THE RAID
On the 1st of October 1944, Putten was hit by a German raid in which practically the entire male working population was deported to several concentration camps. In the night of 30 September, on the first of October 1944, a resistance group opened fire on a personal vehicle of the German Wehrmacht. The car transported two officers and two Corporals. A fire fight erupted. The two corporals got away. One of the officers fled (heavily wounded) to a nearby farm, subsequently he was brought to Harderwijk, where he died the next day. The other officer was captured and taken away by the resistance group. General Friedrich Christiansen ordered Putten to be surrounded by German troops, women and children to be led to the church and the men to be locked separately into a school and an egg farm facility.
After the women and children were released, all the imprisoned men between 15 and 50 were taken from the village and brought to the Amersfoort concentration camp.
Record of victims
|
Total amount of deported men |
660 |
|
Set free in Amersfoort |
59 - |
|
Deported to Neuengamme |
601 |
|
Jumped out of the train on the way to Neuengamme
|
13 - |
|
Arrived in Neuengamme
|
588 |
|
Returned to Putten after liberation
|
48 - |
|
Died in German concentration camps
|
540 |
|
Killed during the raid
|
8 + |
|
|
548 |
|
Died shortly after the return
|
5 + |
|
Total number of deaths |
553 |
Over 200 victims died in the concentration camp Neuengamme, the rest of the victims died in neighbouring work camps like Wedel, Husum, Ladelund, Engerhafe, Meppen-Versen. Putten inhabitants also died in Dachau, Mauthausen, Ravensbrück, Bergen-Belsen or during transports.
The raid left deep wounds in the Putten society, wounds that have still not completely healed. Annually, a silent memorial, which is attended by a significant amount of people, is held at the monument De Vrouw van Putten.
WAR MONUMENTS
De Vrouw van Putten
The monument to commemorate the victims of the raid on the 1st and 2th of October 1944 was revealed on October the 1st 1949 by Queen Juliana. The monument consists of a memorial park designed by Prof. Bijhouwer and a sand stone sculpture of Mari Andriessen. The sculpture depicts a woman in a folkloric costume with a handkerchief in her hand. She looks in the direction of the Oude Kerk, from where the men were taken.
Memorial stone
In 1947, a memorial stone was attached to the southern facade of the Oude Kerk displaying the text “from here they were taken”.
Monument Poorterbrug
At the Poorterbrug, the place where the 1944 raid took place, has a sober memorial stone made of natural stone. The following text was embossed: “ Near this bridge, the attack took place that lead to the raid of Putten on the 1st and the 2th of October 1944”.
A second memorial stone stands at the Voorthuizerstraat, in remembrance of the killed Canadian soldiers during the liberation of Putten in 1945.
Memorial room
On May the 9th, 1992 a memorial room has been opened near to the monument. (Designer: W.C.F. Hageman).
In this memorial room, the story about the raid is told in writing and imagery. Some memorial plaques were placed in this building. On these plaques the names of Putten’s 552 men which died as a consequence of the raid.
Address: Dorpsstraat 127
Opening hours: Each day from 10.00 to 18.00 hour.
Memorial book
In the book store there are several books for sale concerning the war and the raid of Putten. The official memorial book can only be bought at the cashier at the Putten city hall. The costs of this book are € 12,50. For more information, please contact the cashier by phone: 0031 341 359 756.