Betinkingsrûte WWII '40-'45: Information board 2, De Kninepôle

This information board is part of the Betinkingsrûte WOII '40-'45, unveiled in 2025. During the Second World War, young men used the peat area here to hide from the German occupiers.

The Kninepôle
The area that is now Leijen was once a peat landscape. Farms stood on the higher ground. Due to the high demand for peat as fuel, the peat was dug so deep that the lake De Leijen was created and the former residents had to leave. The elevations in the former landscape are now the islands in De Leijen, with names such as Flinterpôle, Framboazepôle, Rôverspôle and Kninipôle.

The last two are the largest islands on the side of De Tike: rough ground with poplar trees, alder groves and blackberry bushes. But in the middle is a large field covered with grass: a wonderful hiding place. During World War II, the young men of De Tike used these islands to hide from the Germans. When rumours of a raid spread, they took their boats to Kninipôle. There they were safe.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Arjan Vrieze