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Hostages drama in Heino

Forced migrationsLiberationMemoryOccupationResistance

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On the 11th of April 1945, Heino is in a liberation daze as the Canadian liberation army has surrounded the Germans. The underground is helping to disable enemy forces. A German soldier is fatally hit and the situation therefore changes dramatically. 66 men are arrested and taken hostage in retaliation. There is now no question of liberation.

The most dramatic event in Heino during the war is undoubtedly when the Germans, fleeing from the Canadian liberation army, arrest and deport of a large group of local people. The underground in Raalte was attempting to track down German soldiers along the Hondemotswetering between Raalte and Heino. In doing so, they shot a German soldier in the leg. The injured soldier was taken away to Heino by other soldiers on a wheelbarrow and retaliation followed.

On Wednesday the 11th of April 1945, just before the liberation of the village, 66 men were arbitrarily arrested and imprisoned in the local Hassink café. Apart from local Heino residents, there were also hostages and evacuees from the west in hiding. The next day, under constant threats, the group was marched to Zwolle, while in Heino, the Canadians broke the last German resistance. The hostages spent another two anxious nights In Zwolle. The people of Zwolle gave the hungry men bread.

Only on Saturday the 14th of April could they return to their homes, where they arrived around 4 p.m. The men gathered behind the Boerenbond building, the Farmers Union, and were addressed by Deputy Mayor Hofmeijer. In the intervening period, Heino people had suffered the greatest uncertainty concerning the men’s fate. Flags were not flown until all the hostages returned unharmed to the village.