It is the time of the Second World War. The Germans have just arrested and imprisoned seven resistance fighters. All badly beaten. They face the death penalty. A group of resistance people from Meppel, known as ‘De Knokploeg’, wants to free them.
Shots are fired over and over. The operation is almost completely successful. All prisoners are freed. Two members of the Knokploeg die, another is seriously injured. One of the deceased is Gerrit de Boer. Immediately the next day, his uncle Jan and his 15-year-old son Gerard are arrested. They would therefore also be in the resistance, was the reasoning. Gerard is released after two weeks, but Jan remains imprisoned. He was shot nine days before the liberation of Meppel.
So the cells are gone, the pigeons too. What remains are old wooden beams in the attic. The supporting beams have been completely restored. “They were quite outdated. Now they just don’t shine,” says Todic about the renovation. For example, more old elements have been retained. “You can still see that this is a mansion,” he points to old details. Large old doors return, many rooms still have an arch on the landing and the windows regain their old format. “Every apartment has a view of the Meppeler tower.”