Memorial Executions Zuid-Kennemerland

Two memorial stones on either side of this path mark the place where, on February 2, 1943, seven citizens of Haarlem and three citizens of Velsen were shot by the occupying forces as a reprisal measure.

The people of Haarlem, including the entire Jewish Council of Haarlem, were part of a group of hundreds of citizens of Haarlem who were lifted from their beds in the night of January 31 to February 1, 1943 and taken hostage. The people of Velsen belonged to a group of ten citizens from Velsen, who were arrested on January 22, 1943 and, like the people from Haarlem, were transferred to the dome prison of Haarlem.
The remains of those executed were cremated that same day in the Driehuis-Westerveld crematorium.
Almost all of the surviving relatives of the members of the Jewish Council of Haarlem were deported to concentration camps immediately after the execution, from which none of them returned.

The remaining hostages were taken to Vught concentration camp the day after the execution. They returned to Haarlem after three months.

A week after the execution, all Jews still residing in Haarlem were ordered to move to Amsterdam. Very many complied, which in fact meant the end of the Jewish community in this region.

The few Jews who returned to Haarlem in 1945 founded a new congregation.

The monument is in memory of those who died here:
Philip Frank
Barend Chapon
Herbert Drietsma
Roelof Strengholt
Johannes Lebbe
Iwan Zwanenbeek
Simon Warmenhoven
Pieter Weij
Wijnand De La Rie
Karel Reumann

The monuments are located along a walking path, which connects to the cycle path. If you are by bicycle, it is best to park it along the cycle path. There are two crossings of footpaths (made of shells and gravel) with the same bike path, about 30 meters apart. It does not matter which footpath you take, as both paths intersect at the first monument. At one of the intersections it is possible to lock your bicycle securely to a sturdy wooden beam.
You have to walk the path for about 30 meters before you come across the first monument with an information board.

This place where the stones are located is part of a cycle route through the dunes of Verwonderd Duin. After downloading the app you can use your mobile phone to listen to sound fragments and music based on the memorial stones. At other places on the route that are indicated by a logo on a bench or pole, there are sound fragments about nature and time. The cycle route goes from the Kennemerduinen visitor center to Duin and Kruidberg or vice versa. The fragments can be listened to separately, but of course the whole gives a special experience.

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Source

• Text: Nationaal Park Zuid Kennemerland, Ewoud van Eig & Marianne Narold
• Photos: Ewoud van Eig (1, 2, 3), Lammert Melk (4)