Memorial Stone Weverssingel 16

One Memorial Stone was placed here on 25-05-2016 for:
* JOHAN WILHELMUS VAN DER POL (died 05-03-1945, near Purmerend, aged 40)

Johan Wilhelmus van de Pol was born on 10 July 1904 in Amersfoort. In 1932 he married Annie Munnikhuis, who came from Purmerend. Johan not only ran his dairy shop on Weverssingel, but also became an active and well-known figure in the community. For example, he was a board member of the St Hubertus gymnastics club.
During the war years, he became involved in the resistance and helped people go into hiding, especially Jews. By the end of October 1942, there were already fourteen Jewish people in hiding in his house, all of whom were well-known Amersfoort residents from the city centre. On 31 October 1942, a policeman warned him that his activities were known to the police and that he could expect to be arrested that day. Van de Pol went into hiding himself, but he continued to hide Jews and other people in hiding – together with his wife Annie. He brought many of them to North Holland, where he had family. In 1944 he joined the TD group, a department of the underground that originally focussed on helping Jewish people in hiding, but later also provided other people in hiding with a so-called ‘Second Distribution Stamkaart’. Van de Pol often worked with Karel Brouwer, who worked at the Leusden town hall and also hid with him for a time.
Johan was killed on 5 March 1945 while delivering ration cards to people in hiding. He was the victim of an air raid by English planes near Purmerend.

This memorial stone is here for a resistance fighter who was killed in World War II.


These memorial stones are located here for victims of National Socialism (Nazism). They are often placed as an alternative to the official Stolpersteine of the Gunter Demnig project. Where there is no Stolperstein but people still want to commemorate, a slightly different memorial stone or plague is used. The memorials are in most cases laid in front of the last known home address of the victims.

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

Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Paul Wareman
• Johan Wilhelmus van de Pol | Herdenkingsstenen Amersfoort