Liberation route Bergen op Zoom

Story of the route

• War Monument Huijbergen
  This monument commemorates Huijbergen, a village in the municipality of Woensdrecht, the Second World War and its consequences. On the memorial stone two stylised bronze hands hold the municipal coat of arms. The monument, entitled Bevrijding (Liberation), is a symbol for the resistance, the liberation and the reconstruction of Huijbergen.

• Flakstellung Buitendreef
  The Germans built eight bunkers around Woensdrecht Air Base, specially designed to protect the anti-aircraft guns against enemy air raids. The anti-aircraft guns were used to fire at planes on their way to Germany. Of the eight Flakstellungen, four have been preserved. Flakstellung Buitendreef is one of them.

• De Volksabdij en Brasserie Abdijbos 
  De Volksabdij en Brasserie Abdijbos is an official Brabants Fietscafé; a Brabant Bicycle Café. In these bicycle cafés, cyclists are made to feel especially welcome! You can stop by for a delicious bite to eat or a refreshing drink, and make use of facilities such as a repair kit, bicycle pump and e-bike charging station. These bicycle cafés can be recognised by the hexagonal 'Brabants Fietscafé' sticker on the window.
  

• Natuurpoort De Volksabdij
  In Natuurpoort De Volksabdij you will find an unmanned, atmospheric space with photographic materials and brochures about the Second World War. In this information centre, visitors can learn everything about the Battle of the Scheldt and the Brabantse Wal with sound fragments, video images and information panels.

• Monument Reconstruction Woensdrecht
  The Woensdrecht Reconstruction Monument is a chapel built of brick. The chapel is two metres high and symbolises a new era of reconstruction, a desire for peace, and gratitude to the Virgin Mary. The text on the monument reads: ‘Woensdrecht dankt Maria’ (Woensdrecht thanks Mary).

• Liberation memorial Woensdrecht 
  This memorial is a stone statue of a female figure with a wounded soldier. It reminds the inhabitants of Woensdrecht of the Canadian soldiers of The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry who were killed during the battle of Woensdrecht in October 1944. The lines 'We shall remember them' and 'May they always be remembered' call on visitors to never forget the ultimate sacrifice of these brave men. 

• Sherman tank
  At the Onderstal in Woensdrecht you will find an original M4 Sherman tank, which was used here by the Canadians. The tank has been a monument on this site since 1978 and reminds the inhabitants of Woensdrecht of the heavy fighting that took place during the Battle of Woensdrecht. The number 52 on the tank refers to the 10th Canadian Armor Regiment.

• Memorial Anton van Duinkerken
  On the Grote Markt square there is a statue of Anton van Duinkerken, pseudonym for Willem Asselbergs. Van Duinkerken was a writer and a leading scholar of Dutch and was considered dangerous by the German occupiers. In 1942 he was held hostage in camp Sint-Michielsgestel where he was imprisoned for eight months. After the war he was chairman of the Liberation Festivities in Amsterdam and he wrote several poems about the Second World War.

• War Memorial Bergen op Zoom
  At the back of the Saint Gertrudis Church - the tower of which is popularly known as De Peperbus (the pepper shaker) - there is a monument in memory of the Bergen op Zoom freedom fighters and other war victims from the Second World War.

• Liberation Memorial Bergen op Zoom
  The liberation memorial in Bergen op Zoom dates from 1955 and was made by sculptor Nicolaas van der Kreek. The female figure is making the V-sign with her arms, for 'Victory'. 

• German tank barrier blocks
  By order of the Germans, concrete blocks were installed along the water of peat canal de Zoom as a tank barrier. After the last block comes Lincoln Bridge, which replaced the Bailey Bridge after the war. The Bailey Bridge was built by Canadian military engineers as a temporary replacement for the original bridge, which had been destroyed. The name of the current bridge refers to the Lincoln and Welland Regiment, which together with the South Alberta Regiment and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders played an important role in the liberation of Bergen op Zoom.

• Canadian Cemetery
  1119 soldiers found their final resting place on this cemetery. Most of these, 969, are Canadian soldiers. Half of the soldiers buried here died during the Battle of the Scheldt, between September and November 1944. The other bodies came from various municipal cemeteries and field graves throughout the western Netherlands. 

• British Cemetery 
  This cemetery has 1284 graves. Most of the predominantly British casualties buried here are air force personnel who died over the Netherlands. There are also soldiers buried here who died during the amphibious landings on Walcheren in the autumn of 1944, mainly naval personnel. In addition, there are also some graves of soldiers who died during the First World War.