1940-1945. The resistance in the dutch province of Limburg

Nijmegen

Herdenkingskapel met graven Daniel van Vugt en andere slachtoffers van Ederveen

1944 – The bombing of Nijmegen

Nijmegen lies only a few kilometers north of the Limburg provincial border and was to play an important bridging role between the Limburg LO and the north of the country. We quote from Het Grote Gebod: The resistance there "had always cooperated with Arnhem, with Father Holleman and Theo Dobbe in particular coming to the fore. Arnhem was represented mainly by Kees van Gelder, who was a member of the top. In June 1943, "secret agent Ederveen," who was in reality provocateur/V-man C.J. van der Burch, working for the Abwehrstelle Groningen and the SD in The Hague, penetrated a group of mainly police officers. When it became clear that this alleged Ederveen was a traitor, police inspector Frans Prick (later: Perrick) saw no other option but to liquidate him. On September 24, 1943, an assassination attempt was made on him on the Daalseweg. Van der Burch managed to escape, however, and dozens of arrests followed. The "main suspects" were Herman Oolbekkink, Albertus H. Marcusse, Wilhelmus A. Beerman, Bartholomeus Th. Hendriks and Cees de Jong..
After being sentenced to death on May 19, 1944 for sabotage, espionage and possession of weapons, they were shot on June 6, 1944 in the dunes near Overveen. In Nijmegen, these five members of the resistance group were honored with a street name in the quarter of the resistance heroes in the Kwakkenberg district. Policemen Beerman, Hendriks and Marcusse later received an honorary burial in the cemetery of the Hl. Landstichting (Holy Land Foundation), next to their comrade in arms Daan van Vugt. Cees de Jong was buried in the cemetery of honor in Bloemendaal.
After a supply group of the newly formed L.O. was busted in Nijmegen in September 1943, District Chief Smals of Vierlingsbeek rushed there to breathe new life into the L.O. and ensure that the cooperation that had just been established remained intact. (Cammaert VIb p. 718) p. 718) Now the L.O.-Limburg played a stronger role in Nijmegen. Holleman and Dobbe remained the link between the Exchange (code word for the L.O. head in the part of the country north of the Rhine) and the regional Limburg Assembly.
Another reason for the bond between Nijmegen and Limburg was the Catholic University of Nijmegen (KUN, today Radboud University). There studied mainly students from the Catholic south of the country, including Limburg. At first Ambrosius had its office in Venlo, but as this location caused more and more problems, it was moved to St. Annastraat in Nijmegen in February 1944. By the way, he too, had studied in Nijmegen.
In Nijmegen there was also the forgery office of J. de Weert, which was integrated into the L.O. by Ambrosius.
On February 22, 1944, the Allied bombing of Nijmegen took place, targeting the station area (the Germans used the railroad for weapons transport), but because of sloppy execution, most of the bombs landed on houses in the center, killing about 800 civilians.^{6) 7)})
In July 1944, several attempts were made in Nijmegen for various reasons. Rauter ordered the shooting of eleven imprisoned resistance fighters from Nijmegen in retaliation. ¹⁾)
On September 19, 1944, Jan van Hoof piloted an Allied reconnaissance vehicle through the city. On the Nieuwe Markt - today’s Joris Ivensplein - the vehicle was set on fire. Jan van Hoof survived, but was captured and subsequently killed. (noviomagus.nl ¹⁰⁾)

The following list of fallen resistance members is far from complete. Just look at the number of fallen members of the university. [11] A peculiarity of Nijmegen is the large number of women who were active in the resistance. [4][5]

1. Eleven imprisoned resistance fighters from Nijmegen killed
2. Oorlogsdoden Nijmegen 1940-1945: Aanslag op Ederveen, Attempt to assassinate Ederveen
3. In the Bakkerskapel of the Stevenskerk in Nijmegen, the free brochure about the Memorial Book of the Nijmegen Resistance is available for consultation.
   Van terroristen tot helden. Het verzet geëerd of miskend? (From terrorists to heros. Resistance recognized or misunderstood?) by Dr. Joost Rosendaal
   Werkgroep Oorlogsdoden Nijmegen (Working Group War Dead Nijmegen)
   info@oorlogsdodennijmegen.nl
4. Anneke Nolet, Vrouwen en verzet : In het Rijk van Nijmegen, 1940-1945.
   (In the realm of Nijmegen, 1940-1945.) Nijmegen, publisher Vantilt, [2020].
   While searching for her aunt’s story, the author discovered stories of more than 120 women from the Nijmegen Resistance. “There were an incredible number of them,” Nolet notes. "There are probably many more than I found.”
5. Anneke Nolet, Verzetsvrouwen in Nijmegen, (Resistance Women in Nijmegen) in: Nijmeegs Katern 28 (Feb. 2014) no.1 pp.10-12.
6. The bombing of Nijmegen. The letter of an eyewitness to her parents.
7. Bombardement geen vergissing, wel een faux pas, Bombardment not a mistake, but a faux pas, De Gelderlander, February 21, 2009.
8. https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slag_om_Nijmegen
   The liberation of Nijmegen took place from September 17 to 20, 1944, as part of Operation Market Garden during World War II.
9. https://www.noviomagus.nl/vrijkun30.htm
10. Surveillancedagboek Gemeentepolitie Nijmegen from february 1944 until about 1 october 1944
11. Memorial plaque for the fallen members of the Catholic University of Nijmegen, formerly in the entrance hall of the assembly hall at the Wilhelminasingel, now in the entrance hall of the assembly hall at the Comeniuslaan.
12. Sichting noviomagus , De Tweede Wereldoorlog in Nijmegen, The Second World War in Nijmegen

Liberated: 1944-09-17 – 1944-09-20