Wehrmacht Hut Someren-Heide

The Wehrmacht House
The Wehrmacht House is a small house built by the German Wehrmacht during the Second World War. Allied bombers flew from England over the south of the Netherlands to drop their bombs on the war industry in the Ruhr area. To prevent this, the Germans set up a line of defence that ran from northern Denmark, across Germany, south-eastern Netherlands, Belgium and France to the Swiss border. Every few kilometres along this line, there was a searchlight with a small house to accommodate the soldiers who operated it. These houses, which were roughly the same throughout the line, were later called Wehrmacht houses.

The house in Someren-Heide is the only remaining Wehrmacht house in the municipality of Someren, where there were a total of three. In 2018, it was still a ruin, with only four walls remaining. In that year, the Someren-Heide Wehrmacht Cottage Foundation was established with the aim of preserving the Wehrmacht cottage and collecting and passing on war stories.

Restoration
The Wehrmacht hut was restored in 2018/2019. The foundation has attempted to restore the hut to its original condition so that people can see how the soldiers lived at the time. It is also a mini-museum, where items from that period are on display. The restoration was mainly carried out by volunteers with the help of the Ministry of Defence. For them, this was an exercise, without having to demolish it afterwards.
An original German searchlight is also on display at the Wehrmacht House. This searchlight has been loaned by the Bevrijdende Vleugels museum in Best.

Stories that need to be told
The volunteers at the Wehrmacht House give guided tours of their mini museum and organise lectures. The foundation has also placed QR codes at war memorials in the municipality of Someren so that more information is immediately available. The Wehrmachthuisje Someren-Heide Foundation also erects monuments and regularly commemorates war victims. One of the largest projects the volunteers have worked on is the film Burgemeestersmoord (Mayor Murder), the story of the murder of the wartime mayors Smulders of Someren and Wijnen of Asten.

Open days and appointments
From April to October, every second Sunday of the month, the foundation holds an open day at the Wehrmachthuisje. The doors are open from 13:00 to 16:00.
Keep an eye on the Wehrmachthuisje website and social media.
You can also use the website to make an appointment to visit the Wehrmachthuisje with a group.
For admission prices, please visit www.wehrmachthuisje.nl.

For current visiting hours, please visit the website of the museum.

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Source

• Text: Jeroen Koppes
• Photos: Jeroen Koppes (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7), Martin Damen (8)