6 villages Liberation Tour
It may be hard to imagine now, but at the end of the Second World War it was raining bombs and shells in north-east Groningen. In the last days of the war, the villages of the former municipality of Bierum became the battleground of Canadian and German troops.
After the liberation of the city of Groningen on 16 April 1945, the German troops fled to Delfzijl. There they were soon surrounded from two sides. Yet the German soldiers did not intend to surrender just like that. In the final weeks there was heavy fighting in the region around Delfzijl, which the Canadians called the 'Delfzijl Pocket'. North of the port town, the fighting took place in and around the villages of the former municipality of Bierum. On 2 May 1945, the last shots of World War II in Groningen sounded in Farmsum, just south of Delfzijl.
Stories & Images: verhalenvangroningen.nl
Here’s what you’ll see
Fights in Holwierde
Holwierde was ravaged by incessant gunfire between 23 and 29 April 1945. Indeed, the German battery commander had given the orders: "Holwierde bis zum letzten Mann verteidigen". And that happened.
The Nansum Bunkers
Nansum is not actually a village, but a hamlet near Holwierde. It is an important place in this route. During World War II, the Ems and Dollard coast was part of the German Atlantic Wall.
Resistance in Bierum
On Spijksterweg in Bierum stood the farm of the Omta family. Eldest son Fokko was in the resistance during the war, but had to go into hiding. He did so in a hiding place on his parents' farm.
The Munitieloods in Spijk
In Spijk, almost a month and a half after the liberation, seven more war victims fell. On 12 June 1945, a heavy thump sounded in the wider area. It soon emerged that the ammunition shed on Losdorpsterweg had been blown away completely. After the liberation, German explosives and weapons had been stored there
One of the last nights of the war
Johannes 'Jo' Olinga had to go into hiding in Losdorp during the war. During the war, the number of raids on the Groningen countryside increased significantly, but Olinga managed to stay out of the hands of the occupiers each time.
People in hiding in Godlinze
The Kruger family's farm De Pannekoek was a coming and going of refugees, as were many other farms in the area. The Kruger family provided shelter to conscientious objectors and Jewish people in hiding during the war.
May days in Krewerd
There was not much fighting in the province of Groningen in the May days of 1940. However, Jan Teuben from Krewerd did have to take some soldiers from Nansum behind the Waterlinie in his lorry. He got caught up in the Battle of the Afsluitdijk and lost his truck in all the commotion.
