Betinkingsrûte WWII '40-'45: Information board 10, Kloosterman

This information board is part of the Betinkingsrûte WOII '40-'45, unveiled in 2025. At this location, the Kloosterman family farm offered a safe hiding place to people in hiding.

Kloosterman
During the war, Jan and Geeske Kloosterman's farm provided a safe haven for many people. The farm is in a remote location and can only be reached via a “Barte”. This wooden bridge without railings can be pulled back over the canal if there is danger from the Germans.

In January 1944, Freed Warren went into hiding here. He had been shot down by the Germans near Sleen in Drenthe while flying the Liberator “Fire Ball II”. In March 1944, several more airmen joined them: they had been forced to make an emergency landing near Earnewâld in their Liberator “Yankee Rebel Harmony”.

The landing ended tragically for two of the eleven crew members. The aircraft collided with a windmill, destroying the nose of the plane. Stephen P. Judd was killed and John M. Kendrick Jr. was so seriously injured that his legs had to be amputated.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Arjan Vrieze