{"id":6104,"date":"2025-01-20T13:35:06","date_gmt":"2025-01-20T13:35:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaalonderduikmuseum.nl\/freedom-programme\/quartet\/montferland\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T07:29:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T07:29:11","slug":"montferland","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nationaalonderduikmuseum.nl\/en\/freedom-programme\/quartet\/montferland\/","title":{"rendered":"Montferland"},"content":{"rendered":"

Montferland<\/h1><\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Poem ‘Our cabin’<\/h2>\n

The Garben family’s farm in Montferland is a temporary shelter for wounded Allies. In the hayloft, above the cows, the Jewish Betty Straus has been hiding for a year and a half, together with her brother and sister. They survive the war and Sara Betty Straus leaves for Los Angeles USA after the war. Sara Betty writes a poem about the liberation in which she reflects what it is like to live in a clump together. <\/p>\n

The line ‘And are we in hiding upstairs’ was the inspiration for the design of the Resistance Monument in Azewijn<\/a>, which was unveiled in 2021.<\/p>\n

The original manuscript of the poem is now kept in the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC.<\/p>\n

OUR CABIN
\n<\/strong>Our cabin, two meters by one ten<\/em>
\nis unique to see.<\/em>
\nIt can accommodate three people<\/em>
\nYou can sleep in it; If necessary, also in housing.<\/em>
\nThe roof and three walls are made of straw.<\/em>
\nVery artfully hidden is the potty somewhere.<\/em>
\nA hatch is on the fourth of the walls,<\/em>
\nWe can stare out through it.<\/em>
\nThe hatch also provides air and some light<\/em>
\nand sometimes a moonbeam on our faces.<\/em><\/p>\n

Every evening now, when the sun has gone down<\/em>
\na ladder is fetched by us.<\/em>
\nOne climbs up, prepares everything,<\/em>
\nThen we’ll be gone before you know it.<\/em>
\nFrom below a voice resounds to us:<\/em>
\n“Bu’j baoven?”, Joep shouts, “Yes” it sounds in unison.<\/em>
\nThe last connection to downstairs is broken<\/em>
\nand we are above “hiding”.<\/em><\/p>\n

Like three little toddlers very well behaved and neat<\/em>
\nwe lie next to each other in bed;<\/em>
\nbut sometimes one wants to turn around<\/em>
\nthe others have to navigate along.<\/em>
\nSometimes it goes fast, it sometimes goes rough,<\/em>
\nOne gives you a blow, the other a push.<\/em>
\nAnd as you will understand<\/em>
\nThe neutrals also get the blows here.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sometimes, it’s really unheard of,<\/em>
\nwe are very disturbed by rats.<\/em>
\nThey arrive with a lot of trotting,<\/em>
\nbut Harry grabs an iron bar<\/em>
\nand port in the straw with a lot of noise.<\/em>
\nThe rats run off in fright.<\/em><\/p>\n

Yet we sleep despite all the worries,<\/em>
\nfrom early in the evening until morning.<\/em>
\nJoep comes and opens the door again<\/em>
\nthe daily grind begins for us<\/em>
\nof spinning, knitting and good food,<\/em>
\nso that you would almost forget about the war.<\/em>
\nHowever, we have to comply and still keep courage.<\/em>
\nKeep trusting in God; one day it will be all right again.<\/em>
\nTherefore, in conclusion, the heartfelt prayer:<\/em>
\n“May there come soon, a long peace!”<\/em><\/p>\n

Azewijn, Easter 1944<\/p>\n

Source: https:\/\/www.berghapedia.nl\/index.php?title=Bestand:Onze_cabine_handschrift-1.jpg<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"Poem:<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Canadian 25-pounder gun<\/h2>\n

On 3 May 2010, the 4 May Commemoration Committee placed a Canadian cannon on the Bleek in ‘s-Heerenberg in honour of the Canadian liberators. The monument was unveiled on 5 May 2010. The cannon was placed in ‘s-Heerenberg precisely because this city above the Rhine was liberated by the Canadians. <\/p>\n

The 25-pounder that is located in ‘s-Heerenberg was deployed in the eastern part of the Netherlands during the Second World War and was entered via Netterden Nederland just after April 1, 1945. This gun was also used in the Gulf War, then used by the Irish artillery. <\/p>\n

In 2009, the Irish army took the 25-pounders out of armament and all the pieces went back to Canada to be dismantled. Two 25-pounders have been donated to Europe by the Canadian artillery, one is near the invasion beach in Normandy and the other in ‘s-Heerenberg.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"Canadian<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Stained glass window St. Pancratius Church <\/h2>\n

During the Second World War, pastor Galama and chaplain Van Rooijen from ‘s-Heerenberg were captured by the Nazis and deported to Dachau concentration camp, where they were murdered.<\/p>\n

Protest of the episcopate against German oppression
\n<\/strong>On August 5, 1941, a pastoral letter from the episcopate<\/em>\u2014the joint bishops of the Catholic Church\u2014was read in all Catholic churches in the Netherlands. In this letter, they spoke out strongly against the oppression by the German occupier. Because the Nazis had banned the free press, many priests decided to reproduce the letter and distribute it door-to-door so that people could read it at home. <\/p>\n

Arrest and deportation
\n<\/strong>The Germans reacted furiously. Without trial, pastor Galama and chaplains Van Rooijen and Hegge were arrested and detained as criminals in the House of Detention in Arnhem. The official charge was that they had distributed an “enemy letter” and had incited the people against the Germans. <\/p>\n

The agony in the concentration camps
\n<\/strong>Chaplain Hegge was transferred to the concentration camps of Amersfoort, Vught and finally Bergen-Belsen. There he was liberated by the Allies on 15 April 1945. Chaplain Van Rooijen was sent via camp Oranienburg to Dachau, where he died in 1942 of exhaustion and starvation. Pastor Galama was deported directly from Arnhem to Dachau and murdered a week after Van Rooijen after a heroic agony. <\/p>\n

Remembrance and tribute
\n<\/strong>To keep their memory alive, stained glass windows have been placed in the Pancratius Church in ‘s-Heerenberg in memory of their suffering and sacrifice. In addition, they are honored on the war memorial and by streets named after them.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"Detail<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

A return ticket to the Netherlands<\/h2>\n

After the Second World War, the Netherlands demanded compensation of 25 billion guilders from Germany. After the German surrender, plans soon arose to compensate for the war damage, the suffering of hundreds of thousands and the destruction. The Netherlands wanted to achieve this partly by annexing a piece of German territory. <\/p>\n

Annexation of three German villages
\n<\/strong>The Netherlands eventually received permission from the Allies to annex 69 square kilometers of German territory, with about 9500 German inhabitants. This concerned three areas: <\/p>\n