On April 21, 1945, much of the province of Groningen had already been liberated by Canadian troops. However, the war in the border region with Germany was not yet over. On orders from the Dutch Internal Forces, five Groningen resistance fighters—Kornelis Fielstra (38), Johan Kok (46), Johannes Verbiest (36), Carolus Magermans (50), and his 23-year-old son—set out in captured German vehicles toward the border near Nieuweschans. Their mission: to pick up compatriots weakened by their forced labor in Germany.

The men never reached their destination. Just before the border, they were arrested on suspicion of espionage and taken to the town hall in Leer. At the same time, Willi Herold, a young German soldier who had lost his unit, was in Leer. Wandering through the country, he had found a complete Luftwaffe officer’s uniform with decorations. About thirty other stray soldiers had joined him, believing in his rank. Together, they moved through the country, murdering and looting, which eventually led Herold to Leer.

Because of his brutal actions, he earned the nickname "Executioner of Emsland."

In an attempt to impress the local mayor, Herold seized the opportunity to demonstrate his power. He demanded the five Dutch resistance prisoners and organized a sham trial in the garden of Gasthaus Schutzengarten in Leer on April 25, 1945. The trial lasted only ten minutes. All five men were sentenced to death. That same day, they were taken to a location outside the city, where they were forced to dig their own graves before being executed.

A day after the execution, Willi Herold was arrested in the German town of Aurich. During interrogation, he openly confessed to his crimes but was mistakenly released due to the chaos of the final days of the war. Later, he was recaptured by the Royal Navy after being caught stealing bread. In 1946, he was finally tried, sentenced to death, and executed by guillotine in November of that year.