The fallen resistance people in Limburg

Derk van Assen

He was a bailiff at the direct taxes, belonged to LO-Maastricht, married to Berendje Grolleman. [1]
They were active in the distribution of underground papers such as Vrij Nederland and Trouw and participated in the founding of the L.O. in Maastricht. They were arrested on June 24th, 1943 for housing Jewish couple. Derk was interrogated for weeks by the SiPo in the detention center in Maastricht. However, he did not tell anything about the resistance people with whom he had collaborated. The Maastricht tax office offered the Germans in vain 40,000 guilders for the liberty of Derk. After an attempt by resistance people to liberate Derk, he was taken on September 14, 1943, early in the morning, to the woodland Schadijkse Bossen in Meterik. Because he continued to refuse to provide information to the SiPo, he was shot on the spot.
His body was dug up there in 1946. After identification, he was reburied in his birthplace Hasselt (Province of Overijssel). The municipality of Horst placed a memorial cross in 1946. For many years this cross was maintained by the Crosses and Chapels Foundation of Horst a/d Maas.
There is a memorial in the tax office of Maastricht [2] in honor of Derk and four more tax officials who lost their lives for our freedom.

Reburied on the National Field of Honor in Loenen, grave  E-25, 1963 [5]

Footnotes

1. Berendje Grolleman
2. Monument in het belastingkantoor Maasticht
3. Biogr. tracesofwar.nl Derk van Assen
4. Verzetsmensen met een Maastrichtse connectie
5. Nationaal Ereveld Loenen
   oorlogsgravenstichting.nl • 4en5mei.nl, oorlogsmonumenten
   Wikipedia • Nederlands • Deutsch
6. Oorlogsgravenstichting.nl
7. https://forum.mestreechonline.nl/forum/mestreech-maastricht/geschiedenis-maastricht/tweede-wereldoorlog-en-bevrijding/1223-verzetsstrijders-maastricht