13 April 1949, an emotionally charged day

After the liberation on 13 April 1945 by Canadian troops, the city could slowly start to recover. There may not have been much fighting in the city, but there were still many war scars. Factories and shops were looted for the most part, railway lines were destroyed by shelling and part of the city centre was badly damaged by mistaken Allied bombing.  

Despite this, they came up with the initiative of a commemorative monument to the Meppel victims of the war within a few years. The official unveiling of the monument, made in bronze by Titus Leeser, was on 13 April 1949. An eyewitness described this as an emotional event as Bob, the 14-year-old son of Carel Fredrik Kwant, who was shot near Zuidlaren on 3 August 1943, unveiled the monument amid great interest.   

The war memorial listed 48 victims known at the time. Most of them were participants in the resistance, but some were fellow townsfolk who fell in battle in May 1940. Remarkably, no Jewish victims were mentioned on the memorial. They were only given their first memorial in the Slotplantsoen in 1970.  

Since 1949, the monument has also been the venue where the oldest Meppel primary school pupils commemorate the victims every year on 13 April during the so-called Jeugdappèl (youth movement). During the event, Scouting Meppel forms a guard of honour and performs the flag ceremony. This is a small tribute to Carel Kwant, as he was the leader of the local group until the scouts were banned in 1942. The clubhouse accordingly adorns the name Hopman Kwant.  

Author: Wim Sagel