Russian Memorial Leusden

Monument Koedriest (aka Russian Monument) stands on the site where a mass grave containing 77 Soviet Russian victims was uncovered after the war. They were part of a group of 101 prisoners brought to Kamp Amersfoort on 27 September 1941. Most were from Uzbekistan.

By early April 1942, 24 Soviet Russians had died in the camp from illness, deprivation and ill-treatment. The remaining 77 were shot on 9 April 1942. In the early morning hours of 9 April 1942, 77 Soviet Russian prisoners, who had managed to survive so far, were shot in groups of four at the edge of a large pit in Amersfoort. Quicklime was strewn over the bodies.

In 1954, a simple monument arose on this spot, which was replaced by the present memorial stone on 4 May 1962. The memorial stone is referred to as "Monument Koedriest". Colloquially, this memorial is called "Russian Monument". "Koedriest" is actually the description for the area where the execution took place. A barren piece of land with some grass and undergrowth.

The text on the memorial:
TO THE GLORIOUS SONS OF THE SOVIET PEOPLE
WHO FALLED IN THE FIGHT AGAINST THE GERMAN OCCUPYING POWER IN 1941-1945
OF THE THANKFUL FATHERLAND

For a long time, it was thought that the mass execution had taken place here. In 2023, however, new research revealed that this assumption was incorrect. The investigation revealed that the prisoners were shot a few hundred metres away near hole 9 of the current golf course, and were also buried there. The investigation further revealed that the 24 prisoners of war who had died earlier were, like 57 Jewish victims of Camp Amersfoort, indeed buried at the Koedriest.

How the memorial site should be arranged in the future is currently (2025) under discussion in which the golf course is also involved.

The memorial is accessible via the Loes van Overeemlaan and is located behind the former Kamp Amersfoort.

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Source

• Text: Barry van Veen
• Photos: Dick de Bruijne
• - https://www.4en5mei.nl/oorlogsmonumenten/zoeken/1674/leusden-koedriest