Evacuees from all over the Netherlands experienced hospitality offered by local people, who provided them with food and shelter. During the final war months, the kitchen of the psychiatric hospital in Franeker provided food for all those seeking refuge. The tuberculosis ward of the hospital appeared to be an ideal place for people in hiding.

The Netherlands

Franeker Liberated

Canadian tank on the Voorstraat in Franeker

Franeker and the liberation 

Awaiting the arrival of the Canadians, who had already reached Leeuwarden, members of the NBS wanted to occupy Franeker in advance, after it had become clear that the Germans were leaving the city without a fight and were retreating towards Harlingen.&nbsp;&nbsp;A group of several dozen NBS members, mostly young men from the area, dressed in blue overalls (the famous NBS uniform) left Achlum by bicycle in the early afternoon. The intention was to go via the Slachtedijk to the Rijksweg west of Franeker, to enter the city from that side. They were armed with Enfield rifles, sten guns, hand grenades and a bazooka dropped from England.&nbsp;&nbsp;When they had just crossed the bridge at Kiesterzijl, another late group of around twelve Germans came cycling from Franeker across the old Rijksweg. A gunfight ensued, with the NBS men taking cover on the side of the road. Jitze Pieter van Dijk, a 23-year-old farmer's son from Hitzum, did not bend down deep enough and was fatally hit in his back.&nbsp;The NBS men retreated, walking via the southern railway track to reach the city safely. The Germans drove on to Harlingen, leaving behind some casualties. In the evening, they returned with reinforcements to pick up their comrades. Residents of Herbaijum were used as human shields in the process.&nbsp;&nbsp;Ale Houtsma's farmhouse, which stood behind the Slachtedijk and where the NBS men had left their bicycles, was set on fire in retaliation. At the same time, the first Canadian scouts were already approaching Franeker from the direction of Leeuwarden.&nbsp;After the war, opposite the town hall, a street was named after Jitze Pieter van Dijk. Van Dijk's parents' farm in Hitzum was an important base of operations for the local resistance. The dropped weapons lay hidden in the hay.&nbsp;

Jitze Pieter van Dijk 

During the final war months, the hospital's kitchens provided food for all those people, as well as much of the population of Franeker.&nbsp;In 1930, a brand new and modern housing development called Groot Lankum was built to the west of the city. The old accommodations in the city centre (the "Binnengesticht") also remained in use. The treatment of psychiatric disorders was still in its infancy, medication did not yet exist. Patients lay in bed all day, with nothing to do.&nbsp;The hospital had a tuberculosis ward, which was cut off from the rest of the building due to the risk of infection. That made it a perfect hiding place; the occupiers were not very eager to check there. . .&nbsp;&nbsp;It was February 1943 when the Germans requisitioned the Vogelenzang Psychiatric Hospital in Bennebroek. 369 patients and 100 staff had to leave and were transferred by train to Franeker. The Franeker patients from the Binnengesticht moved to the large attic floor of the new Groot Lankum to make room for the guests. Space was way too tight, but there was no choice.&nbsp;When the Allied advance reached the south of the Netherlands, the front slowed down and the province of Limburg in particular remained a battleground for a while. Residents had to be evacuated. In January 1945, a train full of weak and hungry people from Roermond and the surrounding area arrived in Franeker after a harsh journey. Before they could be lodged with host families in the surrounding villages, they were cared for and fed by PZ staff. The sick were admitted to the already overcrowded hospital.&nbsp;As if things were not difficult enough, on 27 March 1945, a total of 528 patients with their nurses from Dennenoord Psychiatric Hospital in Zuidlaren were added. By order of the occupiers, the buildings there had to be evacuated immediately because a German emergency hospital was to be set up there. The kitchen staff of the PZ had to pull out all the stops to feed the many mouths. Fortunately, they had previously started growing large quantities of vegetables on the premises, and 40 pigs were kept for their meat. Local farmers supplied potatoes and turnips. 3,600 kilos of potatoes were consumed each day.&nbsp;In the very last days before the liberation of Franeker, which finally took place on 15 April, another German order came to evacuate the PZ, to make room for wounded German soldiers. But it did not come to that, as the Canadian liberators were already on their way and the occupiers left in a hurry.&nbsp;A television documentary by Omrop Fryslân (partly in Frisian) on the wartime PZ can be seen <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="Hyperlink SCXW259816422 BCX0" href="https://historischcentrumfraneker.nl/films/a-08-03-00043/">here</a>.&nbsp;

Psychiatric care in war conditions 

waiting the arrival of the Canadians, who had already reached Leeuwarden, members of the NBS wanted to occupy Franeker in advance, after it had become clear that the Germans were leaving the city without a fight and were retreating towards Harlingen.&nbsp;&nbsp;A group of several dozen NBS members, mostly young men from the area, dressed in blue overalls (the famous NBS uniform) left Achlum by bicycle in the early afternoon. The intention was to go via the Slachtedijk to the Rijksweg west of Franeker, to enter the city from that side. They were armed with Enfield rifles, sten guns, hand grenades and a bazooka dropped from England.&nbsp;&nbsp;When they had just crossed the bridge at Kiesterzijl, another late group of around twelve Germans came cycling from Franeker across the old Rijksweg. A gunfight ensued, with the NBS men taking cover on the side of the road. Jitze Pieter van Dijk, a 23-year-old farmer's son from Hitzum, did not bend down deep enough and was fatally hit in his back.&nbsp;The NBS men retreated, walking via the southern railway track to reach the city safely. The Germans drove on to Harlingen, leaving behind some casualties. In the evening, they returned with reinforcements to pick up their comrades. Residents of Herbaijum were used as human shields in the process.&nbsp;&nbsp;Ale Houtsma's farmhouse, which stood behind the Slachtedijk and where the NBS men had left their bicycles, was set on fire in retaliation. At the same time, the first Canadian scouts were already approaching Franeker from the direction of Leeuwarden.&nbsp;After the war, opposite the town hall, a street was named after Jitze Pieter van Dijk. Van Dijk's parents' farm in Hitzum was an important base of operations for the local resistance. The dropped weapons lay hidden in the hay.&nbsp;

Killed on liberation day 

Farmer Van Dijk was a fierce opponent of the German occupiers. Not surprisingly, his farm became a haven for those in hiding and resistance fighters. Two of his sons were members of the NBS, the paramilitary resistance organisation formed in autumn 1944 from the various ranks of the resistance. The dropped weapons were made ready for use at his place and then tucked away deep underneath the hay in the barn.&nbsp;&nbsp;Van Dijk also refused to cooperate in the compulsory deliveries of cattle, milk and hay to the Wehrmacht. In response, German soldiers proceeded to confiscate his hay. Under the watchful eye of Sonderführer August Geese of the Abteilung Ernährung und Landwirtschaft, part of the Wehrmacht, assisted by his fanatical Dutch interpreter Grietje Sinnema, the hay was taken out of the barn. The weapons could have been exposed at any moment, but in the nick of time Geese decided to call it a day. Members of the resistance, who had been keeping an eye on things with a gun in their pockets, did not have to take action. A tragedy had been averted. Yet the war would end dramatically for the Van Dijk family: their son <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.liberationroute.com/nl/pois/1308/killed-on-liberation-day">Jitze Pieter was killed in a firefight </a>between NBS operatives and retreating German soldiers on the day Hitzum was liberated.&nbsp;To handle the weapons, the resistance fighters were instructed by commandos, who had also been dropped. This happened at, among others, Willem Postma's farm, located on a cul-de-sac in the middle of the meadows between Hitzum and Achlum. One afternoon at the end of October 1944, 30 men secretly met in the barn there to learn from instructor Groenewoud how to handle sten guns, bazookas, hand grenades. The instruction was in full swing when a motorbike patrol of the German Order Police approached. Panic broke out among the men, but Groenewoud kept his cool, thrusting a gun into their hands and making them take up a position. However, the policemen drove on, but returned a short while later when they discovered the road was a dead end. Again they drove past the farm, apparently lost. It all ended well.&nbsp;

Weapons in the hay 

In the early morning of Sunday 15 April, a tense silence reigned in Franeker. According to rumours, the Canadians had already taken Leeuwarden and were now on their way to Franeker. The arrival of the ’Tommies’ was eagerly awaited. But there were still German soldiers in the city. Then the silence was broken by three gunshots announcing a huge explosion.&nbsp;&nbsp;To cover their retreat towards Harlingen, the occupiers blew up the bridge on Leeuwarderend, commonly called Saakstra's bridge. Saakstra's bridge was a key point in the only through route from Leeuwarden to the port city. However, the tough steel structure did not give in easily. Up to five explosive charges had to be detonated before the Germans thought it enough and left in a hurry. The surrounding buildings sustained extensive damage. The Bondshotel, now the Stadsherberg (City Inn), paid a particularly high price.&nbsp;Immediately, Franeker residents started a makeshift recovery. At the station, there were rails, which were carried to the bridge on the shoulders of a large group of men and laid side by side. Sleepers were laid on top of them. As the work neared completion, the first Canadian reconnaissance truck was already waiting. In the afternoon, a large column of Canadian war vehicles, including tanks, drove along the thoroughfare from Leeuwarden to Franeker.&nbsp;&nbsp;Locals from far and wide flocked to the streets to watch the spectacle. On arrival in Franeker, a veritable victory parade through the city followed. In the evening, the heavy machinery retreated back towards Leeuwarden, but the next day, Monday 16 April, the column passed through Franeker again to advance to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.liberationroute.com/pois/1304/harlingen-a-frisian-town-fiercely-fought-for">Harlingen</a>.&nbsp;The Canadians establish a headquarters in the monumental city hall. They remain there until the end of 1945, before returning home.

Franeker and the liberation

Photos

Sites and stories along the route

Jitze Pieter van Dijk

Psychiatric care in war conditions

Killed on liberation day

Weapons in the hay

Franeker liberated