Bullet shells, old maps from the Second World War and secret documents. You can’t think of it as crazy whether Herder Jelle Kootstra has it in his possession. The collection has expanded considerably in the last thirty years.
In the sheepfold of the Holtingerveld, interested parties can indulge themselves in the month of May. Kootstra has a Second World War Pop-Up Museum there.
“The text panels arrive in the afternoon,” says Kootstra. “That’s the latter and then it’s ready for the opening of Friday.” Kootstra looks at the room. Three weeks ago his sheepfold was still full of sheep. Now there are a few more lambs and everything is further filled with things from the Second World War.
The Second World War is his great passion. The Germans then constructed a large airport on the Holtingerveld. The village of Darp had to give way to it. A lot is known about it, but not a lot and Kootstra personally pulled that out of German archives.
“I was always told that there was never a German plane. That is not true. There were dozens of German units with planes on the Holtingerveld. That was all hidden in secret documents.”
Article continues under the photo