Lecture on the role of water boards during the war years
This year we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands. To mark the occasion, there will be a special lecture by Thea de Roos at our Heerhugowaard office on Tuesday, April 29, from 12:15 to 1:00 pm. Together with her husband Jan de Roos, Thea is the author of the book "No soldier can rule the polder!". In her lecture, Thea pays attention to the role of the North Holland water boards during World War II.
The water boards suffered greatly during the war. In the May days of 1940, the Dutch army flooded the inundation zones around the forts of the Defence Line of Amsterdam. In the spring of 1944 this happened again, this time by the German Wehrmacht. Three weeks before the end of the war, the Wieringermeer dike was also blown up. How did the water boards deal with this misery?
The scarcity of fuel during the war, especially in polders with diesel pumping stations, immediately led to enormous problems for drainage. The water boards had to pull out all the stops to keep the polders dry. And what did they do when at the end of 1944 there was no more electricity supply, so that the electric pumping stations stopped working as well?
Also profound was the construction of the German Atlantic Wall, the robust coastal defense to prevent an Allied landing. The Hondsbossche Seawall at Petten was turned into a large bunker complex. Water safety was in serious danger as a result. Could the water board responsible, the Noordhollands Noorderkwartier Water Board, limit the damage?
Finally, the postwar purge of "wrong" elements in the boards and among the staff is discussed. Conversely, various water authorities showed their good side by, for example, offering Jewish people in hiding a safe haven, even in service buildings.
- Date: Tuesday, April 29
- Time: walk-in at 12:00, 12:15 start lecture, 1:00 end lecture
- Location: Stationsplein 136, Heerhugowaard
Update April 24
The lecture is fully booked. Registration is no longer possible.
