Bert Finke (60) writes in his latest book, or rather two books, about the period during the Second World War in Schoonebeek.
Finke is a historical researcher, entrepreneur and writer. Although he lives in Leeuwarden, Drenthe is his home. He was born in Zandpol, in the former municipality of Schoonebeek. Finke has been researching the history of Schoonebeek for about twenty years.
The ‘bug’ of writing about World War II started six years ago. Then Drenthe celebrated 75 years of freedom. Finke was actively involved in this.
“I always research the period from 1200 to 1850. And that does not include the Second World War,” he begins. “It was only when I was actively involved in the organization that I thought: I actually don’t know enough about that period in Schoonebeek.”
And so the investigation began. They turned out to be two very big pills, because they both contain about six hundred pages. “It was not possible to make it thinner,” laughs Finke. “That’s the advantage of being the publisher yourself, so you can decide for yourself.”
The first part is about the mobilization and invasion of the Germans, the resistance and the war victims. The second part is about collaboration, the liberation and the settlement of the war and the Dutch East Indies.
Although Schoonebeek is not a large place like Amsterdam or The Hague, there are certainly war stories to be told about it, according to Finke. “It turns out that a lot has happened,” he says.
Initially, Schoonebeek played no role in the German invasion in May 1940. The German troops did pass through the municipality to attack elsewhere.
But halfway through the Second World War, residents from Schoonebeek and the surrounding area became involved in the war. This is how the municipal council came into the hands of the NSB and help was provided to Allied pilots who crashed their plane in the South-East corner of Drenthe.
And due to the indiscretion of a resident of Schoonebeek and the betrayal of a collaborator, 45 resistance fighters were arrested in the so-called OD action. Seventeen resistance fighters were killed. “Eight people were shot and nine of them died in camps,” says Finke. “And it all started in Schoonebeek.”
The two-volume book set is out and, according to Finke, is full ‘of stories that have never been told before’.
