Cycling route Death Valley De Peel - Sacrifice of Neerkant (#20)

Sacrifice of Neerkant

There was a lot of violence in the rural area of Neerkant that autumn. More than four years earlier, in May 1940, Neerkant had also suffered a share of war suffering. They never talked about it much, even though there was reason to do so. Because it was quite a sacrifice that this Peel village had to make to the national defense.
Like Meijel, Neerkant had been billeted by hundreds of Dutch soldiers during the mobilization in 1939. They built concrete bunkers of the Peel-Raamstelling along the Deurnes Canal.
On May 10, 1940, they had to prove their usefulness. Did they?

Pastor Wolters wrote it down as follows:
'Around eleven o'clock that morning, the Dutch soldiers ordered several parishioners to leave their house as quickly as possible, which was then set on fire to create a clear field of fire. Jac. suffered this fate (on the Schelm, the Schans and the Heide). Gerardts, Piet van de Goor, Sjang Sijben, Peer van Calis, Sjang Bouten, Peer Ulen, Sjang Opheij, Pietje Thijssen, Harry Heiden, Frans Seelen, Frans Pijnenburg as well as the Betonfabriek. Most of these houses were hit or burned down twice during the war. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon the Ned. soldiers ordered to withdraw and they evacuated their positions and left our village. (...) The tall columns of smoke from the burning houses formed a sad sight.
They wanted to get ahead of the Germans.'

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Martin Damen