The Netherlands / Monument
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The monument 'The Fallen Warrior' stands next to St Martin's Church. It is a memorial to the hundreds of victims who fell in Tiel during the war years. Crafted by Wim van Hoorn, it depicts a warrior just before he falls. Originally, the statue was completely naked, but that was considered less appropriate in the year of its unveiling (1950).
The city of Tiel was badly damaged in the war years 1944-1945. In the months of June-August 1945, the debris was cleared. Anything not reusable was dumped in the Old Harbour. In the following years, the population was called upon to donate money for a commemorative statue. This was placed in the park created on the Old Harbour, on top of the war rubble.
The statue was unveiled on 4 May 1950 by Mrs Laagwater-van Scherpenzeel, the widow of the fallen resistance fighter G.J. Laagwater.
In 1997, the park at the Oude Haven was replaced by a car park. In consultation with survivors and relatives of victims, the statue was moved to the park near St Martin's Church in July 1997.
In 2009, a stone in memory of the four people from Tiel who lost their lives in the Indonesian war of independence in 1945-1949, was placed next to the statue. In 2019, a stone was also added there in memory of the Moluccan KNIL soldiers who died during that battle or later died in exile in the Netherlands.