Liberation Route Marker 140: Escaped from the grave

Escaped from the grave
During the battle that took place here in October 1944, German soldiers haul three Dutch men from of a bunker on suspicion of them supporting the underground. One of them, Felix Roelen, tells his story.

On the 6th of October 1944, a fierce battle raged in this area. The 1st Polish Armoured Division attempted to force the German troops to retreat, but encountered fierce resistance. Among other measures, the German army had deployed the very well organised 6th Paratroopers Regiment. German paratroopers were extremely apprehensive of espionage. At the slightest suspicion, they resorted to drastic measures.

And so farmer Felix Roelen, his neighbour Toon Oomen and resistance fighter Willy van den Corput were pulled out of a shelter by German soldiers and taken away after a short interrogation. In the woods around Alphen, they were summarily shot. Felix Roelen was hit in the neck, but eventually, it proved not to be a fatal wound and he survived.

Audiospot - Escaped from the grave

Liberation Route Europe is a certified Cultural Route of the Council of Europe. With hundreds of sites and stories in nine European countries, the route links the main regions along the advance of the Allied Forces in 1943-1945.
The entire route consists of themed routes that can be travelled by by hiking, walking, cycling and car. These routes pass numerous historical and interesting sites and tell stories from a multitude of perspectives that were important in the final phase of World War II.
Many routes feature listening spots, offering the opportunity to listen to a historical story at a location. In addition, many ‘Vectors of Memory’ have been placed, indicating that the passer-by is on one of the Liberation Routes.
The routes can be found on the Liberation Route Europe website or in the app through which many stories can also be listened to.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar & Liberation Route Europe
• Photos: Marten Oldersma (1), Arie van Wijngaarden (2, 3, 4, 5)