You can’t ignore it in Sleeuwijk. Portraits of resistance fighters from the land of Heusden and Altena are hung right through the village, in a street of more than 2.5 kilometers long. “Their names now get a face, their stories stay alive.”
The wreath standards for commemoration of the dead are already ready at the resistance monument in Sleeuwijk, which was unveiled in 1952 for 34 war heroes from the Land of Heusden and Altena.
In the adjacent Rijksstraatweg, portraits of them are now hanging on lantern posts. Wytske de Paauw and Marlies van der Burg from the 4 May Committee Sleeuwijk watching Wytske De Paauw and Marlies in the wind.
During a visit to the D-Day beaches in Normandy, the idea of honoring the 34 war heroes with portraits in the oldest street in the village arose at Wytske. Eighty years of liberation, she seemed like the perfect moment for this.
“With the current situation between Ukraine and Russia and the situation in Gaza, we want to make these portraits tangible and visible that for eighty years of freedom life is not self -evident,” adds Marlies. “People fought for our freedom for their lives.”
The 34 men have meant a lot for the liberation of the Land van Heusden and Altena. In November 1944 the area was located in the middle of the front line. “Just before the liberation, this was really the buffer between the liberated south and the still occupied north,” says Wytske. The number of people in hiding is going to 300 in a short time.
“Only five days before the liberation, they are shot by the Germans.”
At the risk of their own lives, some men, including Arie van Driel (1905 – 1945) and Kornelis Pieter ‘Kees’ van de Sande (1918 – 1945), in this period crossings out. In addition, people, medication and military messages are transported from occupied to liberated area. “In a leak boat,” says Wytske. “Only five days before the liberation, Kees and Arie are shot by the Germans,” she continues. “A sad story that we want to keep telling.”
To give the names a face, Wytske searches for photos for hours. A second cousin of one of the resistance fighters, who reports through a call on Facebook, also helps with the search. “That appears to be just a former primary school student here,” adds Marlies. “That immediately makes this initiative a lot warmer, really something from the village.”
In open registers, death certificates and small passport photos of many of the men were found. The photos have been edited by a graphic designer, so that they can be shown large on banners with QR codes. They lead to a website with their stories. The banners will stay in Sleeuwijk for one week anyway, but Wytske hopes until D-Day on 6 June.
“We want to show that they have not forgotten and that we appreciate them for what they have meant for our freedom,” says Marlies. It touches her to see the faces of these men hanging in the village. “They look straight at you. It gives me goosebumps.”
