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Leeuwarden-Dokkum | Liberation route: section 6

(38.5 km)

On 14 April around 19:00, the villages of Akkerwoude and Murmerwoude (now merged into Damwâld) were liberated by the Royal Canadian Dragoons. No fighting was necessary. There was hardly any enemy to be found in this area. 

Overjoyed residents threw their arms around the Canadians’ necks. There was an immense feeling of relief. However, the Dragoons had to move on quickly to Dokkum. 

The next day, it became clear that the danger had not yet passed. As in other parts of Friesland, groups of German soldiers and their Dutch accomplices were on the move. Some tried to escape or even fight. Others planned to surrender as soon as they encountered Allied troops. 

The NBS had set up an observati…

On 14 April around 19:00, the villages of Akkerwoude and Murmerwoude (now merged into Damwâld) were liberated by the Royal Canadian Dragoons. No fighting was necessary. There was hardly any enemy to be found in this area. 

Overjoyed residents threw their arms around the Canadians’ necks. There was an immense feeling of relief. However, the Dragoons had to move on quickly to Dokkum. 

The next day, it became clear that the danger had not yet passed. As in other parts of Friesland, groups of German soldiers and their Dutch accomplices were on the move. Some tried to escape or even fight. Others planned to surrender as soon as they encountered Allied troops. 

The NBS had set up an observation post in the church tower in Murmerwoude. In the afternoon, a group of German soldiers and Dutch collaborators approached across the Achterwei from Rinsumageest. The resistance fighters decided to open fire on the group from the church. It appeared that a horse-drawn wagon had been loaded with ammunition, as it went up in the air with a huge bang. 

Four German soldiers were killed instantly and a fifth was left severely wounded. Geert Gerding (51), a civilian from Peelo, was also killed. He was walking next to the wagon and had been forced to transport the ammunition for the soldiers. 

In the chaos that followed, most of the group fled in the direction of Dokkum. Two Germans and the Dutch NSKK member (paramilitary and armed supply unit) Arie Notenboom, who cycled ahead of the group, were unable to escape. The Dragoons had also been notified in the meantime. After they opened fire from their vehicles, one of the Germans surrendered. Notenboom and the other German managed to escape again on their bicycles. 

Harmen Brouwer (23) and Jan Kaper (23), both members of the NBS, tried to force the men to stop. But they immediately opened fire and killed both Brouwer and Kaper. Notenboom and his German companion eventually hid in a farm belonging to the Keulen family between Rinsumageast and Âldstjerk. 

The NBS soon got wind of their whereabouts and enlisted the help of the Dragoons. Once the farm was surrounded, Notenboom came out. While Notenboom was disarmed, either he or the German threw a hand grenade at the NBS men. One of them, Bauke Lyklema (28), was seriously injured. He died the next day. 
 
Notenboom was killed immediately after the incident. The German continued to hide in the farmhouse. The Dragoons took no more chances after this and set the farmhouse on fire. The German soldier died in the fire. 
 
Harm Brouwer was a marine and known in De Westereen as a milkman. In De Westereen, a street was named after him. Jan Kaper was a marechaussee in Amsterdam. In that position, he had to arrest Jewish citizens against his will. He eventually went into hiding in Akkerwoude and joined the resistance there.  
Bauke Lyklema was a municipal cleaner in Drachten. A plaque bearing his name hangs in the town hall in memory of his death. 

Liberation Route Europe is a transnational memorial. A route that connects memorial sites and stories from all over Europe. For more information, visit www.liberationroute.com

Sights on this route

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Fries Verzetsmuseum

Persoonlijke verhalen en natuurlijk alles over de overval op de Leeuwarder gevangenis, vind je in het Fries Verzetsmuseum. Bij de overval werden 51 verzetsstrijders bevrijd zonder een schot te lossen.

Meer informatie

Fries Verzetsmuseum
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The liberation of Leeuwarden

On 11 April 1945, it became clear that German resistance in the north of the Netherlands was limited. On 12 April, the Allies seized this opportunity to advance on Friesland as quickly as possible. One of the main goals was to liberate Leeuwarden.

More information

The liberation of Leeuwarden
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Seventy evacuees from Arnhem and Limburg

The grave monument in Gytsjerkwas erected in memory of Maria v/d Heuij. Maria was one of seventy evacuees from Arnhem and Limburg who arrived in Gytsjerk on 22 January 1945. Maria died a day later, just a few months old.

More information

Seventy evacuees from Arnhem and Limburg
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Headmaster Jakob Klok in the resistance

During the war, Jakob (Jaap) Klok ended up in the resistance in Dantumadeel, where he played an important role. At the time, he lived with his wife and four children in Akkerwoude, where he was headmaster of the school at Hearewei 13.

More information

Headmaster Jakob Klok in the resistance
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Fusillade aan de Woudweg

Op 22 januari 1945 schieten leden van de 'Sipo und SD' twintig mannen dood aan de Woudweg in Dokkum. Het is de grootste fusillade tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog in Friesland. 

Meer info

Fusillade aan de Woudweg
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Dokkum (Dokkum)

Dokkum is de meest noordelijk gelegen Elfstedenstad, ze ontstond nadat deze plek een bedevaartsoord werd na de moord op Bonifatius in 754.

Bezoek Dokkum

Dokkum (Dokkum) Dokkum kerk en fontein
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Directions

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The story of the Liberation of Western Europe is a book with many chapters, with some starting before the beginning of the war in 1939 and some others often ending years after the end of the conflict in 1945. Through the Liberation route Europe, you learn more about the storylines, key military events, personal stories and biographies from the second world war in Europe. Check out www.liberationroute.com for more routes, fragments and stories.

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