
- Johannes Bartholomeus Tichelaar
- Gerhardus Wagenaar
- Johannes Martinus Boleij

The four men worked at the office of the Tax Inspectorate in Drachten, which was a hotbed of illegal activities during the occupation. One of the employees, Marten Meijer, had a relationship with the Groningen girl Gepkelientje Folgerts. No one suspected that she also maintained relations with the Sicherheitsdienst. On the morning of May 26, 1944, the girl came to ask if her boyfriend was also present. When his colleagues confirmed this, SD men and Landwachters stormed in. PTT employee Erich was shot dead on the spot. Six members of the Inspectorate were sent to Germany. They were Gerben Kraak, Sierd Zwart, Meijer, Geert Jan Blauw, Boleij and Johannes Tichelaar, a hiding person from Leeuwarden. The three latter did not return from the concentration camp.

- Pieter Blom
- Hendrik Eenkhooren
- Johannes Joseph Erich
- Dirk de Vries
- Reimer Feitsma
- Taeke Sije Halma
- Petrus Antonius Bernardus Keverkamp
- Bauke Lijklema
- Jan Visser
- Tjalling Wagenaar
- Jouke Louw Wiersma
- Ate Bruinsma

Jewish monument
The Jewish monument was erected in memory of fourteen Jewish fellow citizens who died in the Auschwitz and Sobibor concentration camps during the Second World War.

The names of the fourteen victims are:

Betje Benninga
Rozette Benninga
Dina van Leer
Mozes van Leer
Vrougje van Leer
Veronica Esje van Leer-Zwarts
Hinderika Mozes
David Julius Turksma
Dora Jacoba Turksma
Jacob Turksma
Mozes Turksma
Simon Turksma
Anna Zilverberg
Saartje Zilverberg.

The Gypsy Monument
The Gypsy Monument was erected in memory of all Sinti and Roma who were deported and killed by the occupying forces during the Second World War. The memorial commemorates in particular the seven family members of the Mirosch family who died in 1944 in the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp.

From 1941, gypsies of the German occupier were obliged to stand in a permanent location. The gypsy family Mirosch stood on a plot on the Passchier Bollemanweg in Drachten. On May 16, 1944, father and mother Mirosch and their three daughters, stepdaughter and granddaughter were arrested. They were deported via the Westerbork transit camp to the Polish extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, where they perished. Son Mirosch stayed behind in Drachten with his three brothers. They survived the war.

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Source

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