Vector: Church brings salvation
The city of Zevenbergen was bombed twice during World War II, killing a total of 125 civilians. However this number would have been much higher had about 2,500 civilians not managed to find the shelter under the Bartholomeus (St Bartholomew's) Church in time.
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The first bombardment of Zevenbergen took place on 11 May 1940 and was aimed at the French army, which had passed through Zevenbergen but had already left during the bombardment. This resulted in 36 civilian casualties.
The second, a combination of artillery and bombing by the Allies, took place before the liberation and lasted from 30 October to 4 November 1944.
About 2,500 people took refuge in the basement of Bartholomeus Church in the Market Square. It was pitch dark and people sat or lay on straw. After a few days there was a shortage of everything and it stank terribly. Some people could not stand it and moved to other cellars, at least three of which were blown up, killing all the civilians sheltering there. A total of 89 inhabitants of Zevenbergen died during this period.
On 3 November, German troops blew up t…
The first bombardment of Zevenbergen took place on 11 May 1940 and was aimed at the French army, which had passed through Zevenbergen but had already left during the bombardment. This resulted in 36 civilian casualties.
The second, a combination of artillery and bombing by the Allies, took place before the liberation and lasted from 30 October to 4 November 1944.
About 2,500 people took refuge in the basement of Bartholomeus Church in the Market Square. It was pitch dark and people sat or lay on straw. After a few days there was a shortage of everything and it stank terribly. Some people could not stand it and moved to other cellars, at least three of which were blown up, killing all the civilians sheltering there. A total of 89 inhabitants of Zevenbergen died during this period.
On 3 November, German troops blew up the church tower, knowing that the basement was full of civilians. The floor of the church held back the collapsing debris, so that everyone who was at the bottom of the church cellar survived.
In the morning of 5 November, the German artillery withdrew and the Allied bombardment stopped. The German infantry blew up the bridges over the harbour and left in the direction of Moerdijk. On the same day, the Timberwolves entered Zevenbergen via the Klundertseweg and Lamgatsedijk roads. Although there was no immediate fighting, only one house appeared to be undamaged. The devastation was enormous.
The Timberwolves continued towards the Roode Vaart Canal. The rearguard, however, helped with the first steps towards recovery. Dennis van Opstal, Director of the machine factory that bore his name, was appointed Mayor. The streets were cleared of rubble and two Bailey Bridges were built, making Zevenbergen accessible again. A group of French nurses took care of the inhabitants who had taken refuge under the church, using hand brushes and a caustic white paste that proved very effective against scabies.
In 1965 American Timberwolves General, (Terrible) Terry Allen, visited Zevenbergen and the Lamgatsedijk, along which they had entered Zevenbergen, was renamed Allenweg.