Memorial Mass Grave De Hamert

The memorial commemorates the execution of seven men who were shot here on May 2, 1943 by a German firing squad because they had participated in the April-May strike of 1943.

The national April-May strike started after it was announced on April 29, 1943 that all former soldiers who had taken part in the battle in May 1940 had to report to be taken to Germany as prisoners of war to work there as forced labourers.

The leader of the SS in the Netherlands, Hans Rauter, ordered ten strikers to be sentenced to death in Limburg. That number was not reached by the courts. It remained at seven death sentences. Those convicted included three miners and resistance fighter Bob Bouman from Roermond.

From Maastricht, the seven men were taken to De Hamert in Wellerlooi, where a firing squad of fifteen men carried out the sentences.

On the instructions of Richard Nitsch, a member of the Maastricht Security Police who was involved in the executions, the mass grave was located on June 30, 1946 and the remains of the victims could be reburied in their original place of residence. In 1950, the municipality of Bergen had the Monument to the Fallen erected on the site of the mass grave.

Commemoration on May 4

The memorial has now acquired a broader meaning. During the annual Remembrance Day on May 4, there is a silent procession to the monument. Subsequently, not only the shot strikers are commemorated on site, but also all other Dutch victims of the Second World War, as well as those killed in other war situations and post-war peacekeeping missions.

Their names were:
BOOGERD J.L.
BOUMAN M.A.M.
BROUWER L.TH.
RUYTERS P.L.
SAVELSBERG R.
TOUSSAINT S.
TEMPELAARS M.

Do you have more information about this location? Inform us!

Source

• Text: Traces of war
• Photos: Peter Schipper