Skip to main content

Dokkum-Lauwersoog | Liberation route: section 7

(29.3 km)

The liberation of northeast Friesland was not achieved without a struggle. The Dutch Domestic Armed Forces (NBS) and Canadian troops fought fierce battles, partly side by side. At least six men lost their lives. It was mainly fleeing occupiers who caused fights and shootings that claimed lives on both sides. One escape route ran via Dokkumer Nieuwe Zijlen.

On Friday afternoon, 13 April 1945, the Leeuwarden headquarters of the resistance received the order to act openly against the enemy. Over the course of the evening, the five NBS groups of the municipality of Kollumerland-Nieuwkruisland gathered under the leadership of Municipal Operation Leader (Gemol) Ganzinga on Piebe Bakker's farm. Weapons and ammunition had been distributed, and they were ordered to take the locks of Dokkumer Nieuwe Zijlen. A detachment of Germans kept this entrance to the Wadden Sea well occupied during the war. 

Th…

The liberation of northeast Friesland was not achieved without a struggle. The Dutch Domestic Armed Forces (NBS) and Canadian troops fought fierce battles, partly side by side. At least six men lost their lives. It was mainly fleeing occupiers who caused fights and shootings that claimed lives on both sides. One escape route ran via Dokkumer Nieuwe Zijlen.

On Friday afternoon, 13 April 1945, the Leeuwarden headquarters of the resistance received the order to act openly against the enemy. Over the course of the evening, the five NBS groups of the municipality of Kollumerland-Nieuwkruisland gathered under the leadership of Municipal Operation Leader (Gemol) Ganzinga on Piebe Bakker's farm. Weapons and ammunition had been distributed, and they were ordered to take the locks of Dokkumer Nieuwe Zijlen. A detachment of Germans kept this entrance to the Wadden Sea well occupied during the war. 

The Wadden Sea and Lauwerszee area was of strategic importance. It was part of the German defence line, the Atlantic Wall. This bulwark ran along the coasts of France to Norway. At that time, the Lauwerszee was not yet closed off from the Wadden Sea, and the locks of Dokkumer Nieuwe Zijlen gave direct access to the sea and the Wadden Islands. 

At night, the battle groups advanced on the locks. A number of men crossed the water to attack from the other bank as well. Things went wrong when a shot was fired too early and the Germans were alerted. Shots were fired from all sides, forcing the battle groups to retreat. Meanwhile, the Germans left their positions, and the next morning the Dutch flag was hoisted on the locks without a fight. 

Part of the battle groups then took up positions at a crossroads not far from the locks. These were the roads along which the fleeing enemy tried to escape. In the course of Saturday morning, the first exchanges of fire already took place and the first arrests were made. In the days that followed, more and more occupiers tried to escape from Groningen to the West. The road to Germany was cut off. Motorcycles, buses and trucks passed the crossroads at the Soensterdijk. There were four fatalities on the side of the NBS in three days. The number of casualties (approx. 23) and prisoners (approx. 175) among Landwachters and Germans was considerably higher. 

On Sunday, the fighting was so heavy that Canadian carriers were called in for help. From Dokkum, which had been liberated the evening before, the armoured vehicles came to the locks via Kollum during the morning to offer help. The fight was soon over, and dozens of prisoners were transferred from the locks to Kollum in the afternoon. 

During the following days, several NBS members left the locks for nearby Oostmahorn to defend the port together with the Canadians against the attack of the German occupying forces from the island of Schiermonnikoog. 

In 1950, a monument was erected on the Soensterdijk in memory of the NBS members who died and the resistance. Every year, the fallen are commemorated here. 

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

63
14
64
25
41
46
13
76
11
97
85
62
52
70
1

Oostmahorn (De Skâns)

Oostmahorn is pas sinds 2006 een dorp. Daarvoor was het een buurtschap onder Anjum, maar de plaats werd steeds omvangrijker door de komst van een aantal recreatieparken. Het inwoneraantal bleef echter rond de 80 steken.

Oostmahorn (De Skâns) Oostmahorn
37
2

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.

Attack on the port of Oostmahorn
15
48
42
82
82
64
3

The liberation of Friesland

By 18 April, the mainland of Friesland had been liberated. The fighting continued in Groningen. The Wadden Islands had to wait for liberation even longer.

More information

The liberation of Friesland
45
40

Directions

63

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.

40
  • 63
  • 14
  • 64
  • 25
  • 41
  • 46
  • 13
  • 76
  • 11
  • 97
  • 85
  • 62
  • 52
  • 70
  • 37
  • 15
  • 48
  • 42
  • 82
  • 82
  • 64
  • 45
  • 40