Memorial Killed Residents Gaasterland

A plaque with five names of war victims from Gaasterland (Friesland) has been placed on the left wall of the old town hall in Balk. In Frisian it says: "Fallen in the fight against injustice and slavery, that we watch in peace for justice and freedom".

As a 34-year-old resident of Sondel, Jacobus Boomsma was shot dead in Sneek on November 6, 1944 by a German in Sneek. He was head of the LO in the Southwest corner.

Jeen Hornstra was arrested on February 13, 1945 during a raid on illegal possession of weapons that originated from dropping weapons. As a 44-year-old resident of Wijckel, he was shot on March 17, 1945 near Doniaga with nine others.

Joop Schweitzer went into hiding in Elahuizen and on 4 August 1944 fled from patrolling Germans and Landwachters. This 23-year-old unmarried municipal official from Balk was, while fleeing, shot from behind by a land ranger on the spot.

Johannes Nagelhout was a sailor 2nd class on submarine O-13 of the Royal Netherlands Navy. On 12 June 1940 the boat had departed from Dundee bound for North Western waters near Denmark. On 20 June 1940, Johannes Nagelhout and the other 33 crew members in submarine O-13 crashed. On the one hand there is the story that the boat was hit by the Polish submarine Wilk and on the other hand there is the story that the boat sailed into a minefield.

Teeuwes de Boer was sergeant 1st class of the Royal Dutch East Indies Army (KNIL). He died with 900 English and Dutch prisoners of war on board the Japanese prisoner of war transport ship "Hofku Maru". The ship was en route from Singapore to Japan where it was torpedoed and sunk by American bombers as a result of an attack off the coast of Bataan.

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Source

• Text: David Izelaar
• Photos: Bert Deelman