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Hotel Wilhelmina

The name of Hotel Wilhelmina had to be changed because the German occupier assumed that the name referred to our then Queen Wilhelmina. The name was not ''hotel Pollen'' but hotel Ensink, named after the Hein Ensink. He was the proprietor from 1923-1959. The name Hotel Ensink was in use from 1942-1945 and on the liberation photos of the Kaldenkerkerweg in Venlo in March 1945, the name Hotel Ensink is clearly visible on the facade. Of course, the hotel soon regained its old name ''Hotel Wilhelmina'' and that is how it is still called in 2023.

Hotel Wilhelmina got its name back on March 1, 1945. The day Venlo was liberated, the 35th Infantry Division established its headquarters there. Santa Fé and the 784th tank battalion liberated Venlo. The brass plaque to the left of the entrance commemorates that event.

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Source

  • Text: Herdenken in Venlo, Marcel Hogenhuis
  • Photos: Herdenken in Venlo