On May 5, 1945, the Netherlands Were Declared Liberated
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On May 5, 1945, the Netherlands were declared liberated. The last Germans left Schiermonnikoog on June 11, 1945. The last part of the Netherlands was now also free. Detail: the island had a German owner! It is a given that the Dutch experienced the Second World War very differently. On the Wadden Islands it already differed from the population on the mainland. But on Schiermonnikoog the residents had a special war history. The Wadden Islands were (are) surrounded by the sea, isolated from the mainland and from each other. Travelling to the islands in World War II without German permission was almost impossible. The occupation force was relatively large, on Schiermonnikoog; there was about one German soldier per inhabitant. The Wadden Islands, including Schiermonnikoog, were part of the Atlantic Wall. The line of defense that ran from the Spanish border to the north side of Norway. In more ways than one, Schier, as it is popularly called, was special. German influences had been there since 1893. In that year the island was bought by the German count Berthold Hartwig Arthur von Bernstorff-Wehningen for 200,000 guilders. (former Dutch currency, before the Euro was introduced; 200,000 guilders is now about 3 million Euro) He had forests planted for wood production. Quite a lot of Germans already lived on the island. The occupiers built a lot on the island. On the north side even came a whole village, "Schleidorp" it was called. Here were radar installations, anti-aircraft guns, camouflaged barracks and bunkers. A railway track was even constructed to make transportation of building materials easier. Don't think the islanders had an easy time in the war. The tourism, that was just emerging, fell away and there was limited freedom of Schleidorp movement. Much terrain, including the beaches, was declared "Sperrgebiet". (exclusion zone) Many parts of aircrafts had washed up on the beaches and naval mines were found. Worst of all: the bodies washed ashore of, predominantly, flight crews from the downed aircrafts. Consulting the database of the Study Group Air War 1940-1945 and searching ‘’Schiermonnikoog”, we currently find 28 crashes related to the island and its surroundings, Allied and German machines. The victims washed ashore were buried on the cemetery "Vredenhof". The first drowned man was buried in 1906 and the last in 1968, but most were washed up during the Second World War. [1] They vary from a sailorman to a crewmember of an aircraft. You will also find soldiers who died during the Battle of Dunkirk and washed up on the island in August 1940. A total of 118 people found their final resting place here. A number from Great War (WW I) and about 70 from the Second World War. No distinction has been made between German or Allied at this location. The latter were buried with military honours by the Germans. This had been agreed with the Germans by the local "authority”. For a long time, the residents lived in a reasonable relationship with the large group of German occupiers. This changed when in April 1945 a group of about 120 SS- and SD-men fled to the island. The city of Groningen, which had suffered a lot during the war (approximately 3,300 dead, including 2,800 Jewish civilians) was liberated by the Canadians. The dreaded Scholtenhuis with a department of the Sicherheitsdienst and Sicherheitspolizei stood on the Grote Markt in Groningen. A sharp German Guard of honour enters cemetery for a burial terror was waged by, among others, the notorious brothers Pieter Johan and Klaas Carel Faber. (Dutch collaborators) Hundreds were imprisoned here, interrogated, brutally treated and tortured and many executed. All under the leadership of the infamous SD-man Robert Lehnhoff. These "executioners of the Scholtenhuis" were guilty of the death of more than 470 people. Robert Lehnhoff With the Canadian troops nearby they felt that they were getting into big trouble in Groningen. The group, with a number of Dutch collaborators, fled via Zoutkamp to Schiermonnikoog. Johannes Weber, alderman and representative of the island, wanted to accommodate this group also in the Schleidorp. The commander of the island, Captain Lieutenant Wittko, refused. He wanted to move this group of fanatics to the east side of the island. He knew what these people were capable of, especially now that the war could be considered lost. Strategic advantage for Commander Wittko: he could keep the location on the east side at gunpoint if the situation there escalated. Thomas Wittko That Wittko feared this group was evident from the fact that he only dared to remove the swastika emblem from his cap when this group had left. Three farms were requisitioned on the Kooiweg, two partly and a third complete. The inhabitants of the latter, the Talsma family, were allowed an hour and a half to pack the necessary things and leave the house. For a moment an escalation threatened, a number of hardliners among the newcomers wanted revenge for the shelling from Oostmahorn. When their ships sailed along the Frisian coast, they were shot at. Resistance fighters had taken over the positions of the "Grenzschutz" men at Oostmahorn. [2] The Germans there had already fled to Schiermonnikoog. The resistance had fired on the ships and three people among the escapees had been slightly injured. This raid on Oostmahorn was initiated with a bombardment by the German coastal battery. The attack completely surprised the Canadians. However, when the Canadian tanks advanced, the Germans quickly withdrew, but two Canadians were already mortally wounded. After a brief bombardment, as a warning, a mediator was sent to the island by the Canadians on April 17, 1945. Capitulation and surrender to the Allies had to be discussed with the German commanders. Wittko, the moderate leader, was interested in this; however: Arthur Thomsen, commander of the Sicherheitsdienst in the Scholtenhuis, firmly refused. Under no circumstances would they surrender. The main reason for this was unknown to Wittko. The group had had radio contact with the German garrison on the island of Borkum. It was agreed that a "Schnellboot" would come and pick them up at the North Sea beach in the night of 3 to 4 May. About thirty members of the group had indeed been waiting that night, but the Schnellboot boat did not show up. After the complete capitulation of the German armed forces in the Netherlands, the islanders had to wait until the Germans would leave Schiermonnikoog. This would not happen by force. Even then, a decision had to be made through all kinds of bureaucratic channels. However: Herman (Frederik Jan) Kloppenborg, member of the "Political Investigation Service" had started a search for the escaped SS- and SD-men from the Scholtenhuis. He had contacted the Canadian Field Security, with whom he worked closely. On May 3, 1945 he made his first crossing. He met with Commander Wittko and alderman Weber. So, he found out very quickly where the people were, he was searching after and who they were. It took him too long to wait for a final decision. Kloppenborg had already completed his plan, a daring plan, conceived together with Canadian Sergeant Boddard. Dressed in the uniform of a Canadian major, accompanied by Sergeant Boddard and another Canadian soldier, he went to the island. The group of SS- and SD-men received the message that a Canadian delegation would come over for negotiation. Much to their surprise, the group was lined up when Kloppenborg and the Canadian companions arrived. Thomsen presented Kloppenborg a complete list of names and ranks of those present there. Kloppenborg addressed the group briefly. He suggested to nominate them as ‘’Prisoners of War” and, if agreed, the applicable rules would then be observed. It was a psychological move to get the group to the mainland without too many problems. [3] Kloppenborgs set-up was successful. He had crucial information in his hands, and it seemed that there would be a voluntary crossing. On the morning of May 31, 1945, two boats left the harbour of Zoutkamp. The group's retreat had been organized on the island. Under the supervision of Kloppenborg, among others, the men and women boarded and were taken to Zoutkamp in the afternoon. They were put into trucks with great interest from the local population. Arrival in Zoutkamp Not to be transported to a POW camp as they thought, but directly to the House of Detention in Groningen where they were locked up. Mr. Heslinga, who had been appointed temporary mayor, arrived on June9, 1945. Then, finally on June 11, 1945, two boats, the ‘’MS Waddenzee” and ‘’MS Brakzand” arrived and the original German occupation left Schiermonnikoog. Marching tightly with Commander Wittko in front. The entire Dutch territory was finally liberated. The island was considered enemy property and was confiscated by the Dutch state on December 27, 1945. An instituted request by Count Bechtold Eugen von Bernstorff, who inherited it in 1939, not to regard the island as an enemy asset was rejected in 1953. A second attempt in 1964, when the "General Adjustment” between the Netherlands and Germany was signed also failed. He then demanded compensation from the German state. In 1983 he was allocated 80,000 Deutsche Mark. He died in 1987 and was buried on Schiermonnikoog. A hotel named "Graaf Bernstorff" is a reminder of this episode in the island's history. Von Bernstorff as a tourist on Schiermonnikoog [4] ***** The infamous SD-man Lehnhoff lost his "greatness" very soon after his arrest. He gave the interrogators all the names of his informants. Probably he hoped to save his life by cooperating.