Liberation Route Marker 141: Doctor in Wartime

Doctor in Wartime
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.

As the Allies approached, some Dutch wanted to make a contribution to the liberation. A doctor friend from Groningen was visiting Dr. Wim Nugteren from Chaam. Among other places, the friend from Groningen helped in Ulicoten with caring for the wounded. The Groningen doctor had been an artillery officer. He precisely noted on cigarette papers where the German troops had drawn up their guns. Couriers then brought these cigarette papers to Eindhoven.

The two doctors aroused suspicion, and with the help of Dutch collaborators, German intelligence attempted to entice them into illegal activities. But Wim Nugteren realised they were attempting to lure them into a trap and showed the Dutch the door.

The Groningen doctor ultimately helped the Canadians by indicating where the German mines lay. On the 28th of October 1944, he returned to Chaam during its liberation on top of a Canadian tank.

Audiospot - Doctor in Wartime

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: Arie van Wijngaarden