In the Kuinderbos in Noordoostpolder, a replica of a hiding place has been built as a symbol of the liberation of Kuinre and the Noordoostpolder by the Canadians on 16 and 17 April 1945.
The Noordoostpolder has only been dry since 1942, so there was almost nothing there during the Second World War. However, because the German occupiers saw potential in the future agricultural yields of this new land for the benefit of the Third Reich, the reclamation and preparation of the land for agriculture was allowed to continue. Men from all over the Netherlands came to the new polder for this purpose, partly to escape compulsory labour in Germany.
As a result, the Noordoostpolder, wh…
In the Kuinderbos in Noordoostpolder, a replica of a hiding place has been built as a symbol of the liberation of Kuinre and the Noordoostpolder by the Canadians on 16 and 17 April 1945.
The Noordoostpolder has only been dry since 1942, so there was almost nothing there during the Second World War. However, because the German occupiers saw potential in the future agricultural yields of this new land for the benefit of the Third Reich, the reclamation and preparation of the land for agriculture was allowed to continue. Men from all over the Netherlands came to the new polder for this purpose, partly to escape compulsory labour in Germany.
As a result, the Noordoostpolder, which was already known by the abbreviation NOP at the time, became better known in those years as the Dutch Paradise for People in Hiding. Unfortunately, this paradise came to an end in November 1944, when the Germans, due to the approach of the Allies, rounded up more than 1,500 men here, transported them on foot via what later became known as the Razziapad (Raid Path) and put them to work in the war industry in Germany.
The replica of the hiding place hut is built of wood from the Kuinderbos and is half buried. A layer of earth covers the robust construction of poles and planks. The floor of the hut is covered with shells from the Wadden Sea. Next to it is an information column where visitors can listen to stories of people in hiding during the war.
You can reach the Hideout Hut via the Razziapad, starting from the TOP at the car park at Hopweg 2b in Bant.
