Sint-Willibrordusstichting (Marine-Lazarett Heiloo)

In May 1940, shortly after the German invasion, an army detachment occupied part of the grounds of the St. Willibrord Foundation in Heiloo, including a former emergency chapel. A few weeks later, two naval doctors decided to convert the complex into a military hospital: the Marine-Lazarett Heiloo.

The location was strategically chosen, between the naval bases of Den Helder and IJmuiden, and easily accessible by train. A brother of the foundation later described the years of occupation in a report titled "The Shadow of Mars Glides Over St. Willibrord."

After the war, the foundation appeared to have suffered hardly any damage. The buildings were intact and well-maintained. The Germans had even commissioned the construction of a swimming pool in 1941, and their rent payments paid off part of the mortgage.

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Source

• Text: TracesofWar
• Photos: TracesofWar
• - Museum Alkmaar