{"id":140588,"date":"1945-04-04T21:35:00","date_gmt":"1945-04-04T19:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oudaalten.nl\/niet-gecategoriseerd\/playing-into-death\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T18:17:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T16:17:02","slug":"playing-into-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oudaalten.nl\/en\/war-resistance\/world-war-ii\/playing-into-death\/","title":{"rendered":"Playing into death"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Piepersweg, Aalten<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

<\/div>\n\n
\n
\n
\"Monument\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

On the Piepersweg in the Aaltense Heurne there is a memorial in memory of a tragic accident that took place shortly after the liberation of Aalten. The monument was erected in memory of three young boys who died in the accident. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the afternoon of 4 April 1945, just a few days after the liberation<\/a>, the boys Wim Schenk<\/a> (8 years old), his brother Henk Schenk<\/a> (6 years old) and their friend Wim Wisselink<\/a> (5 years old) were playing outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a dry ditch along the Bocholtsestraatweg they found a projectile. Unaware of the danger, they threw it at each other. At one point, one of the boys threw the projectile against the wall of a nearby house, after which it exploded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The consequences were horrible. Wim Schenk died on the spot. His brother Henk and Wim Wisselink were seriously injured and were taken to a military emergency hospital in Barlo, where they died shortly after each other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Booklet and monument<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2011 a booklet about this dramatic event was published entitled ‘Spelend de dood in’, written by Louis Veldhuis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seventy years after the accident, in 2015, relatives of the Schenk family unveiled a monument at the site of the tragedy. It consists of a pedestal with images of the three boys and was designed by artist Ans Braamskamp. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n
\n

Sources<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n