A few days before the province of Drenthe is officially freed from the Germans, three hundred Gasselters escape from a horrible death in the Witte Kerkje in their village. Now 80 years later they go back to that time in the church with a special exhibition, starring in the lead: clogs.
An impressive sight at the white church of Gasselte: 100 pairs of clogs are scattered on the lawn in front of the entrance. They symbolize the 300 men, who were locked up by the Germans in the Germans in 1945. The idea was to blow up the church with the prisoners, but the Gasselters barely escaped from that fate. Now almost 80 years later, the Gasselte 40-45 Foundation is holding an exhibition in that church, which is reflected in the liberation of the village and this impressive event in particular.
“It is a real eye -catcher. It makes a big impression when you visit our exhibition,” said co -organizer Geert Kroezenenga. The story behind the clogs is no less impressive. In the spring of 1945 a group of sixty French parachutists at Gasselte land to compete against the Germans and Dutch collaborators. The latter were in the parsonage opposite the church, which was successfully relieved by the French. The local population therefore saw the chance to plunder the building.
However, the Germans returned after the French were pulled further north. Upon returning, they were furious about the local roof and then decided to lock up 300 men in the church and let them explode. Only through the intervention of NSB mayor Garden could the Germans be convinced to put a line through the murder. When the women of Gasselte heard the clogs on the cobblestones, they knew that their men had survived the drama. That is why the wooden footwear is given a leading role in this exhibition, where 80 years of liberation is central.
“We actually wanted to keep an exhibition in 2020 because of 75 years of liberated the Netherlands,” Kroezenenga continues. “But because of Corona it couldn’t go on.” Five years later, with the celebration of 80 years of freedom, there is time for a resit. “The kick -off on Saturday attracted a lot of attention, the church was completely full. That was above expectations.” According to Kroezenenga, there are special pieces in the exhibition space. A parachute, uniforms, helmets and photos that a French soldier made of the parachutists made to the ceiling. An impressive image that he shot is of parachutist who died during the liberation.
For Kroezenenga, the inspiration for the exhibition also lies partly in the book that his father Jan published in 1982 about the liberation: The boat has turned over. “My father was rejected for health reasons and then started writing. The local history in particular fascinated him enormously, such as the church and the schools.” The story of the 300 men in the church also came to an Ore.
Kroezenenga Senior was able to draw on an extensive mountain of information. “He cited a lot of letters with those French parachutists, among other things. It is unimaginable what he has selected.”
Not everything ends up in the book. “Jan has held up with the facts to keep the story running well, says Ferdy Geertsma. He is the compiler of the ‘successor’ of the book of Kroezenenga: Occupied and liberated, Gasselte 1940-1945. Jan’s work is now supplemented with a lot of unused details from his archive. It is often the more personal, individual stories, says Geertsma.
“One of the men in the church discovered that he had the roadside papers. If he were discovered by the Germans, he would be the hare. So he won the papers as quickly as possible.”
The story that stuck the most at Geertsma is that of the 18-year-old, killed French parachutist Fernand Bègue. “He participates in an attack in a country that he does not know and helps to free a village where he has never been. That a young boy here eventually dies for our freedom. That makes a big impression on me.”