Location
65 to 96 of 268 results
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Stavoren (Starum)
Stavoren (Starum)
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Iezumasyl
Iezumasyl
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Boutique Hotel 'Herberg Het Rechthuis'
Boutique Hotel 'Herberg Het Rechthuis'
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Bonkevaart - Elfstedentocht Finish Line
Bonkevaart - Elfstedentocht Finish Line
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Logement Nij Bonga
Logement Nij Bonga
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Klein Humalda
Klein Humalda
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Dokkum Ballooning
Dokkum Ballooning
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Hindeloopen (Hylpen)
Hindeloopen (Hylpen)
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Oan 'e Dyk
Oan 'e Dyk
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Landal Esonstad
Landal Esonstad
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Dekema State
Dekema State
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Motorcamping 't Witveen
Motorcamping 't Witveen
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Attack on the port of Oostmahorn
Attack on the port of Oostmahorn
The liberation of the north-eastern part of Friesland was not achieved without a struggle. The Dutch Domestic Armed Forces (NBS) and Canadian troops fought fierce battles, partly side by side. It was mainly occupiers fleeing in panic who caused fights and shootings that claimed victims on both sides. A fierce battle was also fought over the port of Oostmahorn.
After the liberation of Dokkum, Kollum and Dokkumer Nieuwe Zijlen, the attention of the Canadian troops turned to the port of Oostmahorn. It was the gateway to the island of Schiermonnikoog, which was part of the German defence line, the Atlantic Wall. This bulwark ran along the coasts of France to Norway. During the war, and extensive occupying force was stationed on the Wadden Island.
The village of Oostmahorn was "relieved" by the Dutch Domestic Armed Forces (NBS) on Saturday, 14 April, after the German Grenzschutz (border control) left in silence for Schiermonnikoog. Meanwhile, a group of more than a hundred fleeing SS and SD men and a dozen women crossed the Lauwerszee from Groningen near Zoutkamp with three boats to the island. A number of them were high-ranking SD members of the infamous Scholtenhuis in Groningen. When the NBS saw them sailing past from the port of Oostmahorn, shots were fired back and forth.
The German occupying forces on Schiermonnikoog then wanted to take revenge. The village and the port of Oostmahorn were attacked from the island for two hours on Monday, 16 April. A convoy of three Dutch boats left for the port with the aim of landing there. Meanwhile, the help of the B-Squadron of the Royal Canadian Dragoons (1st Armoured Carrier Regiment) in Dokkum had been called in. The attack was narrowly repelled, but two Canadian soldiers from a reconnaissance group were killed. A defence line of foxholes and armoured vehicles was erected around the village.
Further reinforcements were called in that day from Leeuwarden, where C Company of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders were sent to the coastal strip to patrol for German landing attempts.
After a brief but heavy shelling from the Canadians as a warning, a mediator was sent to the island the next day. The highest-ranking SD officer refused to surrender. They were waiting for an escape with a Schnell boat that was to take them to the German Wadden island of Borkum on 3 May. That turned out to be in vain, but in the meantime they kept the island occupied, even after the general capitulation of the whole of the Netherlands on 5 May.It was not until 11 June that two boats, the MS Waddenzee and the MS Brakzand, transported the last occupiers of Schiermonnikoog to the port of Oostmahorn. A column of army trucks packed with prisoners of war left the port under the guard of the Allies. From there they went to the POW camp in Beerta (Groningen).
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Anne-Famkes Pleats Room
Anne-Famkes Pleats Room
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Veenkloosterbos Forest on Fogelsangh State Country Estate
Veenkloosterbos Forest on Fogelsangh State Country Estate
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Skûtsjemuseum Earnewâld
Skûtsjemuseum Earnewâld
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Tourist Information Kollum
Tourist Information Kollum
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Terp fan de Takomst
Terp fan de Takomst
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Eleven Cities Monument Tegeltjesbrug Gytsjerk
Eleven Cities Monument Tegeltjesbrug Gytsjerk
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Statue of Tryntsje and her seven sons
Statue of Tryntsje and her seven sons
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The liberation of Friesland
The liberation of Friesland
By 18 April, the whole province of Friesland had been liberated, except for the Wadden Islands. Compared to other provinces, there was little fighting in Friesland. Overall, the few thousand German troops who had been unable to escape from Friesland were defeated by the Canadians relatively quickly.
The commander of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, Lieutenant Colonel Landell, praised the actions of the resistance by stating that "Friesland liberated herself". While that may be a bit of an exaggeration, the actions of the Frisian resistance undoubtedly accelerated the liberation. And reduced the number of casualties on the Allied side.
At least 31 resistance fighters lost their lives in confrontations with German troops and their Dutch accomplices. At least eleven Canadians and one Frenchman were killed on the Allied side. Dozens of civilian victims were also killed in the fighting and shelling. The number of casualties on the German side is not known, but it is believed that the number ran into hundreds. With 320 destroyed and 4000 damaged homes and 80 destroyed bridges, Friesland was materially the least damaged province of the Netherlands.
Many German soldiers fled towards the western part of the country. The retreating German troops gathered mostly in Harlingen, Makkum and Lemmer. From there, they tried to get away by boat across the IJsselmeer or via the Afsluitdijk to North Holland. The Wadden Islands also became a refuge for collaborators and German soldiers. Here, liberation was longer in coming.
On the island of Terschelling, the last German troops were disarmed by a British artillery regiment on 29 May. Two days later, the British crossed from Terschelling to Vlieland, and the liberation of that island was also a fact. Ameland was liberated on 3 June.
Personnel from the infamous Scholtenhuis, the SD headquarters in Groningen, had entrenched themselves on Schiermonnikoog. After their departure on 31 May, there was a celebration on the island, in spite of the six hundred members of the occupying troops who still were there. Only on 11 June did the last German soldiers leave Schiermonnikoog, and then the whole province of Friesland was free.
Most Canadian units that had liberated Friesland continued the battle in Groningen and North Germany after 18 April. Their war ended on 8 May 1945, when the surrender of all German armed forces became effective.
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It Noarderleech - Noard Fryslan Butendyks
It Noarderleech - Noard Fryslan Butendyks
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Landal Waterpark De Alde Feanen
Landal Waterpark De Alde Feanen
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Village Garden Snakkerburen
Village Garden Snakkerburen
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Makkum War Memorial
Makkum War Memorial
By 16 April, the major part of Friesland had been liberated. But some important targets of the Canadians had not yet been achieved. They wanted to win the Frisian ports and the Head of the Afsluitdijk from the Germans as quickly as possible. But they would be hard fought. Both the ports and the Afsluitdijk were used by German soldiers to escape to North Holland.
As elsewhere in Friesland, the Canadians were helped by resistance fighters from the Dutch Domestic Armed Forces (N.B.S.) They suffered several casualties near Makkum. On 16 April, Schelte Bruinsma and Simon Sipma were killed in an attack on a farm in which the Germans had entrenched themselves. The next day, another group tried to occupy a bridge under Makkum. However, the Germans caught sight of them and in the ensuing gunfight, Rinnert Anema, Roelof van der Meer and Hendrik Postma were killed. Makkum was liberated on 18 April, as one of the last villages in Friesland.
The monument at the Buren in Makkum was unveiled in 1952 in commemoration of the members of the Dutch Domestic Armed Forces who were killed around the village during the struggle for liberation.
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Kroesepaed Hiking Trail
Kroesepaed Hiking Trail
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Copini Buitensport
Copini Buitensport
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Outdoor Veldboom
Outdoor Veldboom
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National Park 'De Alde Feanen'
National Park 'De Alde Feanen'
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Dijktempel (dike temple) at Marrum
Dijktempel (dike temple) at Marrum
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Jan Durkspolder
Jan Durkspolder
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Skiedingsboskje Forest and Pingos next to the A7
Skiedingsboskje Forest and Pingos next to the A7
