BRABANT FIGHTS AGAINST WATER
1944-1945
In the first week of
November 1994 North and West Brabant are freed. The Hollands diep, the Amer and
the Berge Maas form the borderline between occupied and free Holland. Important
information from free Holland had to go to occupied Holland.
This happened by
crossing. The crossings are mainly meant as military courier ways. All the
important messages and instruments were transported through the crossings.
Second the passengers transport was important, lost allied pilots could go back
to free Holland by crossings. But also people whose lives were in danger -like
Jews- could go to free Holland by crossings. And at last they used the crossings
for transport of medicines.
At the end of February
1945 the West is short of insulin. The people who needed the insulin were put on
rations and they where getting only a third of the amount they needed.
Thanks to the crossing however 10.000 diabetics were saved.
There were two crossings:
--One from Sliedrecht to
lage Zwaluwe
--And one from Werkendam
to Drimmelen
A crossing was between 13
and 18 kilometers long and it took 3 hours to go from occupied to free Holland. Sometimes
things didn't go as planned and then the journey would take somewhere between 8
and 12 hours. Sometimes the journeys even were useless because at the end a
German check point had been set up and the crossers had to go back.
All the journeys where by
night. As soon the moon would shine they didn't go.
The occupying Germans did
try everything to intercept "the patrizanen of the Biesbosch". For
example they fired on all the possible ways in and out and the patrol vessels
navigated day and night to find a crossing. But if they finally found one
then the crossers had found a new route by the next day.
One of the best things
about the crossings is the regularity of the journeys, they took place daily.
The number of crossings
is approximately 450. The crossings were a very important part of the resistance
movement. After the Second World War the Biesbosch is divided, 50 % of it is
used for agriculture and the other 50 % still consists of swamp and water.
Crossings went most of the time by canoes because they didn't make any noise.
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