April 27, 1945. It is quiet at the front line. An unofficial cease-fire is in force. Bombing or gunshots can no longer be heard. The Allied Air Force stops attacking goals in our country. As a result, the number of aircraft crashes is falling sharply.
Still, violence is lurking. For completely unclear reasons, Willemstad and parts of the Westhoek are being attacked on 26 and 27 April. German guns from South Holland bombard the fortified city.
And there are still dead here and there. A few German soldiers are killed in the polder between Hank and the Biesbosch. Details are missing, but they get a temporary grave in Hank. Yet the real fighting in the south of our country is over. The weapons are also silent at Hedel.
Last heavy stroke
There is an exception. In the extreme northeast of the country near Delfzijl, heavy fights are raging on the German border. The enemy saw the river mouth of the Ems as an important strategic point for the protection of the port of Emden. Hitler demanded defense to the last man. Canadian troops have been trying to eliminate the German defense, including coastal guns, for days. That is difficult.
Large parts of the Eastern and Northern Netherlands are liberated. By mainly Canadians, Poland and British. But the provinces of North and South Holland and Utrecht are still completely in German hands. One hundred and thousand German soldiers await the situation and the orders.
The area is surrounded by the Allied armies. A few million Dutch people can’t go anywhere. The food is now really touching, but there are plenty of contacts between the parties to come to a solution.
Secret conversations
The highest German in our country, government commissioner Arthur Seyss-Inquart, has been having secret talks with the Allies since mid-April. This goes through envoys from the resistance traveling through the Biesbosch. He wants to close a deal outside of Berlin. The Russians are also allowed to know nothing. Because the Soviets don’t want any agreements with the Germans at all. Seyss-Inquart is soon willing to let food through. But there must be something in return.
Seyss-Inquart (1892-1946) has two important requirements. One is about the revenge actions that were there. The resistance dealt with ‘wrong Dutch people’ in that period. One after the other NSB-er or other collaborator is liquidated. Seyss-Inquart demands immediate termination.
Hedel
Moreover, he wants the Allies not to attack anymore in the Netherlands anymore. That explains why the fight at Hedel had to stop in the past days. Fighting otherwise disrupt the well -running contacts between both parties. The Allies and German occupiers have thrown it at an agreement. A ceasefire has started.
The agreement will take shape in the coming days. There is still a lot of negotiations between the warring parties. April 28 there is an important meeting on the front line. They go around the table in the Utrecht place Achterveld.
The majority of Noord-Brabant was liberated in the fall of 1944. Except for the Land van Heusden and Altena. That only got the freedom back in May 1945. Every day you can read in this series about the events at the end of the Second World War in Europe.