‘Doctor of the resistance’
Johannes (Joop) der Weduwen was a popular general practitioner in Aalten. On January 23, 1945, he came near Apeldoorn to die after being shot at by an Allied plane, at least according to the German authorities.
Joop der Weduwen was born on May 17, 1902 in Aalten. He studied at the Gymnasium in Doetinchem, later at the University of Utrecht, where he took his medical exam and then obtained his doctorate in medicine. He showed himself to be a worthy successor to his father and established himself here as a doctor.
From the beginning of the war, Joop der Weduwen became involved in the resistance in the Achterhoek. He actively offered help to people who were wanted by the Germans. His family included two young men who refused to do labor service. If English planes were shot down and the crew was injured, he offered them medical assistance. For a robbery at the distribution office in Borculo , his car was ‘stolen’. He helped Jewish people in hiding on various farms in the area. He also played a role in the abandonment of the Jewish baby ‘Wíllem Herfstink’ at the house of resistance leader ‘Uncle Jan’ Wikkerink.
Assistance to forced labourers
In the last winter of the war, Joop der Weduwen felt closely involved with the forced labourers who had to do their slave work under inhumane conditions, especially in Camp Rees . That camp was just across the border in Germany. As a representative of the Dutch Red Cross, he negotiated with Peter Röhrig, the commander known as the executioner of Rees to remove the sick and wounded.
He tried to transfer as many people as possible to Aalten, where ‘Huize Avondvrede‘ on the Hogestraat had been set up as an emergency hospital. Many were also transported by car from the GP to the Emergency Hospital in Harreveld. Some sick people stayed at his home temporarily and then went into hiding.
On 19 January 1945, Doctor Der Weduwen, accompanied by two SS men from the Rees camp, left for The Hague for an official meeting with high-ranking German officers and the mayor there. On behalf of the Red Cross, he pleaded for better conditions for the forced labourers, many of whom came from The Hague and Rotterdam. The men had to spend the nights on the bare floors in draughty and damp wooden sheds, had meager clothes and hardly got anything to eat. To improve their inhuman existence somewhat, he asked for straw bags, among other things.
Fateful return journey
During the return trip to Aalten, on January 23, 1945, the car he was in was fired upon by an Allied fighter plane near Apeldoorn around five o’clock in the afternoon, at least according to the German authorities.
His lifeless body was found badly mutilated in a dry ditch, where he had tried to take cover. He had lost a lot of blood and had died on the spot. The car was undamaged. There were strong rumors that the Germans deliberately attacked him because he had become too troublesome. Joop der Weduwen was 43 years old.
Willem van Houtum, Apeldoorn’s war chronicler, wrote about it in his diary on 23 January:
“A doctor from Aalten, who interfered a lot with the condition of the deportees in Rees, died of German indifference. The doctor left for The Hague last Friday with two Germans in a car. He wanted to plead with high authorities for the improvement of the treatment of our compatriots in Rees and so on. It was to no avail. As a result, they returned on Tuesday. They were shot at by an English plane on the concrete road near Hoog Soeren. The doctor got out of the car in a hurry to take cover but collapsed badly injured. The two Germans took away the wallet, wallet and so on and drove on to the Ortskommandant in Apeldoorn. He refused to transport the doctor because it was a civilian. So the two Krauts drove on to Aalten and handed over the wallet and so on to the doctor’s wife. This in turn could not provide transport either. She called in the help of a family member in Apeldoorn. With the help of the police, he succeeded in having the body (the doctor had died of excessive blood loss) transferred to Aalten. Due to the many shelling, the concrete section of the Amersfoortseweg near Hoog Soeren is already popularly called ‘Dodenweg’.”
Police report
Tuesday 23 January 1945, 17.00 hours, report no. 23.
Informs Zegers in Nieuw Millingen that a man has just been shot dead by guns. A car is also on fire. Criminal Investigation Department, Feldgendarmerie, Pol. Officer and L.B.D. notified. The body is picked up by the L.B.D. (= Air Protection Service) and transferred to the hospital on the Sprengenweg.
Wednesday 24 January 1945, 5.45 p.m., report no. 24.
With regard to the mutation of the report of the order police of 23-01-1945 at 17.00 hours, detective Adema reports that the body of the said person was picked up by the L.B.D. and laid out in the morgue of the hospital on the Sprengenweg. It has been identified as Dr. Johan der Weduwen, living at Landstraat 4, in Aalten. His brother-in-law Wissink, living at Stationsstraat 25 here, has been informed of this, who takes care of warning the family and the funeral.
Funeral
On Saturday, January 27, Joop der Weduwen was buried with great interest to Berkenhove cemetery in Aalten. The procession counted at least 1000 people. Previously, a funeral service had been held in the Old Helena Church under the leadership of Rev. J.D. Stegeman, emeritus pastor in Aalten. On behalf of the forced labourers, Mr Dijkgraaf from The Hague spoke a word of thanks and farewell.
Friends, patients and villagers had a special memorial stone made in front of his grave in gratitude and to honor him. The text on the monument reads: “His conviction made him offer help to the oppressed – resistance – deportees.”
His name is also mentioned on the memorial stone for the fallen in the organized resistance on the Markt in Aalten, next to the Old Helena Church.
On March 31, 2023, a Stolperstein was laid in front of the house where Joop der Weduwen lived, Landstraat 41 in Aalten.
Sources
- National Hiding Museum Aalten
- The war under one roof: “Doctor of illegality”, Hans de Beukelaer
- On or under, Aalten, the land of the people in hiding and of illegality, G.W. Vaags
- dwangarbeidersapeldoorn.nl
- Municipal Archives Apeldoorn, Municipal Police Apeldoorn, no. 193, box 33
- Aalten in Wartime, J.G. ter Horst
- Aalten in Occupation Time, B. de Joode
- Graafschapbode, 30 January 1945
