Vaste tentoonstelling
Give the names a face – Rademakersbroek

The National Hiding Museum presents the exhibition Give the names a face – Rademakersbroek as a result of years of research.

The raid of Putten, the executions at the Woeste Hoeve and the Waalsdorpervlakte will sound familiar to many. However, a dramatic event also took place in the Achterhoek in the aftermath of the war. The south of the Netherlands had already been liberated in 1944, the rest of the Netherlands was still going through a harsh winter. The occupying forces felt cornered and tried to break the resistance in the Netherlands with retaliatory actions.

After a failed resistance action, in which four German soldiers were killed, an execution took place in retaliation on a grain field on the Rademakersbroek, near Varsseveld. They are 46 men from the resistance who were taken out of prison De Kruisberg in Doetinchem as so-called Todeskandidaten (Todeskandidaten Candidates). They come from all over the Netherlands. The youngest is only 18 years old, the oldest 65.

Annual commemoration

The execution of the 46 men has left deep and indelible marks both on the environment and on the relatives. Every year on March 2, the commemoration takes place at the monument at the Rademakersbroek. Relatives, those involved and schoolchildren jointly commemorate the lives of the 46 deceased men. The grain grew higher and thicker at the place where the men were shot. “No one will eat this grain,” says the farmer who harvests the grain. The ears have been preserved and the grain is visible in a bell jar near the monument.

Put a face to the names

Until recently, we only knew their name. But who were these men? Where did they come from? What role did they play in the resistance? What were their stories? After more than 75 years, the 46 men of the Rademakersbroek finally get a face.

Requiem Rademakersbroek

The pianist Matthijs Stronks (Aalten 1980) made a contemporary requiem in collaboration with various artists. This requiem can be listened to via the YouTube channel below.

00:00 – 02:26 Introductio ad XLVI
02:26 – 03:33 Perturbatio
03:38 – 05:50 In Aeternum
05:53 – 07:40 Meditatio
07:41 – 09:46 Conscientia
09:46 – 15:35 Memini atque disco

The ‘Introductio ad XLVI’ consists of 46 notes that symbolize the number of men who were executed. The bewilderment ‘Perturbatio’ is followed by the transition to eternity ‘In Aeternum’, which flows into the contemplation ‘Meditatio’. The awareness and conscience can be heard through the strings in ‘Conscientia’. Then there is the remembrance and learning to be heard in the last part ‘Memini atque disco’.

Composition and piano, Fender Rhodes, synthesizers – Matthijs Stronks Guitars
– Wout Kemkens
Production and mix -Wilco Hijink
Mastering – Pieter Kloos
Videoclip – Matthijs Stronks

Discover the stories of the 46 in the special exhibition ‘Give the names a face – Rademakersbroek’, in which children from primary school de Meeander (Heelweg) also participated. Now available on: de46vanhetrademakersbroek.nl

Book

Researcher Kirsten Zimmerman, who was also commissioned by the National Hiding Museum to research the backgrounds of the men in the theme year Resistance, will publish a book about the 46 of the Rademakersbroek in the spring of 2025.

The temporary exhibition ‘Give the names a face – Rademakersbroek’ was on display at the National Hiding Museum in Aalten until 25 June 2023. The exhibition has now been given a permanent place in the museum. Here you can still read the impressive stories about the lives of these 46 men.