Liberation Route Marker 149: Chaplain Kock

Chaplain Kock
On the 1st of November 1944, Chaplain Kock enthusiastically welcomes his Canadian liberators, while German prisoners-of-war look on. Shortly after, German troops recapture parts of Welberg. They remove the chaplain from his shelter because in their eyes, he is a spy.

On the night of the 31st of October 1944, when Canadian troops from the Algonquin Regiment entered Welberg and thought they had secured the village, they were surprised by two heavy German counterattacks. Among other equipment, the German troops had two Sturmgeschütze, dreaded mobile tracked guns. They were able to recapture Welberg from the Canadians.

Local people from Welberg were hiding together anxiously in a shelter, including Chaplain Kock. When he became aware of the Canadians, he thought Welberg had been liberated. He welcomed the Canadians and spoke in English with them. There were German prisoners-of-war nearby. But the Germans recaptured Welberg and freed the prisoners-of-war. They then dragged Chaplain Kock from his shelter, beat him and killed him.

Audiospot - Chaplain Kock

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: Dick de Bruijne (1, 2), Arjan Vrieze (3, 4, 5)